Drilled

A true-crime podcast about climate change. Reported and hosted by a team of investigative climate journalists, Drilled examines the various obstacles that have kept the world from adequately responding to climate change.

Science
Social Sciences
Earth Sciences
126
Update: Donziger's Trial in New York
Steven Donziger went to trial for the criminal contempt charge that's kept him on house arrest for 600 days and counting. Paul Paz Y Mino of Amazon Watch brings us an update on the trial
19 min
127
Climate Guilt, Brought to You by Big Oil
A new study from Harvard science historians Naomi Oreskes and Geoffrey Supran points to the use of language targeted specifically to downplay the reality of climate change and shift responsibility entirely onto consumers. Geoffrey Supran, the lead...
18 min
128
New Study: The Health Impacts of the Coal-to-Ga...
A new study out from Harvard University explores the health impacts of transitioning from coal to other combustible fuels. The findings are important for climate policy, particularly the fact that biomass is a huge contributor to air pollution despite...
17 min
129
Rep Ro Khanna on Fossil Fuel Subsidies
It's Earth Day 2021 and the first Congressional hearing of the day is focused on fossil fuel subsidies. Their elimination was written into Biden's infrastructure bill, and House Democrats want to make sure that provision stays in the bill. Today's...
10 min
130
S5 Update: Latest on Donziger's Case
Steven Donziger, the American attorney we profiled in S5 is scheduled for trial May 10th, but his lawyers have filed another motion to dismiss, alleging vindictive prosecution. Karen Savage joins for an update on this story.
29 min
131
Corporate Personhood? What About Ecosystem Pers...
We talked about rights of nature a bit in the Ecuador-Chevron season, the Latin American country was the first in the world to integrate the concept of rights of nature in its Constitution. Now the Constitutional Court is reviewing its first rights of...
37 min
132
Infrastructure Week! Build Back Better, THRIVE,...
The Biden Administration has rolled out its Build Back Better plan and it includes a lot of progressive wishlist items, but the left is still pushing for more scale. The THRIVE Act, reintroduced by Sen Markey and Rep Dingell last month is what they're...
28 min
133
All Eyes on Weymouth as FERC Signals Interest i...
Local activists and legislators have been fighting the Enbridge natural gas compressor in Weymouth for years. It's too close to residents and businesses, and poses too many health risks to a community that's already borne the burden of too much...
21 min
134
How the Fossil Fuel Industry Is Undermining Fre...
Fossil fuel-backed anti-protest laws have been passed in 14 states and are making their way through statehouses in several more states, including six different bills in Minnesota, the only state with a big pipeline fight this year: Line 3. Researcher...
35 min
135
Frackalachia and the Great Fracking Jobs Myth
When a report makes oil and gas companies—and the politicians they help elect—this mad, you know the author is on to something. Researcher Sean O'Leary, with the Ohio River Valley Institute, joins us to talk about his new report, which found that the...
37 min
136
The API Was Pushing Climate Denial Way Earlier ...
Stanford researcher Ben Franta joins to talk about a bombshell new discovery: the American Petroleum Institute not only knew about climate change back in the 70s, it started pushing climate denial as early as 1980. Read Ben's article:...
23 min
137
S5 Ep 11 | ¿Ahora Que?
Donziger is still on house arrest and disbarred, the settlement seems impossible to collect, now what? In this episode we look at what this case says about accountability and the power of oil companies, and what options remain for the Ecuadorians...
27 min
138
S5 Ep 10 | The Kill Step
Chevron makes good on its promise to fight the Ecuadorian judgement until hell freezes over ... and then fight it out on the ice. Donziger loses his appeal of the RICO judgement, then finds himself facing contempt charges and disbarment.
20 min
139
S5 Ep9 | The Judge
Corruption charges against both the Ecuadorian judge and the American judge fly as the RICO gets underway. Support our work: patreon.com/Drilled
38 min
140
S5 Ep 8 | Damages
Chevron's legal team shocks the Ecuadorian plaintiffs with a massive racketeering claim in the U.S. alleging fraud, witness tampering, and even bribery. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Drilled
26 min
141
S5 Ep7 | The Linchpin
Chevron's attorneys go after Joe Berlinger, the filmmaker behind the documentary about the case, Crude. They subpoena his outtakes, kicking off a years-long First Amendment battle. Support our work: https://www.patreon.com/Drilled
40 min
142
Big Oil's Bad Bet on Plastic
A new report from Carbon Tracker finds that the fossil fuel industry is pinning its hopes on a plastic boom—and try as it might to spur that demand, it's just not materializing. Report author Kingsmill Bond joins us to discuss. Read the full report...
18 min
143
Update: Donziger Headed to Trial with No Repres...
New York District Court Judge Loretta Preska has denied repeated requests to delay Donziger's criminal contempt trial until at least one of his lawyers can be present. Barring any last-minute changes, he'll stand trial Monday, November 9th, after...
25 min
144
S5 Ep6 | A Verdict and a New Charge
The case takes a bizarre turn with a sting operation, U.S. subpoenas, accusations of fraud and bribery, and finally a verdict in Ecuador.
23 min
145
S5 Ep5 | The Big Guns
With the Ecuadorian plaintiffs racking up good press and an endorsement from the country's president, Chevron kicks things up a notch, bringing on new lawyers and PR firms to tell a very different story. Support our work: https://www.patreon.com/Drilled
31 min
146
S5 Ep4 | The Secret Tribunal
In September 2009, Chevron filed an international arbitration claim against the government of Ecuador over the Lago Agrio case. In the years since the company has pointed to the decisions of that arbitral panel as something akin to court decisions,...
45 min
147
S5 Ep3 | The Trial
The trial gets underway in Ecuador, an election changes the calculus, and a global PR war kicks into high gear. Support our work: patreon.com/drilled
22 min
148
S5 Ep2 | The Colonizers
How did this case come about in the first place? We go back to the early days of oil colonialism in Ecuador, in the 1960s, the partnership between oil men and missionaries, and the impact on indigenous communities in the Amazon. Support our work:...
28 min
149
S5 Ep1 | Lockdown
In August 2019, an American lawyer was put on house arrest as he awaited trial on criminal contempt charges. The charges stem from a decades-long case that began with pollution in the Amazon and has since spanned continents and courtrooms while the...
26 min
150
Big Oil Fighting Divestment + Sneak Preview of S5!
A few weeks ago the Trump administration quietly proposed a rule that would make it harder for financial managers to investment retirement funds in environmentally or socially responsible ways. The fossil fuel industry had been calling for the rule...
13 min