Episodes

  • 378: When Bad Companies Buy Good Carbon Removal

    378: When Bad Companies Buy Good Carbon Removal
    Dec 15 2025
    Is the voluntary carbon market a club for saints? Or is it a hospital for sinners? Are we meant to understand all and then to forgive all? How much time are we meant to devote to idealistic abstinence-esque policies for change, and how much of our professional lives should go to harm reduction?Today's show deals with some of the biggest questions in carbon removal and carbon markets, and does it in just the kind of literary-philosophical ways that make this shows its own... whatever it is that it is.Trust me and I'll guide you through the history of the Soviet Union and at least one Warsaw Pact country, David Simon, critical theory, German nuclear policy, the Bill Gates piece that ruffled all feathers one way or another, the Enabled Emissions Campaign, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Vasily Grossman, I Heart Huckabees, and Bicycle Thieves.Some days you hit record and you never quite know what you're going to discover...N.B. The image today is Vaclav Havel's greengrocer from "The Power of the Powerless" as illustrated by his Czech compatriot, Josef Lada, who did the original illustrations for Jaroslav Hašek's incredibly funny,The Good Soldier Švejk, who is a sort of antiwar/pacifistic Amelia Bedelia who messes things up in the Army by being a bit too literal and a bit too eager to follow orders.This Episode's Sponsors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Absolute Climate:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ the only standard that’s developed independent of registries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Philip Lee LLP: legal resources for carbon removal buyers and suppliers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Peter Minor from Absolute Climate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Ryan Covington from Philip Lee LLP⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resources⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change SubstackThe Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav HašekKhrushchev ThawThe Death of Stalin filmVaclav Havel"The Power of the Powerless" by Vaclav Havel; it's abridged here but you can click through to the full thing if you'd likeDeirdre McCloskey"The Clash of Aristocratic and Bourgeois Virtues in 'The Wire'" by Dr. Bart WilsonThe WireGreat PurgeHolodomor (the Ukrainian Famine)Katyn Massacre (NSFW: death pit image is first thing on Wikipedia)"The Society of the Spectacle" by Guy DebordJean Baudrillard"Three tough truths about climate" by Bill GatesGermany closing nuclear power plantsEnabled Emissions CampaignAlexander SolzhinitsynVasily GrossmanEverything Flows by Vasily GrossmanI Heart HuckabeesBicycle Thieves
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    38 mins
  • ASMR: Your one-hundred year-old Norwegian tall ship is sailing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean

    ASMR: Your one-hundred year-old Norwegian tall ship is sailing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean
    Dec 12 2025

    Gentle wind, sail, and ocean sounds with looped video taken during a trip from Seattle to San Francisco aboard the Statsraad Lehmkuhl for the One Ocean Expedition.
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    29 mins
  • 377: One Week Before the Mast—A Climate Sailing Travelogue from Seattle to San Francisco

    377: One Week Before the Mast—A Climate Sailing Travelogue from Seattle to San Francisco
    Dec 9 2025
    One could fly to the Bay Area in about ninety minutes, but what if it took a week, enormous amounts of teamwork on a 111-year-old Norwegian sailing barque, and caused a near-universal seasickness in thirty-foot seas?Today's show is a monologue about my experience sailing from Seattle to San Francisco on the Statsraad Lehmkuhl for the One Ocean Expedition. I'm an Executive in Residence at Maritime Blue, which sponsored this leg of the trip to raise awareness of the challenges facing the world ocean, its many inhabitants, and ourselves.The show is about many of the practicalities of living and working among one hundred other scientists and sailors, but it's also about so much more. It's about anxiety, proximity to nature, and a reminder that humans aren't always in charge. And that also, sometimes you don't have to do the thing you really don't want to do, and why that might just be okay.This Episode's Sponsors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Absolute Climate:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ the only standard that’s developed independent of registries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Philip Lee LLP: legal resources for carbon removal buyers and suppliers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Peter Minor from Absolute Climate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Ryan Covington from Philip Lee LLP⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resources⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Statsraad LehmkuhlOne Ocean ExpeditionMaritime BlueThe Essentials Of Living Aboard A Boat: The definitive Guide for Liveaboards by Mark NicholasJohn Kretschmer Sailing"S2E33: Sailing in the age of climate change—w/ John Kretschmer, author and sailor"Zorba the Greek by Nikos KazantzakisHomerThe Annapolis Book of Seamanship by John RousmaniereUniversity of Washington School of OceanographyKarl Ove KnausgårdBrunost: the brown cheese of NorwaySailing La Vagabonde
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • 376: The Tragedy of Stratospheric Aerosol Injection—w/ Dr. Shuchi Talati of The Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering

    376: The Tragedy of Stratospheric Aerosol Injection—w/ Dr. Shuchi Talati of The Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering
    Dec 3 2025
    Long a pariah climate solution, Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) is having its mainstream moment. As the climate movement ponders the planet's deep overshoot, more conversations about geoengineering, solar radiation management, global cooling, etc. are taking place in the open. Moreover, for-profit entities are raising venture rounds, with Stardust recently announcing a $60M Series A to commercialize their approach to SAI. This moment is feeling genuinely new, and it feels this way to today's guest Dr. Shuchi Talati of The Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering too.While I believe we should do the research and have the governance ready for possible future deployment lest it be done in a much less responsible way (I do not enjoy writing these words one single bit), I am finding it hard to accept its use as anything less than tragedy. Some felt this way about carbon removal, and I have greater sympathy for that feeling now too. The owl of Minerva flies only at dusk...Is SAI an instance of brave humans deploying life-saving technology? Or Promethean hubris for which we should keep our livers guarded? How much should the profit motive influence SAI deployment, if at all? I don't have all of the answers—nor pretend to–but I can point you to the emotional and spiritual core of it that helps me make sense of being a historical actor with agency at this moment in time.This Episode's Sponsors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Absolute Climate:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ the only standard that’s developed independent of registries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Philip Lee LLP: legal resources for carbon removal buyers and suppliers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Peter Minor from Absolute Climate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Ryan Covington from Philip Lee LLP⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resources⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Alliance for a Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering"S3E56: Could there be a just solar geoengineering?—w/ Shuchi Talati, Founder of The Alliance for a Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering""I See a Darkness—The Climate Movement Expects Deep Overshoot"Stratospheric aerosol injection on WikipediaStardust Solutions, a Geoengineering Startup, Raises $60 Million to Build a Solar-Reflecting System by 2030 on HeatmapLichen VenturesMan's Search for Meaning by Viktor FranklTragic triadDwight D. Eisenhower's Chance for Peace speech⁠"There is only one thing I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings."- Fyodor Dostoyevsky“Let us first ask ourselves what should be understood by “a tragic optimism.” In brief it means that one is, and remains, optimistic in spite of the “tragic triad,” … a triad which consists of … (1) pain; (2) guilt; and (3) death. This … raises the question, How is it possible to say yes to life in spite of all that? How … can life retain its potential meaning in spite of its tragic aspects? After all, “saying yes to life in spite of everything,” …presupposes that life is potentially meaningful under any conditions, even those which are most miserable. And this in turn presupposes the human capacity to creatively turn life’s negative aspects into something positive or constructive. In other words, what matters is to make the best of any given situation. … hence the reason I speak of a tragic optimism … an optimism in the face of tragedy and in view of the human potential which at its best always allows for: (1) turning suffering into a human achievement and accomplishment; (2) deriving from guilt the opportunity to change oneself for the better; and (3) deriving from life’s transitoriness an incentive to take responsible action."- Viktor Frankl in the postscript to Man's Search for Meaning"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."- Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Chance for Peace speech
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    1 hr and 22 mins
  • 375: This CDR Marketplace Bought a Biochar Company. Now What?!—w/ Josiah Hunt of Pacific Biochar & Sophie Westover of Wren

    375: This CDR Marketplace Bought a Biochar Company. Now What?!—w/ Josiah Hunt of Pacific Biochar & Sophie Westover of Wren
    Nov 18 2025

    Wren recently purchased a majority stake in Pacific Biochar, one of carbon removal's most prolific credit deliverers. What led to this deal, and will this model be emulated in a 2026 that might find carbon removal companies interested in (or maybe desperate for) deals that prolong runway and keep their companies alive?

    Wren is one of the oldest marketplaces (and so much more) in carbon removal with a record of doing things differently. Sophie Westover is their Head of Climate and is on the show representing their thinking on this deal.

    Josiah Hunt is the Founder and CEO of Pacific Biochar. He's been making biochar since before most of us knew it was a thing. He shares a lot of realness about the difficulties of being a project developer—even a successful one—in carbon removal.

    This Episode's Sponsors

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Absolute Climate:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ the only standard that’s developed independent of registries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Philip Lee LLP: legal resources for carbon removal buyers and suppliers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Peter Minor from Absolute Climate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Ryan Covington from Philip Lee LLP⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for the 9Zero climate coworking space with my referral code⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Resources

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack

    Wren

    Pacific Biochar

    "Wren proudly invests in Pacific Biochar to scale carbon removal"

    In case you want to see Pacific Biochar on the cdr.fyi supplier leaderboard.

    Benefit corporation

    Kita

    "313: Can carbon removal be insured?—w/ Racheal Notto & James Kench, Kita"
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • 374: Mining with Microbes: Biomimicry in Copper Extraction—w/ Liz Dennett, PhD, CEO & Founder of Endolith

    374: Mining with Microbes: Biomimicry in Copper Extraction—w/ Liz Dennett, PhD, CEO & Founder of Endolith
    Nov 13 2025
    What if microbes could help us mine responsibly? What if astrobiology—the study of life beyond Earth—held clues for how to fix the way we extract resources on Earth?Today’s guest is Liz Dennett, CEO and founder of Endolith, a biotech startup using microbes to boost copper recovery from mining waste. With a PhD in astrobiology, experience at NASA, and a career spanning oil, gas, and data science, Dennett is one of the most fascinating polymaths in climate tech.This episode dives into how microbes mine metals, why copper is civilization’s next constraint, and what it means to clean up an industry everyone loves to hate. Ross and Liz also explore the moral contradictions of “ethical extraction,” the realities of startup life, and how humor—and humility—might be the best renewable resources of all.This Episode's Sponsors⁠⁠⁠⁠Absolute Climate:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ the only standard that’s developed independent of registries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Philip Lee LLP: legal resources for carbon removal buyers and suppliers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Peter Minor from Absolute Climate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Ryan Covington from Philip Lee LLP⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Descript's transcripting and podcast editing service⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for the 9Zero climate coworking space with my referral code⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resources⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change SubstackEndolith's websiteEarth in Human Hands: Shaping Our Planet's Future by Dr. David Grinspoon⁠⁠47: David Grinspoon, Astrobiologist⁠⁠Geology Cage Match: The Sapiezoic vs. the AnthropoceneBill NyeEukaryogenesisAbiogenesisEntropyCobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives by Siddharth KaraThe War BelowLithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives by Ernest ScheyderDeus ex machina“If it falls to your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music ... Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.”- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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    51 mins
  • We are the Dead—Why I Love Armistice Day

    We are the Dead—Why I Love Armistice Day
    Nov 11 2025

    World War I profoundly changed the world. Nation-states replaced empires. Russia went communist. Fascism arrived. The West's claim to being the most civilized peoples on Earth was supremely undermined. And out of so much suffering, we received a holiday prioritizing grief and mercy.

    This bonus episode is me speed-running World War I and sharing some reflections on Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, Veterans Day, or however you might call it.

    If you carry any of this grief with you personally, I hope you are able to forgive yourself and others. The choices of this world are not always easy, and we make mistakes.

    This Episode's Sponsors

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠Absolute Climate:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ the only standard that’s developed independent of registries⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠Philip Lee LLP: legal resources for carbon removal buyers and suppliers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Peter Minor from Absolute Climate⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Ryan Covington from Philip Lee LLP⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Resources

    "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae

    There are a lot of references in this show. Normally I'd link, but for now, maybe just look some of them up if you feel so inclined.
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    23 mins
  • 373: Crucial Questions We Must Answer about Adapting to Climate Change—w/ Dr. Susannah Fisher, author of Sink or Swim

    373: Crucial Questions We Must Answer about Adapting to Climate Change—w/ Dr. Susannah Fisher, author of Sink or Swim
    Nov 5 2025
    Adaptation begins at home. But it doesn't end there. What do you plan on doing with your family as climate change gets worse? Are you already making plans whether to stay or go? How should states respond as people flee disaster? Who should get access to fish stocks as they migrate to new regions? Once one starts asking these questions, they really don't stop...Today's guest is Susannah Fisher, author of the new book, Sink or Swim: How the World Needs to Adapt to a Changing Climate⁠. It's a wonderful catalogue of questions that asks and frames so many crucial discussions around people, nature, and politics.Much of the first half of the show is about how it feels to start thinking about adaptation and resilience rather than more optimistic mitigation work, and why adaptation can bring its own solace. We might not need to panic just yet... and I enjoyed getting some emotional centering from Susannah's deep experience in A&R research and policy work.This Episode's Sponsors⁠⁠⁠Absolute Climate:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ the only standard that’s developed independent of registries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Philip Lee LLP: legal resources for carbon removal buyers and suppliers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Peter Minor from Absolute Climate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Ryan Covington from Philip Lee LLP⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Descript's transcripting and podcast editing service⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for the 9Zero climate coworking space with my referral code⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resources⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change SubstackSusannah Fisher's Sink or Swim: How the World Needs to Adapt to a Changing ClimateLichen VenturesChristina FigueresOutrage + Optimism podcastAdverse selection, which is the economics term for the problems of insurance and public schooling that I reference"332: If Climate Change Can Impact Behavior, How Much Agency Do We Actually Have?—w/ Clayton Aldern, author of The Weight of Nature"Thames River BarrierThere are various services where you can enter your address and view statistical flood and fire risk. Unfortunately since I last used it the one I used to use has been taken down...""372: Climate Change on the Battlefield: New Missions, New Kit, New Theaters—w/ Erin Sikorsky, Director of The Center for Climate and Security""S2E50: Under a White Sky: Elizabeth Kolbert's new book on humanity's ecological & climate interventions"Earthshot PrizeYellow Jackets in France protestsKatrina: Come Hell and High Water by Spike Lee
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    59 mins