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by Matt Matern's Environmental Advocacy Podcast
A Climate Change with Matt Matern is a weekly show featuring influential guests from government, business, activism, academia, and culture. The show serves to inform its audience with a focus on environmental and climate issues. Join us as we commit to making "a climate change." Similar to these great podcasts: TED Climate, Reversing Climate Change, Climate One, My Climate Journey, Volts, America Adapts, & A Matter Of Degrees.
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Today, Matt Matern speaks with Rob Mullen - artist, author, and Director of the Wilderness River Expedition Art Fellowship - about the boreal forest, the largest land ecosystem on Earth and one most people have never heard of. Rob explains how a forest three times the size of the Amazon holds roughly 80% of the world's liquid fresh surface water, why bigger and more frequent fires have flipped it from a carbon sink into a carbon source, and how conservation funding passed it over for decades because it was too big and too empty to fit the "biodiversity hotspot" model. He also shares the solo canoe trip that changed the course of his life, the cold call to the Smithsonian that launched two decades of wilderness art expeditions, and the number that stopped Matt in his tracks: 59% of the trees cut in Canada end up as toilet paper and paper towels for the U.S. market. Get Rob's book, Boreal Wilderland: Art, Science, and Adventure in Earth's Greatest Wilderness, at www.robmullen.com Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Rob Mullen is a wildlife and wilderness artist, author, and Director of the Wilderness River Expedition Art Fellowship, which he founded in 2005 and now runs as a program of the Center for Circumpolar Studies. A native Vermonter with a biology degree from the University of Vermont, he spent years as an advertising artist in New York and California before returning home to paint full-time. He has led roughly 20 wilderness art expeditions from Labrador to Alaska, bringing more than 30 nationally and internationally known artists into the boreal forest. He also chairs the board of the Vermont Wildlife Coalition. His book Boreal Wilderland, with a foreword by Robert Bateman, was published in 2026. EPISODE RESOURCES Rob Mullen: https://www.robmullen.com Boreal Wilderland on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/borealwilderland Wilderness River Expedition Art Fellowship: http://www.circumpolarstudies.org/wreaf/WREAFprojects.html A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids
Today, Matt Matern speaks with Leah Qusba, CEO of GoodPower, a nonprofit working to win public support for the clean energy transition. They talk about moving the energy conversation away from sacrifice and toward abundance, where clean energy means more jobs, lower bills, and an economy that works for everyone. Leah shares GoodPower's polling with NORC at the University of Chicago, which found about half of Republicans still support large-scale solar, rising to roughly 70% when it's tied to lower energy bills. They also dig into the disinformation targeting renewables, why one in three projects now dies in permitting, and a little-known Arizona utility race putting energy bills on the 2026 ballot. Check out GoodPower at goodpower.org Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Leah Qusba is the Chief Executive Officer of GoodPower, a strategic communications, research, and campaigning nonprofit advancing the global renewable energy transition (formerly Action for the Climate Emergency, rebranded in 2025). She has spent 17 years with the organization, building its early programs and leading national campaigns before becoming CEO. Her work focuses on winning public opinion for clean energy in rural, conservative communities - where the vast majority of new solar, wind, and storage is built and where projects most often stall at the local permitting level. A frequent media voice on energy, media, and culture, she leads GoodPower's original polling, its conservative messenger network, and its work countering AI-driven disinformation. EPISODE RESOURCES GoodPower: goodpower.org A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids
Today, Matt is joined again by Cora Stryker, co-founder of Bright Saver. One year after first joining us on the show, a lot has changed. When she was last on, plug-in solar was legal in exactly one state and nobody in the country was selling it. Since then, 35 states plus DC have introduced legislation, nine have signed it into law, and Bright Saver has started shipping kits nationwide at exactly what they cost: $285.30, no markup. Here in California, SB 868 - the Plug and Play Solar Act - just cleared both houses of the legislature and is now sitting on Governor Newsom's desk awaiting his signature. Cora argues that the climate movement's biggest opportunity is affordability, as only about 3% of Americans rank climate as their top voting priority, while 54% name the economy and household expenses. Check out Bright Saver at https://www.brightsaver.org Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Cora Stryker is co-founder of Bright Saver, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to make plug-in "balcony" solar affordable and legal across the United States. The organization sells solar kits to its members at cost and advocates for state legislation that treats small plug-in systems like household appliances rather than power plants. She is a serial founder of mission-driven organizations, including the Climate Justice Incubator and GirlBlazer. She studied biology at Brown University and began her career as a rare and endangered plant biologist in Hawaii, later teaching basic writing at a community college. EPISODE RESOURCES Bright Saver: https://www.brightsaver.org Is plug-in solar legal in your state?: https://www.brightsaver.org/is-plug-in-solar-legal A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids
Today, Matt is joined by Saar Safra, co-founder and CEO of Beewise, to talk about one of the quietest threats to our food supply - the collapse of the world's bee colonies. Saar shares how he teamed up with a commercial beekeeper to build the BeeHome: a solar-powered, AI-driven robotic hive that monitors bees around the clock and treats problems automatically, without chemicals. They dig into why bees pollinate roughly 75% of the crops we eat, how monoculture and pesticides have turned farmland into a desert for pollinators, and how Beewise has cut colony collapse from 40–60% down to under 10%. And Saar gives Matt a peak at the company's new Bees for Buildings program bringing pollinators into cities and their goal of scaling this technology to help communities around the world. Learn more about Beewise at beewise.ag Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Saar Safra is the co-founder and CEO of Beewise, an agtech company on a mission to save bees and secure the global food supply. A serial entrepreneur - Beewise is his sixth company - he partnered with commercial beekeeper Eliyah Radzyner to build the BeeHome, a solar-powered, AI-driven robotic hive that autonomously monitors and cares for colonies. Beewise is now one of the largest pollination-services providers in the country, operating across more than 300,000 acres for growers including Blue Diamond, Driscoll's, and Taylor Farms. The company has raised roughly $170 million and reports colony collapse rates under 10%, compared with an industry average that can exceed 50%. EPISODE RESOURCES Beewise: https://www.beewise.ag A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids CURATED LIST OF EPISODES If you enjoyed this episode of A Climate Change, here is a list of some recent episodes curated especially for you: Simulating the Future: How Climate Models Shape Policy Decisions with Andrew Jones [Link] How Personal Change Sparks Global Impact: Joshua Spodek's Sustainability Secrets [Link] Bill McKibben on Renewable Energy, Political Battles & Hope for the Planet [Link]
Today, Matt Matern speaks with Zak Winnick, founder and CEO of Rangeway Energy, about building America’s first hospitality-forward EV charging network. Zak shares how a career running hotels - and years of frustration as an EV owner - led him to treat charging as an experience rather than just a piece of infrastructure. They discuss why so many public chargers feel unreliable and impersonal, and how Rangeway is targeting the scenic, underserved highways the big networks skip. Zak also explains why the real money is in the amenities rather than the electricity - and how he plans to make Rangeway the "Apple of EV charging." Check out Rangeway Energy at rangeway.co. Interested investors can reach the team at investors@rangeway.co. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Zak Winnick is the founder and CEO of Rangeway Energy, a startup building America’s first hospitality-forward EV charging network. Drawing on more than 15 years in hospitality operations and IT - and his own experience as a longtime EV owner and EV-community leader - he designs charging destinations that pair reliable fast charging with climate-controlled lounges, thoughtful amenities, and sustainable, often off-grid infrastructure. Rangeway focuses on scenic, underserved corridors, with its first sites planned for Missouri and Southern California. Winnick’s guiding idea is simple: make the stop, not just the charger, the point. EPISODE RESOURCES Rangeway Energy: rangeway.co Matt Matern on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ACClinkedin A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids
Today, Matt speaks with Bren Smith, co-founder and co-executive director of GreenWave, about his journey from commercial fisherman to pioneer of regenerative ocean farming. Bren shares how a cod collapse in his native Newfoundland and two hurricanes that destroyed his farm led him to a model that grows seaweed and shellfish with no water, fertilizer, feed, or land - while rebuilding ocean ecosystems. They also discuss GreenWave’s new State of the Kelp Industry report and how kelp is shifting from a “hero climate ingredient” to a working-class problem solver. Check out GreenWave at https://www.greenwave.org Read the State of the Kelp Industry report here: https://hub.greenwave.org/lms/resources/state-of-the-kelp-industry/ Bren’s book, Eat Like a Fish, is available wherever books are sold. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Bren Smith Bio: Bren Smith is co-founder and co-executive director of GreenWave and owner of Thimble Island Ocean Farm. A lifelong commercial fisherman turned regenerative ocean farmer, he pioneered a zero-input model that grows seaweed and shellfish while restoring marine ecosystems. He is the James Beard Award-winning author of Eat Like a Fish and a winner of the Buckminster Fuller Prize and the Curt Bergfors Food Planet Prize. His work has been profiled by 60 Minutes, CNN, The New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, and National Geographic, and he was named one of Rolling Stone’s “25 People Shaping the Future.” Episode Resources GreenWave website: https://www.greenwave.org State of the Kelp Industry report: https://hub.greenwave.org/lms/resources/state-of-the-kelp-industry/ A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids Music Credits Music: Theme song - SMOOTA, “Save It! (The Mother Earth Boogie)” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BRuPWPgrvA) Additional music - Stereo Reform, “Midnight Synthesizer (Instrumental)”
Today, Matt is joined by Dr. Garrett Boudinot, founder and CEO of Vycarb, to talk about a new approach to carbon capture and storage that works with water instead of pipelines and underground wells. Garrett explains how Vycarb's reactor turns CO2 into bicarbonate and stores it safely in the ocean for tens of thousands of years. He shares why traditional carbon capture has been so expensive and hard to site, and how Vycarb bypasses the costly steps to target costs as low as $50 a ton. He also previews what's next as Vycarb scales from its Brooklyn Navy Yard pilot to full commercial projects. Check out Vycarb at vycarb.com Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Garrett Boudinot is the founder and CEO of Vycarb, a climate-tech company pioneering a water-based approach to carbon capture and storage. He earned a PhD studying global carbon cycling and its impacts on ocean and forest ecosystems, then led a carbon-management research program at Cornell University. As an inaugural Activate New York entrepreneurial fellow, he founded Vycarb to accelerate the ocean's natural carbon-storage process - and to measure it in real time. The company runs a pilot at the Brooklyn Navy Yard that captures CO2 and permanently stores it in the East River, and is now scaling toward full commercial projects in the US and abroad. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro: A Climate Change Welcomes Dr. Garrett Boudinot 0:57 From Existential Crisis to Founding Vycarb 4:13 How Vycarb Turns CO2 Into Permanent Bicarbonate 7:57 Faster Than Nature: The 200-Ton-a-Year Pilot 13:17 The Cost Curve: Getting Down to $50 a Ton 16:05 Stranded Emissions: Singapore, Japan & Europe 19:22 What's Next for Vycarb 21:47 How Vycarb Is Funded 25:29 Policy Incentives: 45Q, Carbon Taxes & First Movers 31:28 Measured Storage vs. "Hope It's Locked Up" 36:16 Why the East River: The Brooklyn Navy Yard Pilot 38:56 How Listeners Can Support Vycarb 40:24 Closing: Hope and Getting Your Hands Dirty 42:17 Outro EPISODE RESOURCES Vycarb: vycarb.com A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids MUSIC Theme: SMOOTA - "Save It! (The Mother Earth Boogie)" Additional music: Stereo Reform - "Midnight Synthesizer (Instrumental)"
Today, Matt is joined by David Fenton - veteran progressive communications strategist and host of The Fenton Forecast - for a conversation about the climate movement’s biggest failure: how it talks, or doesn’t talk, about the crisis. David explains “blanket of pollution” metaphor, and why framing climate action as sacrifice backfires, the soaring insurance costs hitting Americans’ wallets, and the fossil fuel industry’s push for legal immunity as climate lawsuits close in. Check out The Fenton Forecast here: https://www.fentonforecast.com Learn more about David’s work: https://davidfentonactivist.com David’s book, The Activist’s Media Handbook, is available wherever books are sold. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Guest Bio: David Fenton has spent more than fifty years helping progressive movements win. In 1982 he founded Fenton Communications, the first public relations firm built for nonprofits and public-interest causes, and pioneered the use of PR, advertising, and social media for the environment, public health, and human rights. He is the author of The Activist’s Media Handbook: Lessons from 50 Years as a Progressive Agitator, a senior advisor to Yellow Dot Studios, and host of The Fenton Forecast podcast. Episode Resources The Fenton Forecast: https://www.fentonforecast.com David Fenton: https://davidfentonactivist.com The Activist’s Media Handbook Yellow Dot Studios: https://yellowdotstudios.com A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids
A Climate Change with Matt Matern is a weekly show featuring influential guests from government, business, activism, academia, and culture. The show serves to inform its audience with a focus on environmental and climate issues. Join us as we commit to making "a climate change." Similar to these great podcasts: TED Climate, Reversing Climate Change, Climate One, My Climate Journey, Volts, America Adapts, & A Matter Of Degrees.
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