Free Daily Podcast Summary
C4E Presents: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Stony Brook University
Welcome to C4E Presents, a podcast from Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth. From climate attribution to marine plastics, we confront the difficult questions about climate change head-on. Join us for exciting conversations with Stony Brook University’s environmental scholars and researchers to explore these issues together. Hosted by Heather Lynch, director of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.For more information, visit stonybrook.edu/c4e/
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 5 days ago24 min
Nuclear Power ‘Baloney’ | C4E Presents #048
Investigative journalist Karl Grossman has had his eye on nuclear energy since the 1970s. Grossman, an author and nationally syndicated television host turned journalism professor and co-founder of the anti-nuclear proliferation group, Beyond Nuclear, told producer J.D. Allen that the shift to nuclear power to fight climate change is just baloney — a result of media failures since the fight to stop the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant on Long Island.This is a director’s cut of America's Nuclear Future, a national radio broadcast special from American Public Media.Learn more: Cover Up: What You Are Not Supposed to Know About Nuclear Power (1980)Why Is There More Media Talk About Using Nuclear Weapons Than About Banning Them?Stony Brook University Archives: Shoreham and Three Mile Island CollectionSkip ahead to the chapter that interests you:01:08 Grossman Origins01:35 Three Mile Island Wakeup04:51 Nuclear Green Claims06:38 Disaster Death Tolls10:02 Rickover’s Warning11:44 Shoreham Nuclear Park14:34 Investigating Shoreham Risks18:56 Restarting Old Reactors20:35 Media Accountability23:54 Better WatchdogsTell a friend and share a link to this episode.You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.phpFor all things Stony Brook on social media: https://gosbu.co/m/socialC4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.Host: Heather LynchEditor: J.D. AllenProducer: Jordan ValloneProgram Manager: Jennifer Gilday
- 1 weeks ago25 min
Building Nuclear Energy In The U.S. | C4E Presents #047
Steven Biegalski closely monitored the development of the United State's first nuclear power facility in the last decade at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, Georgia. Host Heather Lynch and producer J.D. Allen spoke with Biegalski, chair of the Nuclear and Radiological Engineering program and Medical Physics program at Georgia Institute of Technology, in October 2025. This is a director’s cut of America's Nuclear Future, a national radio broadcast special from American Public Media.Learn more: “Evaluation of machine learning algorithms for nuclear monitoring applications” (2026) Elevated radioxenon detected remotely following the Fukushima nuclear accident (2011)Nuclear Power Isn’t What You Think — and That’s a Good Thing (Georgia Tech)Skip ahead to the chapter that interests you:01:11 Meet Steven Biegalski01:32 What Nuclear Engineers Do02:52 What Drives Nuclear Demand05:39 AI Data Centers Inflection08:42 Why Renewables Fall Short11:41 Can Nuclear Scale Fast14:23 SMRs Versus Big Reactors17:48 Workforce Supply Chain Gaps20:23 Community Perception Shifts24:02 Three Mile Island ReturnsTell a friend and share a link to this episode.You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.phpFor all things Stony Brook on social media: https://gosbu.co/m/socialC4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.Host: Heather LynchEditor: J.D. AllenProgram Manager: Jennifer Gilday
- 2 weeks ago20 min
Debating Going Nuclear | C4E Presents #046
More than 100 people joined students from New York University's debate team on Governors Island to argue what role nuclear energy should play in fighting climate change.Hear the full arguments for and against going nuclear featured in C4E Presents’ director’s cut of America's Nuclear Future, a national radio broadcast special from American Public Media in early 2026.Learn more: SBU Hosts 2nd Annual Environmental Forum on Nuclear Energy’s Role in Climate SolutionsPreparing leaders through the transformative power of NYU debateSkip ahead to the chapter that interests you:01:08 Debate Begins on Nuclear01:25 Affirmative Case for Nuclear05:13 Cross Examination One07:03 Negative Case Against Nuclear11:00 Cross Examination Two13:05 Affirmative Rebuttal15:12 Negative Rebuttal17:27 Closing Statements20:05 Thanks and Team InfoTell a friend and share a link to this episode.You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.phpFor all things Stony Brook on social media: https://gosbu.co/m/socialC4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.Host: Heather LynchEditor: J.D. AllenProgram Manager: Jennifer Gilday
- 3 weeks ago24 min
Behind The Scenes | C4E Presents #045
Season 4 of C4E Presents will be a director's cut of America's Nuclear Future, a national radio broadcast special about whether the United States could have a future powered by nuclear energy. In early 2026, the broadcast special from American Public Media was aired across nearly 20 states in cities from New York City and Atlanta to Seattle and San Diego, as well as Tucson, Des Moines, and Missoula in between. Host Heather Lynch and J.D. Allen, the special’s lead producer and lecturer in the Department of Journalism, who also does climate communication strategy for Stony Brook University.Learn more: Civic Science Media: Reimagining How We Communicate ScienceSBU’s Collaborative for the Earth Debuts National Broadcast Special on Nuclear EnergySkip ahead to the chapter that interests you:00:32 Season Four Intro00:46 Nuclear Special Recap01:19 Writing The Billboard01:52 Why Nuclear Now04:10 Hurdles And Economics04:49 Who We Are06:57 Host Credibility09:05 AI Power Hunger10:03 Three Mile Island Returns14:19 SMRs And New Nuclear17:28 Debate Stakes Ahead18:53 Climate And Enviro Shift24:03 Safety And FearTell a friend and share a link to this episode.You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.phpFor all things Stony Brook on social media: https://gosbu.co/m/socialC4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.Host: Heather LynchEditor: J.D. AllenProgram Manager: Jennifer Gilday
- Apr 21, 202655 min
America’s Nuclear Future | C4E Presents: National Special #001
This special episode of Collaborative for the Earth (C4E) examines how U.S. efforts to move away from fossil fuels collide with surging electricity demand from AI and data centers, prompting companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google to pursue nuclear power. Distributed by American Public Media from January through April 2026, C4E presents in its first national radio broadcast the history of nuclear energy in the United States, from Eisenhower’s 1953 “Atoms for Peace” through Three Mile Island, and changing public opinion under the Trump administration. Today, approximately 94 reactors supply just over 18% of U.S. utility-scale electricity. The narrative episode explores the restarting of shuttered plants, the promise and skepticism around small modular reactors, and shifts in energy policy as climate solutions that were discussed during an April 2025 Governor’s Island forum debate, in partnership with The New York Climate Exchange.Learn more with: SBU’s Collaborative for the Earth Debuts National Broadcast Special on Nuclear EnergySBU Hosts 2nd Annual Environmental Forum on Nuclear Energy’s Role in Climate SolutionsUnderstanding Nuclear Energy with C4E’s ‘Nuclear 101’ ConversationSkip ahead to the chapter that interests you:01:25 Three Mile Island Shock04:05 Nuclear Numbers Shift05:54 Why This Podcast07:21 AI Power Hunger11:13 Restarting Old Reactors13:47 Debating Nuclear Role20:47 Safety After Fukushima25:34 Regulation Lessons Learned27:01 Nuclear Waste Dilemma31:31 Do We Need Nuclear32:50 Long Island Case Study35:28 Build Times and Costs37:23 Safety Versus Speed41:10 Geopolitics and Supply Chains45:43 Four Paths to Expand47:43 Small Modular Reactor Hype51:55 Financing the Nuclear BetTell a friend and share a link to this episode.You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.phpFor all things Stony Brook on social media: https://gosbu.co/m/socialC4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.Special thanks to The New York Climate Exchange and Stony Brook’s Office of the Provost, Office of Marketing and Communications and the MS in Journalism program for their support.Host: Heather LynchWriter: J.D. AllenEditors: Terry Sheridan, Lori KieProducers: Jordan Vallone, Melanie FormosaPost Production: Denis Murray Program Manager: Jennifer Gilday
- Apr 7, 202650 min
Passenger Pigeon Comeback | C4E Presents #044
Ben Novak is bringing back the extinct passenger pigeon. Host Heather Lynch and Novak, program manager for the Biotechnology for Bird Conservation Program for Revive & Restore, discuss de-extinction, restoring ecosystem function by using gene editing or selective breeding to give living relatives traits needed to fill extinct species’ ecological roles, and correcting Jurassic Park misconceptions about using ancient DNA directly. Novak explains how museum specimens provide fragmented DNA for sequencing and the limits of mapping genomes, emphasizing goal-oriented trait recovery over perfect genetic identity. Learn more with: “Could Extinct Species Save Today’s Forests? Scientist Makes the Case for Darwin Day”“De-Extinction” by Ben Novak“Towards Practical Conservation Cloning: Understanding the Dichotomy Between the Histories of Commercial and Conservation Cloning” by Ben J. Novak, Stewart Brand, Ryan Phelan, Sasha Plichta, Oliver A. Ryder and Robert J. Wiese“First endangered black-footed ferrets, Mustela nigripes, cloned for genetic rescue” by Ben Novak, et al.“Natural Selection Shaped the Rise and Fall of Passenger Pigeon Genomic Diversity” by Ben Novak, et al.Skip ahead to the chapter that interests you:01:40 Defining De-Extinction02:44 Jurassic Park Myths05:32 Where The DNA Comes From08:41 Sample Quality And Tissues11:44 Mapping Ancient Genomes14:16 How Close Is Close Enough23:04 Naming De-Extinct Species25:30 Tiny Mutations Big Traits28:12 Building Diversity In30:56 Passenger Pigeon Progress31:33 Ferret Genetic Rescue33:55 Why Birds Are Hard35:52 Germ Cell Workaround37:55 Mitochondria Purity Myth44:16 Policy And Release46:46 Stem Cells Future ToolsTell a friend and share a link to this episode.You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.phpFor all things Stony Brook on social media: https://gosbu.co/m/socialC4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.Host: Heather LynchEditor: J.D. AllenProgram Manager: Jennifer Gilday
- Mar 24, 202643 min
Energy Economics | C4E Presents #043
Dana Golden studies energy markets and electricity transmission. Host Heather Lynch and Golden, graduate research assistant in the Graduate School at Stony Brook University, speak about why Suffolk County electricity averages much higher than the national average and how prices are set through generators, transmission constraints, and utilities. Golden explains how data-center-driven load growth raises prices and strains reliability, and supports an “all of the above” mix including nuclear and emerging geothermal.Learn more with: "Offshore Horizons: HVDC Wind Farms-Exploring Techno-Economic Dimensions" by D. Singh, D. Golden, et al.“Investment and the Transfer of Power: Dynamic Effects of Transmission in Electricity Markets.” by Dana GoldenHear Dana’s lecture on environmental and natural resources economicsBreakneck by Dan WangSkip ahead to the chapter that interests you:00:32 Why Does Suffolk Power Cost More01:49 What Is HVDC05:20 Where HVDC Is Used07:45 Renewables Drive HVDC12:44 Preventing Cascade Failures15:50 ISOs and Market Design20:54 Renewables Forecasting Risk27:07 Do Data Centers Raise Prices28:52 Nuclear and Energy Crisis37:56 China vs US Building42:48 Transmission Costs and PermittingTell a friend and share a link to this episode.You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.phpFor all things Stony Brook on social media: https://gosbu.co/m/socialC4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.Host: Heather LynchEditor: J.D. AllenProgram Manager: Jennifer Gilday
- Mar 10, 202647 min
Fires From Afar | C4E Presents #042
Health experts Mahdieh Danesh Yazdi and Nozomi Sasaki look at how climate change is increasing wildfire smoke exposure and related health risks. Host Heather Lynch, as well as Danesh Yazdi and Sasaki from Program in Public Health at Stony Brook University, discuss evidence linking airborne particles to increased mortality and cardiopulmonary impacts. They point to growing research, using large administrative datasets and local hospital data to assess impacts, that suggests wildfire smoke is more harmful than other pollution sources.Learn more with: “Long-term Effect of Exposure to Lower Concentrations of Air Pollution on Mortality among Medicare Participants and Vulnerable Subgroups,” by Mahdieh Danesh Yazdi, Yan Wang, Qian Di, Weeber J. Requia, Yaguang Wei, and Liuhua Shi“Associations between air pollution and psychiatric symptoms in the normative aging study,” by Xinye Qiu, Mahdieh Danesh Yazdi, Marc Weisskopf, Anna Kosheleva, Avron Spiro, Cuicui Wang, Brent A. Coull, Petros Koutrakis and Joel D. Schwartz“Emulating causal doseresponse relations between air pollutants and mortality in the Medicare population,” by Yaguang Wei, Mahdieh Danesh Yazdi, Qian Di, Weeberb J. Requia, Francesca Dominici, Antonella Zanobetti and Joel Schwartz“Fish consumption and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids from diet are positively associated with cognitive function in older adults even in the presence of exposure to lead, cadmium, selenium, and methylmercury: a cross-sectional study using NHANES 2011–2014 data,” by Nozomi Sasaki, Laura E. Jones and David O. CarpenterSkip ahead to the chapter that interests you:01:34 Air Pollution and Mortality10:56 Environmental Justice and Work22:01 Who Is Most Vulnerable28:57 Short vs Long Effects30:12 Heavy Metals in Smoke35:56 Fish Mercury Tradeoffs41:28 Practical Air Tips44:33 EVs and Hidden CostsTell a friend and share a link to this episode.You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.phpFor all things Stony Brook on social media: https://gosbu.co/m/socialC4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.Host: Heather LynchEditor: J.D. AllenProducer: Jordan ValloneProgram Manager: Jennifer Gilday
About C4E Presents
Welcome to C4E Presents, a podcast from Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth. From climate attribution to marine plastics, we confront the difficult questions about climate change head-on. Join us for exciting conversations with Stony Brook University’s environmental scholars and researchers to explore these issues together. Hosted by Heather Lynch, director of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.For more information, visit stonybrook.edu/c4e/
Customized Recaps
AI-powered recaps with compact key takeaways, quotes, and insights.
Straight to Your Inbox
Get key takeaways from C4E Presents in a 5-minute read.
Save Hours Every Week
Stay current on your favorite podcasts without falling behind.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Podzilla's C4E Presents daily summary?
It's a free AI-powered email that summarizes new episodes of C4E Presents as soon as they're published. You get the key takeaways, notable quotes, and links & mentions — all in a quick read.
How does the C4E Presents podcast summary work?
When a new episode drops, our AI transcribes and analyzes it, then generates a personalized summary tailored to your interests and profession. It's delivered to your inbox every morning.
Is this an official C4E Presents product?
No. Podzilla is an independent service that summarizes publicly available podcast content. We're not affiliated with or endorsed by Stony Brook University.
Can I get summaries of other podcasts too?
Absolutely! The free plan covers up to 3 podcasts. Upgrade to Pro for 15, or Premium for 50. Browse our full catalog at /podcasts.
How often does C4E Presents release new episodes?
C4E Presents publishes biweekly. Our AI generates a summary within hours of each new episode.
What topics does C4E Presents cover?
C4E Presents covers topics including Science. Our AI identifies the specific themes in each episode and highlights what matters most to you.
Start getting C4E Presents summaries tomorrow morning.
Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.
Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.