Episodes

  • The People vs. Big Oil, Part 1: 'Amazon Chernobyl'

    The People vs. Big Oil, Part 1: 'Amazon Chernobyl'
    Mar 9 2026
    After Texaco (now Chevron) discovered oil in Ecuador, they left behind an ecological and public health disaster so severe that experts have dubbed it the "Amazon Chernobyl.” The local population then sued the company sparking an epic courtroom drama spanning multiple decades and costing billions of dollars. Leading that fight are two outspoken attorneys: an American outsider not afraid to make enemies, and an Ecuadorian lawyer who risked his life to stand up for his people. Featured in this episode: Pablo Fajardo Steven Donziger Sources: William Langewiesche’s Vanity Fair profile “Jungle Law” https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2007/5/jungle-law Patrick Radden Keefe’s New Yorker article “Reversal of Fortune” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/01/09/reversal-of-fortune-patrick-radden-keefe Joe Berlinger’s documentary “Crude” Paul M. Barrett’s book Law of the Jungle See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    46 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
  • When Elon Musk’s Data Center Came to Town

    When Elon Musk’s Data Center Came to Town
    Mar 2 2026
    When Elon Musk’s xAI opened a data center called Colossus in South Memphis for its chatbot, Grok, local politicians and business leaders hailed it as the first step towards turning Greater Memphis into “America’s Digital Delta.” But residents soon noticed they were getting sick – and blamed the data center’s methane gas turbines, installed without permits to support the center’s massive electricity needs. Now South Memphis has become a flashpoint in the growing debate over the human and environmental costs of powering AI. Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app. Featured in this episode: KeShaun Pearson Sources: Reporting by the Memphis Commercial Appeal Time’s “We Are the Last of the Forgotten: Inside the Memphis Community Battling Elon Musk’s xAI” https://time.com/7308925/elon-musk-memphis-ai-data-center/ The Wall Street Journal’s “Elon Musk Gambles Billions in Memphis to Catch Up on AI” https://www.wsj.com/tech/elon-musk-xai-memphis-tennessee-power-dec4c70d The Natural Resources Defense Council’s “The AI Boom Is Stressing the Grid—But It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way” https://www.nrdc.org/stories/ai-boom-stressing-grid-it-doesnt-have-be-way See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    43 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
  • 'Field of Schemes': Organic Farming’s Epic Fraud

    'Field of Schemes': Organic Farming’s Epic Fraud
    Feb 23 2026
    When it comes to organic food, can we really trust what’s on our plate? Do we understand how it was grown or raised? The organic food industry is largely built on the honor system. More than a decade ago, a mild-mannered Missouri farmer exploited that system, raking in millions of dollars and leading a double life in Las Vegas. As it turns out, that wasn’t the only secret he was hiding. Featured in this episode: Glen Borgerding Jacob Schunk Tony Morfitt Sources: Ian Parker’s reporting in The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/11/15/the-great-organic-food-fraud Mike Hendricks’ reporting in The Kansas City Star https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article239079858.html Trial documents from the Department of Justice’s case U.S. v. Randy Constant https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndia/pr/field-schemes-fraud-results-over-decade-federal-prison-leader-largest-organic-fraud See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    43 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
  • The Battle Over Burn Pits, a Military Practice That’s Making Veterans Sick

    The Battle Over Burn Pits, a Military Practice That’s Making Veterans Sick
    Feb 16 2026
    When Jessey Baca returned from Balad Air Base in Iraq, he began experiencing strange health symptoms: fevers, chills, headaches, difficulty breathing. The VA tried to write off his condition as PTSD, but Jessey and his wife Maria would eventually learn that the likely cause was exposure to burn pits, where the military was incinerating trash with jet fuel. And they weren’t alone. Thousands of veterans were sick and dying from burn pit exposure. Featured in this episode: Kelly Kennedy Jessey and Maria Baca Sources: Kelly Kennedy’s reporting for The Military Times (https://www.militarytimes.com/) and The War Horse (https://thewarhorse.org/) The New Republic’s “The Things They Burned”: https://newrepublic.com/article/138058/things-burned The New York Times’ “The Soldiers Came Home Sick. The Government Denied It Was Responsible”: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/11/magazine/military-burn-pits.html See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    46 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
  • The Bundy Family’s Bloody War over Federal Land

    The Bundy Family’s Bloody War over Federal Land
    Feb 9 2026
    The tug-of-war over undeveloped land in the U.S. is nothing new, but in 2014 Cliven and Ammon Bundy escalated their dispute over cattle grazing permits in Nevada to another level. Their clash against the federal Bureau of Land Management would galvanize a movement – and set the stage for one of the largest armed uprisings against the government in American history, with lasting consequences for the environment. Featured in this episode: Betsy Gaines Quammen Sources: Betsy Gaines Quammen's book American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God and Public Lands in the West PBS’s Frontline’s documentary American Patriot. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    43 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
  • Who Hired Hackers to Target Climate Activists?

    Who Hired Hackers to Target Climate Activists?
    Feb 2 2026
    In 2015, news broke that Exxon’s own scientists had known for decades that burning fossil fuels was causing global warming. To raise awareness, climate activists launched a campaign called “Exxon Knew.” But almost immediately, they noticed something strange: their private emails seemed to be getting leaked to the press. They were getting hacked – but by who? Featured in this episode: Kert Davies, Center for Climate Integrity John Scott Railton, The Citizen Lab Sources: The Citzen Lab’s “Dark Basin: Uncovering a Massive Hack-for-Hire Operation”: https://citizenlab.ca/research/dark-basin-uncovering-a-massive-hack-for-hire-operation/ Inside Climate News’s “Exxon: The Road Not Taken”: https://insideclimatenews.org/project/exxon-the-road-not-taken/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    42 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
  • How America’s Deadliest Industrial Disaster Was Almost Erased

    How America’s Deadliest Industrial Disaster Was Almost Erased
    Jan 26 2026
    One of the worst industrial disasters in our nation’s history occurred in West Virginia in the 1930s. Not in a coal mine – but in a tunnel chiseled out of a mountain for a hydroelectric power plant. Hundreds of workers, most of them poor and Black, quietly died from breathing in silica dust. For decades, the true scale of the devastation was buried by the companies behind the project. Featured in this episode: Catherine Venable Moore Dr. Martin Cherniack Sources: Dr. Martin Cherniack’s book The Hawk’s Nest Incident: America’s Worst Industrial Disaster Catherine Venable Moore’s “The Book of the Dead” in Oxford American: https://oxfordamerican.org/magazine/issue-94-fall-2016/the-book-of-the-dead Muriel Rukeyser's Book of the Dead George Robinson’s Congressional Testimony NPR’s reporting on the Hawk’s Nest Tunnel: https://www.npr.org/2019/01/20/685821214/before-black-lung-the-hawks-nest-tunnel-disaster-killed-hundreds See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    42 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
  • Clean Energy, Dirty Mines: The Dark Story of Congo Cobalt

    Clean Energy, Dirty Mines: The Dark Story of Congo Cobalt
    Jan 19 2026
    The device you’re using to listen to this podcast almost certainly contains cobalt. It’s a vital component of rechargeable batteries, which are essential to electric vehicles, laptops, and smartphones. But most of the world’s known cobalt reserves are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where mines are plagued by child labor, human trafficking, and deadly working conditions. Featured in this episode: Siddharth Kara Sources: Siddharth Kara’s book Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives and his report “Blood Batteries” https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/beacons-of-excellence/rights-lab/resources/reports-and-briefings/2025/august/blood-batteries.pdf Nicolas Niarchos’ reporting in The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/31/the-dark-side-of-congos-cobalt-rush Amnesty International’s report “This is What We Die For” https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/this_what_we_die_for_-_report.pdf See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    40 mins
    Free with 30-day trial