Hollywood, Baseball, Cage Fights, and… Climate

Hollywood, Baseball, Cage Fights, and… Climate

Author: Climate One from The Commonwealth Club July 31, 2026 Duration: 1:03:03
When it comes to climate, we have the facts, but we aren’t moving fast enough. So we need to get climate education and solutions into the places where people already spend their time. Pop culture offers endless opportunities to influence audiences – your favorite movie or TV character can feel like a friend whose views on climate might affect your own. In this episode, we connect moments like this to the broader media environment shaping how we understand the world. Can you be masculine and care about the climate? Can watching a character take charge of the future onscreen actually change what people believe they can do in real life? And can the stories we consume ultimately shape public attitudes and even policy outcomes? Guests:  Allison Begalman, Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Context Collaborative; Co-founder, Hollywood Climate Summit Michael P. Haselhuhn, Associate Professor of Management, University of California, Riverside Brent Suter, Baseball player, Los Angeles Angels; EcoAthletes Climate Champion Highlights: 00:00 – Introduction  5:00 – Allison Begalman on why it’s important for climate to show up in popular culture 8:45 – Unpacking a climate-themed scene from the show “Hacks” 13:00 – Unpacking a climate-themed scene from “The Morning Show” 16:30 – Bringing new people in at the Hollywood Climate Summit 23:15 – Michael P. Haselhuhn on how men’s views on masculinity and climate change are linked 33:25 – Masculinity is multifaceted 34:30 – Kousha goes to an MMA cage fight to ask guys about their views on masculinity 40:15 – Brent Suter on where he got his nickname, “The Raptor” 42:00 – His reaction to seeing “An Inconvenient Truth” as a young person 44:00 – Speaking out against fossil fuel endorsements for pro sports 49:20 – Suter on how his faith drives his climate activism 54:30 – How Suter talks to his teammates about climate and the environment 57:40 – Climate One More ThingFor show notes and related links, visit our episode page at ClimateOne.org *** Join Climate One for an electric conversation on September 1 at 6 p.m. between PG&E CEO Patti Poppe and California State Senator Scott Wiener about energy affordability, outages, and whether cities like San Francisco are ready to break up with the investor owned utility model. Tickets available at climateone.org/events  *** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today. *** Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The conversation about our changing planet is often reduced to headlines and political noise, but Climate One moves beyond that. Hosted by Greg Dalton, Ariana Brocious and Kousha Navidar, this podcast from The Commonwealth Club creates a space for the full, complex dialogue we need. Each episode features candid discussions with scientists, policymakers, activists, and thinkers who are on the front lines. The focus is on drawing connections-between personal action and economic systems, between daunting scientific reports and tangible community solutions. You’ll hear analysis that doesn’t shy away from the severity of our situation while actively exploring pathways for genuine progress, from technology and finance to culture and justice. This isn't about alarmism or easy answers; it's about equipping listeners with a deeper understanding of the intertwined challenges and opportunities. Tuning into this podcast means joining a crucial exploration of how we adapt, mitigate, and fundamentally rethink our relationship with the natural world. The dialogue here is built on the idea that confronting the climate emergency honestly, in all its facets, is the first necessary step toward shaping a livable future.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Climate One
Podcast Episodes
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Won't Stop Talking About Climate [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:18
How should Democrats campaign on climate? Some are quietly shelving climate-specific language ahead of the midterms in favor of terms like “energy crisis” and “affordability.” But Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island…
As the Midterms Approach, What’s Electrifying the Electorate? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:15
As the 2026 midterms approach, voters are contending with concerns around affordability, the AI boom, and climate disruption in their daily lives. AI data centers have become the wild card in energy politics, driving up…
New Nuclear, Old Challenges. What Now? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:45
Growing power demands – coupled with increasingly frequent climate-driven disasters – have led even staunch environmentalists like NRDC head Manish Bapna to rethink their past opposition to nuclear power. Three Mile Isla…
The Little EVs That Could Displace Big Oil [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:38
While most Americans think of a truck or a sedan when they hear “electric vehicle,” a quiet revolution is happening in other countries on two and three wheels. In China and India, the electric vehicles doing the most to…
ENCORE: Protest and Beyond: Annie Leonard On What You Can Do [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:50
Protest is the ultimate in equal-opportunity political action. As Annie Leonard, former executive director of Greenpeace USA says, “Making change is like laying a stone path across the garden. Peaceful protest may be eve…
It’s Too Damn Hot… So What Can We Do? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:39
We all complain about the heat, yet it's a climate threat we routinely underestimate. In the U.S., extreme heat kills more people each year than floods, fires and hurricanes combined. About 16,000 excess deaths were reco…
ENCORE: Benji Backer and Katharine Hayhoe on Finding Common Ground [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:23
At a time when nearly everything feels polarized, Benji Backer is trying to carve out a different path, one where caring about the natural world isn’t a partisan issue. As the founder of Nature Is Nonpartisan, he’s bring…
How Do I Say This… [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:22
It’s becoming increasingly clear that how we talk about climate change matters as much as the science or policy itself. The words we use carry weight, and climate communicator Susan Joy Hassol says specific word choices,…