How Climate Obstruction Works at the Local Level

How Climate Obstruction Works at the Local Level

Author: Pushkin Industries November 4, 2025 Duration: 34:08

Local governments are a double-edged sword when it comes to climate policy, with the power to either do far more or far less than national governments. They can be an agent of change or an agent of obstruction. Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo (Christopher Newport University) and Joshua A. Basseches (Tulane University) walk us through how subnational governments, like states and municipalities, work and how they engage in climate obstruction.

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There’s a story behind the stalled progress on climate change that goes beyond melting ice and rising seas-it’s a story of deliberate deception. Drilled, from Pushkin Industries, approaches the climate crisis through the lens of investigative true crime. Led by veteran reporter Amy Westervelt and a team of award-winning climate journalists, this podcast meticulously traces how networks of corporate interests and political operatives constructed a decades-long campaign of denial and delay. Each season is a deep forensic examination, pulling on threads of new evidence to unravel systems of disinformation and hidden power. What you’ll hear isn’t just a recap of scientific reports, but a gripping narrative that follows the paper trail, the leaked memos, and the orchestrated efforts that have held meaningful action just out of reach. The result is a compelling and often unsettling listen that reframes our understanding of the past half-century. By treating climate inaction as a crime story, this podcast reveals the human architects and the calculated strategies that brought us here, making complex collusion startlingly clear. Tune in for a masterclass in accountability journalism.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 247

Drilled
Podcast Episodes
Introducing: Hazard NYC [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:23
Check out the limited-run series Hazard NYC from The City, all about how climate change intersects with Superfund sites in New York City. Start with episode one here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Past, Present, and Future of Climate Protest with Dana R. Fisher [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:42
Sociologist Dana R. Fisher draws on years of research in her new book, Saving Ourselves, to explore what makes climate protests effective, what a protest "working" even means, where the climate movement is likely to go n…
The "EcoTerrorist" Panic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:32
The United States' governments definition of "ecoterrorism" has long fueled backlash against environmental activists. Investigative reporter and Drilled senior editor Alleen Brown uncovers how the Department of Homeland…
How UK Courts Became the New Battleground for Climate Protest [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:32
A decade after United Kingdom courts made history with the first "climate necessity" ruling in history, the UK government has passed new laws that not only restrict what protesters can do, but also how protesters are all…