Welcome to Carbon Cowboys

Welcome to Carbon Cowboys

Author: Pushkin Industries May 5, 2026 Duration: 4:21

For decades we’ve heard that “the markets” will solve the climate crisis. On Drilled: Carbon Cowboys, we put that theory to the test, following Bruce Rastetter, a corn ethanol kingpin-turned-carbon entrepreneur from Iowa to Brazil, and asking the big questions: Are these “climate solutions” actually reducing emissions? Is CO2 increasing or decreasing as carbon becomes a commodity? Or is green colonialism just as extractive as the regular sort?

Drilled: Carbon Cowboys begins on May 12th. Pushkin+ subscribers can hear episodes early and ad-free. Find Pushkin+ on the Drilled show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus

 

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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: 100

Drilled
Podcast Episodes
Introducing The Black Thread: The Norwegians [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:10
Over the next few weeks, we're sharing a new mini-series, The Black Thread, about Norway's complicated relationship with its identity as both a progressive leader and oil state.Social norms and cultural values shape Norw…
Facing Climate Despair: How to Cope with Wen Stephenson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:32
The climate crisis can feel overwhelming—to witness venture-capital-fueled AI domination, democracy’s steady drift toward authoritarianism, state-sanctioned genocide, and the collapse of one climate boundary after anothe…
How the Fossil Fuel Industry Sabotages Climate Action [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:24
The fossil fuel industry has undoubtedly played a central role in obstructing climate action through lobbying, impacting political influence, and spreading disinformation. Academic Kristoffer Ekberg (Lund University), no…
How The Media Drives Climate Obstruction [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:33
Climate obstruction would not be nearly as effective as it is without the influence of the public relations industry and the willful ignorance of mainstream media. Melissa Aronczyk (Rutgers University) and Max Boycoff (U…
Why Misinformation Works: The Psychology Behind Climate Disinformation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:17
Why does misinformation spread like wildfire—and why is it so hard to correct? Climate communication researchers John Cook (University of Melbourne) and Dominik A. Stecula (Colorado State University) explain the psycholo…
How Rightwing Populism and Accelerationism Fuels Climate Denial [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:33
Jesse Bryant (Yale University) and Dieter Plehwe (University of Kassel) examine the growing connection between right-wing populism, climate change denial, and resistance to climate policy. They explore how rising authori…
Why Political Will is the Real Barrier to Climate Action [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:46
Despite at least a decade of scientific certainty, proposed technological solutions, and policy measures, the world still hasn’t acted on the climate crisis. The problem is a lack of political will—and how it’s been inte…
Integration: Bringing Men Into the Climate Movement [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:50
The bros of the manosphere love to talk about "integrating" a man's warrior and civilized selves, but what would it look like to integrate men, and new ideas of masculinity, into the climate movement? Who is already doin…