In June 2023, EcoRight Speaks podcast host Chelsea Henderson and I joined forces looking to mix things up for Season 7. We wanted to ensure we were bringing a truly community-inspired podcast season to the airwaves. We polled the EcoRight, asking who they wanted to hear from and what topics they wanted to hear about. And we delivered. After all, accountability is important to us.
Our top requests revolved around climate change and economics. In response, we had American Action Forum’s economist, Doug Holtz-Eakin, talk with us about the carbon tax “gold standard.” We also brought on Roderick Scott from the Flood Mitigation Industry Association to show the economic impacts of climate-related disasters. News flash: flooding in Louisiana affects how much home insurance you pay in Ohio.
Many of our community shared that they love having a farm-related podcast guest on the show. This led us to invite University of Idaho agricultural economics grad student Colby Field. Colby, a multigenerational farmer, taught us that storing carbon in farm fields has so far been an “untapped” resource.
Some EcoRighters wanted to hear from specific people, including the former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman, Neil Chatterjee, who we’ve now featured twice. His recent episode also covered cries for a guest versed in permitting reform. Listen to his first episode here.
One long-time listener asked if we’d make an episode on the increase of ticks and Lyme disease due to climate change, which we discussed in our episode with Amanda Blanchet and Ethan Sims from Idaho Clinicians for Climate and Health.
And finally, we brought on HVAC gurus Nate Adams and Alexander Gard-Murray to talk about the mystery of heat pumps and their promise to reduce carbon output – another highly requested topic.
January 2024 was a podcast programming month in which Chelsea has been working hard to secure our EcoRight Speaks Season 8 guest roster. Stay tuned for our February 27th launch date! We’re listening. Are you listening, EcoRight?
Every month, republicEn asks 3 Questions for the EcoRight to learn more about our community.