Dr. Michael Mann on Climate Science Under Siege and Why It Matters Now

Dr. Michael Mann is Presidential Distinguished Professor of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He also serves as Director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media, and Vice Provost for Climate Science Action and Policy.

Dr. Mann first entered the public consciousness in the late 1990s with his "hockey stick graph," a reconstruction of Earth’s climate history over the past 1,000 years. The graph became both a cornerstone of climate science and a lightning rod for controversy. Since then, he has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers, co-founded realclimate.org, and written five books—most recently, Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth’s Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis.

Having spent nearly three decades fighting climate misinformation and defending the scientific record, Dr. Mann has witnessed multiple waves of public consciousness around climate change. In this episode, we hear his perspective on how public sentiment has evolved, where we stand today, and his views on what he sees as a coordinated campaign to block climate action.

Dr. Mann doesn’t pull punches. He names names, draws direct lines between fossil fuel interests and political actors, and isn’t shy about calling out what he views as bad-faith tactics across the political spectrum.

Episode recorded on May 21, 2025 (Published on Jul 22, 2025)

In this episode, we cover: 

• ⁠[1:51]⁠ DiCaprio based Don’t Look Up character on Michael
• ⁠[4:26]⁠ Why Michael’s center combines science and media
• ⁠[5:27]⁠ Communication is today’s biggest climate challenge
• ⁠[7:27]⁠ The story and impact of the “hockey stick” graph
• ⁠[13:17]⁠ How fossil fuel interests targeted his work and reputation
• ⁠[15:32]⁠ Russia’s modern climate disinformation tactics
• ⁠[17:22]⁠ Climate denial, delay, doom, distraction, and division
• ⁠[20:26]⁠ Deflection: blame shifted to individual responsibility
• ⁠[21:48]⁠ The progress we’ve made and the need to accelerate solutions
• ⁠[25:17]⁠ Why China may lead in future emissions reductions
• ⁠[29:16]⁠ Methane leaks make gas a major climate threat
• [33:15] What exactly we’re trying to save on the planet
• ⁠[38:22]⁠ How Project 2025 is erasing climate accountability
• ⁠[40:46]⁠ Which climate science institutions are being dismantled
• ⁠[45:09]⁠ What a livable 2050 future could still look like

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant