The Everglades: Wowee

"Déjà News," hosted by Rachel Maddow, peels back the layers of Florida's turbulent political history, aligning the dots between past and present to unravel how conservative counter-culture movements have shaped—and continue to mold—the state's legislative fabric. Rachel Maddow alongside a diverse panel of experts, including C. Farris Bryant, Isaac-Davy Aronson, and Stacy Braukman, delves into the dark legacy of the infamous Johns Committee's witch-hunt against the LGBTQ+ community and dissenting academics, illustrating its dramatic fallout that echoes into today's sociopolitical climate.

This thought-provoking episode dissects the striking parallels between the anti-woke policies wielded by Governor Ron DeSantis and the state's history of conservative backlash against civil rights progress, as enlightened by voices like Charley Johns, Robert Bucellato, and Shevrin Jones. Through its nuanced perspectives, the podcast serves as an imperative reminder of the cyclical nature of political power, while teasing the potential for a pendulum swing back to centrism as Florida's demographic landscape evolves and the state grapples with its reactionary legacy. Join Maddow and her guests as they prognosticate on the potential resurgence of moderation in the face of ideological extremes.

Though it’s become widely accepted that climate change is real, the questions still remain of what steps we should take to fix the damage and whether they'll be enough. Many scientists and activists believe that the climate has already passed a tipping point and that environmental catastrophe is inevitable. In Apocalypse Never, award-winning science writer Michael Shellenberger says that it’s time to assess the crisis from a rational perspective. He argues that we’re in a much better position to curb climate change than alarmists would have us believe, and that people who bend scientific truth in order to spur environmental action are doing more harm than good.

In this guide, we’ll explain Shellenberger’s argument that environmental alarmists overstate their claims and that there’s ground for hope for our planet’s future. We’ll also look at counter-arguments to Shellenberger’s claims and examine what independent research says about the solutions he suggests. We’ll point to recent developments in industry, agriculture, and the political climate that frame the conversation around climate change.

In The Sixth Extinction, journalist Elizabeth Kolbert argues that by drastically changing the shape of the earth and the composition of the atmosphere, humans have set in motion a sixth mass extinction that may one day be our undoing. The book revisits five previous mass extinction events spanning five hundred million years and compares them to the rapid, widespread extinctions underway today of a range of species including frogs, corals, birds, and rhinos.

These extinctions are a consequence of human-created global warming and ocean acidification, the destruction and fragmentation of forests, and our spread of invasive species around the world. What’s more, these actions will determine the course of life on the planet long after our species is gone.

In Silent Spring, biologist Rachel Carson condemns the widespread use of pesticides in the 20th century, arguing that these chemicals threaten to devastate the natural environment and poison animals and humans alike. Carson advocates stricter regulation of pesticides by the US government, limited spraying, and the use of biological (rather than chemical) controls. Though Carson’s book was controversial and widely condemned by chemical companies, it’s been credited as an inspiration for the environmentalist movement of the 1970s, the formation of the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the banning of the pesticide DDT.

This guide will explore Carson’s criticisms of pesticides and proposals for change, including discussions of what pesticides do, how they’re used, and what alternatives exist for pest control. We’ll also discuss evolutions in science since the book was published in 1962, backlash to and criticism of Carson’s findings, and the book’s influence on American environmental policy.

Though it’s become widely accepted that climate change is real, the questions still remain of what steps we should take to fix the damage and whether they'll be enough. Many scientists and activists believe that the climate has already passed a tipping point and that environmental catastrophe is inevitable. In Apocalypse Never, award-winning science writer Michael Shellenberger says that it’s time to assess the crisis from a rational perspective. He argues that we’re in a much better position to curb climate change than alarmists would have us believe, and that people who bend scientific truth in order to spur environmental action are doing more harm than good.

In this guide, we’ll explain Shellenberger’s argument that environmental alarmists overstate their claims and that there’s ground for hope for our planet’s future. We’ll also look at counter-arguments to Shellenberger’s claims and examine what independent research says about the solutions he suggests. We’ll point to recent developments in industry, agriculture, and the political climate that frame the conversation around climate change.

Scientists warn that the Great Salt Lake could dry up in the next five years because evaporation from the lake exceeds inflow. If the lake goes dry, it will have severe ecological and economic consequences for Utah, including loss of the brine shrimp industry, potash brine industry, migratory bird habitat, and possibly toxic dust storms. Can the danger be averted?

In the latest NPR News Now episode, Kristin Wright, along with her fellow reporters Franco Ordoñez, Dara Kerr, Alejandra Borunda, and Michael Regan, navigate pressing global and domestic issues, ranging from tense international diplomacy to corporate upheavals and committed climate change initiatives. The episode features an in-depth exploration of a ceasefire deal that could catalyze the return of hostages in Gaza, including a young American girl caught in a geopolitical deadlock. The team also examines President Biden's endorsement of this agreement against the backdrop of the US's successful track record in international negotiations.

The conversation then shifts focus to the stirring events at OpenAI, where employee unrest leads to the reappointment of Sam Altman as CEO and promises of board restructuring to address governance issues within this prominent AI research firm. Furthermore, Wright delves into the Biden administration's vow to allocate $2 billion towards bolstering resilience against climate change in underserved communities, a move elucidated by Borunda and brought into sharper relief by Regan's commitment to engage with the most affected populations. This episode of NPR News Now is a compelling amalgamation of diplomacy, business, and environmental policy, offering listeners nuanced insights into the mechanisms of change and the actions of leadership across these critical arenas.

The Colorado River provides water, electricity, and food to tens of millions of US citizens. The river is rapidly drying up due to mismanagement and the ongoing drought in the Western US. The seven Colorado River Basin states have struck a deal with the Biden administration to drastically reduce their water consumption through the end of 2026, which they hope will stabilize the water supply for the short term.

A Promised Land is Barack Obama’s memoir of his early political career and the first two years of his presidency. Obama takes us on his journey from relative obscurity as a biracial kid from Hawaii to becoming a transformative figure as the nation’s first African-American president. At every step of his career, Obama was guided by a deep faith in the fundamental unity of Americans; the potential and promise of America; the necessity of compromise and seeking common ground; and above all, the power of the democratic system to heal our divisions and effect real change for ordinary people.