Episodes
Published 03/28/24
Plants take in CO2 from the air to grow—and today’s atmosphere has about 50% more CO2 than it did before we started burning massive amounts of fossil fuels. So, is that great news for plants?
Published 03/28/24
People all around the world write into our team with questions about climate change. So this season, we’re working with scientists and experts at MIT and beyond, to answer those questions in language we can all understand.
Published 03/15/24
The United States has a goal to power the country with 100% clean electricity by 2035. Unfortunately, our energy regulations are not set up to make this much change this quickly. Energy economist John Parsons of MIT joins the show to explain how much clean energy infrastructure we need to build, the obstacles to building it, and reform ideas to transform our energy system on the timeline our climate goals demand.
Published 12/07/23
The large majority of new energy we’re building today comes from clean, renewable wind and solar projects. But to keep building wind and solar at this pace, we need energy storage: technologies that save energy when the weather is favorable, and use it when wind and sun are scarce.
Published 11/30/23
We all want to live full, healthy lives. But climate change is threatening a growing number of people’s lives and well-being. So we’ve invited a guest on the show to help us see climate change not in tons of carbon dioxide, but as a matter of health.
Published 11/16/23
We were going to produce an episode on El Niño, and its relationship to climate change. And then we found out that Outside/In, from New Hampshire Public Radio, already did that. And they did a really good job.
Published 11/09/23
If you live in the U.S. Mountain West, the Pacific Coast of the Americas, or large parts of Australia or southern Europe, there’s a good chance a major wildfire has passed near you in the last five or six years—maybe one more intense than anything you’ve ever heard of in your area. But why exactly are wildfires getting worse? Is climate change entirely to blame? And what should we be preparing for next?
Published 11/02/23
Today we’re talking about desalination: turning saltwater into freshwater, so we can drink it or use it to grow crops. And we’re talking about this because, in many parts of the world, freshwater is getting harder to come by. So… is converting saltwater a good solution?
Published 10/26/23
Refrigerants are in every refrigerator, freezer and air conditioner, and the world is on track to make a lot more of them in the years to come. They’re also powerful greenhouse gases: often thousands of times more warming than carbon dioxide.
Published 10/19/23
Carbon dioxide—CO2—is the greenhouse gas you’ve probably heard most about, on this podcast and elsewhere. But it turns out, methane is an incredibly important greenhouse gas too.
Published 10/12/23
You probably know that today’s climate change is caused by certain gases—what scientists call greenhouse gases—that human activity has been adding to our atmosphere. But—how do these gases actually keep heat from escaping into space? And why these gases in particular?
Published 10/05/23
On October 5, TILclimate is returning for our fifth season! If you're looking to get smart quick on climate change – without the jargon and without the politicking – this podcast is for you! In each episode, we work with experts at MIT and beyond to explain climate change science and solutions in fifteen minutes or less.
Published 09/21/23
On August 16, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It was the largest of three bills signed over the course of 10 months that together make up the United States’ largest investment in addressing climate change… well, ever. Dr. Liz Reynolds, lecturer in MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning and former Special Assistant to the President for Manufacturing and Economic Development at the National Economic Council at the White House, joins the...
Published 08/16/23
On Wednesday, April 19, TILclimate will host its first live event at the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts! Reserve your seat at tilclimate.org to watch a live recording and join the questions as your host Laur Hesse Fisher sits down with MIT lecturer and former Special Assistant to the President for Manufacturing and Economic Development Dr. Elisabeth Reynolds about “America’s big year of climate action” and the course set for U.S. climate policy in 2021-22.
Published 04/11/23
We often hear about recycling as a way to make an impact on climate change right in your own home. But how big a difference are we really making when we recycle?
Published 02/16/23
Winters are warming faster than any other season here in the U.S. So why are some winter storms getting even more intense? Today, we’re going to explore the connections between climate change and extreme winter weather.
Published 12/15/22
What if you could pay someone else to cancel out your carbon emissions? For this episode, we sat down with Dr. Barbara Haya from the University of California Berkeley to talk about how “carbon offsets” work and whether they are an effective tool for slowing climate change.
Published 11/17/22
Roughly ten percent of the world’s CO2 emissions come from passenger vehicles: cars, pickups, motorcycles, buses, and taxis. So today, we’re going to zoom in on how people get around every day and what to consider when thinking about reducing carbon emissions from everyday travel.
Published 09/15/22
Electric vehicles (EVs) are being touted as a major solution to climate change. But why is that? How do they work and what kinds of changes are needed as more EVs hit the road? To dig into this, we brought in MIT Sloan Prof. David Keith, who studies transportation technology.
Published 08/25/22
Hydrogen gas acts like a fossil fuel, but with no carbon emissions. Is it the silver bullet we’ve been waiting for? Prof. Svetlana Ikonnikova of the Technical University of Munich joins us to bring light to how hydrogen works and its potential in the energy transition.
Published 07/14/22
The ocean is a critical piece of the climate change puzzle. It's estimated that the ocean has absorbed about one third of the excess CO2 humans have added to the atmosphere and more than 90% of trapped heat in the atmosphere. So, today, we’re going underwater to talk about the ocean and climate change with renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle.
Published 06/02/22
The ocean is a critical piece of the climate change puzzle. It's estimated that the ocean has absorbed about one third of the excess CO2 humans have added to the atmosphere and more than 90% of trapped heat in the atmosphere. So, today, we’re going underwater to talk about the ocean and climate change with renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle.
Published 06/02/22
At MIT, we have a commitment to sharing what we know about climate change. That’s why, this summer, we’ll be back soon with a fourth season of TILclimate, bringing you new episodes that dive into even more climate topics, like the role the ocean plays in our climate, solutions for reducing transportation emissions, the future of hydrogen energy, and a whole lot more. All around 10-15 minutes, with real scientists and experts.
Published 05/05/22
When people talk about how much it costs to stop climate change, what are we paying for? And who’s paying, exactly? And if we don’t pay to stop climate change – how much will that cost us?
Published 02/03/22