New podcast tackles hot-button energy and climate topics
As inaugural journalism fellow at University of Chicago's new climate institute, I'm co-host of Shocked
Is there such a thing as a “bad” use of energy? How can we demystify geoengineering? Why do vultures matter? What does Moneyball—that book (and movie) about baseball—teach us about environmental issues? And how does artificial intelligence fit into most of this?
These are a few of the wide-ranging questions we’re tackling in a new narrative podcast from the University of Chicago, launching today. It’s called Shocked, because we hope the topics, findings and insights surprise you.
Listen to Shocked here!
This isn’t your typical energy-expert podcast where Expert A expounds upon Expert B. That niche is crowded and insular. We want to reach a broader audience by making these important topics more accessible and engaging.
I’m your host in my new role as the inaugural journalism fellow for UChicago’s Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth. I’m joined by Michael Greenstone, the institute’s founder, who brings his humble wit and expertise to every episode. As part of my fellowship, I will also moderate events at UChicago this school year. It feels good to be back—I held a similar fellowship at the university’s Energy Policy Institute in 2018–2019.
Each episode runs about 30 minutes, including a debrief between Michael and me. We know you don’t have all day—and I do work at Axios, home of Smart Brevity—so we aim to enlighten without taking up your afternoon.
I’ll occasionally feature an episode in my Axios coverage, starting with episode one, where I go on an energy self-discovery journey. You can listen here or wherever you get your podcasts, and read my Axios story here.
Speaking of, thank you for all the well wishes last week about my new role at Axios. I am working my way through your messages, and I hope to respond soon if I haven’t already!
Another component of the podcast that excites me is the global scope: we talk with guests from India, Guyana, Australia and beyond. Climate change and energy touch every corner of the world in different ways, and Shocked embraces that.
This project was a true team effort—thank you to colleagues at UChicago, our production firm Magnificent Noise and marketing firm Bumper for helping bring it to life. And of course — thank you to our listeners, which I hope will include YOU!
Episode one is out now. I hope you’ll give it a listen—and let me know what you think: amy@amyharder.com.