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by MIT Climate Project

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Latest episodes

Data centers and the race to power AI (part 2)

October 8, 2026 · 16 min

In the first half of our two-parter on data centers and the U.S. energy system, we dug into the challenges that these huge, concentrated electricity users pose for communities and power grids. In this second installment, Prof. Costa…
Data centers and the race to power AI (part 1)

October 8, 2026 · 16 min

At the heart of the explosion in artificial intelligence, there are data centers. Companies are pouring money into these facilities to train and run AI models—and with this massive buildout comes a remarkable appetite for electricity. In…
Dry spells and downpours

July 2, 2026 · 14 min

How can climate change cause both more intense droughts and more severe floods? With help from Prof. Mathew Barlow, we dive into the water cycle on a warming planet, and learn how the basic physics of water moving through the atmosphere…
To the ice sheets with a polar scientist

June 11, 2026 · 14 min

In our previous episode, we spoke with Dr. Sarah Das, a Scientist Emeritus at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, about how climate change is affecting the big polar ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland. She’s been traveling to the…
Polar ice in a warming world

May 28, 2026 · 15 min

The frozen parts of our planet—from sprawling polar ice sheets and floating sea ice to mountain glaciers and frigid soils—face profound risks from climate change. Already, a warmer world has transformed these landscapes, with consequences…

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A hard look at steel

May 14, 2026 · 14 min

From cars and ships to bridges and skyscrapers, steel forms the landscape of modern life. At the same time, steelmaking is one of the world’s biggest industrial sources of climate-warming carbon dioxide. Antoine Allanore, a professor of…
An economist’s guide to climate change

April 30, 2026 · 15 min

Solutions to climate change, like building clean energy, come with a price tag. But unchecked warming also brings serious costs. As we make investments to rein in our climate pollution, how should we weigh costs and benefits? Dr. Jennifer…
Re-air and update: Carbon pricing

April 9, 2026 · 15 min

What exactly is a carbon price, and how does it work? To prepare for a new episode about climate economics, we’re re-airing this season one episode in which MIT professor Christopher Knittel explains economists’ favorite tool for…
The (micro)grid of the future

March 26, 2026 · 14 min

Solar panels, batteries, microgrids, and other emerging energy technologies are making it easier than ever before for a community to produce some or all of its own power. Prof. David Hsu lays out the policies and technologies challenging…
The reshuffling of life on Earth

March 12, 2026 · 15 min

Climate change is putting pressure not only on humans, but also on our fellow species. How can plants, animals, and other living things survive as their habitats are transformed? In this episode, we explore one way: moving. Dr. Toni Lyn…
Taking Earth’s temperature

February 26, 2026 · 14 min

The past three years have been the three hottest humanity has ever measured. But who does the measuring, and how? Dr. Samantha Burgess, of the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, joins the show to explain how we know the…
The nuclear price tag

February 12, 2026 · 13 min

Nuclear power offers huge amounts of round-the-clock energy free of climate-warming pollution. In the United States, it’s also become very expensive to build. As government support grows to bring more nuclear power to the U.S., Prof…

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About the show

Get smart quickly on climate change. This award-winning MIT podcast breaks down the science, technologies, and policies behind climate change, how it’s impacting us, and what our society can do about it. Each quick episode gives you the what, why, and how on climate change — from real scientists — to help us all make informed decisions for our future.