Environmental Podcasts
The MIT undergraduates of 21H.187, “US Environmental Governance: From National Parks to the Green New Deal,” created podcast segments tackling pressing issues in the present with much longer histories.
“Whales, Fossil Fuels, and Climate”
By Lucy Brock (MIT) and Amanda Zhu (MIT). How have marine and freshwater ecosystems been impacted by energy production, and what lessons might they hold for climate mitigation?
“Pipelines and Indigenous Land”
By Elise Echarte (MIT), Ella Gersak (MIT), and Asmi Pareek. How did the US government claim Indigenous land under the banner of environmental management throughout history, from national parks to pipelines?
“Land Use and Misuse”
By Mark Mosser (MIT) and Olivia Schirm (MIT). Who gets access to land, how did farming become a land management priority, and what have been the social and environmental consequences of that priority?
“Energy through the Eras”
By Jack Lin (MIT), Cameron Kokesh (MIT), and Karla Ravin (MIT). How did US energy policies help to change energy use across the nation, from water and wood to fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewable sources?
“Back to the Trash”
By Julia Howarth (MIT) and Brendan Vaughan (MIT). How did US attitudes toward “waste” change over time, and how did waste become visible from US continental expansion to the modern environmental movement?
“Blast to the Past: Sustainable Development”
By Kathryn Tso (MIT) and Andrea Lo (MIT). How did US attitudes toward international development change from its origins in the Cold War to recent debates about sustainability in the Paris Climate Accords?
“Beepocalypse”
By Anna Lander (MIT) and Allison King (MIT). What can the history of collective panic about DDT use after Rachel Carson's game-changer Silent Spring (1962) tell us about more recent fears about pesticides' damaging impact on bee populations, or "beepocalypse"?
“Going for the Green and the Gold”
By Nico Salinas (MIT). Los Angeles hosted the Olympics in 1932, 1984 and has the bid for 2028. How did the United States' approach to environmental governance change across these global events?
“Climate Justice in Historical Perspective”
By April Xie (MIT) and Delia Stephens (MIT). Access to the benefits of nonhuman nature has not been equally shared. What is the history behind the recent climate justice movement in the US? How might someone like Lady Bird Johnson help us think through these changes?