Introducing “How We Survive”

To get off fossil fuels, you need a lot of batteries. To get a lot of batteries, you need to mine a lot of lithium. Welcome to Thacker Pass, Nevada, where a proposed lithium mine has sparked protests from farmers, ranchers and the native Paiute–Shoshone tribe.

Some ...

Mining is a complicated business. It’s destructive, it’s dangerous. But in order to get the lithium we need to power the energy transition, mining could be a necessary evil.

In this episode, we go from protests in South America to a gold mine in Nevada, where we tak ...

The International Energy Agency last month held its first ever summit</ ...

Hey smarties! We’re on a break for the holidays and revisiting some favorite episodes from 2022. We want to say a big thank-you for being part of the “Make Me Smart” family this year — every voicemail, question and donation made a huge difference. None of us is as smart as all of ...  Show more

We often talk about “the energy transition”. In this episode, we discuss what it means to be in the middle of that transition. Earlier this month, California was able to avoid blackouts as people came together to cut their electricity use. In Europe, leaders struggling to bala ...

Ever wonder how our food choices impact the climate? Or how to make smarter selections when it comes to buying fast fashion? Us, too! “How We Survive’s” Burning Questions video series explores those questions we’ve all had about how our actions contribute to the climate crisis. J ...  Show more