Episodes

This is Climate Justice, Y'all!, a podcast dedicated to lifting up and centering the climate and environmental justice movement in the South. Climate Justice, Y'all This season, without planning it, maps a clear throughline from plantations to pollution, while spotlighting living in a new technological and political age. Tune in to hear the hosts discuss the overarching narrative of the season, their favorite episodes and topics, and what they hope for the future of the podcast and our planet. A...

This is Climate Justice, Y'all!, a podcast dedicated to lifting up and centering the climate and environmental justice movement in the South. Climate Justice, Y'all In this episode, we’re joined by Jaha Nailah Avery, host and reporter of The Corridor, a Threshold series about “history, pollution, and resistance on the front lines of America’s petrochemical industry” (thresholdpodcast.org/the-corridor). Jaha recounts her experiences with The Corridor, from developing the pitch, to hearing the per...

This is Climate Justice, Y'all!, a podcast dedicated to lifting up and centering the climate and environmental justice movement in the South. Climate Justice, Y'all Climate disasters are accelerating, but so are solutions. In this episode, we talk with Cat Hebson (Footprint Project) and Moira Haynes (Empowered by Light) about how climate-resilient tech is helping communities respond to extreme weather and failing infrastructure across the U.S. and the global south. Join us as we hear from these ...

This is Climate Justice, Y'all!, a podcast dedicated to lifting up and centering the climate and environmental justice movement in the South. Climate Justice, Y'all AI data centers are popping up all over the South, extracting resources from communities and increasing power bills. In this episode, we sit down with the leaders of the new Minus AI campaign, Lindsay Harper and Reverend Michael Malcom of our own People’s Justice Council and Power for Southern People Not Southern Company, to unpack w...

This is Climate Justice, Y'all!, a podcast dedicated to lifting up and centering the climate and environmental justice movement in the South. Climate Justice, Y'all In this episode, we talk with Chandra Taylor-Sawyer, Senior Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center about Environmental Justice communities in the South, their ties to former plantation lands, and how strategic legal action can empower communities facing environmental harm. Southern Environmental Law Center is a nonprofit, ...

This is Climate Justice, Y'all!, a podcast dedicated to lifting up and centering the climate and environmental justice movement in the South. Climate Justice, Y'all Southerners experience some of the highest rates of energy burden in the country, meaning we spend the highest percentage of income on energy costs. Proper policy can reduce the costs of energy, implement efficiency measures, and discourage political corruption from monopoly energy companies. We’re here with one of the folks working ...

This is Climate Justice, Y'all!, a podcast dedicated to lifting up and centering the climate and environmental justice movement in the South. Climate Justice, Y'all Louisiana is a classic example of fascinating culture and ecosystems at risk due to petrochemical pollution, climate change impacts, and land loss. Unfortunately, many people in the South, US, and world as a whole are having to grapple with the question of whether to move away or adapt to the dangerous environment in the communities ...

This is Climate Justice, Y'all!, a podcast dedicated to lifting up and centering the climate and environmental justice movement in the South. Climate Justice, Y'all Welcome to Season 6 of Climate Justice Y’all, a podcast dedicated to lifting up and centering the climate and EJ movement in the south. In this season, we’ll cover hot topics such as “surviving land loss and finding joy”, “climate adaptation tech”, “corporate sustainability”, and more! In our first episode, we’ll be excitedly introdu...

There is no specific way to organize people to shape policy, though there are many lessons we can gather from indigenous organizing and leadership. Today we’re joined by a powerhouse in the environmental justice and indigenous rights movement- Jacob Johns. His activism involves policy, art, storytelling, and community advocacy – using creative methods to advocate for resistance and resilience. Jacob is a grassroots organizer committed to building Indigenous power on a global scale, traveling aro...

Indigenous advocates have been at the frontlines of environmental protection and climate action for hundreds of years in the face of colonization and continue to face violence today. Despite indigenous people comprising just over 6% of the global population, they steward and protect a vast majority of the planet’s biodiversity and critical water sources. Whether it’s the way we extract resources, the way we teach history, or the way we treat each others- we need to think about how to center indi...

The US is not necessarily in good standing on the international stage, and many young people feel that domestic and global climate policy do not represent their interests. There’s a need for leaders to take courageous action to address these challenges. A frequently asked question by politicians and leaders is “how can youth get involved in the climate and environmental justice movement”. In this episode we bring Youth Climate Policy Council founders Analyah Schlaeger dos Santos and Ren Martin t...

This is Climate Justice, Y'all!, a podcast dedicated to lifting up and centering the climate and environmental justice movement in the South. Climate Justice, Y'all The Global South (AKA the global majority or folks typically south of the equator) and the US South have more in common than people think. Today, we’ll examine how extraction, suffering, and the powerful elite have shaped our warming planet, and dig into what grassroot advocates are pushing for to secure a fair and livable future—fro...

In a world impacted by climate change and uncontrolled growth and extraction, actions and careers that deal with moving money, building businesses, and expanding nonprofits, at first glance, feels counterintuitive to acting on climate change. However, there are many people, especially those representing marginalized groups, whose entrepreneurship is dedicated to building up communities and stewarding quote, “an ecosystem of opportunity”. In this episode, we hear from Tamara Toles O'Laughlin, Pre...

When we talk about climate change, a lot of people picture melting ice caps, heat waves, or rising sea levels. But one major piece of the puzzle often gets overlooked—our health. The same pollution that’s driving climate change is also impacting our bodies in ways we might not even realize. From lung disease to learning disabilities, from asthma attacks to mental health. In this episode we’re talking with Dr. Anne Mellinger Birdsong, Health Advisor with Mothers & Others for Clean Air, about how ...

In a climate changed world, we must address that challenges that AI data centers bring and support local organizations like Tennessee’s Protect Our Aquifer that are fighting for our communities. In this episode, we hear from Protect Our Aquifer's Executive Director, Sarah Houston, about some of the challenges they're facing related to AI data centers. NPR states that the average AI data center consumes 300,000 gallons of water a day, and there aren’t clear regulations to stop mega companies like...

In this episode, we’re bringing in Memphis Community Against Pollution director KeShaun Pearson to reflect on the renewable source of people power against injustice. Artificial Intelligence, or AI, requires massive data centers, and the data centers require massive amounts of energy and water to function. AI data centers are popping up all over the US, including Virginia, Texas, and Tennessee, and there’s little existing regulation that holds them accountable to the communities they occupy. “The...

Welcome back to Climate Justice, Y'all! In this episode we're kicking off season 5 with a conversation with William Barber III from the Rural Beacon Initiative and Katie Thomas from the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center as they talk about climate justice and federal funding. Federal efforts are illegally disrupting promised financing to everyone from the Department of Education and FEMA, to local community organizations. In this episode, we will bring in two experts to discuss the impact o...

Welcome to the season finale! In this episode, we’re highlighting the incredible work of Democracy Green, an Afro-Indigenous-led conservation organization based in Western North Carolina. Hurricane Helene devastated Appalachia months ago, and while many are still rebuilding, Democracy Green’s dynamic duo, Mama Sanja Whittington and her daughter La’Meshia Whittington remind us that neighbors and networks are the first responders in times of crisis. Their approach is rooted in relationship-buildin...

Abigail and Marésha sit down and talk with Nina Morgan, former climate and environmental justice organizer for GASP. Nina is a graduate of UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) where she studied Anthropology and Sociology. Nina mapped over 3,000 trees on campus using GIS and served as a decathelete in the 2017 DOE Solar Decathlon competition. Nina is also a co-founder of the Magic City Youth Initiative, where she works to uplift and support a youth-led movement for social justice in the Grea...

Welcome four the fourth season of Climate Justice, Ya'll! We're revisiting the conversation with Nina Morgan from season 1 episode 7 "Nina Morgan on Climate & Environmental Justice in Alabama" After listening to this episode, go listen to the first part of the conversation. Whether you're a new listener, or have been with us for a while, it's a great conversation to revisit. Environmental justice (EJ) is the principle that everyone deserves clean air, water, and land no matter their background, ...

On this episode of Climate Justice, Y’all, we are joined by Jeannie Economos of the Farmworker Association of Florida. Jeannie’s title is Pesticide Safety and Environmental Health Project Coordinator. She’s been with the Farmworker Association for more than 20 years. She focuses on issues related to farmworkers’ exposure to pesticides. She is also coordinator of the Lake Apopka Farmworker Memorial Quilt Project, which memorializes the former farm workers on Lake Apopka who were exposed to toxic ...

Welcome to the fourth season of Climate Justice, Ya’ll! We’re revisiting the conversation with Jeannie Economos of the Farmworker Association of Florida, from season 1 episode 4 "Talking Labor with Jeannie Economos.” After listening to this episode, go listen to the first part of the conversation. Whether you’re a new listener or have been with us for a while, it’s a great conversation to revisit. In this episode, co-hosts Mareshah Malcom and Abigail Franks speak with Domonique O'Connor and Jean...

Justin J. Pearson is the fourth son of five boys born to teenage parents in Memphis, Tennessee. Justin J. graduated from Mitchell High School as Valedictorian and Bowdoin College in 2017 majoring in both Government & Legal Studies and Education Studies. Justin J. is also a leader of Memphis Community Against Pollution and co-founder of Memphis Community Against the Pipeline (MCAP) which is a Black-led environmental justice organization that successfully defeated a multi-billion dollar company's ...

Welcome four the fourth season of Climate Justice, Ya'll! We're revisiting the conversation with Justin J. Pearson, now known as Representative Pearson, from season 2 episode 14 "The Kids Are Alright (Part I)." After listening to this episode, go listen to the first part of the conversation. Whether you're a new listener, or have been with us for a while, it's a great conversation to revisit. In this episode co-hosts Mareshah Malcom and Abigail Franks speak with Tennessee House Representative Ju...