Transportation Series Ep. 2: Mobility Crossroads – Kansas City

We are back with a special 4-part series on transportation justice, trucking, and the climate crisis. In part 2 of this special series we visit Kansas City. Kansas City straddles the border of Missouri and Kansas, serving as a midpoint between the West and East coasts of the United States. This inland port is polluted with rail yards, highways with heavy freight traffic, and petrochemical facilities. In part 2 of The Coolest Show’s Transportation Series, we visit Kansas City and speak with community leaders Beto Lugo-Martinez, the Co-Director of Clean Air Now, and Rachel Jefferson, the Executive Director of Groundwork Northeast Revitalization Group (Groundwork NRG).  They bring to life the importance of fighting for transportation justice, centering on the community, local workers, and the environment.

In this special 4-part series we explore transportation challenges and solutions for which dynamic leaders in frontline communities are fighting. Listen to this episode and the other three in this series. We focus on how the larger movement as well as the new administration can take action now to protect and uplift working class Black and brown communities while putting a meaningful dent in our climate pollution emissions. Transportation and warehousing are a fundamental part of the nation’s economy and one of the most significant contributors to the climate crisis. Trucks make up only 4% of vehicles on the road but contribute a baffling 90% of nitrogen oxide and diesel vehicle emissions. We see this reality in neighborhoods near highways, ports, and inland ports across the nation. Racist interstate planning makes Black and brown people most vulnerable to this pollution, elevating cancer risk and lowering life expectancy. 

Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com!Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood. #BlackLivesMatter  #ClimateJustice  #Think100

Transportation Series Ep. 1: Electrification without Automation – Long Beach

We are back with a special 4-part series on transportation justice, trucking, and the climate crisis. In part 1 of this special series we travel to Long Beach, California to speak with community and national leaders Laura Cortez, the Co-Director of the East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, and Angelo Logan, the Director of the Moving Forward Network. Long Beach is a port city in Southern California and the site of ship traffic, oil refineries, and cancer clusters along freeways. Electrifying trucking ensures the health and economic prosperity of both laborers and communities, but that is only the beginning of transportation justice for Long Beach communities on the frontlines. 

In this special 4-part series we explore transportation challenges and solutions for which dynamic leaders in frontline communities are fighting. Listen to this episode and the other three in this series. We focus on how the larger movement as well as the new administration can take action now to protect and uplift working class Black and brown communities while putting a meaningful dent in our climate pollution emissions. Transportation and warehousing are a fundamental part of the nation’s economy and one of the most significant contributors to the climate crisis. Trucks make up only 4% of vehicles on the road but contribute a baffling 90% of nitrogen oxide and diesel vehicle emissions. We see this reality in neighborhoods near highways, ports, and inland ports across the nation. Racist interstate planning makes Black and brown people most vulnerable to this pollution, elevating cancer risk and lowering life expectancy. 

Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! 

Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood. #BlackLivesMatter  #ClimateJustice  #Think100

S2 Ep 48: Rev’s Wrap Up

This is the finale to season 2 of The Coolest Show! There is no guest, it’s our host, Rev Yearwood, sharing his reflections on this season. It’s been quite a year and we’re so honored to have been able to continue this show through the pandemic, through the increasing climate disasters we are working so hard to stop, through the 2020 election, and most profoundly, through our society’s largest-scale reckoning on racial justice in decades.  This season of The Coolest Show wove together all these intersecting events through the voices and expertise of  our guests, who were mostly women of color, and importantly, primarily Black women. As Rev Yearwood shares, “For too long, the climate movement has benefited from the people who are most vulnerable and most at risk… Those same people should be the ones telling their stories.” Climate justice is racial justice. Racial Justice is climate justice. Thank you for experiencing this season with us. We’ll be back soon for Season 3! In the meantime, catch up on episodes you missed at TheCoolestShow.com and sign up for our email list so you are the first to know when Season 3 comes back.  Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood. #BlackLivesMatter  #ClimateJustice  #Think100

S2 Ep 47: Money, Power, Respect w/ Clima Fund

 Philanthropy operates in fundamentally unjust, oppressive systems. In order to be effective, grassroots work must be funded with unrestricted money, offering core support with grassroots intermediaries who know the work. The CLIMA Fund is led by Kate Kroeger, the Executive Director of Urgent Action Fund, Laura García, President and CEO of Global Greengrants Fund, and Solomé Lemma, the Executive Director of Thousand Currents. We caught up with them to discuss racism in philanthropy, moving money to BIPOC with intentional outreach, and the misconceptions of grassroots organizations not being able to handle large amounts of money. Listen now! More at TheCoolestShow.com and @Think100Climate. #GrassrootsSolutions  #ClimateJustice  #Think100

S2 Ep 46: Media Impact Funders 2 w/ Thomas Lopez Jr.

We continue the discussion in this 2 part series recorded live in November 2019 from Media Impact Funders in Boulder Colorado. Thomas Lopez Jr. Thomas is an activist, water protector, defender, and the Partnerships Coordinator for Future Coalition. We caught up with him to discuss tokenization, cultural assimilation of Indigenous people, and how assimilation affected the lost in values and traditions for the next generation.

S2 Ep 45: Media Impact Funders 1 w/ Kaitlin Yarnall

In this 2 part series recorded in November 2019, Rev. Yearwood travels to Boulder Colorado to host a town hall at Media Impact Funders. He is joined by co-host Vic Barrett from Our Children’s Trust. Kaitlin Yarnall is the Chief Storytelling Officer at the National Geographic Society. We caught up with her to discuss the importance of comprehensive storytelling, how National Geographic has played a role in informing people about climate change, and her role in that process. Listen now! More at TheCoolestShow.com and @Think100Climate. #ClimateStories #MediaImpact #Think100

S2 Ep 44: Embodiment of Environment w/ Tina Johnson

We had the largest voter turnout in history in the 2020 election. “The status quo is no longer acceptable… We need to push further.” Tina Johnson is the Director of the National Black Environmental Justice Network. We caught up with her to discuss the EPA turning 50, the energy of young people in the EJ movement, and Black women leading. Listen now! More at TheCoolestShow.com and @Think100Climate. #EnvironmentalJustice #RacialJusticeNow #Think100

S2 Ep 43: Biden’s Climate Agenda w/ John Podesta

The Biden administration must move fast in the first 100 days to not only reverse harmful policies of the Trump administration, but also set new precedents for community-driven climate solutions. John Podesta is the former top advisor to Presidents Clinton and Obama, the founder and a Board member for the Center for American Progress, and an advisory board member for Climate Power 2020. We caught up with him to discuss climate at the forefront of this election, Biden’s climate plan, and the importance of science in fighting COVID-19. Listen now! More at TheCoolestShow.com and @Think100Climate. #ClimateElection #BidenClimatePolicy #Think100

S2 Ep 42: Youth v Gov. w/ Kelsey Juliana and Vic Barrett

 Government investment in the fossil fuel industry infringes upon our constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property. A combination of litigation and demonstration is needed to hold our government accountable. Kelsey Juliana and Vic Barrett are plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States, also known as Youth v. Gov. We caught up with them to discuss the documentary Youth v Gov premiering at this year’s DOC NYC, America’s Largest Documentary Film Festival. Purchase tickets until November 19th here https://www.docnyc.net/film/youth-v-gov/. Listen now! More at TheCoolestShow.com and @Think100Climate. #YouthvGov #DOCNYC #Think100

S2 Ep 41: Triumph w/ Tamara Toles O’Laughlin

 “Other people’s discomfort can risk your whole life.” It is time that we ensure adequate representation and compensation for injustices inflicted upon us. Expanding the U.S. Supreme Court and climate reparations are places to start. Tamara Toles O’Laughlinis the North American Director of 350 Action. We caught up with her to discuss the impact of Black women, voter suppression, and false climate solutions. Listen now! More at TheCoolestShow.com and @Think100Climate. #BlackWomen #Election2020 #Think100