Ben Franta's guest appearances

Ben Franta

Physical Attraction

Drilled

The Climate Pod

You've Been Warmed

Climate 21

The Cimpatico Podcast

David Wallace-Wells

Amy Westervelt

Britt Wray

Ro Khanna

Adam McKay

Leah Stokes

Emily Atkin

Jay Inslee

Elizabeth Wathuti

Mary Annaïse Heglar

Kate Aronoff

Bill Nye

Bill McKibben

Sheldon Whitehouse

Ed Begley Jr

OwlTail

Bringing you our entire interview with Stanford researcher Ben Franta on fossil fuel influence at universities because it was just too good not to share.Check out Degrees pod: https://link.chtbl.com/degrees?sid=podcast.SHOWNAME Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bringing you our entire interview with Stanford researcher Ben Franta on fossil fuel influence at universities because it was just too good not to share. Check out Degrees pod: <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/degrees?sid=podcast.SHOWNAME" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://link.chtbl.com/degrees?sid=podcast.SHOWNAME</a> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

The ABCs of Big Oil | Ben Franta Talks to Us About Big Oil on Campus

This week, Ben Franta joins the show to talk about his latest paper, "Weaponizing Economics: Big oil, economic consultants, and climate policy delay”. He explains how fossil fuel companies knew for decades that their product was warming the planet and instead of investing in new energy options, leveraged economic experts to help slow necessary action to combat the climate crisis. We also discuss Harvard University's decision to divest from fossil fuels, which Ben advocated for as a student of Harvard University almost a decade ago. Ben is currently a graduate student at Stanford University focusing on the history of denial and delay tactics by the fossil fuel industry. He is also cofounder and current Director of Accountability Research for the Climate Social Science Network, a global network of social science scholars doing research on climate politics headquartered at Brown University. Follow Ben on Twitter and LinkedIn Check out Ben's  TedTalk Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on  iTunes,  Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website! Subscribe to our  YouTube channel! We will be live on YouTube this Saturday, September 18 at 4 pm ET. Come say hi!

This week, <a href="https://twitter.com/BenFranta" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ben Franta</a> joins the show to talk about his latest paper, "<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09644016.2021.1947636" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Weaponizing Economics: Big oil, economic consultants, and climate policy delay</a>”. He explains how fossil fuel companies knew for decades that their product was warming the planet and instead of investing in new energy options, leveraged economic experts to help slow necessary action to combat the climate crisis. We also discuss Harvard University's decision to divest from fossil fuels, which Ben advocated for as a student of Harvard University almost a decade ago. Ben is currently a graduate student at Stanford University focusing on the history of denial and delay tactics by the fossil fuel industry. He is also cofounder and current Director of Accountability Research for the Climate Social Science Network, a global network of social science scholars doing research on climate politics headquartered at Brown University. Follow Ben on <a href="https://twitter.com/BenFranta" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminfranta/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> Check out Ben's <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/ben_franta_global_warming_from_scientific_warning_to_corporate_casualty?language=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> TedTalk</a> Subscribe to our Substack newsletter <a href="http://theclimateweekly.substack.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"The Climate Weekly"</a>: <a href="http://theclimateweekly.substack.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/</a> As always, follow us <a href="https://twitter.com/climatepod" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@climatepod</a> on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at <a href="http://thepassionhifi.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">thepassionhifi.com</a>. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-climate-pod/id1469270123" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> iTunes</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5WYHsmy91Rdc3Ore4ENhx8?si=jQQfcBoOSe6SPbLKie96Eg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Spotify</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-climate-pod" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a>, and more! Join our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/972937199891575" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook group</a>. Check out our <a href="https://www.theclimatepod.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">updated website!</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCr-lWa9feLqoJpaDqTnX7w" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> YouTube channel</a>! We will be live on YouTube this Saturday, September 18 at 4 pm ET. Come say hi!

How Fossil Fuel Interests Weaponized Economists To Delay Climate Action (w/ Ben Franta)

Benjamin Franta is a PhD student of History &amp; Law at Stanford University and one of my absolute favourite people to follow on Twitter. Ben writes amazing threads covering the history of propaganda that the fossil fuel industry has created when it comes to climate change. He analyses their PR tactics, they language they use or what wording they create to deflect the attention from their products and place the responsibility on the consumers.We discussed what internal documents revealed about when the fossil fuel companies knew about climate change (starting in 1959) and how that evolved over time; Ben went in depth on the tactics they deploy including "product defense" and the "complexity rhetoric". We also drew parallels between the fossil fuel industry and the tobacco industry - how the latter deployed similar tactics and was eventually defeated through numerous lawsuits. Finally, we also discussed the media and what role it sometimes plays in slowing down action.RELEVANT LINKSBenjamin Franta’s Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/BenFrantaTIMECODES02:26: Benjamin Franta’s Background. Why Study the History of Fossil Fuel Propaganda?07:06 What Fossil Fuel Companies Knew 40-50 Years Ago08:22 The Research Conducted by Companies 50 Years Ago &amp; The Lawsuits Emerging Now14:28 A Parallel Between What Fossil Fuel Companies Are Doing Now and What Tobacco Companies Did Before19:07 Who’s Responsible for This: The Individuals vs Businesses &amp; Governments21:36 The Complexity Rhetoric that the PR People From the Fossil Fuel Industry Use29:27 The Lawsuits. Who Can Be Held Accountable?34:45 The Tobacco Industry Lawsuits41:13 How Did the Fossil Fuel Companies Infiltrate the Media?51:51 The Shift in Positioning - From Saying that Climate Change Wasn’t Real to Wanting to Help Solve the Problem54:56 Science vs Politics vs Businesses vs SocietyRESOURCES MENTIONEDThe 1959 American Petroleum Institute Report - Edward Teller - http://www.thegreenmarketoracle.com/2019/02/the-fossil-fuel-industry-has-known-they.htmlThe Master Settlement Agreement - https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/topics/commercial-tobacco-control/commercial-tobacco-control-litigation/master-settlement-agreementThe Regulation Games - book - https://www.amazon.com/Regulation-Games-Strategic-Administrative-Process/dp/0884100669The Kyoto Protocol - https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-kyoto-protocol/what-is-the-kyoto-protocol/kyoto-protocol-targets-for-the-first-commitment-period

Benjamin Franta is a PhD student of History &amp; Law at Stanford University and one of my absolute favourite people to follow on Twitter. Ben writes amazing threads covering the history of propaganda that the fossil fuel industry has created when it comes to climate change. He analyses their PR tactics, they language they use or what wording they create to deflect the attention from their products and place the responsibility on the consumers.We discussed what internal documents revealed about when the fossil fuel companies knew about climate change (starting in 1959) and how that evolved over time; Ben went in depth on the tactics they deploy including "product defense" and the "complexity rhetoric". We also drew parallels between the fossil fuel industry and the tobacco industry - how the latter deployed similar tactics and was eventually defeated through numerous lawsuits. Finally, we also discussed the media and what role it sometimes plays in slowing down action.RELEVANT LINKSBenjamin Franta’s Twitter Profile: <a href="https://twitter.com/BenFranta" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/BenFranta</a>TIMECODES02:26: Benjamin Franta’s Background. Why Study the History of Fossil Fuel Propaganda?07:06 What Fossil Fuel Companies Knew 40-50 Years Ago08:22 The Research Conducted by Companies 50 Years Ago &amp; The Lawsuits Emerging Now14:28 A Parallel Between What Fossil Fuel Companies Are Doing Now and What Tobacco Companies Did Before19:07 Who’s Responsible for This: The Individuals vs Businesses &amp; Governments21:36 The Complexity Rhetoric that the PR People From the Fossil Fuel Industry Use29:27 The Lawsuits. Who Can Be Held Accountable?34:45 The Tobacco Industry Lawsuits41:13 How Did the Fossil Fuel Companies Infiltrate the Media?51:51 The Shift in Positioning - From Saying that Climate Change Wasn’t Real to Wanting to Help Solve the Problem54:56 Science vs Politics vs Businesses vs SocietyRESOURCES MENTIONEDThe 1959 American Petroleum Institute Report - Edward Teller - <a href="http://www.thegreenmarketoracle.com/2019/02/the-fossil-fuel-industry-has-known-they.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.thegreenmarketoracle.com/2019/02/the-fossil-fuel-industry-has-known-they.html</a>The Master Settlement Agreement - <a href="https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/topics/commercial-tobacco-control/commercial-tobacco-control-litigation/master-settlement-agreement" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/topics/commercial-tobacco-control/commercial-tobacco-control-litigation/master-settlement-agreement</a>The Regulation Games - book - <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Regulation-Games-Strategic-Administrative-Process/dp/0884100669" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Regulation-Games-Strategic-Administrative-Process/dp/0884100669</a>The Kyoto Protocol - <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-kyoto-protocol/what-is-the-kyoto-protocol/kyoto-protocol-targets-for-the-first-commitment-period" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-kyoto-protocol/what-is-the-kyoto-protocol/kyoto-protocol-targets-for-the-first-commitment-period</a>

The Language & Techniques Of Fossil Fuel Propaganda w/ Ben Franta

We have a guest on the show today - Ben Franta. Ben is a scientist, science historian, science writer, and activist. He studied for a PhD at Harvard working on solar cells; while he was at Harvard, he became involved in the movement to persuade that University to divest from fossil fuels. After finishing his first PhD, he moved to Stanford to take up a PhD in the History of Science, where he now studies the history of climate politics, and the influence of fossil fuel companies on that politics. His recent article in the Guardian, published on New Year's Day, explained how Edward Teller knew about global warming in 1959 and warned the fossil fuel industry - thirty years before it hit the mainstream. The second half, which you're about to hear, is mostly about climate change activism: what can we do to most effectively deal with climate change?   If you enjoyed what our guest had to say, you can find his work via his LinkedIn "Benjamin Franta": https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminfranta/   and follow him on Twitter @BenFranta.  The article that Ben referred to, which details the case for climate activism, was written by Geoffrey Supran and Ploy Achakulwisut; it's on Mashable, and it's called "How You Can Fight Climate Change."   https://mashable.com/2017/05/06/how-you-can-fight-climate-change/ As always, you can follow us on Twitter @physicspod, and go to our website at physicspodcast.com, where you'll find a donate link that will help you support the show if you're so inclined. Until next time.

We have a guest on the show today - Ben Franta. Ben is a scientist, science historian, science writer, and activist. He studied for a PhD at Harvard working on solar cells; while he was at Harvard, he became involved in the movement to persuade that University to divest from fossil fuels. After finishing his first PhD, he moved to Stanford to take up a PhD in the History of Science, where he now studies the history of climate politics, and the influence of fossil fuel companies on that politics. His recent article in the Guardian, published on New Year's Day, explained how Edward Teller knew about global warming in 1959 and warned the fossil fuel industry - thirty years before it hit the mainstream. The second half, which you're about to hear, is mostly about climate change activism: what can we do to most effectively deal with climate change? If you enjoyed what our guest had to say, you can find his work via his LinkedIn "Benjamin Franta": <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminfranta/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminfranta/</a> and follow him on Twitter @BenFranta. The article that Ben referred to, which details the case for climate activism, was written by Geoffrey Supran and Ploy Achakulwisut; it's on Mashable, and it's called "How You Can Fight Climate Change."  <a href="https://mashable.com/2017/05/06/how-you-can-fight-climate-change/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://mashable.com/2017/05/06/how-you-can-fight-climate-change/</a> As always, you can follow us on Twitter @physicspod, and go to our website at <a href="http://physicspodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">physicspodcast.com</a>, where you'll find a donate link that will help you support the show if you're so inclined. Until next time.

Climate Conversation with Ben Franta: Scientist, Historian, Activist (II)

We have a guest on the show today - Ben Franta. Ben is a scientist, science historian, science writer, and activist. He studied for a PhD at Harvard working on solar cells; while he was at Harvard, he became involved in the movement to persuade that University to divest from fossil fuels. After finishing his first PhD, he moved to Stanford to take up a PhD in the History of Science, where he now studies the history of climate politics, and the influence of fossil fuel companies on that politics. His recent article in the Guardian, published on New Year's Day, explained how Edward Teller knew about global warming in 1959 and warned the fossil fuel industry - thirty years before it hit the mainstream. The first half, which you're about to hear, is a general discussion of the politics of climate change: why has this problem proved so difficult to deal with?  If you enjoyed what our guest had to say, you can find his work via his LinkedIn "Benjamin Franta": https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminfranta/   and follow him on Twitter @BenFranta.  The article that Ben referred to, which details the case for climate activism, was written by Geoffrey Supran and Ploy Achakulwisut; it's on Mashable, and it's called "How You Can Fight Climate Change."   https://mashable.com/2017/05/06/how-you-can-fight-climate-change/ As always, you can follow us on Twitter @physicspod, and go to our website at physicspodcast.com, where you'll find a donate link that will help you support the show if you're so inclined. Until next time.   *** Erratum:  Ben mentioned that the UK currently gets some of its electricity imported from Iceland: this is actually a proposed scheme that's not currently operating, but hopefully will in the near future. There is indeed a cable between the UK and France that helps both countries match supply and demand, and the same is true between Denmark and Norway, which both draw the majority of their power from wind and hydroelectricity respectively. It's the way forward!  https://www.landsvirkjun.com/researchdevelopment/research/submarinecabletoeurope  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skagerrak_(power_transmission_system)

We have a guest on the show today - Ben Franta. Ben is a scientist, science historian, science writer, and activist. He studied for a PhD at Harvard working on solar cells; while he was at Harvard, he became involved in the movement to persuade that University to divest from fossil fuels. After finishing his first PhD, he moved to Stanford to take up a PhD in the History of Science, where he now studies the history of climate politics, and the influence of fossil fuel companies on that politics. His recent article in the Guardian, published on New Year's Day, explained how Edward Teller knew about global warming in 1959 and warned the fossil fuel industry - thirty years before it hit the mainstream. The first half, which you're about to hear, is a general discussion of the politics of climate change: why has this problem proved so difficult to deal with? If you enjoyed what our guest had to say, you can find his work via his LinkedIn "Benjamin Franta": <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminfranta/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminfranta/</a> and follow him on Twitter @BenFranta. The article that Ben referred to, which details the case for climate activism, was written by Geoffrey Supran and Ploy Achakulwisut; it's on Mashable, and it's called "How You Can Fight Climate Change."  <a href="https://mashable.com/2017/05/06/how-you-can-fight-climate-change/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://mashable.com/2017/05/06/how-you-can-fight-climate-change/</a> As always, you can follow us on Twitter @physicspod, and go to our website at <a href="http://physicspodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">physicspodcast.com</a>, where you'll find a donate link that will help you support the show if you're so inclined. Until next time. *** Erratum:  Ben mentioned that the UK currently gets some of its electricity imported from Iceland: this is actually a proposed scheme that's not currently operating, but hopefully will in the near future. There is indeed a cable between the UK and France that helps both countries match supply and demand, and the same is true between Denmark and Norway, which both draw the majority of their power from wind and hydroelectricity respectively. It's the way forward! <a href="https://www.landsvirkjun.com/researchdevelopment/research/submarinecabletoeurope" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> https://www.landsvirkjun.com/researchdevelopment/research/submarinecabletoeurope</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skagerrak_(power_transmission_system)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skagerrak_(power_transmission_system)</a>