Inside the Biden White House: Climate Adaptation Wins, Misses—and the Road Ahead
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
Release Date: 06/30/2025
Climate Adaptation Is Having a Moment—But Are We Ready?
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of , host Doug Parsons speaks with , founder of Hazelwood Network, to explore whether climate adaptation is finally moving into the mainstream—or if we’re seeing familiar signals that never quite add up. From growing attention in finance, consulting, and platforms like LinkedIn to real-world action in places like Singapore and across emerging markets, adaptation is gaining traction. But that momentum remains fragmented—spread across investors, governments, and innovators without clear coordination. At the same time, a major bottleneck persists: we still don’t know...
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Can Climate Adaptation Prevent Environmental Extremism—or Just Delay It?
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of , host Doug Parsons speaks with , professor at American University and author of , to explore a question at the edge of today’s climate conversation: what drives movements to escalate? Drawing on his research on political violence and environmental activism, Zeitzoff traces the evolution of the radical environmental movement—from sabotage in the 1990s and early 2000s to today’s climate justice movement focused on mass protest and disruption. The conversation explores how tactics shift, what motivates activists, and why—despite intensifying climate...
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An Uninsurable Country: What Rising Climate Risk Means for Homeowners with NRDC
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of , host Doug Parsons takes a deep dive into the growing climate-driven insurance crisis reshaping housing and communities across the United States. Doug first speaks with Rob Moore and Alfonso Pating of the Natural Resources Defense Council about their new reports on the nation’s emerging insurability crisis—why premiums are rising, insurers are retreating from high-risk areas, and what state policies can do to reduce risk and keep homes insurable. Then filmmaker George Siegal joins the show to discuss his documentary Built to Last: Buyer Beware, which reveals how many...
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The Endangerment Finding Explained — and What It Means for Climate Adaptation
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of , host Doug Parsons is joined by Professor of Emory University School of Law to unpack the repeal of the Clean Air Act’s and what it means for climate governance in the United States. Long considered the legal backbone of federal climate regulation, its rescission raises fundamental questions about agency authority, the role of the courts, and the durability of federal climate policy. Mark explains the legal theory behind the repeal, how it intersects with Supreme Court precedent, and what likely comes next in federal court. The conversation also explores the...
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Advancing Adaptation with the McKinsey Global Institute
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode 247 of , host Doug Parsons hosts , partner at the , for an inside look at how one of the world’s most influential private research institutions is approaching climate adaptation. Drawing from MGI’s recent report, Advancing Adaptation, the conversation explores what it would actually cost to protect people and economies from escalating heat, flooding, drought, and wildfire — and why investment still falls short even when the economic case is strong.. The discussion also examines how ideas developed within a private firm travel into real-world decision-making, and why...
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Public Participation and Climate Adaptation in China
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode 246 of , host Doug Parsons hosts , assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis, for a closer look at how climate adaptation actually emerges in China. Drawing on her research after the devastating 2021 Henan flood, Shen shows how public demand for adaptation surged—not through climate change language, but through calls for safety, infrastructure, and risk reduction, often using formal government channels. The conversation highlights adaptation as a lived governance issue rather than an ideological one, and surfaces practical lessons about public participation,...
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The Heat Will Still Kill You First with Jeff Goodell
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of , host Doug Parsons is joined by legendary climate journalist , author of for a conversation about what’s happened since the book came out — and what hasn’t. Extreme heat is no longer a future risk or a background climate issue; it’s a present-day killer that exposes deep failures in public health, labor protections, urban design, and climate communication. We also talk about how recent political shifts have pushed the U.S. further backward on heat response, weakening protections and leaving communities more exposed just as the risks accelerate. This isn’t a...
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Arizona’s Climate Change Adaptation Playbook: Heat, Water, Wildfire
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of , we adapt in the southwest! Welcome to the desert proving ground for climate adaptation. In my home state of Arizona—Phoenix, Tucson, and Flagstaff—we get right down on the ground to see how communities are beating extreme heat, planning responsibly for water in a changing climate, and living with wildfire risk without losing what makes these places home. You’ll hear street-level fixes that change daily life—and travel anywhere—plus a clear playbook cities can steal now: run the hottest months smarter, put shade where people actually stand and walk, and build...
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North: The Future of Post-Climate America
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of , host Doug Parsons welcomes back recurring guest and leading adaptation scholar to discuss his new book, (Oxford Univesity Press). Keenan examines how the United States is already changing through mobility, shifting markets, governance pressures, and evolving cultural identities. Doug and Jesse unpack why adaptation is not just a set of technical responses to climate impacts but a broader transformation in how communities understand stability, opportunity, and belonging. They explore the limits of local governments, the growing influence of market-led adaptation, and...
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FEMA at a Crossroads: What’s Breaking, What’s Working, and What Comes Next with NRDC
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of , host Doug Parsons checks in on FEMA at a moment of rapid change. With funding delays, political uncertainty, and major reforms underway, FEMA’s role in national resilience is shifting in real time. Doug speaks with four guests — Joel Scata (NRDC), Michael Coen (former FEMA Chief of Staff), Samantha Medlock (former FEMA Assistant Administrator), and Derrick Hiebert (AECOM) — to unpack what’s happening inside the agency, where communities are feeling the impacts, and what potential improvements could emerge from this period of transition. It’s a candid, timely...
info_outlineIn episode 232 of America Adapts, host Doug Parsons has a candid conversation with Laurie Schoeman, former senior advisor on climate resilience in the Biden White House. Laurie offers a rare, unfiltered look inside the administration’s climate resilience efforts. Laurie helped coordinate adaptation strategy across agencies. While she didn’t lead the National Climate Resilience Framework, she had a front-row seat to its evolution—and its compromises. She speaks openly about what worked, what fell apart, and what was left on the cutting room floor. From the outsized influence of youth climate politics to the glaring absence of adaptation finance—and especially the neglect of communications—Laurie brings an insider’s experience in the development of federal climate policy. Doug and Laurie critique the performative nature of federal resilience efforts, the muddled conflation of climate justice and adaptation, and the critical failure to include communications in the resilience framework. Her message is clear: if we’re serious about climate risk, we need to rethink not just how we fund adaptation—but how we talk about it. Laurie also reflects on her role in a groundbreaking blue ribbon commission on wildfire resilience in Los Angeles, which recently released bold recommendations positioning the city as a national leader in adaptation.
Topics Discussed:
- How adaptation finance was neglected, with no real champions for the complex work of funding climate resilience.
- Why the administration’s climate justice efforts were often more performative than impactful, despite unprecedented federal funding.
- The conflation of adaptation, equity, and justice, which Doug and Laurie argue muddied priorities and weakened results.
- The quiet removal of communications from the National Framework—a missed opportunity with lasting consequences.
- A call for foundations to pivot toward adaptation communications, not just emissions reductions.
- A critical look at staffing and leadership gaps in the federal government’s approach to climate risk.
- Her current role addressing wildfire resilience in Los Angeles, where she continues to push for real-world adaptation solutions.
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Links in this episode:
Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action and Fire-Safe Recovery
https://labrcommission.org/blue-ribbon-commission-on-climate-action-and-fire-safe-recovery/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurieschoeman/
Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park Summer Lecture Series with Doug Parsons
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