Inside the Biden White House: Climate Adaptation Wins, Misses—and the Road Ahead
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
Release Date: 06/30/2025
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...
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The Federal Climate Retreat and the Rise of a New Adaptation Ecosystem
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of , host Doug Parsons explores what happens when federal climate services retreat—and a new adaptation ecosystem rises to fill the gaps. As agencies like NOAA, FEMA, and EPA scale back their climate work, adaptation professionals are turning to emerging climate-service innovators for the tools, data, and guidance they need. We kick off with framing the big-picture implications of this federal pullback, then hear from leaders at , , the and , who are stepping forward with practical solutions. This episode highlights the essential adaptation tools available right now, the...
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Unmanaged Retreat: Inside America’s First Federal Climate Relocation Attempt
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of , host Doug Parsons talks with reporter about the tangled story behind America’s first federally funded climate relocation on Louisiana’s . Once hailed as a model for how the nation could move entire communities out of harm’s way, the project became mired in politics, confusion, and broken promises. Terry shares what he uncovered on the ground — from residents who never wanted to leave, to state officials unprepared for the task, to the bigger question of whether the U.S. is truly ready for managed retreat. This episode clears up the confusion, revealing what...
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Understanding the IPCC with Dr. Katharine Mach—Where the Media Succeeds and Fails - Re-release
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of America Adapts, Doug Parsons revisits his conversation with , Professor at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and a lead author for the . Katharine explains the process of drafting that report and how the media both succeeds and fails at communicating its urgency. Doug and Katharine also discussed the need to rethink the role and purpose of the IPCC as it prepares for its next major assessment—especially now, as the Trump administration dismantles the National Climate Assessment and scales back federal climate programs, making the...
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Special Episode — Climate Change and Human Mobility (Rebroadcast of a CCST Panel Conversation)
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of , Doug Parsons takes you inside a CCST webinar that he moderated —part of the ’s Climate Change & Human Mobility series, organized with the UC Disaster Resilience Network and UC Berkeley. You’ll hear from three experts: (Assistant Professor, Environmental Social Sciences, Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford University), (Professor of Public Affairs, LBJ School, University of Texas at Austin), and (Rohr Professor of International Affairs, School of Global Policy & Strategy, UC San Diego). Together, they explore the politics of place...
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20 Years After Hurricane Katrina: The Fixes, the Failures and What’s at Risk Again with Dr. Andrew Rumbach
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of , host Doug Parsons talks with Dr. of the , who went to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to work on recovery and has spent his career studying disasters and resilience. They discuss Katrina’s enduring legacy—what’s been fixed, what remains broken, and what’s now under assault. Andrew shares insights on how FEMA has evolved since 2005, where bipartisan reforms have emerged even in a hostile political climate, and whether the country is truly ready for the next major storm. He also highlights five powerful documentaries that capture Katrina’s human and...
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Generating the Science Behind Climate Adaptation with the Schoodic Institute
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of , we’re heading to coastal Maine — a place where science, community, and nature all come together to tackle climate change. Adaptation doesn’t just happen on its own. It takes data, observation, and sometimes years of research to generate the science that guides decisions. That science is often messy, imperfect, but it’s the foundation for every smart adaptation. Effective adaptation requires partnerships. As you will hear, in Maine, you’ll find scientists, historians, local communities, and institutions like the Schoodic Institute working side by side....
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Climate Change on the Battlefield: International Military Responses to the Climate Crisis with Erin Sikorsky
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of , host Doug Parsons speaks with , Director of the Center for Climate and Security and author of the new book Climate Change on the Battlefield. Erin explains how climate change is already impacting global security—degrading military readiness, increasing conflict risks, and forcing new missions on defense forces worldwide. We explore how national adaptation plans can serve as strategic tools, the dangers of political backsliding in the U.S., and how China’s assertive adaptation strategy may reshape global power dynamics. Erin also highlights countries that are getting...
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Innovations in Climate Risk and Insurance – The Podcast
America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
In episode of , host Doug Parsons explores the fast-changing world of climate risk and insurance—where escalating hazards are driving rapid changes in how we safeguard homes, businesses, and entire communities. This episode brings together an unprecedented mix of guests: policy experts advancing insurance reform, senior executives from leading insurance companies, a Miami real estate agent navigating the front lines of a shifting market, and innovators using big data and advanced technology to transform how risk is measured and managed. Across these conversations, listeners...
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
Register here: https://schoodicinstitute.org/summer-lecture-series/
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