America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast
Doug Parsons
Recent Episodes
In episode 242 of America Adapts, 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 look at the future of FEMA and the evolving landscape of climate adaptation in the United States.
Experts in this Episode:
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Joel Scata – Senior Attorney, Environmental Health – Natural Resources Defense Council - transcript
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Michael Coen – Former Chief Of Staff at FEMA - transcript
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Samantha Medlock – Founder and Principal – Climate Risk Advisors - transcript
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Derrick Hiebert – Infrastructure Resilience Practice Leader - AECOM - transcript
This episode was generously sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
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Links in this episode:
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Join the climate change adaptation movement by supporting America Adapts! Please consider supporting this podcast by donating through America Adapts fiscal sponsor, the Social Good Fund. All donations are now tax deductible!
For more information on this podcast, visit the website at http://www.americaadapts.org and don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Podcast Music produce by Richard Haitz Productions Write a review on Apple Podcasts ! America Adapts on Facebook! Join the America Adapts Facebook Community Group. Check us out, we're also on YouTube! Subscribe to America Adapts on Apple Podcasts Doug can be contacted at americaadapts @ g mail . com
In episode 241 of America Adapts, 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 Dr. Jesse Keenan framing the big-picture implications of this federal pullback, then hear from leaders at Climate.us, EcoAdapt, the Georgetown Climate Center and Probable Futures, who are stepping forward with practical solutions. This episode highlights the essential adaptation tools available right now, the people building them, and why decentralized innovation may be one of the most hopeful developments in the field today.
This episode was generously sponsored by the CO2 Foundation.
Experts in this Episode:
- Dr. Jesse Keenan - Favrot II Associate Professor of Sustainable Real Estate and Urban Planning at Tulane University (transcript)
- Rebecca Lindsey – Editor at Climate.us (transcript)
- Annie Bennett - Associate Director for the Adaptation Program with the Georgetown Climate Center (transcript)
- Alison Smart - Executive Director, Probable Futures (transcript)
- Deb Rudnick, Ph.D. - Senior Scientist at EcoAdapt (transcript)
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Links in this episode:
https://www.keenanclimate.com/biography
https://www.climate.us/#about-us
https://www.georgetownclimate.org/
https://www.adaptationclearinghouse.org/
CAKEX Contributing content: https://www.cakex.org/get-started#contribute
Sign up for slice of cake: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/TBlEu2B/slice
National Adaptation Forum https://www.nationaladaptationforum.org/
Doug Parsons and Speaking Opportunities: If you are interested in having Doug speak at corporate and conference events, sharing his unique, expert perspective on adaptation in an entertaining and informative way, more information can be found here!
Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/americaadapts/ @usaadapts https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-parsons-america-adapts/ Donate to America Adapts
Follow on Apple Podcasts Follow on Android
Now on Spotify! List of Previous Guests on America Adapts
Follow/listen to podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Donate to America Adapts, we are now a tax deductible charitable organization! The 10 Best Sustainability Podcasts for Environmental Business Leadershttps://us.anteagroup.com/news-events/blog/10-best-sustainability-podcasts-environmental-business-leaders
Join the climate change adaptation movement by supporting America Adapts! Please consider supporting this podcast by donating through America Adapts fiscal sponsor, the Social Good Fund. All donations are now tax deductible!
For more information on this podcast, visit the website at http://www.americaadapts.org and don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Podcast Music produce by Richard Haitz Productions Write a review on Apple Podcasts ! America Adapts on Facebook! Join the America Adapts Facebook Community Group. Check us out, we're also on YouTube! Subscribe to America Adapts on Apple Podcasts Doug can be contacted at americaadapts @ g mail . com
In episode 240 of America Adapts, host Doug Parsons talks with reporter Terry Jones about the tangled story behind America's first federally funded climate relocation on Louisiana's Isle de Jean Charles. 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 really happened, why it matters, and what the rest of the country can learn before the next community faces these climate impacts.
Transcript for this episode here.
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Links in this episode:
As millions face climate relocation, the nation's first attempt sparks warnings and regret https://floodlightnews.org/isle-de-jean-charles-climate-relocation-broken-promises/
https://floodlightnews.org/author/terry/
https://www.isledejeancharles.com/
Doug Parsons and Speaking Opportunities: If you are interested in having Doug speak at corporate and conference events, sharing his unique, expert perspective on adaptation in an entertaining and informative way,
Now on Spotify! List of Previous Guests on America Adapts
Follow/listen to podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Donate to America Adapts, we are now a tax deductible charitable organization! The 10 Best Sustainability Podcasts for Environmental Business Leadershttps://us.anteagroup.com/news-events/blog/10-best-sustainability-podcasts-environmental-business-leaders
Join the climate change adaptation movement by supporting America Adapts! Please consider supporting this podcast by donating through America Adapts fiscal sponsor, the Social Good Fund. All donations are now tax deductible!
For more information on this podcast, visit the website at http://www.americaadapts.org and don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Podcast Music produce by Richard Haitz Productions Write a review on Apple Podcasts ! America Adapts on Facebook! Join the America Adapts Facebook Community Group. Check us out, we're also on YouTube! Subscribe to America Adapts on Apple Podcasts Doug can be contacted at americaadapts @ g mail . com
In episode 239 of America Adapts, Doug Parsons revisits his conversation with Dr. Katharine Mach, Professor at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and a lead author for the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report. 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 IPCC's global work more important than ever. That makes the IPCC's independent, global work even more vital—providing the scientific foundation the world, and especially the U.S., still needs to understand and respond to climate risk.
Transcript available here.
Topics covered:
- IPCC is a grand partnership between the governments of the world.
- How did the media do in reporting on the IPCC report?
- The IPCC has zero regulatory authority over sovereign nations.
- What does it mean to be a lead author for the IPCC.
- Many developing countries don't have the climate data and experts that developed countries have.
- How can the IPCC be relevant to adaptation planners in the U.S.
- Who is the audience for the IPCC report and how do you communicate to different audiences.
- How can American policymakers make use of the IPCC report.
- Adaptation education at the University of Miami
Key Quotes:
"Adaptation isn't a checklist—it's a continuous conversation about what kind of future we want."
"Climate risk is always filtered through inequality."
"Transformative adaptation is about changing the rules of the game, not just moving the pieces."
"Science must learn to listen before it speaks."
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Links in this episode:
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01170-y
https://people.miami.edu/profile/[email protected]
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGII_SummaryForPolicymakers.pdf
https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:da39e9af-530e-4645-8b71-a254562b9a2a
Doug Parsons and Speaking Opportunities: If you are interested in having Doug speak at corporate and conference events, sharing his unique, expert perspective on adaptation in an entertaining and informative way,
Now on Spotify! List of Previous Guests on America Adapts
Follow/listen to podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Donate to America Adapts, we are now a tax deductible charitable organization! The 10 Best Sustainability Podcasts for Environmental Business Leadershttps://us.anteagroup.com/news-events/blog/10-best-sustainability-podcasts-environmental-business-leaders
Join the climate change adaptation movement by supporting America Adapts! Please consider supporting this podcast by donating through America Adapts fiscal sponsor, the Social Good Fund. All donations are now tax deductible!
For more information on this podcast, visit the website at http://www.americaadapts.org and don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Podcast Music produce by Richard Haitz Productions Write a review on Apple Podcasts ! America Adapts on Facebook! Join the America Adapts Facebook Community Group. Check us out, we're also on YouTube! Subscribe to America Adapts on Apple Podcasts Doug can be contacted at americaadapts @ g mail . com
In episode 238 of America Adapts, Doug Parsons takes you inside a CCST webinar that he moderated —part of the California Council on Science and Technology's Climate Change & Human Mobility series, organized with the UC Disaster Resilience Network and UC Berkeley. You'll hear from three experts: Dr. Hélène Benveniste (Assistant Professor, Environmental Social Sciences, Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford University), Dr. Joshua Busby (Professor of Public Affairs, LBJ School, University of Texas at Austin), and Dr. Barbara F. Walter (Rohr Professor of International Affairs, School of Global Policy & Strategy, UC San Diego). Together, they explore the politics of place attachment, the limits of "climate haven" narratives, and the policies that can turn hard choices into durable, just resilience. We also dig into how climate stress can heighten the risk of civil conflict under certain economic and governance conditions, and why national adaptation plans need to account for mobility—designing for relocation, receiving communities, and security implications alongside equity and long-term planning.
2025 EXPERT PANEL SERIES #1 Climate Change Human Mobility #1: Risks|Displacement|Community Impacthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5UZ_UtiD-E
2025 EXPERT PANEL SERIES #2: Housing Costs, Insurance Rates, and Rebuilding After Disastershttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zs3GrV5zmQ
Check out the America Adapts Media Kit here! Subscribe to the America Adapts newsletter here. Listen to America Adapts on your favorite app here!
Facebook, Linkedin and Bluesky: https://www.facebook.com/americaadapts/ https://bsky.app/profile/americaadapts.bsky.social https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-parsons-america-adapts/
Links in this episode:
https://ccst.us/register-climate-change-and-human-mobility-briefing-series/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzT8noY0IVM
UC Disaster Resilience Network
UC Berkeley Center for Security in Politics
https://ccst.us/people/staff/eric-chu/
UC Disaster Resilience Network YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@UCDRN
Doug Parsons and Speaking Opportunities: If you are interested in having Doug speak at corporate and conference events, sharing his unique, expert perspective on adaptation in an entertaining and informative way,
Now on Spotify! List of Previous Guests on America Adapts
Follow/listen to podcast on Apple Podcasts.
The 10 Best Sustainability Podcasts for Environmental Business Leadershttps://us.anteagroup.com/news-events/blog/10-best-sustainability-podcasts-environmental-business-leaders
For more information on this podcast, visit the website at http://www.americaadapts.org and don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Podcast Music produce by Richard Haitz Productions Write a review on Apple Podcasts ! America Adapts on Facebook! Join the America Adapts Facebook Community Group. Check us out, we're also on YouTube! Subscribe to America Adapts on Apple Podcasts Doug can be contacted at americaadapts @ g mail . com