Hot Take

Mary Annaïse Heglar, Amy Westervelt

Hot Take is a holistic, irreverent, honest look at the climate crisis and all the ways media and society are talking—and not talking—about it. Hosted by real-life friends Mary Annaïse Heglar and Amy Westervelt—an essayist and a journalist— Hot Take offers a unique perspective on the issue of climate change. With a breath of fresh humanity and humor, conversation moves swiftly from cackling about the bad week an oil company had, to speaking seriously and passionately about the unequal distribution of climate impacts and our own experiences of climate grief. And then washing it down with a round of dad jokes! Every week, we’ll connect you with the latest climate news and with the journalists and storytellers trying to make sense of this complex issue to help you see the world through climate-colored glasses. New episodes every Friday. read less
Play Trailer
Coming April 22... the return of Hot Take!
15-04-2022
Coming April 22... the return of Hot Take!
The climate crisis is literally the world’s biggest existential problem. But we can’t even begin to solve it if we don’t know how to talk about it first. That’s why Hot Take is back! Every week, Amy Westervelt and Mary Annaïse Heglar will talk about how climate change touches every aspect of our lives, and how our media is either getting the story right or entirely losing the plot. They’ll also connect you with other storytellers who grapple with how to tell this saga and who can help you understand the world through climate colored glasses - and who and what to be mad about for getting us here. New episodes once a week every Friday.
F$#%, Marry, Kill Big Oil
30-12-2022
F$#%, Marry, Kill Big Oil
For our last episode of Hot Take, Amy and Mary revisit their favorite jokes, and dig into the listener mailbag to answer questions from Hot Cakes around the globe.Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake
The Zombie Apocalypse Is Real
16-12-2022
The Zombie Apocalypse Is Real
This week, Amy and Mary discuss zombie ice viruses, the Keystone pipeline spill in Kansas, a global biodiversity crisis, the degrowth movement, and more.Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake
Won't Someone Think of The Children
09-12-2022
Won't Someone Think of The Children
This week, Amy and Mary chat with Rebecca Nagle - an Indigenous journalist, host of This Land, and long-time friend of the show. They discuss Brackeen v. Haaland (a legal case threatening Indian Law), why Indigenous issues are so under covered, Landback, and more.Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake
'Tis the Season to Want Nothing
02-12-2022
'Tis the Season to Want Nothing
Just in time for the holiday season, Amy and Mary chat with Aja Barber - a writer, stylist and consultant who works at the intersections of fashion and sustainability. They dive into the problems with fast fashion, and its worst offender and Aja's sworn enemy Shein. They discuss Aja’s recent book - Consumed, talk about more ethical options for gift giving, and more.Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake
Call the COPs
18-11-2022
Call the COPs
Amy and Mary break down this year's COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, and explore the history of U.N. climate conferences beginning with the first summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. They also discuss the unseemly presence of fossil fuel companies at the meeting, loss and damages, climate debt, and moreFollow us on twitter  @RealHotTake
No Country for Centrist Dems
11-11-2022
No Country for Centrist Dems
This week on Hot Take, Amy and Mary break down the midterms, examine the shadowy billionaires funding Republican candidates, and give an honest review of Elon’s performance as Twitter's CEO. Spoiler: He’s failing, but it might be on purpose. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake
Every Election Is a Climate Election with Rhiana Gunn Wright
04-11-2022
Every Election Is a Climate Election with Rhiana Gunn Wright
This week on Hot Take, Amy and Mary speak with Rhiana Gunn-Wright - Director of Climate Policy at the Roosevelt Institute and one of the architects of the Green New Deal. With the midterms right around the corner, they discuss shifting narratives around climate, the IRA, and much more. Later on, Amy and Mary make sense of the phenomena of flying soup that’s taking the art world by storm, and break down a horrific take from a New York Times opinion writer.Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake
Election Spooktacular
28-10-2022
Election Spooktacular
This week on Hot Take, Amy and Mary pick apart the climate implications and nuances in key midterm races (Fetterman, Booker, Barnes, Beto), plus the upcoming Brazilian presidential election. They look ahead to COP and the conversation around loss and damages (read: reparations), and the Nigeria floods. Oh, and Amy gets crafty for Halloween! Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake
On the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis
21-10-2022
On the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis
This week on Hot Take, Mary is joined by Sara Sneath, investigative reporter and alligator doula and Drew Costley, climate & environment reporter at The Associated Press. They discuss how to approach communities in the throes of a climate disaster, the tension between chronic and acute crises, trauma-informed reporting, and the disabled community. And, gators!If you want to contribute to relief efforts in Florida, here are a few places to give to:Disaster Relief at WorkFlorida Disaster FundConvoy of HopeIf you want to contribute to the relief efforts in Puerto Rico, here are a few places to give to:Proyecto Matria (women’s rights org): Taller Salud (women’s health org) Brigada Solidaria del Oeste: Mutual Aid NetworkFollow us on twitter @RealHotTake and sign up for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
Climate Candidates To Watch In The Midterms
14-10-2022
Climate Candidates To Watch In The Midterms
This week on Hot Take, Amy & Mary discuss the new wave of Southern Black Democrats running on climate centric platforms and break down the important climate cases before the Supreme Court. They also bring updates on this year’s hurricane season and more.Read more here from Mary about how the media failed in covering Hurricane Ian.If you want to contribute to relief efforts in Florida, here are a few places to give to:Disaster Relief at WorkFlorida Disaster FundConvoy of HopeIf you want to contribute to the relief efforts in Puerto Rico, here are a few places to give to:Proyecto Matria (women’s rights org): Taller Salud (women’s health org) Brigada Solidaria del Oeste: Mutual Aid NetworkFollow us on twitter  @RealHotTake and sign up for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
Reclaiming Identity Politics with Olúfemi Táíwò
07-10-2022
Reclaiming Identity Politics with Olúfemi Táíwò
This week on Hot Take, Amy & Mary talk to Olúfemi Táíwò, author and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown, about tokenism, reparations, how the powerful have appropriated identity politics and turned it into a tool of division, and more. Taiwo is the author of Elite Capture and Reconsidering Reparations and a real-life philosopher.   If you want to contribute to relief efforts in Florida, here are a few places to give to:Disaster Relief at WorkFlorida Disaster FundConvoy of HopeIf you want to contribute to the relief efforts in Puerto Rico, here are a few places to give to:Proyecto Matria (women’s rights org): Taller Salud (women’s health org) Brigada Solidaria del Oeste: Mutual Aid NetworkFollow us on twitter  @RealHotTake and sign up for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
Hurricane Season Heats Up
30-09-2022
Hurricane Season Heats Up
This week on Hot Take, Amy & Mary give updates on Hurricane Ian, Manchin's failed permitting bill, discontent in Europe, and more.If you want to contribute to relief efforts in Florida, here are a few places to give to:Disaster Relief at WorkFlorida Disaster FundConvoy of HopeIf you want to contribute to the relief efforts in Puerto Rico, here are a few places to give to:Proyecto Matria (women’s rights org): Taller Salud (women’s health org) Brigada Solidaria del Oeste: Mutual Aid NetworkFollow us on twitter @RealHotTake and sign up for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
Ask a Scientist, with NASA’s Dr. Kate Marvel
23-09-2022
Ask a Scientist, with NASA’s Dr. Kate Marvel
Today on Hot Take, Mary and Amy are joined by Kate Marvel, climate scientist at NASA, who answers listener questions about acid rain, geoengineering, astrology, and more.If you want to contribute to the relief efforts in Puerto Rico, here are a few places to give to:Proyecto Matria (women’s rights org): Taller Salud (women’s health org) Brigada Solidaria del Oeste: Mutual Aid NetworkFollow us on twitter @RealHotTake and sign up for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
Follow the Money, Eat the Rich
16-09-2022
Follow the Money, Eat the Rich
We hear all the time that acting on climate can upset the delicate balance of the economy, worsen inflation, kills jobs. So on and so forth. But is it true? Today on Hot Take, Mary and Amy are joined by Akshat Rathi, Senior Climate Reporter at Bloomberg, to break down the barriers and dispels the myths between the world of finance and the world we live on.Make sure to listen and subscribe to Akshat’s new climate podcast - Zero. Check out his groundbreaking investigation into ESG, too!If you want to contribute to the relief efforts in Jackson, Mississippi and Pakistan, here are a few places to give to:Cooperation Jackson - MississippiMississippi Rapid Response CoalitionAlkihidmat Foundation - PakistanFlood Relief - Akhuwat -PakistanFollow us on twitter @RealHotTake and sign up for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
Both Sides of the Mississippi
09-09-2022
Both Sides of the Mississippi
For this week’s Hot Take Labor Day special, Mary and Amy look into the connections between labor unions and the climate movement, the mega droughts in China and California, and the ongoing water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi.If you have questions for our upcoming "Ask A Scientist" episode, please email them to us hottake@crooked.com If you want to contribute to the relief efforts in Jackson, Mississippi and Pakistan, here are a few places to give to:Cooperation Jackson - MississippiMississippi Rapid Response CoalitionAlkihidmat Foundation - PakistanFlood Relief - Akhuwat -Pakistan Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
Climate Colonialism 101
02-09-2022
Climate Colonialism 101
This week on Hot Take, Mary and Amy talk to Abrahm Lustgarten about how colonialism, both in the past and the present, put the weight of the climate crisis on the shoulders of the people who did the least to create it. As a lens, they use Abrahm's Propublica investigation of Barbados' (and other Caribbean nations) attempt to navigate the intersection of climate change and debt. This conversation was taped on the anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Ida, during devastating floods in Pakistan and Jackson, Mississippi. Here are a few places you can go to contribute to the relief efforts in Jackson, Mississippi and Pakistan:Cooperation Jackson - MississippiMississippi Rapid Response CoalitionAlkihidmat Foundation - PakistanFlood Relief - Akhuwat -Pakistan Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
A FOX in the newsroom
26-08-2022
A FOX in the newsroom
This week, Mary and Amy are joined by Evlondo Cooper, a journalist at media watchdog - Media Matters, to chat about the connections between the shrinking local new landscape and right-wing climate disinformation campaigns that have been lying on the Green New Deal, Build Back Better, and the IRA.Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
Amy and Mary Take a TV Break
19-08-2022
Amy and Mary Take a TV Break
Tune into Hot Take this week, where Mary and Amy take a much needed break by watching TV! They look at how climate is represented in TV and film by revisiting Don’t Look Up, Billions, I May Destroy You, Beasts of the Southern Wild (Mary’s favorite film!), and so much more.Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
Devil in the IRA details
11-08-2022
Devil in the IRA details
Amy and Mary cut through the noise to break down the good and the bad in the climate legislation that just passed the Senate - and take stock of what it means for the climate movement and where the conversation should go from here.
The Quiet Climate Emergency
05-08-2022
The Quiet Climate Emergency
This week, Mary and Amy break down the latest in climate news from - the Inflation Reduction Act, the possibility of a climate emergency declaration, Taylor Swift’s private jet use, and much more. Follow us on twitter  @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at  hottakepod.com