Lawless Planet

Епізоди

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  Listen Now: AI A New Kind of Being 21.07.2026 6хв

  AI: A NEW KIND OF BEING is a six-part series from This Is Actually Happening, sharing the stories of people whose lives have been forever changed by artificial intelligence. You'll hear intimate, first-person accounts from every side of this new frontier. A man who fell in love with his AI and married her. A woman who was betrayed by it. A man who has been recruited by his chatbot to change the world, and an AI that has its own story to share. These are stories about what it means to be human at the razor’s edge where the line between human and machine begins to blur.These are riveting stories that will stick with you long after you listen, exploring the question: what happens when everything changes?To listen to AI: A NEW KIND OF BEING, follow THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING wherever you get your podcasts. Audible Subscribers, can listen to THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING early and ad-free right now on Audible. Download the Audible app today. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  Listen Now: Dan Taberski’s Manifesto 13.07.2026 8хв

  Just in time for America’s 250th birthday, follow Dan Taberski (Hysterical, 9/12, Missing Richard Simmons) as he sets off on his most complicated quest yet: to reclaim the manifesto and write his own. Dan attempts to rescue the manifesto as a form from the sweaty clutches of cynical politicians and mass shooters and return it to its rightful place: with the artists, the warriors, the visionaries, and the mildly crazy regular folks with something to say, the passion to say it, and the courage to do something about it. From Audible Originals and Please & Thanks Productions, this 6-part series explores the power of the manifesto and asks: Can we get inspired again… and can we do it without a bullet?Listen to Dan Taberski's Manifesto wherever you get your podcasts. Or binge all episodes of Manifesto ad-free right now on Audible. Start your Audible subscription in the Audible App or on Apple Podcasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  Tim DeChristopher’s Lonely Battle for the Planet 11.05.2026 44хв

  When you hear the term “civil disobedience,” most people think about mass demonstrations. But sometimes, the most effective protest involves a single individual willing to disrupt the system. In 2008, Tim DeChristopher aka “Bidder 70” bought $1.8 million worth of oil and gas leases in Utah that he never intended to pay for. Tim was sentenced to two years in federal prison and became an accidental martyr in the climate change movement. Nearly 20 years later, we ask him: Did it make a difference? Featured in this episode: Tim DeChristopherSources:Gravitas Documentaries’s Bidder 70Jeff Goodell’s Rolling Stone article “America’s Most Creative Climate Criminal” https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/meet-americas-most-creative-climate-criminal-196050/ Bibi van der Zee’s Inside Climate News article “Utah Climate Activist Found Guilty of Making False Bids on Energy Leases” https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04032011/tim-dechristopher-utah-oil-gas-auction-trial-activist/ Brandon Loomis’ The Salt Lake Tribune article “DeChristopher goes on trial, but does he have a defense?”https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=51289931&itype=CMSID See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  How Trump’s EPA Chief Is Dismantling Climate Regulation 04.05.2026 38хв

  With the arrival of the second Trump administration, many employees at the Environmental Protection Agency have felt like they’re under attack – from their own boss. Under its new chief Lee Zeldin, the EPA has slashed budgets, programs, and staff, all in the name of what Zeldin calls rooting out “waste, fraud, and abuse” and “driving a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion.” On this episode, we talk to EPA insiders about how the cuts have impacted their lives and careers, and the programs they care so passionately about. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  The Mining Disaster That Brought Down the 'Dark Lord of Coal' 27.04.2026 42хв

  Don Blankenship grew up poor in the heart of West Virginia coal country, but rose to become a union-busting CEO with a track record prioritizing profits over safety. For decades, he operated with seeming impunity, even as his company, Massey Energy, spilled toxic coal slurry into local waterways, and its miners died in preventable accidents. Then, in 2010, a disaster too big to ignore finally brought Blankenship down. But what does his long career reveal about an industry that the Trump administration is trying to revitalize?Sources:Peter A. Galuszka's book Thunder on the Mountain: Death at Massey and the Dirty Secrets Behind Big CoalSludge documentaryMine War on Blackberry Creek documentaryCBS’s 60 Minutes report “From inmate to candidate: Who is Don Blankenship?”Jeff Goodell’s Rolling Stone article “Don Blankenship: The Dark Lord of Coal”https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/don-blankenship-the-dark-lord-of-coal-country-184288/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  Church Rock: America's Forgotten Nuclear Disaster 20.04.2026 37хв

  In July 1979, just months after a nuclear accident at Three Mile Island gripped the nation, the largest radioactive spill in U.S. history quietly unfolded on a Navajo reservation in Church Rock, New Mexico — and almost no one noticed. A dam at a uranium mine tailings pond burst, causing 94 million gallons of toxic waste to flood a nearby river, poisoning the water, livestock, and people. Through the eyes of an activist who worked at the mine, we reveal how decades of corporate cover-ups and government indifference turned the ‘yellow dirt’ on America's largest Native reservation into something dangerous.Featured in this episode: Larry KingSources:Yellow Dirt: An American Story of a Poisoned Land and a People Betrayed by Judy PasternakThe River that Harms documentaryMarley Shebala’s Navajo Times article “Poison in the earth” https://navajotimes.com/news/2009/0709/072309uranium.php  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  Who's to Blame for L.A.'s ‘Zombie Fire’? 13.04.2026 49хв

  On New Year’s Eve 2024, an Uber driver named Jonathan Rinderknecht allegedly started a fire in the Pacific Palisades. The fire was quickly contained, but it lingered on underground as a “zombie fire.” Days later, fueled by Santa Ana Winds, it exploded into the Palisades Fire, the most destructive conflagration in Los Angeles history. A second fire, ignited just hours later, destroyed much of neighboring Altadena. In the aftermath, angry residents wanted accountability – but who is to blame for a fire when the earth is now a tinderbox?Featured in this episode:Brad Weisshaupt, LA County Fire DepartmentTraci Park, LA City CouncilIndia BradleyNic Arnzen, Altadena Town CouncilDaniel Swain, University of CaliforniaSources:The Los Angeles TimesKTLA 5 News See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  The Small Towns That Exposed the Dangers of Forever Chemicals 06.04.2026 43хв

  Chemical manufacturers like DuPont and 3M have invented nearly 15,000 synthetic compounds called PFAS, better known as “forever chemicals” because of how slowly they break down. They’re in the soil, our food, even our bodies. When the towns of Parkersburg, West Virginia and Hoosick Falls, New York found PFAS in their water supply, they fought to hold the chemical companies accountable – and exposed just how long DuPont scientists had known about the risks.Featured in this episode:Mariah BlakeSources:This episode relied heavily on the new book, They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals, by Mariah Blakehttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/554198/they-poisoned-the-world-by-mariah-blake/  And Ms. Blake’s 2015 article in the HuffPost Highline, “Welcome to Beautiful Parkersburg, West Virginia: Home to one of the most brazen, deadly corporate gambits in U.S. history”https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/welcome-to-beautiful-parkersburg/  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  Disaster Capitalism Makes Landfall in Puerto Rico 30.03.2026 41хв

  In 2017, Hurricane Maria, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded, battered the island of Puerto Rico. In the aftermath, big banks, crypto bros and other ‘disaster capitalists’ swooped in to take advantage of the crisis. No one realized the full scope of death and destruction until a scrappy team of journalists started to investigate. They exposed a corrupt system that continues to threaten Puerto Rico’s power grid, its people and the environment.Featured in this episode:Carla MinetSources:The investigative journalism of Carla Minet and her team at the Centro de Periodismo Investigativohttps://periodismoinvestigativo.com/ Naomi Klein’s book The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes on the Disaster Capitalists and her Intercept article “There’s Nothing Natural About Puerto Rico’s Disaster”https://theintercept.com/2018/09/21/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-disaster-capitalism/ Yalixa Rivera and Jonathan Levin’s Bloomberg article “Can Crypto, Cannabis, and Nicolas Cage Boost Puerto Rico’s Economy?”https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-10/can-crypto-cannabis-and-nicolas-cage-boost-puerto-rico-s-economy David Yaffe-Bellany and Laura N. Pérez Sánchez’s New York Times article “The Unraveling of a Crypto Dream”https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/13/technology/brock-pierce-crypto-puerto-rico.html Fernando Tormos-Aponte’s In These Times “How an Investigative Journalism Center Helped Oust Puerto Rican Gov. Rosselló”https://inthesetimes.com/article/investigative-journalism-rossello-puerto-rico-protests See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  The People vs. Big Oil, Part 2: Chevron Strikes Back 23.03.2026 39хв

  In 2011, the people of Ecuador shocked the world by winning a multibillion judgment against Chevron for failing to clean up its oil operations in the Amazon. But back in the U.S., Chevron responded by suing their most prominent legal adversary, Steven Donziger. And as the oil giant challenged the Ecuadorian verdict, Donziger found himself trapped in his own Kafkaesque legal nightmare, one that threatened to overshadow the plight of the people he was trying to help.Featured in this episode:Steven DonzigerPablo FajardoSources:William Langewiesche’s Vanity Fair profile “Jungle Law” https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2007/5/jungle-lawPatrick Radden Keefe’s New Yorker article “Reversal of Fortune” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/01/09/reversal-of-fortune-patrick-radden-keefeJoe Berlinger’s documentary “Crude”Paul M. Barrett’s book Law of the Jungle See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  The People vs. Big Oil, Part 1: 'Amazon Chernobyl' 16.03.2026 47хв

  After Texaco (now Chevron) discovered oil in Ecuador, they left behind an ecological and public health disaster so severe that experts have dubbed it the "Amazon Chernobyl.” The local population then sued the company sparking an epic courtroom drama spanning multiple decades and costing billions of dollars. Leading that fight are two outspoken attorneys: an American outsider not afraid to make enemies, and an Ecuadorian lawyer who risked his life to stand up for his people.Featured in this episode:Pablo FajardoSteven DonzigerSources:William Langewiesche’s Vanity Fair profile “Jungle Law” https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2007/5/jungle-law Patrick Radden Keefe’s New Yorker article “Reversal of Fortune” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/01/09/reversal-of-fortune-patrick-radden-keefe Joe Berlinger’s documentary “Crude” Paul M. Barrett’s book Law of the Jungle See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  When Elon Musk’s Data Center Came to Town 09.03.2026 43хв

  When Elon Musk’s xAI opened a data center called Colossus in South Memphis for its chatbot, Grok, local politicians and business leaders hailed it as the first step towards turning Greater Memphis into “America’s Digital Delta.” But residents soon noticed they were getting sick – and blamed the data center’s methane gas turbines, installed without permits to support the center’s massive electricity needs. Now South Memphis has become a flashpoint in the growing debate over the human and environmental costs of powering AI.Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app.Featured in this episode:KeShaun PearsonSources:Reporting by the Memphis Commercial AppealTime’s “We Are the Last of the Forgotten: Inside the Memphis Community Battling Elon Musk’s xAI” https://time.com/7308925/elon-musk-memphis-ai-data-center/ The Wall Street Journal’s “Elon Musk Gambles Billions in Memphis to Catch Up on AI”https://www.wsj.com/tech/elon-musk-xai-memphis-tennessee-power-dec4c70d The Natural Resources Defense Council’s “The AI Boom Is Stressing the Grid—But It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way”https://www.nrdc.org/stories/ai-boom-stressing-grid-it-doesnt-have-be-way See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  'Field of Schemes': Organic Farming’s Epic Fraud 02.03.2026 43хв

  When it comes to organic food, can we really trust what’s on our plate? Do we understand how it was grown or raised? The organic food industry is largely built on the honor system. More than a decade ago, a mild-mannered Missouri farmer exploited that system, raking in millions of dollars and leading a double life in Las Vegas. As it turns out, that wasn’t the only secret he was hiding.Featured in this episode: Glen BorgerdingJacob SchunkTony Morfitt Sources:Ian Parker’s reporting in The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/11/15/the-great-organic-food-fraudMike Hendricks’ reporting in The Kansas City Star https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article239079858.htmlTrial documents from the Department of Justice’s case U.S. v. Randy Constanthttps://www.justice.gov/usao-ndia/pr/field-schemes-fraud-results-over-decade-federal-prison-leader-largest-organic-fraud See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  The Battle Over Burn Pits, a Military Practice That’s Making Veterans Sick 23.02.2026 46хв

  When Jessey Baca returned from Balad Air Base in Iraq, he began experiencing strange health symptoms: fevers, chills, headaches, difficulty breathing. The VA tried to write off his condition as PTSD, but Jessey and his wife Maria would eventually learn that the likely cause was exposure to burn pits, where the military was incinerating trash with jet fuel. And they weren’t alone. Thousands of veterans were sick and dying from burn pit exposure. Featured in this episode:Kelly KennedyJessey and Maria BacaSources:Kelly Kennedy’s reporting for The Military Times (https://www.militarytimes.com/) and The War Horse (https://thewarhorse.org/)The New Republic’s “The Things They Burned”: https://newrepublic.com/article/138058/things-burned The New York Times’ “The Soldiers Came Home Sick. The Government Denied It Was Responsible”: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/11/magazine/military-burn-pits.html See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  The Bundy Family’s Bloody War over Federal Land 16.02.2026 43хв

  The tug-of-war over undeveloped land in the U.S. is nothing new, but in 2014 Cliven and Ammon Bundy escalated their dispute over cattle grazing permits in Nevada to another level. Their clash against the federal Bureau of Land Management would galvanize a movement – and set the stage for one of the largest armed uprisings against the government in American history, with lasting consequences for the environment.Featured in this episode: Betsy Gaines QuammenSources:Betsy Gaines Quammen's book American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God and Public Lands in the WestPBS’s Frontline’s documentary American Patriot. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  Who Hired Hackers to Target Climate Activists? 09.02.2026 41хв

  In 2015, news broke that Exxon’s own scientists had known for decades that burning fossil fuels was causing global warming. To raise awareness, climate activists launched a campaign called “Exxon Knew.” But almost immediately, they noticed something strange: their private emails seemed to be getting leaked to the press. They were getting hacked – but by who?  Featured in this episode:Kert Davies, Center for Climate IntegrityJohn Scott Railton, The Citizen LabSources:The Citzen Lab’s “Dark Basin: Uncovering a Massive Hack-for-Hire Operation”: https://citizenlab.ca/research/dark-basin-uncovering-a-massive-hack-for-hire-operation/ Inside Climate News’s “Exxon: The Road Not Taken”: https://insideclimatenews.org/project/exxon-the-road-not-taken/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  How America’s Deadliest Industrial Disaster Was Almost Erased 02.02.2026 42хв

  One of the worst industrial disasters in our nation’s history occurred in West Virginia in the 1930s. Not in a coal mine – but in a tunnel chiseled out of a mountain for a hydroelectric power plant. Hundreds of workers, most of them poor and Black, quietly died from breathing in silica dust. For decades, the true scale of the devastation was buried by the companies behind the project.Featured in this episode:Catherine Venable MooreDr. Martin CherniackSources:Dr. Martin Cherniack’s book The Hawk’s Nest Incident: America’s Worst Industrial Disaster Catherine Venable Moore’s “The Book of the Dead” in Oxford American:https://oxfordamerican.org/magazine/issue-94-fall-2016/the-book-of-the-deadMuriel Rukeyser's Book of the DeadGeorge Robinson’s Congressional TestimonyNPR’s reporting on the Hawk’s Nest Tunnel: https://www.npr.org/2019/01/20/685821214/before-black-lung-the-hawks-nest-tunnel-disaster-killed-hundreds See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  Clean Energy, Dirty Mines: The Dark Story of Congo Cobalt 26.01.2026 39хв

  The device you’re using to listen to this podcast almost certainly contains cobalt. It’s a vital component of rechargeable batteries, which are essential to electric vehicles, laptops, and smartphones. But most of the world’s known cobalt reserves are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where mines are plagued by child labor, human trafficking, and deadly working conditions.Featured in this episode:Siddharth KaraSources:Siddharth Kara’s book Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives and his report “Blood Batteries” https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/beacons-of-excellence/rights-lab/resources/reports-and-briefings/2025/august/blood-batteries.pdf Nicolas Niarchos’ reporting in The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/31/the-dark-side-of-congos-cobalt-rush Amnesty International’s report “This is What We Die For” https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/this_what_we_die_for_-_report.pdf See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  The Unsolved Bombing of an Earth First! Activist 19.01.2026 40хв

  In the late 1980s, Judi Bari was a fearless activist building an alliance between loggers and environmentalists to save the last of California's old growth redwoods. The same traits that attracted followers to her movement, also made her a lot of enemies. In 1990, a bomb exploded in Judi’s car while she was driving. Somehow she survived – but then the FBI showed up and told her she was under arrest.Featured in this episode: Darryl CherneySources: Darryl Cherney’s documentary Who Bombed Judi Bari? Josh Richman’s reporting in High Country News: https://www.hcn.org/issues/issue-229/earth-firster-judi-bari-avenged-at-last/ Judi Bari’s book Timber Wars See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  Inside the Sting Operation to Catch Florida’s Alligator Thieves 12.01.2026 42хв

  When Florida state wildlife officials begin to suspect that someone is illegally harvesting alligator eggs, they launch Operation Alligator Thief. At its heart: a veteran officer named Jeff Babauta, who delays his retirement to go deep undercover as a real Florida Man, hoping to infiltrate the insular world of gator farming.Featured in this episode:Jeff BabautaRebecca RennerSources:Rebecca Renner’s book Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.