Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast12 Nov 2025

Inside COP: Is The US Still In? And Gavin Newsom on ‘invasive species’ Trump

Day three of COP30, and there’s one elephant not in the room.

While there are plenty of United States citizens at this COP, for the first time, there are no US delegates. Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Fiona McRaith consider this notable absence, and ask: can a country that keeps flipping between progress and denial still claim climate leadership?

In a conversation recorded live in the Blue Zone for America Is All In, Christiana sits down with California’s Governor Gavin Newsom, who delivers a fiery defence of his state’s climate leadership and a warning about what’s at stake for democracy itself. But with reports swirling that Donald Trump may soon greenlight new drilling off California’s coast, how does he respond?

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the team untangles the latest intrigue over who will host COP31 - with Australia, Turkey and even Germany now in the mix - and a rather surreal rumour involving Turkey’s First Lady.

And just after the mics were packed away, protests erupted outside and inside the COP30 venue. Christiana shares her reflections on what this moment means for the summit.

Learn more:

📰 Read the latest reports that Trump is planning to allow oil and gas drilling off the California coast

📣 Find out more about the protests at the COP30 venue

🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements

🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe or on our socials where you can also see more behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos:

Instagram @outrageoptimism

LinkedIn @outrageoptimism

Or via this form.

Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

Edited by: Miles Martignoni

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism.

This is a Persephonica production for Global Optimism and is part of the Acast Creator Network.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(394)

Presenting: 'We Are The Great Turning'

This week, something unique for our listeners from the podcast 'We Are The Great Turning'. As Joanna Macy approaches the end of a long life dedicated to healing our imperiled planet, she begins the co...

26 Juni 202431min

251. World Refugee Day: Migration In A Post-Climate Change World

This week, Outrage + Optimism celebrate World Refugee Day with an interview with Gaia Vince. The hosts discuss how extreme heat, floods or natural disasters cause tens of millions of people to leave t...

20 Juni 202454min

250. Why Collective Trauma Is Keeping Us Stuck On Climate

This week, we go deep into trauma with Thomas Hübl, who developed the Collective Trauma Integration Process for working with individual, ancestral, and collective trauma. With the help of Thomas, hear...

13 Juni 202442min

249. US Elections: Could Trump Surprise Us On Climate?

This week’s episode kicks off with Tom and Paul discussing the critical events shaping global democracy over the last week including Trump’s convictions, the first head to head debate between Rishi Su...

6 Juni 202446min

248. Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We'll Win the Climate War

This week, Christiana, Tom and Paul bring the politics with a discussion on the upcoming UK election. Our hosts chat to Tom Steyer, Co-Executive Chair of Galvanize Climate Solutions, a mission-driven ...

30 Maj 202455min

247. The Pope’s Hope? Biden’s Tariffs and Jeremy Clarkson’s About-Turn

On this week’s show…. Christiana's Corner: Dive into the riveting insights from Christiana as she unpacks the recent CBS interview with the Pope where he declared "Climate change at this moment is a r...

23 Maj 202441min

246. Trump's Oily Offer, Mobilizing Young Climate Voters and The State of Scientists

This week, with Tom away, our hosts are joined by Dr. Sweta Chakraborty, Climate Behavioural Scientist & CEO of North America, We Don't Have Time. Together they wrestle on the spectrum of outrage and ...

16 Maj 202438min

245. Deceit, Small Thinking and Fiduciary Duty

This week, Christiana, Tom and Paul are back together and, as we continue to experiment with a new format, they each bring the topic they are feeling particularly outraged or optimistic about; listen ...

9 Maj 202440min