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CHARLES LOI (director, writer, presenter, producer, editor) is a storyteller whose goal is to harness stories to solve complex problems. As host of Climate California, he’s grateful for the opportunity to learn from leading lights in the climate movement and spread their passionate stories to a wider audience. In the past, he’s worked on wildlife, action, animation, music, and civil society projects with some of the world's top talents and organizations (Disney, USAID, Base FX, director Lu Chuan, and many others). He studied political science at Yale University.
HANNAH LEE (co-director, co-writer, producer, editor) is a documentary producer with a passion for environmental storytelling and climate education through a wide range of mediums. Her work explores social and environmental issues both in her local community and around the world, utilizing a strong creative style to engage viewers in an ever-changing media landscape. Hannah has been a part of numerous award-winning documentary, film, and media projects, including feature documentary Skin of Glass (2023) and NorCal Public Media’s digital youth climate initiative titled ‘My Planet, My Voice.’
JEREMY JUE (co-director, co-writer, producer, editor) Jeremy is a dedicated storyteller committed to amplifying the voices of underserved and underrepresented communities. He has traveled the world, collecting the stories of individuals and organizations that are working to promote positive change in their communities. His past collaborations include working with organizations such as Not In Our Town, Planned Parenthood, Kiva, My American Dreams, Soccer Without Borders, and WorldTeach in the Marshall Islands.
DARREN LASHELLE (executive producer) is the President & CEO of Northern California Public Media and has led a concentrated media focus on environmental reporting and documentary storytelling, as well as community engagement efforts. LaShelle is an Emmy award-winning Executive Producer for the science and technology TV series "Plugged-In." He has written and produced documentaries, live and recorded TV and radio series, and breaking news coverage. LaShelle is the Executive Producer of a number of nationally-broadcast documentary programs on public television.
PAUL SWENSEN (executive producer) is the Executive Producer for Video Content and National Distribution at Northern California Public Media and serves as Executive Producer in Feature Film Production at New Regency-Los Angeles. He is an Emmy award winning Producer and has produced and directed over 400 thirty-minute programs for PBS and American Public Television such as Made in Spain with Jose Andres and Jacque Pepin’s Heart and Soul and America’s Test Kitchen.
ANNA FINKE (environmental consultant), has a deep understanding of environmental issues at the levels of both practice and theory. She has a background in forestry with a BSc from Germany and a Masters in Forestry from Yale, followed by several years of working in Asia-Pacific on forest restoration issues, and is a PhD candidate at the MINT Lab at the University of Murcia, Spain. She's contributed to reports on climate impacts on forests, including for the FAO.
She now uses her knowledge of forest ecology to explore how theories of consciousness and intelligence relate beyond the individual to the community and group level in plant groups and forest ecosystems. To explore this, she uses knowledge from across many fields such as evolution, dynamic systems theory, perception, cognition and philosophy to look at specific phenomena such as mycorrhizal networks, clonality, succession and forest ecology at large.
SEASON 1, EPISODE 1 - RECLAMATION
Extracting resources has brought human civilization to where it is today. What does it take to protect our neighborhoods and restore ecosystems?
In this first episode, we start to explore some of these topics.
The 1.5 Degree Limit
- The UN’s description of the Paris Agreement
- The U.S. government’s climate website
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
California’s Formation
- Kim Stanley Robinson’s memoir, The High Sierra: A Love Story.
- John McPhee’s classic, Assembling California.
- Mary Hill’s Geology of the Sierra Nevada.
- Kevin Starr’s classic California: A History.
Dopamine
- Dan Lieberman and Michael Long’s book, The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity―and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race
- Vox’s explanation of what dopamine is
The Klamath River Dams
- A timeline of the dams’ history
- Russ Rymer’s “Reuniting a River” in National Geographic, December 2008.
- NPR’s reporting on All Things Considered by Erik Neumann
- Julie Watson’s AP article
The Importance of Stories
- Dan Lieberman’s book, Spellbound: Modern Science, Ancient Magic, and the Hidden Potential of the Unconscious Mind
- Joseph Campbells’ classic, The Hero with a Thousand Faces
The Ministry for the Future
Oil and California’s Wells
- CalGEM’s orphan wells plan
Oil - The Chemistry
- Harold Schobert’s Chemistry of Fossil Fuels and Biofuels
- University of Calgary’s Energy Education website
- The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s explanation of oil and petroleum products
Oil’s History
- Daniel Yergin’s The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power
- Gray Brechin’s Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin
Oil - How it Works in Your Car
Oil - Idle Wells
- Liza Gross’s reporting in Inside Climate News on the legal battles
- FracTracker’s reporting
- California’s Natural Resources Agency’s efforts
- California Senate Bill 1137
- A withdrawn referendum on SB 1137 (2024)
Oil - VOCs
- The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s report, Public Health and Safety Risks of Oil and Gas Facilities in Los Angeles County
- The EPA’s site
- The Hazardous Substance Research Center’s factsheet
- Drew Michanowicz’s report on air pollution and health impacts
- Judith Lewis Mernit’s article in Yale Environment 360
- A review of evidence of the health effects by Jill E. Johnston, Esther Lim, and Hannah Roh
- An article about how fumes sickened EPA officers by Louis Sahagun in the LA Times
- Chemical facts
- Benzene and the smell of gasoline
- Sodium benzoate
- Chemical facts
- Hexane and vegetable oil
Planetary Boundaries
- Stockholm Resilience Centre’s research on planetary boundaries
- A warning in Science Advances
CHECK BACK SOON AS WE UPDATE THIS PAGE WITH A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE MANY TOPICS COVERED THROUGHOUT OUR SERIES
GUESTS
CESAR AGUIRRE is a COMMUNITY ORGANIZER based in Kern County. He has worked to address toxic leaks from oil drills and helped California enact setbacks laws to prevent new oil drills from being placed close to homes, hospitals, and schools. We follow him on oil leak inspections and learn about what keeps him motivated despite the odds.
Learn more about his work at the Central California Environmental Justice Network
(Featured: Season 1, Episode 1)
JACK HINES is a SOUNDSCAPE ECOLOGIST and the creator and host of EAR TO THE WILD, a radio show that encourages us to connect to the natural world by listening. He and his mentor, Bernie Krause, have been using animal sounds such as bird songs to learn how our planet’s patterns and ecosystem conditions are being disrupted by climate change.
Learn more about his work.
(Featured: Season 1, Episode 2)
BERNIE KRAUSE is a SOUNDSCAPE ECOLOGIST and MUSICIAN who began his career as a sound recordist for Hollywood blockbusters. But his path took a turn when he began recording the sounds of nature and studying those sounds as an indicator of ecological health – in doing so, he became a pioneer of the entirely new field of soundscape ecology. He has recorded and written many groundbreaking works, include the book, The Great Animal Orchestra.
Learn more about his work.
(Featured: Season 1, Episode 2)
DAN LIEBERMAN is a PSYCHIATRIST and PROFESSOR at George Washington University who co-authored The Molecule of More, a book that explores the role of dopamine in human behavior. We learned about the influence of human irrationality in resource accumulation, and its impact on our climate. But we also explore the potential for redirecting dopaminergic impulses towards climate solutions, as well as Here and Now molecules that could help us restore balance.
Learn more about his work
(Featured: Season 1, Episode 1)
OSHUN O’ROURKE is a FISHERIES BIOLOGIST with the Yurok Tribe. She’s working to restore the salmon population that are vital to her tribe’s survival and cultural heritage. We follow her as she and her team study the health of juvenile salmon after the demolition of dams on the Klamath River. Her work is part of the world’s largest dam removal project.Learn more about the Yurok Tribe:
JOHN REID is a CONSERVATION ECONOMIST and CO-AUTHOR of the book Ever Green, which explores the importance of saving forests in the fight against climate change and offers realistic economic pathways to preserving these vital ecosystems. We spoke with him to learn about how we can reframe our goals and systems as a society to sustain the health and abundance of life on our planet.(Featured: Season 1, Episode 2)
KIM STANLEY ROBINSON is a masterful SCIENCE FICTION AUTHOR whose book, The Ministry for the Future, became a best-selling beacon of hope. In it, he explores the coming crisis as well as innovative and bold solutions, such as a carbon coin, geoengineering, and massive social change. We speak with him to learn how to apply his science fiction thinking to the challenges we confront in the real world.(Featured: Season 1, Episode 1)
WHALE SAFE is a project of the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at UC Santa Barbara that harnesses the power of AI and data to help prevent whales from being hit by ships. We speak with CALLIE LEIPHARDT (right) and RACHEL RHODES (left), scientists at Whale Safe who are passionate about protecting these incredible animals. They explained the importance of providing the tools and education to help shipping companies avoid whale collisions, as well as spreading awareness about how our consumer choices can make a difference in this global problem.(Featured: Season 1, Episode 2)
TIFFANY YAP is a SENIOR SCIENTIST and WILDLIFE CORRIDOR ADVOCATE with the Center for Biological Diversity who advocates for a healthy environment – with an emphasis on amphibians, such as newts. We speak with her to learn how newts in California are being impacted by human activity, from climate change to habitat fragmentation, and what we can do to help.(Featured: Season 1, Episode 2)
AMPAIRE, electric airplanes
BLAINE MCKINNON, Yurok fire division chief
CAFE OHLONE, Ohlone chefs
DIANDRA MARIZET ESPARZA, community organizer 
Instagram
ERMIAS KEBREAB, animal science researcher
GRAY BRECHIN, author of Imperial San Francisco
GREG KING, author of The Ghost Forest
GREENFAITH with WILLIAM MORRIS, interfaith climate activists Instagram / X / 
Facebook
iNATURALIST, nature app Instagram
KELLY TURNER, heat scientist
KOUNKEY DESIGN INITIATIVE with CHRISTIAN RODRIGUEZ CEJA, community organizers Instagram / Facebook / X
LEW REID, co-author of the California Coastal Act
LUCY KERHOULAS, ecophysiology researcher, and NICK KERHOULAS phylogeneticist
THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER with CARA FIELD Facebook / Instagram / X / 
YouTube
MATTER OF TRUST with Lisa Gautier eco-enthusiasts Instagram / Facebook / 
TikTok
MEDLOCK AMES with AMES MORISON, regenerative winery Instagram / Facebook / X
MELISSA WARD, oceans scientist
MYCELIUM YOUTH NETWORK with MARCY BROWN, environmental gamers Instagram / Facebook / X / TikTok
NORMAN ROGERS and USW LOCAL 675, labor organizers
NORTH BAY JOBS WITH JUSTICE, labor coalition Instagram / Facebook / X
REBOOT with JASMINE SUN, tech writers
SEAMLESS BAY AREA with IAN GRIFFITHS, transit connectors. X / Facebook
ROSANNA XIA, author of California Against the Sea Instagram
TAYE BRIGHT, mycologist Instagram
UN MAR DE COLORES with MARIO ORDONEZ-CALDERON, outdoor educators
