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The origins of climate science and the emergence of increasingly clear warnings about human-caused warming and how economic and geopolitical priorities began to impede action in the 1970s.

As the reality of global warming becomes increasingly clear, economic theories and political choices continue to delay meaningful action. The episode examines the growing conflict between climate science and economic priorities, from the emergence of scientific consensus to James Hansen’s landmark testimony in 1988.

With climate change internationally recognized, fossil-fuel interests organize campaigns of doubt and resistance. The episode examines how lobbying and ideology prolonged inaction and helped shift the world from prevention toward adaptation, deepening existing inequalities.