Critical Frequency Launches Climate Lawsuits Podcast Damages

Listen to episode one now on all podcast providers: https://podlink.to/damages

Independent podcast network Critical Frequency, creators of the most-downloaded climate podcast Drilled and the history of disinformation podcast Rigged, and climate talk show Hot Take, which was recently acquired by Crooked Media, launches the new legal podcast Damages today. The show is hosted by investigative journalist and Critical Frequency founder Amy Westervelt and a team of international reporters.

Damages is a courtroom drama that follows the hundreds of climate lawsuits currently active all over the world. It's a show about the quest for justice and a crime against humanity: the climate crisis. As Westervelt explains in the trailer: “Right now around 200 court cases are making their way through legal systems around the world, with one goal: To hold companies and governments accountable for their roles in the climate crisis. They hinge on different legal strategies, but they’re all fighting for one plaintiff. It’s all of us, and life on this planet.”

The first season, which begins today, explores "rights-of-nature" laws, which bring Indigenous approaches to nature into Western judicial systems by giving ecosystems the same rights that individuals have. Westervelt uses original reporting and interviews to unpack a series of fascinating climate cases, from wild rice suing the state of Minnesota over a pipeline permit to a cloud forest suing the government of Ecuador over mining.

Future seasons will explore a former BP lawyer suing the country of Guyana for allowing ExxonMobil to drill offshore, the young people who are leading climate suits around the world, whether oil companies are legally liable to foot the bill for climate adaptation, and a new type of defense for activists arrested disabling fossil fuel infrastructure.

ABOUT CRITICAL FREQUENCY 

Critical Frequency is a women-run podcast network that has consistently turned out chart-topping, award-winning reported narrative shows. We combine rigorous journalism and inventive storytelling to create shows that delve into the complex issues facing society today, from climate to disinformation and democracy. Named AdWeek’s 2019 Podcast Network of the Year, Critical Frequency was founded in 2017 and has produced a total of 24 shows, including productions for Crooked Media and Stitcher’s Witness Docs. Our shows have received a wide range of awards, as well as praise in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, and more.

ABOUT AMY WESTERVELT

Amy Westervelt is the founder of the Critical Frequency podcast network, and an award-winning print and audio journalist. She contributes to The Guardian, The Nation, and Rolling Stone, and has previously contributed to The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, KQED, The California Report, Capital Public Radio, and many other outlets. In 2007, she won a Folio for her feature on the potential of algae as a feedstock for biofuel. In 2015 she was awarded a Rachel Carson award for "women greening journalism", in 2016 she won an Edward R. Murrow award for her series on the impacts of the Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada, in 2019 she won the Online News Association award for “Excellence in Audio and music storytelling,” and in 2021 she won Covering Climate Now’s audio award. As the head of Critical Frequency, she has executive produced more than a dozen podcasts, including projects with Stitcher’s Witness Docs and Crooked Media. Her book Forget Having It All: How America Messed Up Motherhood, and How to Fix It was published in November 2018 by Seal Press.

Go here for photos, logos and more info:

https://shorefire.com/roster/amy-westervelt-critical-frequency

For more information regarding Damages, contact Ray Padgett (raypadgett@shorefire.com) or Mark Satlof (msatlof@shorefire.com) at Shore Fire Media.