Right now in the US, there is a GAS BOOM. A liquified natural gas boom — or LNG. The US produces the most LNG in the world. And the epicenter of this massive expansion? It’s here on the Gulf Coast. For the last year, we’ve traversed Louisiana trying to uncover what this growing LNG industry means for the state. But, after talking with everyone – from shrimpers to energy insiders – we realized that the stakes were far bigger. If we really wanted to tell the whole story, we had to travel even farther. In this 3-part series, we follow the journey of American gas around the world to find out if LN ..read more

With flood risk increasing and flood insurance rates likely following suit, it seems like there's got to be a better way to tackle the challenge. For example: could we make our homes float when the water comes? This week we talk to an architect who has devoted her professional life to that question, and we visit a Louisiana community where some people have decided that it makes more sense to temporarily float a house than to elevate it on stilts. -- Want to help shape the future of Life Raft? We’re looking for feedback on our first season. Filling out this (super short) survey will really help ..read more

Everyone knows flood insurance isn’t the most exciting topic. What this episode presupposes is: maybe it should be? It’s not difficult to imagine a future in which climate change-fueled storms and floods depopulate our coastal communities. Generations of Louisianians have been moving northward for decades, after all. But could the rising cost of flood insurance actually drive people away sooner? That’s the question we’re exploring this week. We talk to two experts who explain the history of flood insurance in the United States, where the program is headed, and why flood insurance affordability ..read more

Gov. John Bel Edwards wants Louisiana to dramatically cut its emissions by 2050. What would it take to get there? This week on Life Raft, reporter Tegan Wendland breaks it down for us. We talk about where Louisiana’s emissions come from, what changes need to be made to reduce them and the hurdles standing in the way, and do a little imagining about what New Orleans might look like in 2050. Do you have a question you want us to explore? Send it to us! There’s a super simple form on our website. For bonus pictures and extra fun vibes, follow us on social media. We’re on Instagram, Facebook, and ..read more

The 2020 Hurricane Season was intense. It set all kinds of records: most named storms in a season,and most to rapidly intensify, among others. Five storms hit the Louisiana coast. How much of this can we chalk up to climate change, and how much has to do with normal weather patterns? What’s the link between hurricanes and climate change? This week on Life Raft we revisit interviews with people who survived Hurricane Laura this summer, take a road trip across Louisiana, and learn the latest science about climate change and hurricanes. Do you have a question you want us to explore? Send it to us ..read more

Happy New Year, Life Raft listeners! We’re busy readying the second half of the Life Raft season, but we still wanted you to feast your ears on some climate content, so here’s a story for you. It’s all about our attachment to place in the face of climate change — our connection to the land, our ways of life, and how we emotionally process what it means for those places to be threatened by climate change. This story was originally produced by Davis Land for Houston Public Media. Davis is currently a senior producer for Slate’s daily news podcast, What Next. Got a question you want us to explore ..read more

Doomsday prepping seems more and more logical to us on the Life Raft team. Climate change-induced weather disasters are only getting worse, and it never hurts to be prepared, right? Today on the show we’re going to get a glimpse into the world of prepping through the eyes of Sharon Ross, who wanted to be prepared for anything, but later found herself the odd one out. This story comes to us from our friends at Wyoming Public Media. It’s from a terrific podcast called HumaNature, which tells stories about human experiences in nature. You can read more about Sharon Ross and her efforts here, and ..read more

When it rains, it pours. And when it pours, it floods. More and more, that appears to be the situation down South. In New Orleans, several big rain storms in recent years have turned streets into rivers and flooded homes and cars. This week on Life Raft: flooding. What can we do about it? We speak drop by a bar that regularly floods, get the latest science on climate-induced rainfall, and visit with a New Orleanian who decided to get her hands dirty and take some action. Here are some great resources for how to help reduce flooding in your neighborhood: This workbook from WaterWise Gulf Sout ..read more

No matter where you fall on the eco-anxiety spectrum, on a scale from low-key stressed to lying up at night in a dread spiral, you could probably use some advice on doing something about it. Climate change can be scary, after all. We talk with science writer Britt Wray, who has been researching the overlap of mental health and climate change. She defines some terms, offers some tips and tricks, and shares her personal experience with feelings of climate dread. Plus, she tells a fun story of that time she gave a presentation on climate denial and eco-stress to a bunch of energy executives. Here ..read more

In this debut episode of Life Raft we’re digging into extreme heat: is it ever gonna be too hot to live here? We talk to a doctor about what happens to the human body when it starts to overheat, and to a New Orleans resident on a mission to cool off her neighborhood by planting hundreds of trees. We share laughs with both. Follow Life Raft on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (@liferaftpod). Give Lauren (@laurenmalara) and Travis (@travislux) a follow while you’re at it. Do you have a question you want us to explore? Submit one to us! You can do that on our website. The question for this episod ..read more