The Break Down: US Election Special w/ Kate Aronoff & Waleed Shahid

Amid the threat of “Project 2025”, ongoing genocide in Gaza, and a nation-wide battle over reproductive rights, to name a few major issues, the climate crisis has been considerably sidelined in the US election taking place on November 5th. But even if it’s not grabbing headlines, what the United States does — or does not do — on climate has profound implications for the entire world.  

So where does climate stand in this election? With Kamala Harris praising both the Green New Deal and her role as a champion of fracking, how should we understand the Democratic position on climate? What is the legacy of the Inflation Reduction Act, and does it even register with voters? What, if anything, is the future of the Green New Deal? And, for the many people who don’t feel represented by either major party, is a third party, or not voting, the answer?

These are big questions — here to help us answer them are two brilliant guests, journalist Kate Aronoff and Democratic strategist Waleed Shahid. In this special episode, Adrienne, Kate and Waleed unpack the chaos and the stakes of the US election, and what it means for climate action in the US and beyond.

Kate Aronoff is a journalist, Staff Writer at the New Republic and Fellow at The Roosevelt Institute. She is also the author of books including Overheated: How capitalism broke the planet — and how we fight back (2021), and A Planet To Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal (2019). 

Waleed Shahid is a Democratic strategist and movement organiser. He previously served as the Director of Communications for the Justice Democrats, the political initiative that worked to elect “The Squad” and helped to launch The Green New Deal in the US.

NOTES AND FURTHER READING

Kate Aronoff, "Green Industrial Policy’s Unfinished Business: A Publicly Managed Fossil Fuel Wind-Down", Roosevelt Institute

Kate Aronoff, "The IRA Is An Invitation to Organizers", Dissent Magazine

Waleed Shahid, "Democrats, Parties and Palestine: Five stages of political grief", Convergence

Waleed Shahid, "What The Left Can Learn From Jamaal Bowman's Loss", The Nation