logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2024
26m 45s

How Air-Conditioning Conquered America

The New York Times
About this episode
Air-conditioning has become both our answer to a warming planet and a major obstacle to actually confronting it. Emily Badger, who covers cities and urban policy for The Times, explains the increasingly dangerous paradox of trying to control the temperature. 
Up next
Today
Arizona’s Food Stamp Crisis Is Coming for the Rest of the U.S.
The United States is undergoing one of the biggest changes to its social safety net in recent history, with huge numbers of people getting dropped from the government’s food assistance program. Nowhere has this been more dramatic than in Arizona. Jason DeParle, who covers poverty ... Show More
31m 9s
Yesterday
Will Michigan Rewrite the Rules of Democratic Politics?
In Michigan, a race for U.S. Senate is not only testing the growing appeal of left-wing populism. It could also be a turning point in a long-running debate among Democratic voters about the importance of electability. Michael Kruse, who writes about politics for The New York Time ... Show More
40m 32s
Aug 3
The Tangled Tale of the Tate Brothers and the Trumps
Warning: This episode contains strong language. Over the past decade, the Tate brothers have built a global empire around pornography, hypermasculinity and overt misogyny. At the same time, they have been repeatedly accused of assaulting and trafficking women. A Times investigati ... Show More
39m 41s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2022
The cooling conundrum
Global warming means the world will need a lot more air conditioning - but will the AC just make global warming even worse?The Middle East already experiences peak temperatures over 50C, as the Kuwaiti social media influencer Ascia Alshammiri testifies. And things are only set to ... Show More
18m 18s
Jul 2024
One Thing: Power Lines for the Left Behind
A sweltering summer is continuing around the world, as the planet continues to break records for the hottest day in recorded history. In the US, medical officials and utility companies in multiple cities are struggling to keep up. In this episode, we look at why power grid resili ... Show More
18m 48s
Jan 2025
Adaptitude: India and climate change
<p>The world’s most populous country is at the front line of climate change. Our deputy editor explores the many ways <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/01/02/how-14bn-indians-are-adapting-to-climate-change?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theint ... Show More
25 m
Aug 2011
Air Conditioners
<p>Air conditioners are a nifty -- and sometime life-saving -- invention, but how does an air conditioner make air cooler? What does a compressor do? What’s a swamp cooler? Tune in for answers to these questions and more in this episode of TechStuff.</p><p> </p> Learn more about ... Show More
40m 19s
Sep 2023
Air conditioning and political dysfunction
What does air conditioning have to do with political dysfunction in Washington? Apparently, more than you’d imagine. We’ll get into the history behind AC in the halls of Congress and how that’s affected the way lawmakers do their jobs. Then, what drove Sen. Mitt Romney to call it ... Show More
12m 37s
Jul 2023
One Thing: Welcome to Hot World Summer
Throughout the month of July, scorching temperatures have broken records on several continents — the latest in a trend caused by the climate crisis. Meanwhile, in the US, extreme rainfall has led to devastating floods and toxic wildfire smoke has drifted down from Canada, prompti ... Show More
17m 1s
Aug 2023
New Technology Is Here To Fight Climate Change. Will We Use It?
Despite global efforts to slow the effects of climate change, July was the hottest month on record in over 125,000 years. The good news is, powerful new technology not available just a few years ago can help turn things around, if we get serious about taking action. Bloomberg’s E ... Show More
27m 4s