logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2020
23m 15s

When the Environment United Us

The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios
About this episode

April 22, 1970. Nearly 20 million Americans come out in solidarity for one of the largest mass movements of the century. It was called Earth Day. And 50 years later, we still celebrate this day. But in 1970, this call to action crossed the aisle and brought major change to Washington, a feat that seems almost impossible today. Why did that first-ever Earth Day bring such a huge number of Americans—from across the political spectrum—out into the streets? And what might it take to unite the country again?


Special thanks to our guests:

Adam Rome, author of "The Genius of Earth Day: How a 1970 Teach-In Unexpectedly Made the First Green Generation" and professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University at Buffalo.


Jerry Yudelson, MS, MBA, LEED Fellow Emeritus and Author of "The Godfather of Green: An Eco-Spiritual Memoir"


To our listeners, thank you for subscribing to History This Week. We want to hear your feedback: https://bit.ly/3a4FGqJ


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Oct 6
Stalin’s War on Genetics
October 11, 1955. Nearly three hundred of the Soviet Union’s top scientists sign a secret letter demanding the removal of one man: Trofim Lysenko. For decades, Lysenko had Joseph Stalin’s ear, ruling Soviet biology with an iron fist—banning genetics, rewriting textbooks, and send ... Show More
40m 38s
Sep 29
The Bone Wars
October 4, 1915. President Woodrow Wilson designates Dinosaur National Monument as a national historic site. That’s a big deal, right? There must’ve been a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony, maybe even a parade. But no. In 1915, nobody really cares about dinosaurs. But that is all ab ... Show More
35m 11s
Sep 22
When Nintendo (and Mario) Rescued Video Games
September 27, 1986. You’re a kid in the mid-80s. You get home from school, flip on the TV, and see something strange: a commercial where a giant egg hatches behind a family’s console, revealing a toy robot. His name is R.O.B. — the Robotic Operating Buddy — but he's just an acces ... Show More
30m 15s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2020
How Far We've Come
In our premiere episode, we climb aboard an audio time machine with the reporter Adam Cole to look back at pivotal moments in climate change history. Host John D. Sutter speaks with the actor and climate activist Ed Begley Jr. about the first Earth Day 50 years ago and the things ... Show More
30m 19s
Apr 2024
Earth Day, Every Day
Earth Day is celebrated on April 22, but around here, every day is Earth Day. In this episode, hosts Rick and Marco discuss the origins of Earth Day and why it was first established in 1970. After starting in the U.S., the holiday is now observed in many nations around the world. ... Show More
18m 46s
May 2017
Kate Daloz, “We Are As Gods: Back to the Land in the 1970s on a Quest for a New America” (PublicAffairs, 2016)
Growing up in a geodesic dome is not a claim everyone can make, but author Kate Daloz can. Her book We Are As Gods: Back to the Land in the 1970s on a Quest for a New America (PublicAffairs, 2016) traces the path taken by many children of suburbia in the 1960s across the country ... Show More
54m 30s
Aug 2020
The Uninhabitable Earth
David Wallace-Wells is a lifelong New Yorker. He is not a lifelong environmentalist—“at all,” he says. He came of age in the ’90s, drank a lot of “that development, globalization, neoliberal Kool-Aid and really felt the world was getting better and richer.” But learning more abou ... Show More
51m 23s
May 2020
Climat, migration et géopolitique - François Gemenne
François Gemenne est un chercheur en sciences politiques, rattaché à l’université de Liège. Il enseigne à Sciences Po Paris et à l’Université Libre de Bruxelles. Ses recherches sont essentiellement consacrées aux conséquences politique et sociales liés aux changements climatiques ... Show More
53m 17s
Aug 2020
The Green Wave
It started with students walking out of school to demand more action on climate change, built into an international movement – and then was propelled forward by a pandemic. Today on the show, the surprising story behind Europe’s climate plan, and what the rest of us can learn fro ... Show More
45m 6s
Oct 2019
We Can Solve Climate Change Now: Paul Hawken & IN-Q LIVE
“There’s no difference between a climate denier and somebody who’s literate in climate change and doesn’t do anything.”Paul Hawken I'm ecstatic to share my first live podcast event, recorded at the Los Angeles Wilshire Ebell Theatre on September 27, 2019.For all of us, this podca ... Show More
2h 7m
Dec 2020
E54: Earth Wizards | Consciousness Anywhere Podcast: Shannon O'Hara & Gary Douglas & Dr Dain Heer
People try to live on the Earth and take from it instead of with it and seeing how they can contribute to it. Shannon O’Hara chats with Gary Douglas and Dr. Dain Heer about what we can step into being for the Earth, with the Earth and living as the Earth. Instead of using the Ear ... Show More
47m 44s