Podcast Summary: “Explaining Climate Science Through Comedy”

Podcast: All Of It
Host: David Fuerst (in for Alison Stewart)
Guests: Raleigh Williams (Climate Town, The Climate Deniers Playbook), Nicole Conlon (The Daily Show, The Climate Deniers Playbook)
Date: September 24, 2025

Overview

In this episode of All Of It, guest host David Fuerst speaks with comics and climate communicators Raleigh Williams and Nicole Conlon about how comedy can be a powerful tool for addressing climate change misinformation. With backgrounds in both climate science and comedy, they discuss their creative process, the challenge of breaking through denial and misinformation, and the cathartic, motivating potential of laughter in the face of daunting global issues.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Language in Climate Discourse

• Rebranding with Rhetoric: The episode opens with examples from political leaders, notably President Trump’s reference to “clean, beautiful coal,” to highlight how language can distort reality and shape public perception.
  • David Fuerst: “Does coal need a bit of rebranding? Just throw the words clean and beautiful in front. Problem solved.” (00:51)
• Comedy’s Role: Williams and Conlon explain that humor helps reveal the absurdity of misleading rhetoric and undercuts attempts to sanitize environmental harms.

2. Dissecting Climate Misinformation

• The Climate Deniers Playbook: The guests’ podcast and YouTube channel break down denialist arguments.
  • Raleigh Williams: “It’s sort of a breakdown of their playbook and how they use different rhetorical techniques to basically take a half truth and stretch it over a giant lie and kind of make it all feel like it's plausible.” (03:17)
• Examples of Debunking:
  • Nicole Conlon: “He’s really trying to put lipstick on a pig with this one. You can call it clean and beautiful if you want, but that doesn't change what it is.” (04:06)
  • Raleigh Williams (on parodying Trump): “Beautiful, global, growing waste. Spread it on my skin.” (04:26)
• Combatting “Frankenstein’s Monster” Arguments: Raleigh describes climate denial tropes as being stitched together, requiring targeted, factual debunking.
  • Raleigh Williams: “It’s hard to debunk because it's sort of like a Frankenstein's monster of all the different tropes all kind of lumbering through the United Nations.” (06:53)

3. Finding Humor in the Heavy

• Comedic Approach to Grave Topics: The process involves juxtaposing absurd rhetoric with scientific facts, focusing on the specifics for comedic effect.
  • Raleigh Williams: “My job is to look at this stuff and kind of try to make a little hay out of it ... picking one specific sentence and trying to go from there. Aim small, miss small kind of thing.” (07:32)
• Observational Humor:
  • Nicole Conlon (on Trump denying climate change while sweating): “I'm like, man, climate change is happening to you right now.” (08:09)

4. The Journey from Comedy to Climate—and Back

• Personal Backstories:
  • Both guests began with comedy, then pursued advanced degrees in climate and urban planning, before returning to comedy to address climate issues.
  • Nicole Conlon: “Comedy happened first ... The thing that got me into climate change specifically was the documentary ‘Merchants of Doubt,’ which is all about climate change misinformation and disinformation.” (08:37)
  • Raleigh Williams: Developed his Al Gore-inspired comedy show while meeting with climate scientists, leading him to formally study climate science. (09:28)
• Blending Passions: They explore how their unique combination of expertise and performance can demystify complex policy issues and make science accessible.

5. Crafting Content: Picking Topics and Targets

• Recent Podcast Episodes:
  • Topics include “Global Cooling” and the “light duty loophole” for truck emissions.
  • Nicole Conlon: “We try to find something that is both a piece of misinformation ... that kind of permeates everybody's lives without really knowing about it ... and also pieces with a clear villain or ... the target of what we're trying to make fun of.” (10:51)
• Ethics in Comedy:
  • Raleigh Williams: “It's just kind of bullying if you're punching down ... there's not always like a bad guy ... sometimes it’s just systems or archaic rules that have stuck around.” (12:08)

6. The Real Goal: Impact Through Laughter

• Beyond the Laughs:
  • Raleigh Williams: “It just so happens that there is a deluge of disinformation that's constantly pouring over the bow of my boat ... this comedy is just a reaction to that. I mean, I would love to go back to my number one calling, which is as a billiards YouTuber.” (13:25)
• Audience & Outreach:
  • Nicole Conlon: “We are ultimately producing a podcast to give a sense of catharsis to people who might not have a lot of people in their lives to talk about climate change with ... I'm less worried about preaching to the choir ... because there are so many little things about climate change that you just don't think about in your day to day lives.” (14:42)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Nicole Conlon: “You can call it clean and beautiful if you want, but that doesn't change what it is. We're gonna do all the clean, beautiful toxic waste. We love clean toxic waste, don't we, folks?” (04:06)
• Raleigh Williams (on climate denial tropes): “It’s hard to debunk because it's sort of like a Frankenstein's monster of all the different tropes” (06:53)
• Nicole Conlon (observational roast): “He's giving this speech and he's visibly sweating on an 80 degree day in September. Like, he's trying to deny climate change is happening. I'm like, man, climate change is happening to you right now.” (08:09)
• Raleigh Williams (on misinformation): “There's just so much disinformation that is keeping the country back. We're holding ourselves hostage with a bunch of nonsense, and I am aggravated by it.” (13:25)
• Nicole Conlon (on audience): “I am sort of under no delusions that ... some climate denier is gonna hear our podcast and it's gonna change him forever ... We are here to entertain people who are interested in the subject of climate change.” (14:42)

Segment Timestamps

• Intro & Guests Introduced: 00:09 – 03:01
• Dissecting Denialist Rhetoric & Comedy Response: 03:01 – 07:12
• Philosophy of Climate Comedy: 07:12 – 10:23
• Choosing Topics & Ethical Targets: 10:37 – 12:59
• Goals & Audience Impact: 13:25 – 15:59

Tone & Style

The episode is lively, irreverent, and smart, blending sharp comedic improvisation with genuine concern and respect for climate science. Williams and Conlon use humor not to trivialize but to clarify, finding catharsis and critique in the face of misinformation.

Conclusion

Raleigh Williams and Nicole Conlon demonstrate how comedy can be a strategic, meaningful form of climate communication—cutting through the noise, exposing the ridiculousness of denialism, and offering community and relief for those grappling with the enormity of the climate crisis. Their work proves that engaging with serious issues does not mean sacrificing laughter, especially when humor can help illuminate the truth.