Podcast Summary: Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey – Ep 1228 | She Helped AOC Win. Now She’s Exposing Zohran Mamdani & Climate Activism | Lucy Biggers

Release Date: August 8, 2025

In episode 1228 of Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey, hosted by Allie Beth Stuckey from the Blaze Podcast Network, former climate change activist and social media editor Lucy Biggers shares her journey from a passionate climate influencer to a vocal critic of the current climate movement. This episode delves deep into her transformation, the pitfalls she observed within activist circles, and her perspectives on contemporary political figures and policies.

1. Lucy Biggers' Background and Rise as a Climate Influencer

Lucy Biggers begins by outlining her career trajectory, emphasizing her initial passion for progressive causes:

"I'm Lucy Biggers. I'm the social media editor at the Free Press. I also write for them a bit. And I'm a former climate influencer, former sort of lefty social justice warrior who has had a political evolution since becoming a mom." [02:20]

Working at NowThis News during the peak of Bernie Sanders' popularity, Lucy immersed herself in progressive journalism, eventually becoming one of the first to interview Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). Her coverage extended to significant events like the Standing Rock protests, where her content garnered millions of views.

2. Experience at NowThis and the Emergence of Groupthink

Lucy reflects on the internal dynamics of her newsroom, highlighting the prevalent "oppressor versus oppressed" mentality that stifled diverse viewpoints:

"If you're white privileged, like, you're an oppressor, like, that was sort of like a theme in the newsroom." [05:08]

She discusses how this environment led to self-censorship, with individuals, including herself, suppressing their authentic opinions to align with the group's expectations.

3. Transformation: From Activism to Critique

The turning point in Lucy's journey began with witnessing the aftermath of the Standing Rock protests. Despite her initial pride in promoting the movement, she later recognized its underlying hypocrisies:

"I decided not to do it because I didn't want to sully the positive narrative that I had put onto the movement. And ultimately, I think it cost the town... it was a lot of trash." [10:23]

This realization sparked her critical stance against what she perceives as the climate movement's shift from genuine environmentalism to destructive activism.

4. Personal Changes: Marriage, Motherhood, and Shifting Perspectives

Lucy discusses how major life events influenced her beliefs. Her marriage in September 2019 and the birth of her son in March 2022 prompted her to reassess her views on consumption and environmental anxiety:

"I have to, I need to let it go. And I get it. Cause people are now like, you just don't care anymore. And I'm like, no, I just think that it's fine." [28:15]

These personal milestones helped her move away from extreme guilt over consumption, fostering a more balanced approach to environmental stewardship.

5. Critique of the Climate Movement

A significant portion of the discussion centers on Lucy's critiques of the current climate movement:

• Anti-Human Sentiment: Lucy argues that the movement has become anti-human, demonizing modern conveniences and civilization itself.

  "They hate the west, they hate America. And it's really a protesting movement more than an environmental movement." [10:25]

• Ineffective Solutions: She criticizes proposed solutions like wind and solar energy for their environmental impacts and reliance on fossil fuels for their production.

  "They have sort of sacred held beliefs and it's like wind and solar are perfect. They even vilify nuclear, they fight nuclear plants. When I think that that's a really promising technology." [19:05]

• Virtue Signaling and Hypocrisy: Lucy highlights the disconnect between activists' rhetoric and their actions, pointing out instances like Leonardo DiCaprio's private jet usage despite advocating for environmentalism.

  "They are the ones who are going to all this stuff and creating these movements... it's all virtue signaling and a weird again like this myth of like the noble savage." [49:33]

6. Critique of Political Figures and Policies

Lucy offers pointed critiques of progressive politicians, focusing on Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral candidate for New York City. She argues that well-meaning leftist policies often backfire, citing the Affordable Housing Act of 2019:

"They capped the amount you could raise rent on rent controlled apartments to just 2%. ... there are tens of thousands of empty rent controlled apartments in New York City right now because the landlords cannot put $100,000 or $60,000 into an apartment to bring up to code and only charge $400 a month." [47:22]

She emphasizes the unintended consequences of such regulations, leading to housing shortages and increased absentee landlords.

7. Advice for Conservatives and Progressives

Lucy provides tailored advice for both conservatives skeptical of environmentalism and progressives entrenched in climate activism:

• For Conservatives: She encourages responsibility through simple acts like littering prevention.

  "Start there. I like when it comes to like your consumption and stuff, I really do think that humans are so industrious and so good at coming up with problem solving." [32:19]

• For Progressives: She urges a shift from guilt to gratitude, recognizing the advancements brought by civilization and technology.

  "Bringing in that perspective of, hey, we're not in late stage capitalism, 10 years away from dying, but look at these facts, look at how good we have it compared to our ancestors." [34:33]

8. Future of Climate Change and Socialism

Discussing the trajectory of climate change activism intertwined with socialist ideologies, Lucy expresses skepticism about the movement's sustainability and effectiveness:

"I think that the mindset we were discussing of people feeling just guilty for being alive and having the shame and walking around feeling horrible being a human, I feel like that that's so pervasive in our culture." [53:59]

She observes that while climate change as a focal point may have peaked, the underlying guilt and anti-human sentiments continue to influence societal perspectives.

9. Conclusion and Further Engagement

In closing, Allie Beth Stuckey thanks Lucy for her openness and encourages listeners to engage with her content across various platforms for more insights.

"I think that alone will just help a lot of people think more critically about what they believe. So thank you so much." [54:43]

Lucy provides her social media handles and promotes her work at the Free Press, inviting listeners to follow her for continued commentary.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• "I was almost at the beginning lines of it because I worked in a very liberal newsroom in the 20 teens." [05:10]
• "Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by climate change, but instead of being hopeless, I'm going to be proactive..." [14:32]
• "We have a fossil free future, but it will probably just be a new technology that we don't even know about yet." [32:19]
• "Have you started covering climate change? Was that something that you were genuinely interested in?" [06:57]

Key Takeaways:

• Evolution of Beliefs: Personal life changes can significantly impact one's ideological stance.
• Critique of Movements: Even well-intentioned movements like climate activism can develop internal issues like groupthink and hypocrisy.
• Balanced Stewardship: Advocacy for environmental care should balance human progress with conservation, avoiding extremist positions.
• Policy Implications: Progressive policies, while aiming to tackle issues like housing affordability, can have unintended negative consequences.

This episode offers a candid look into the complexities of activism, personal transformation, and the ongoing debate surrounding environmental stewardship and political policies.