Summary of Katie Spence: A real journalist covering climate and energy | Tom Nelson Pod #184

00:00:00 - 00:40:00

In the "Katie Spence: A real journalist covering climate and energy" podcast episode by Tom Nelson, Spence, a journalist at The Epic Times, shares her background and approach to reporting on climate and energy. She discusses her shift from financial journalism and her frustration with the politicized nature of climate science. Spence discovered the Clintel Report and began interviewing climate and energy skeptics, including Patrick Moore. She emphasizes her role as a journalist rather than a climate expert, revealing her concerns about taxpayer money spent on climate initiatives and the use of batteries in electric vehicles. Spence also discusses her challenges in communicating complex scientific concepts to a broad audience and critiques the investment in climate control solutions. She shares her perspective on the importance of open debate and the current mistrust in legacy media, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting in a growing interest in alternative media outlets like The Epic Times

• 00:00:00 In this section of the podcast, Katie Spence, a reporter with The EIC Times, discusses her background and her shift from financial journalism to climate and energy reporting. Spence shares her frustration with the politicized nature of climate science and how her earlier work on Tesla led her to question the zero-emissions narrative. She also reveals how she discovered the Clintel Report, a document signed by over 1,000 scientists denying the climate emergency, and began interviewing various skeptics listed in the report, including Patrick Moore, Roy Spencer, and many others. Spence emphasizes that she is not a climate expert but rather a journalist, interested in revealing the truth, even when it opposes the mainstream narrative
• 00:05:00 In this section of the interview, Katie Spence, a journalist covering climate and energy for The Epic Times, discusses her background and approach to reporting. She expresses her determination to ask questions and uncover the truth about the use of taxpayer money on climate initiatives. Spence shares that she uses data from experts like Dr. Patrick Moore and graphs from his peer-reviewed papers to support her reporting. The article she refers to, titled "Climate Scientists: We Should Embrace Higher CO2 Levels," has received positive feedback from readers. The Epic Times offers both free and premium articles, and Spence mentions Epic TV, which features long-form interviews with experts like Richard Lindzen and Nobel Prize winner John Clare. She also reveals that there are only a few reporters focusing on climate and energy at The Epic Times, and that she started investigating the climate agenda with a focus on electric vehicles and their batteries. Spence encounters pushback from those who claim the climate is changing and that she is denying this fact, but she maintains that the climate has always changed and that the focus should be on the sources of energy used in charging batteries and producing rare earth minerals for batteries
• 00:10:00 In this section of the podcast, Katie Spence discusses her article on CO2 and its role as plant food with Dr. Moore. Spence shares how she used to view CO2 negatively but was challenged by Dr. Moore's perspective, noting that plants actually thrive at higher CO2 levels. She also mentions the current low concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere (0.04%) and its historical variations, with plants almost starving at lower levels. The conversation then shifts to climate hysteria, with Spence expressing her observation of a lot of it in her personal life in Colorado, despite the state's focus on renewable energy sources. She shares her frustration with the rejection of exploring nuclear power as a viable alternative and the difficulty of running the grid solely on wind and solar energy. Spence acknowledges the discrepancy between urban and rural lifestyles in Colorado regarding the adoption of electric vehicles
• 00:15:00 In this section of the podcast, Katie Spence discusses several controversial viewpoints related to climate change and sustainability. One perspective challenges the notion of embracing higher CO2 levels, while another disputes the existence of a climate emergency. The UN report, meanwhile, suggests that spending on basics like food and shelter is detrimental to nature and should be repurposed for climatechange initiatives. Spence expresses concern about the UN's suggestions to reduce food production and agriculture, which she sees as an attempt to disrupt lifestyles and impose "urban utopias" with unusual dietary requirements. She also shares her evolution in understanding the complexities of so-called "green" technologies, like Tesla's EVs and battery production, which she identifies as less sustainable than initially thought
• 00:20:00 In this section of the podcast, Katie Spence expresses her skepticism towards the use of batteries in electric vehicles (EVs), suggesting that they may not be as practical or environmentally friendly as advocated. She raises concerns about the degradation of batteries, lack of recyclability, and the ethical issues surrounding the sourcing of materials like lithium, cobalt, and graphite. Spence also touches upon the global warming narrative and the potential for Central Bank digital currency to control carbon emissions and restrict purchases based on individual CO2 outputs. She discusses her writing process, which involves thorough research, emailing potential interviewees, and conducting interviews either in-person, over the phone, or via Zoom. Before interviews, she strives to learn about her subjects' positions on various issues
• 00:25:00 In this section of the "Katie Spence: A real journalist covering climate and energy" podcast episode hosted by Tom Nelson, Spence discusses her interviewing style and the advantages of having no background in the climate and energy field. She reveals that she enters each interview without preconceived notions, allowing her to learn from the experts and understand their perspectives. Spence uses the example of her experience with Tesla, where she initially had a positive view but changed her mind after examining the facts. She explains that her team at Epic Times follows a strict policy of getting transcripts of interviews through a tool called Otter, which records and transcribes conversations, ensuring accuracy and eliminating misquotes. When dealing with scientific information, Spence goes the extra mile to clarify any technicalities and get the experts' approval to avoid misrepresentation
• 00:30:00 In this section of the podcast, Katie Spence discusses the challenge of communicating complex scientific concepts related to climate and energy to a broad audience. She is currently preparing an interview with Wally Manheimer, a nuclear power expert, and debates whether he should cater his explanation to scientists or the general public. Spence, on the other hand, writes for The Epic Times with a goal to make technical ideas understandable to the average reader. She emphasizes the importance of fact-checking and obtaining clarification from experts to ensure accuracy before publication. She also stresses the need to approach climate science with an open mind, as many beliefs are driven by politics and money rather than unbiased scientific exploration. Spence mentions the wide range of theories regarding climate change and acknowledges that the field is still in its infancy
• 00:35:00 In this section of the podcast, Katie Spence shares her perspective on the complexity of climate science and the importance of open debate. She acknowledges the long history of climate change and stresses the human limitations in fully comprehending it. Spence criticizes the investment in climate control solutions, like CO2 as a "climate control knob," rather than in broader scientific analysis. She believes there is a significant pushback from real scientists who want to conduct rigorous research but are confronted by powerful organizations that stifle their message. Spence also brings up her previous work on medical industry censorship and describes a UN-backed initiative, Team Halo and Shots Heard, which targeted nurses who questioned the efficacy of vaccines and other health-related topics on social media, and subjected them to harassment and threats
• 00:40:00 In this section of the podcast, Katie Spence, a journalist covering climate and energy, discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine initiative have led to people questioning authority and seeking out alternative news sources. She mentions a private Facebook and Twitter group where individuals are sharing information and expressing their concerns, which have led some to question other narratives, such as those about climate change. Spence believes that the response to COVID-19, including lockdowns and school closures, proved to be detrimental and caused people to lose trust in legacy media and politicians. As a result, she notes a growing interest in and trust of alternative media outlets like The Epic Times, which she herself is a subscriber to. She emphasizes her commitment to reporting the truth without alteration and appreciates the support she has received from her audience