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Season Three

Lead in my Cup w/ Jeremy Orr

For too long, people with political capital have known about water contamination and lead exposure and did nothing to fix these issues for communities of color. In many cases, elected officials made decisions to keep lead pipes in the ground for Black and Brown communities while acting swiftly to provide clean water to white communities.

Jeremy Orr is a senior attorney at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), focusing on drinking water and source water protection issues, and working to ensure that everyone has access to safe, sufficient, and affordable drinking water. He sits down with Rev Yearwood to break down the impact of lead exposure and how we can organize locally to fight for environmental justice.

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Season Three

Uproot the System w/ Corrine Van Hook-Turner & Dontay Wimberly

Rev Yearwood speaks with Corrine Van Hook-Turner, Director of Climate Innovation, Movement Strategy Center, & Dontay Wimberly, of Young Climate Leaders. The Young Black Climate Leaders program amplifies young leaders and their objectives while also providing resources to succeed while asking the questions,  What does climate mean? How is it correlated to other things such as our culture, our liberation, and our history?

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Season Three

The Definitive Decade w/ Christiana Figueres

The Global South is paying the price of the climate crisis caused by the Global North. This pattern of environmental injustice has repeated itself for decades. As we usher in a new decade, it must be the Global South and frontline communities that lead on solutions for the climate crisis. To kick off Climate Week NYC 2021, The Coolest Show Host Rev Yearwood sits down with Christiana Figueres, a globally recognized leader on climate action, to discuss how we can take actions to go from positions of disenfranchisement to positions of power.

Christiana Figueres is the founding partner of Global Optimism and former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She also steered the global diplomatic effort that culminated in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Support Global Optimism today.

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Season Three Congressional Black Caucus Series

CBC Series: Bonds From Change w/ Donna Edwards

In honor of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Foundation’s 50th year of servitude to the Black community, we interviewed 5 of its representatives, four of whom are currently serving districts across the United States. 

“I’m hopeful because I do think that we have a resilient system and the mechanisms in place to push back on people who are challenging democracy. But it also requires an engaged citizenry.”

Former Congresswoman Donna Edwards speaks with Rev Yearwood in the conclusion of the “CBC Series” about climate infrastructure, enacting policy that will reshape lives, philanthropy, and finding organizations to fund.

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Season Three Congressional Black Caucus Series

CBC Series: Declaration of Faith w/ Rep. Hank Johnson

In honor of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Foundation’s 50th year of servitude to the Black community, we interviewed 5 of its representatives, four of whom are currently serving districts across the United States. 

Congressman Henry “Hank” Johnson shares how actively engaging in political movements is a declaration of faith.

“But really, our work and our family, everything off, everything that we do is a matter of faith, is an extension of our faith. Faith permeates all of our actions…”

Rep. Johnson is a U.S. Representative from Georgia’s 4th Congressional District that joins Rev Yearwood to share how voting impacts from the past have shaped our present and what we must do in the now for a better, equitable future.

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Season Three Congressional Black Caucus Series

CBC Series: Sisterhood Strengthening Society w/ Rep. Yvette Clarke

In honor of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Foundation’s 50th year of servitude to the Black community, we interviewed 5 of its representatives, four of whom are currently serving districts across the United States. 

Congresswoman Yvette Clarke from New York’s 9th Congressional District joins Rev Yearwood and inspires the next generation as she speaks to young Black women. “We do our part in lifting up and lifting up not only our community, but by extension, all of humanity, because we have been treated with the lack of respect for our dignity as human beings. So let’s stay in the struggle sis. Let’s show that we are human beings with dignity and we are powerful and awesome, because when we make up our mind, we make things happen. And I’m excited to be a part of the sisterhood that’s making things happen.”

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Season Three Congressional Black Caucus Series

CBC Series: Producing Progressive Reform w/ Rep. Jamaal Bowman

In honor of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Foundation’s 50th year of servitude to the Black community, we interviewed 5 of its representatives, four of whom are currently serving districts across the United States. 

“I want to end poverty in this district. I’m going to do everything in my power to work with other elected officials and whomever to end poverty in this district.”

Congressman Jamaal Bowman from New York’s 16th Congressional District joins Rev Yearwood to discuss hip hop history, the adjustment for teachers during the pandemic, the Green New Deal, and his breakdown of how “The Squad’s” superpowers mirrors the Avengers.

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Season Three Congressional Black Caucus Series

CBC Series: Infrastructure For All w/ Rep. Maxine Waters

In honor of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Foundation’s 50th year of servitude to the Black community, we interviewed 5 of its representatives, four of who are currently serving districts across the United States.

“Everything that we do, we should look at [it from]a historical perspective and then connect it to what is going on now.” Rev Yearwood speaks with Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California’s 43rd Congressional District. The two discuss the intersectionality of issues with the climate crisis, young people bridging the digital divide, and the legacy of Black women.

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Season Three

BlackOak Collective w/ Sarah Nesbit and Wes Gobar

The BlackOak Collective is a networking organization that aims to build a formal home for the many Black environmental communities in the DMV. BlackOak Collective co-founders Sarah Nesbit and Wes Gobar join The Coolest Show to discuss how we must foster mentorship and build a channel for Black talent in environmental fields.

Support the BlackOak Collective.

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Season Three

The Equity Initiative w/ Leslie Fields

After spending 30 years in a movement, one is able to reflect on the challenges, the growth, and provide insight to the next generation. Movement spaces are but a microcosm of society where, just like the world we’re striving to change, we have to center and build on our values. Rev Yearwood speaks with Leslie Fields, the National Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Legal at Sierra Club. The two discuss discriminatory philanthropy, reparations, and global intersections on climate change.