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  • Past, Present, and Future Climate Reporting with NPR's Sadie Babits

    Past, Present, and Future Climate Reporting with NPR's Sadie Babits
    2025/07/31
    The global climate has undoubtedly changed. Earlier this year, Copernicus, one of the most trusted weather models in the world, calculated that global average temperatures have increased by 1.4°C (2.5°F) since the start of the Industrial Revolution. This seemingly slight increase has had an outsized effect on weather patterns, challenging our ability to predict and prevent disasters resulting from more extreme weather. Most Americans are at least somewhat concerned about global warming, the documented solution to which is greenhouse gas reduction. Yet just this week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to rescind its central scientific basis for climate-related regulation. And with so much competing for our attention, it is easy to imagine that relatively few people will take note of such a policy decision—let alone clearly understand the larger implications and how to respond. In this episode, NPR's Sadie Babits discusses her new book Hot Takes: Every Journalist’s Guide to Covering Climate Change, written to equip all of us (journalists or not) to take part in critical public discourse about climate science and policy. Listen in as Sadie and Ten Across founder Duke Reiter talk about the development of this book, and how journalists can and must rise to the challenges present in the political and media landscape today. The video format of this discussion will be released 8.7.25. Subscribe to the Ten Across newsletter at 10across.org/subscribe/ to receive it as soon as it is available. Related links: “Funding cuts will hit rural areas hard. One station manager explains how” (All Things Considered, July 2025) “Congress rolls back $9 billion in public media funding and foreign aid” (NPR, July 2025) “Trump EPA moves to repeal landmark ‘endangerment finding’ that allows climate regulation” (Associated Press, July 2025) “There’s a Race to Power the Future. China is Pulling Away” (The New York Times, June 2025) Relevant Ten Across Conversations podcast episodes: Getting Personal About Climate Change with Sammy Roth Reporting on Climate Change When it’s at Your Doorstep with Allison Agsten 10X Heat Series: Covering Climate Change as It Unfolds with Jeff Goodell Journalists and Writers on Breaking the Existential Story of Our Lives—Climate Change Credits: Host: Duke Reiter Producer and editor: Taylor GriffithStudio support and video crew: Louie Duran and Utkarsh ByahutMusic by: Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler About our guest Sadie Babits is the senior supervising climate editor for National Public Radio and author of “Hot Takes: Every Journalist’s Guide to Covering Climate Change.” She was previously professor of practice and the sustainability director for the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University. Sadie was a freelance journalist, editor, and consultant for many years and is a former board president of the Society of Environmental Journalists.
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    45 分
  • A Road Trip Along Interstate 10 with Author E.A. Hanks — Part Two

    A Road Trip Along Interstate 10 with Author E.A. Hanks — Part Two
    2025/07/25
    This episode deals with some mature topics. Listener discretion is advised. This week, we’re bringing you the second half of our discussion with author E.A. (Elizabeth) Hanks about her new book, The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road. Elizabeth undertook her journey along the iconic Interstate 10 transect to better understand herself and the nation we inhabit—and her experience is a perfect subject for a Ten Across conversation. In part two, Ten Across founder Duke Reiter and Elizabeth pick up where they left off at the end of the first installment, crossing from Texas into Louisiana on her way to her favorite stop of all—New Orleans. Tracing the length of the Gulf Coast to her destination in Florida, they explore what this diverse set of places revealed along the way about family, country, and culture. Relevant Ten Across Conversations podcast episodes and other links: A Road Trip Along Interstate 10 with Author E.A. Hanks - Part One Governing Through Times of Crisis and Opportunity with Mayor Mitch Landrieu - Part One and Part Two A Fight for Better Air Quality in CA’s Inland Empire Reveals a Need for American Innovation Catherine Coleman Flowers: A National Voice for Rural and Unincorporated America Fewer Roads Could Mean More Freedom with Megan Kimble Envisioning a Just Future for All with Dr. Robert Bullard thewhoweareproject.org “Trump Told Park Works to Report Displays That ‘Disparage’ Americans. Here’s What They Flagged” (The New York Times, July 2025) “The Costs of the Confederacy” (Smithsonian Magazine, 2018) Listen to The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road on Spotify or other audiobook servicesCredits: Host: Duke ReiterProducer and editor: Taylor GriffithMusic by: RaminResearch and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler About our guest:E.A. Hanks is the author of The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road. She is a former editorial assistant for Vanity Fair and news editor for The Huffington Post. Her culture reporting has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, Time Magazine, and The Awl, among others.
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    46 分
  • A Road Trip Along Interstate 10 with Author E.A. Hanks — Part One

    A Road Trip Along Interstate 10 with Author E.A. Hanks — Part One
    2025/07/18
    Earlier this year, E.A. Hanks—also known as Elizabeth—made her literary debut The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road. Considering its framing, it is no surprise that the book was recommended to Ten Across by many. The 10 documents Elizabeth's re-creation of a fraught childhood road trip taken with her mother in 1996, traveling Interstate 10 from end to end. In retracing her mother’s path, she reflects on the diverse nature of the region itself and its influence on events both large and small.

    What results is, in significant part, a series of provocative questions about identity—personal, political, and place-based. For example, what makes Texas and California so different, and at the same time so equally vivid in the American imagination? Why do people around the world recognize so much of this singular transect? Is New Orleans the American city? How long can Phoenix exist as it has? How do we define a border? Finally, and most importantly, how do such places inform our future—as individuals and as a nation?

    In this special two-part interview, Elizabeth Hanks and Ten Across founder Duke Reiter attempt to answer all the above and find many new questions and revelations along the way. Keep an eye out for part two, which will be released wherever you get your podcasts on July 24.

    Relevant Ten Across Conversations podcasts:

    “Addressing Historical Inequities in Our National Infrastructure, Then and Now”

    “Asking the Right Question: What Texas and Arizona Can Tell Us About the Country”

    “Why Phoenix is the ‘Most American City’ with George Packer”

    Listen to “The 10” on Spotify, or other audiobook services

    Credits:
    Host: Duke Reiter
    Producer and editor: Taylor Griffith
    Music by: American Legion
    Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich and Sabine Butler

    About our guest:
    E.A. Hanks is the author of The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road. She is a former editorial assistant for Vanity Fair and news editor for The Huffington Post. Her culture reporting has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, Time Magazine, and The Awl, among others.
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    45 分
  • AI Series: Balancing Data Infrastructure Resource Demands

    AI Series: Balancing Data Infrastructure Resource Demands
    2025/07/11
    Previous episodes in our AI series have focused on the evolving features of artificial intelligence itself: its potential to democratize education and to improve city planning and weather forecasting. In this final installment, we examine its costs: the accelerating resource demands of AI and other data-intensive technologies. Maya Chari, this year’s Ten Across + APM Research Lab data journalism fellow, recently investigated the true water and energy costs associated with data center facilities in the Phoenix metro area— now on track to become the second largest market in the U.S. Though granular industrial data can be difficult to come by, Maya located a report submitted by Microsoft to City of Goodyear officials, stating that one of their proposed data centers would use as much potable water each year as 670 homes. Amplified across the 140 other data centers currently dotting the state of Arizona alone, the scale of such consumption becomes clearer. As data centers rapidly multiply in response to market demand around the world—often preferring arid places like the water-stressed U.S. Southwest—critical questions are pressed about whether and how such development can be sustained. In back-to-back conversations in this episode, we’ll hear from experts involved in managing and reducing the impact of the physical infrastructure behind our digitized lives. Bobby Olsen, chief planning, strategy, and sustainability executive at the Arizona electric and water utility Salt River Project, describes planning to meet staggering levels of projected energy demand. And Dr. Kerri Hickenbottom, principal investigator at University of Arizona’s Hickenbottom Environmental Research Lab, discusses working in concert with the public and private sectors to improve water reuse strategies and overall efficiency of data center operations. To support our I-10 neighbors' disaster recovery in Central Texas this week: Kerr County Flood Relief Fund Related articles and resources: “At Amazon’s Biggest Data Center, Everything is Supersized for A.I.” (The New York Times, June 2025) “Are Data Centers Depleting the Southwest’s Water and Energy Resources?” (American Public Media Research Lab, February 2025) “Thirst for power and water, AI-crunching data centers sprout across the West” (Stanford University, April 2025) “’I can’t drink the water’ —life next to a US data center” (BBC, July 2025) “Meta is building a new data center in Louisiana—and this Senate committee wants to know why it’s being powered by gas (exclusive)” (Fast Company, May 2025) “Phoenix ranks as the second-largest data center market in the U.S.” (AZ Big Media, March 2024) Credits: Host: Duke Reiter Producer and editor: Taylor Griffith Music by: Curved Mirror, Hushed, and From Now On Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler About our guests:Bobby Olsen is associate general manager and chief planning, strategy and sustainability executive at the Salt River Project, a public power and water utility in Arizona. Bobby has more than 20 years’ experience in energy planning. He also serves on the board of Arizona Forward, a non-profit leading the charge for sustainability in Arizona. Kerri Hickenbottom is an associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Arizona and is principal investigator in the Hickenbottom Environmental Research Lab. Her research focuses on investigating the technical, environmental, and economic potential of novel, engineered systems for resource recovery and reclamation of waste streams.
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    53 分
  • AI Series: AI-Powered Extreme Weather Modeling is on the Horizon

    AI Series: AI-Powered Extreme Weather Modeling is on the Horizon
    2025/06/26
    Over the course of a calendar year ending in May 2025, the United States absorbed nearly $1 trillion in damages due to extreme weather. This amount, representing 3% of U.S. gross domestic product, was driven by rising insurance costs and a series of disasters primarily concentrated in the Ten Across geography, such as Hurricanes Helene and Milton and the fires in Los Angeles. More than ever before, timely and detailed forecasts are needed to properly prepare—and in some cases to evacuate—communities ahead of such extreme events. Leaders across sectors are further in need of advanced weather modeling to support larger-scale mitigation and adaptation efforts. The data that influence such public and private decision-making mainly stem from the National Weather Service’s six billion daily weather observations. The NWS recently shed 600 of its 4,000 positions, prompting a public warning from five former agency directors that understaffing could undermine the quality and delivery of forecasts, potentially putting many Americans at greater risk. At the same time, advanced artificial intelligence capabilities are contributing to a trend toward increased commercial ownership of U.S. weather forecasting. However, today's guest, Dr. Amy McGovern, points out that while today's AI can create and curate efficient weather models better than a conventional supercomputer, its monitoring capabilities are not comparable to the collective experience and proficiency of NWS scientists. Listen in as Ten Across founder Duke Reiter and Dr. McGovern, an expert in the integration of AI in meteorological science, explore the current forecasting landscape and how the emergence of private sector AI-powered modeling is influencing its evolution. Related articles and resources: Read about Brightband’s Extreme Weather Bench, led by Amy McGovern NOAA stops tracking cost of extreme weather and climate disasters (UtilityDive, May 2025) Most Americans use federal science information on a weekly basis, a new poll finds (NPR, May 2025)Former Weather Service Leaders Warn Staffing Cuts Could Lead to ‘Loss of Life’ (The New York Times, May 2025) Stabilizing ‘operations,’ the National Weather Service hires again after Trump cuts (NPR, June 2025) Lawmakers revive bipartisan forecasting bill (E&E News by Politico, June 2025) Credits:Host: Duke Reiter Producer and editor: Taylor Griffith Music by: Parallax Deep Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler About our guest: Amy McGovern is the director and principal investigator for the NSF Institute for Research on Trustworthy AI in Weather, Climate, and Coastal Oceanography. She is also a Lloyd G. and Joyce Austin Presidential Professor in the University of Oklahoma’s School of Meteorology and leader of the Interaction, Discovery, Exploration, and Adaptation (IDEA) lab, and lead AI and meteorology strategist for the AI-powered customized weather forecasting startup, Brightband.
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    37 分
  • AI Series: 10X Cities Are Using Digital Twins to Solve Complex Challenges

    AI Series: 10X Cities Are Using Digital Twins to Solve Complex Challenges
    2025/06/19
    This is the second episode in our limited series about artificial intelligence trends shaping life in the I-10 corridor and beyond. In this episode we chat with experts from the Ten Across cities of Phoenix, Houston and Jacksonville on the power of digital twins to more seamlessly convene stakeholders around shared goals. As virtual representations of actual places and systems, digital twins at their most advanced can incorporate detailed, live data feeds to model real-time conditions—and their potential. These dynamic tools can produce highly accessible visualizations of data and three-dimensional spaces to enhance users' monitoring, scenario planning, and decision making, thanks to advances in computing power and machine learning. Listen in as guests Devney Majerle, Satish Tripathi, and Jeffrey Carney discuss the goals behind their respective digital twin initiatives and the current capabilities of the models. Devney explains how a twin is helping Downtown Phoenix leaders and community members coalesce around a strategic development plan. Satish is in the process of developing a digital twin for Houston’s vast water system. And Jeff discusses the twins he has helped build for Jacksonville and the State of Florida to scope future-oriented resilience efforts. Related articles and resources: Listen to the first episode in our AI Series Explore the JaxTwin Read about Downtown Phoenix Inc.’s launch of their twin Learn about Houston’s journey to develop a digital twin of its water system Credits: Host: Duke Reiter Producer and editor: Taylor Griffith Music by: Helmut Schenker and Lennon Hutton Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler About our guests: Jeffrey Carney is a professor in the University of Florida School of Architecture and director of the Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER). Jeff is also spearheading the GulfSouth Studio initiative and co-leading the JaxTwin and Florida Digital Twin initiatives to support decision making in the City of Jacksonville and State of Florida. Jeff previously served as director of the Louisiana State University Coastal Sustainability Studio and initiated the Inland from the Coast project which examined flood impacts in Baton Rouge, LA. Devney Majerle is president and chief executive officer of Downtown Phoenix Inc. She is formerly executive director of the Phoenix Community Alliance, vice president of activation and special events for the Arizona Organizing Committee, and senior director of marketing partnerships activation for the Phoenix Suns. Devney serves on several advisory boards for local businesses and nonprofits in the Phoenix region. Satish Tripathi is lead water planning engineer for the City of Houston, where he has worked for over 12 years. Prior to his work with the city, Satish was a hydropower engineer for the Government of Nepal. Satish has over 17 years of experience leading major water infrastructure planning efforts and his current work focuses on integrating digital twins, advanced water quality modeling, and artificial intelligence in optimizing utility operations.
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    48 分
  • Why the Ten Across Geography Needs FEMA with Dr. Samantha Montano

    Why the Ten Across Geography Needs FEMA with Dr. Samantha Montano
    2025/06/13
    As we were publishing this episode, news from The New York Times broke that Jeremy Greenberg, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) disaster command center has left his post, a day after President Trump said he would wind down the federal agency by November. CBS reported that Tony Robinson, regional administrator of FEMA Region 6, which includes Ten Across states New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana, also intends to step down this week. Since January, President Trump has talked about his intent to eliminate or severely diminish the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, relegating disaster response and recovery to the states. On Tuesday, he reiterated this goal and stated that no major changes would be made until after this year’s hurricane season. The administration's first six months, however, have already brought significant disruption to the agency's operations. One-third of its total staff has been laid off, an acting administrator was abruptly replaced after expressing support for the agency’s existence, and nearly all climate resilience grants and training programs directed at state and local preparation have been canceled. While criticism of the agency and calls for its reform are not new, FEMA has been central to U.S. emergency management for decades. Now, at the onset of the 2025 hurricane season, emergency management experts throughout the country are widely reporting concern about the nation’s readiness for disaster response. To help us make sense of these real and proposed changes in this episode, ‘disasterologist’ Dr. Samantha Montano returns to the podcast. Samantha will explain the origins of FEMA, valid areas for potential reform, and the issues inherent in turning its responsibilities over to the states— as environmental risks to lives and property in the Ten Across region become more difficult to insure. Relevant articles and resources: Listen to our first episode with Samantha More on the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season and related misinformation “Trumps says his administration wants to ‘wean’ states off FEMA aid after hurricane season” (CBS News, June 2025) “The dangers of a weakened FEMA ahead of an active hurricane season” (NPR, June 2025) “FEMA Is Not Prepared” (The Atlantic, June 2025) “FEMA leader fired after breaking with Trump administration on eliminating agency” (CBS News, May 2025) “States denied disaster aid as FEMA safety net begins to shrink” (KUOW, May 2025) Credits: Host: Duke Reiter Producer and editor: Taylor Griffith Music by: Rand Aldo and Lennon Hutton Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich and Sabine Butler About our guest: Samantha Montano is an assistant professor of emergency management at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and author of Disasterology: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis. Her research tracks the evolution of emergency management policy and practice, as well as perceptions of emergency management. You can follow her newsletter, Disasterology, here.
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    42 分
  • Understanding Colorado River Basin Groundwater Resource Risks with Jay Famiglietti

    Understanding Colorado River Basin Groundwater Resource Risks with Jay Famiglietti
    2025/06/05
    Last week, news broke that the depletion of groundwater across the Colorado River Basin has been quietly, rapidly outpacing the more visible decline of the river itself. Even as the seven basin states negotiate reduced consumption of river water—inevitably driving dependence toward local aquifers instead—this newly published research shows that the majority ofmost of the water lost throughout the basin in recent years has been underground. In the Lower Colorado River Basin alone, groundwater has accounted for 71% of total water supply loss. Jay Famiglietti, a longtime contributor to Ten Across, specializes in the use of satellite data to monitor the world's groundwater mass. His team's new findings focus on the U.S. Southwest—a region at the forefront of the nation's water supply challenges and the complex balances between resource limitations and economic growth. As states and cities in the Colorado River Basin and elsewhere develop water management strategies to sustain themselves through future constraints, a growing understanding of groundwater supply is key to effective proactive policy. It is increasingly clear that time is of the essence for this uniquely finite resource. Listen in as Ten Across founder Duke Reiter and Jay Famiglietti discuss the concrete findings in this report, the immediate and long-term implications for agriculture in the Southwest, and Jay’s motivations for raising awareness of groundwater usage in the Ten Across region and beyond. Relevant articles and resources: Read the open access study: “Declining Freshwater Availability in the Colorado River Basin Threatens Sustainability of Its Critical Groundwater Supplies” Read The Washington Post’s analysis More analysis from The Guardian and Inside Climate News Catch up on the Colorado River negotiations Listen to Jay’s first podcast appearance Related headlines: “ADWR Director Briefs UA Water Resources Research Center Conference on Colorado River Negotiations” (azwater.gov, June 2025) “It’s not just big alfalfa farms. La Paz residents fear groundwater grab by big cities” (Arizona Republic, June 2025) “Arizona wants this city to cut its groundwater use. Residents want flexibility” (Arizona Republic, May 2025) “Even in wet years, wells are still dry. Why replenishing California’s groundwater is painfully slow” (Cal Matters, February 2025) “Opinion: Will We Have to Pump the Great Lakes to California to Feed the Nation?” (The New York Times, August 2024) Credits:Host: Duke ReiterProducer and editor: Taylor GriffithMusic by: Lupus Nocte and TellsonicResearch and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler
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    39 分