Lawless Planet
It’s not that hard to kill a planet. All it takes is a little drilling, some mining, a generous helping of pollution and voila! Earth over. When you take stock of what’s left, it starts to look like a crime scene: Decapitated mountains, poisoned rivers, oil-soaked pelicans, maybe a sun-bleached cow skull in a dried-up lake bed. The only thing missing is yellow caution tape. On each episode of Lawless Planet, host Zach Goldbaum reveals the scams, murders and cover-ups on the frontline of the climate crisis, and the life and death choices people are making to either protect our world – or destroy it. Don't miss a single explosive revelation. The investigation begins now. Follow Lawless Planet on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes of Lawless Planet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting https://wondery.com/links/lawless-planet/ now.
Episodes
Two years after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, 2023, Israel continues its brutal military assault in Gaza. But long before the current conflict, Israeli strikes on infrastructure, control over fuel, and precarious grid access made electricity a flashpoint. This episode is about how energy became another weapon of war, how electrical power begets political power, and what it means when both can be switched off at a m...
In the aftermath of a right-wing coup in 2009, Honduras invested in several new clean energy projects, including a hydroelectric dam on a river sacred to the local indigenous population. When activist Berta Cáceras opposed the project, she had no idea how powerful the forces behind it were – and how far they would go in the name of “progress.”
Special thanks to:
Gustavo Castro Soto
Karen Spring
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Less than a year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a series of undersea explosions rocked the Baltic Sea. The target: the Nord Stream pipelines, which supply Russian natural gas to Western Europe. The attack caused over $1 billion in damage and the largest methane leak in recorded history. But who was behind it?
Special thanks to:
Holger Stark
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The urgency of solving the climate crisis makes finding a quick fix very tempting. So a few years ago when Nikola CEO Trevor Milton unveiled a hydrogen-powered truck that only emitted water, companies like General Motors bet big on its future. Then a whistleblower came forward and it all fell apart.
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In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a massacre of gorillas in Virunga National Park highlights the constant threat of violence from militias, poachers and gangsters. All that stands in their way is a small army of park rangers, hundreds of whom have been killed while on duty. And soon, they’ll face a new threat: an oil company that wants to drill under the park’s lake.
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For nearly 40 years, New York’s private waste removal industry was the domain of the mob, until an undercover cop risked everything to take it down. The gripping tale of what happened next also raises the question: are we any better off without the mafia taking out the trash?
Special thanks to:
Anthony Vitale
Rick Cowan and Douglas Century, co-authors of The Takedown
Chris Grosso
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The biggest biofuel scam in U.S. history was committed by the unlikeliest of duos — a polygamist cult-leader and an Armenian mobster. They took one look at our convoluted system of climate regulations, tax codes, and energy incentives and saw nothing but dollar signs.
Special thanks to:
Jeff Manuel, author of Ethanol: A Hemispheric History for the Future of Biofuels
For decades, oil companies like Shell operated with impunity in the Niger River Delta, supported by a string of dictators. Then, an Ogoni activist named Ken Saro-Wiwa became the David to Shell’s Goliath – until Nigerian authorities framed him for murder.
Special thanks to:
Where Vultures Feast by Ike Okonta and Oronto Douglas
The Politics of Bones by J. Timothy Hunt
Amnesty International
Owens Wiwa
When activists Jessica Reznicek and Ruby Montoya take drastic measures to halt construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, they have no idea that a shadowy private security contractor called TigerSwan has them in its sights.
Special thanks to:
Alleen Brown and The Intercept (https://theintercept.com/2018/12/30/tigerswan-infiltrator-dakota-access-pipeline-standing-rock/)
You Strike A Match by Julia Shipley (https://g...
In the 1980s, an unlikely champion for protecting the Amazon rainforest emerges: Chico Mendes, a rubber tapper and labor organizer from the remote Brazilian state of Acre. His shrewd tactics keep both cattle ranchers and big banks from clear-cutting the jungle. But his success also makes him a target.
Special thanks to:
Burning Season by Andrew Revkin
The World is Burning by Alex Shoumatoff
((o))eco (http...
Massive, poorly regulated trains carrying hazardous chemicals travel through American towns, cities and suburbs every day. It’s only a matter of time before one derails, with disastrous consequences. And on February 3, 2023, in the tight-knit community of East Palestine, Ohio, that’s exactly what happened.
Special thanks to:
Moms Clean Air Force (https://www.momscleanairforce.org/)
NTSB East Palestine investigation (https...
When a Montana coal mine executive goes missing it exposes the dirty underbelly of one of America’s largest coal mines. Now, with the help of President Donald Trump, the mine is trying to expand – unless a group of cattle ranchers can stop them.
Special thanks to:
Northern Plains Resource Council (https://northernplains.org/)
Montana Environmental Information Center (https://meic.org/)
Earthjustice
Ellen Pfister
Clark ...
Follow Lawless Planet on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube on July 28th! To listen ad-free, join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
It’s not that hard to kill a planet. All it takes is a little drilling, some mining, a generous helping of pollution and voila! Earth over. When you take stock of what’s left, it starts to look like a crime sc...
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