This week on Three Degrees, Chris Gloninger, Channing Dutton, and David Thorson sit down with acclaimed filmmaker Bonni Cohen, co-director of Netflix’s breakout climate documentary The White House Effect. 🎬🌡️
Broadcast live during a snowy Iowa morning ❄️, the hosts dig into the film’s riveting all-archival storytelling, tracing how the years 1988 to 1992 shaped the trajectory of American climate policy and the disinformation battles we’re still fighting today. From James Hansen’s landmark testimony, to George H. W. Bush’s environmental pivot, to the strategic influence of John Sununu and fossil fuel executives, Bonni reveals how the groundwork for modern climate denial was laid decades ago. 🏛️📉
The conversation dives into:
• How 14,000 archival clips became a narrative “curve” that visualizes our warming planet 📈
• The parallels between early political interference and today’s polarized landscape
• The evolving role, and responsibility, of media in the age of AI 🤖
• Whether “three degrees” by 2070 is too optimistic
Insightful, candid, and timely, this episode unpacks the film’s historical revelations and their implications for the next 50 years of climate communication and action. If you’ve watched the documentary—or plan to—you won’t want to miss this conversation. 🔥🎥
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative brings together a diverse group of journalists, authors, and commentators who publish independent newsletters on Substack. Created to support strong local journalism and original storytelling, the Collaborative amplifies Iowa-based voices, fosters community among writers, and offers readers a wide range of perspectives on culture, politics, climate, history, and everyday life in the Midwest. By pooling audiences and promoting each other’s work, the Collaborative helps sustain the kind of thoughtful, high-impact writing that is increasingly rare in traditional media.
