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Hot Take: Storytelling, Justice, and Emotion in the Climate Conversation

How Amy Westervelt and Mary Annaïse Heglar reinvent climate storytelling with emotion, intersectionality, and media critique.

By Medha deb

Created on Sep 27, 2025

How Amy Westervelt and Mary Annaïse Heglar reinvent climate storytelling with emotion, intersectionality, and media critique.

Hot Take is a podcast co-hosted by climate writers Amy Westervelt and Mary Annaïse Heglar, celebrated for injecting fresh vitality, emotion, and intersectionality into the climate change narrative. Through honest conversations and rigorous critique of climate media, they have helped redefine how both journalists and the public engage with the climate crisis.

Reimagining Climate Storytelling

Westervelt and Heglar saw an absence in the climate discourse—a real need to allow emotion to flow alongside facts and to challenge how the media frames climate action. Their own perspectives, rooted in their lived experiences as women of color and journalists, set the backdrop for their work. The podcast, newsletter, and critical essays they produce consistently ask: How do we tell the climate story so everyone sees its truth and feels empowered to act?

Emotional storytelling: Rather than rely solely on data or science, Hot Take centers feelings—grief, hope, anger, humor, and anxiety—to make the climate crisis personal and urgent.
Intersectionality: They analyze climate change through social, racial, and economic justice lenses, pushing past the privileged perspectives that have dominated mainstream coverage.
Media critique: Hot Take dissects climate journalism, asking tough questions about who gets to tell the story, what is omitted, and how to hold media organizations accountable for accelerating the climate conversation.

The Genesis of Hot Take

The idea for Hot Take came from Westervelt approaching Heglar to collaborate. Initially, Heglar considered going solo, focusing on climate messaging and intersectionality, but eventually the two decided to co-host a show together. Combining Westervelt’s investigative background and Heglar’s incisive voice, they shaped a format capable of fostering both analytical debate and emotional catharsis. The podcast quickly became a space for journalists, activists, and listeners to process climate news, critique prevailing narratives, and build solidarity.

Podcast Structure and Format

Weekly episodes: Each week features commentary on the latest climate news and a deep dive into media coverage.
Interviews: The hosts bring on guests—novelists, poets, activists, and scientists who shape how climate stories are told.
Newsletter: Their newsletter, Real Hot Take, complements the podcast by analyzing media trends and amplifying underrepresented climate voices.

Centering Emotion in Climate Conversations

Amy Westervelt and Mary Annaïse Heglar reject the idea that climate fights must be waged strictly through scientific objectivity. For them, making space for personal and collective emotional responses is a crucial tool for action. By allowing grief and hope to coexist, they show that emotional processing is not weakness—it’s a step towards meaningful participation.

Therapeutic catharsis: Listeners and guests are encouraged to voice their anxieties, anger, and sorrow. Emotional processing clears the path to creative solutions and social solidarity.
Action through empathy: By humanizing the impacts of climate change, they aim to motivate broader engagement among audiences alienated by science-heavy coverage.

Intersectionality: Climate Justice for All

Heglar and Westervelt believe the climate crisis cannot be separated from issues like race, gender, and economic inequality. Intersectionality—originally coined by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe how overlapping identities affect experiences—guides their critique of both media narratives and policy solutions.

Representation matters: They highlight how Black, Indigenous, Latina, and other marginalized voices are often excluded from climate journalism—despite these communities being on the frontline of climate impacts.
Systemic barriers: Heglar underscores how gatekeeping in publishing and academia keeps Black women and other minoritized groups out of environmental storytelling and decision-making.
Root causes: The podcast continually links climate disruption to histories of colonialism, redlining, and environmental racism, urging action that centers justice.

Table: Barriers to Representation in Climate Media

Barrier	Impact on Climate Narrative
Racial gatekeeping	Excludes frontline community perspectives, perpetuates privileged viewpoints.
Academic elitism	Limits contributions to those with formal credentials, undervalues lived experience.
Corporate media bias	Prioritizes advertiser interests, downplays systemic critiques.
Tokenism	Surface-level inclusion without platforming sustained leadership from diverse voices.

Climate Journalism: Critiquing and Evolving the Craft

Throughout the podcast’s run, Heglar and Westervelt challenge their fellow journalists to rethink how climate stories are covered. Heglar, whose bylines include The Nation, Rolling Stone, and The New Republic, argues that even as climate news has received more attention, justice often remains sidelined. Westervelt’s investigative approach interrogates the power structures shaping climate action and communication.

Beyond headlines: They critique coverage that focuses solely on legislation, technological solutions, or market forces. Justice, reparations, and community resilience are equally important.
Critical media literacy: The podcast encourages audiences to ask: Who benefits from this story? What is left unsaid? Where can people organize for real change?
Storytelling innovation: By blending humor, vulnerability, and rigorous critique, Hot Take models a fresh approach to environmental journalism.

Inspiration and Legacy

Westervelt and Heglar draw inspiration from both historical figures and contemporary activists. Their influences underscore the legacy of climate justice movements and the need for multi-generational, intersectional leadership.

Amy Westervelt: Inspired by Mary Annaïse Heglar, young climate activists (Jamie Margolin, Xiye Bastida, Alexandria Villaseñor), and legendary journalists like Ida B Wells and Ida Tarbell.
Mary Annaïse Heglar: Pays homage to Fannie Lou Hamer, Stokely Carmichael, and James Baldwin, blending civil rights wisdom with environmental urgency.

Redefining Individual Action

Hot Take pushes back against narrowly-defined notions of personal responsibility, emphasizing collective and systemic solutions. While they acknowledge the importance of individual choices, the podcast focuses on:

Community engagement: Mobilizing neighborhoods, networks, and movements to demand climate justice.
Changing structures: Challenging fossil fuel corporations, lobbying for policy transformation, and advocating for economic reparations.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How does Hot Take approach climate storytelling differently from mainstream media?

Hot Take merges emotional storytelling with intersectional analysis. Rather than treating climate change solely as a technical or scientific topic, Westervelt and Heglar center feeling, lived experience, and systemic critique to create more relatable and urgent narratives.

Why is intersectionality critical in climate storytelling?

Intersectionality helps uncover and address the overlapping forms of injustice embedded in the climate crisis. It ensures that climate solutions prioritize those most affected and account for complex social realities.

What barriers do Black women face in climate media?

Black women are often excluded from mainstream coverage unless highly credentialed or established in justice fields. Significant gatekeeping means their stories, analysis, and leadership are underrepresented, despite disproportionate impacts.

What legacy does Hot Take leave in climate journalism?

Hot Take demonstrates the power of blending humor, honest emotion, and media critique. Its impact lies in emboldening listeners and writers to challenge dominant narratives, uplift frontline voices, and push for radical climate justice.

How can listeners support intersectional climate storytelling?

Subscribe to independent climate podcasts and newsletters that uplift marginalized perspectives.
Share stories from Black, Indigenous, and frontline writers.
Advocate for changes within media organizations to center justice in climate coverage.

Looking Forward: Climate Narratives After Hot Take

As Hot Take concludes its final episodes, Westervelt and Heglar reflect on the evolution of the climate story—but also its persistent limitations. They call on journalists, activists, and everyday people to deepen their understanding of climate justice and to continue expanding whose stories are heard. For these hosts, the climate narrative is not a single thread—it’s a tapestry woven from rage, hope, history, and creativity.

Future of climate journalism: Amplifying a broader range of voices and crafting stories that are honest, multidimensional, and action-oriented.
Empowering listeners: Encouraging personal transformation and collective organizing, and supporting movements for real, systemic change.

Key Takeaways

Emotion is essential: Catharsis helps activists and audiences process grief, create community, and find paths to action.
Justice is non-negotiable: Effective climate storytelling demands intersectional approaches to policy, coverage, and organizing.
Storytelling shapes action: The way we tell the climate story impacts advocacy, policy, and everyday choices.

Additional Resources

Listen to Hot Take on your favorite podcast platforms.
Read Real Hot Take newsletter for ongoing climate media critique.
Follow Amy Westervelt and Mary Annaïse Heglar’s published essays in The Nation, Rolling Stone, Wired, and more.
Learn more about intersectional environmentalism and climate justice advocacy through grassroots organizations.

References

Author

medha deb

Medha Deb is an editor with a master's degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Hyderabad. She believes that her qualification has helped her develop a deep understanding of language and its application in various contexts.

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