Drilled
Active
Exclusive
Science, True Crime
Reach
|
Downloads per Episode
25,000
|
Impressions per Week
20,000
|
Hosting Provider
Megaphone (IAB Certified) IAB Certification
Publishes
Weekly on Tue
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Description
A true-crime podcast about climate change, hosted and reported by award-winning investigative journalist Amy Westervelt.
For decades now, the fossil fuel industry has told the same story: Oil equals development and prosperity. Access. Equality. Stability. A better quality of life. As the world’s fossil fuel companies race to tap the last of the planet’s oil reserves we have a chance to examine that promise up close, in real time.
Several miles off the coast of Guyana sits one of the world’s largest oil reserves. In 2015, ExxonMobil, which had held offshore drilling leases in the country for decades, announced it had found oil and would begin production as soon as possible. Government officials quickly got in line, and in 2019 the first barrels shipped from ExxonMobil Guyana. Today, Exxon projects that oil from Guyana could account for 25% of its total production in the next few years. But environmentalists and government corruption watchdogs have begun to push back on the project. Why start an oil industry in the midst of climate crisis? And especially in a country at great risk of climate impacts? Via a contract that will sooner put Guyana in debt than make it a rich oil state, no less?
In just a few years, Exxon has co-opted both government and civil society, buying up social license in every corner of the country. Oil executives and Guyanese officials are still telling the story that oil equals development and prosperity, and on paper Guyana is the fastest-growing economy in the world, but average citizens aren’t benefiting from the boom. Today, there’s only one journalist left covering the project with any sort of skepticism, and one lawyer left willing to take it on in court. In this special crossover season of Drilled and Damages, we look at what oil colonialism looks like in the 21st century, and why everyone should care.
For decades now, the fossil fuel industry has told the same story: Oil equals development and prosperity. Access. Equality. Stability. A better quality of life. As the world’s fossil fuel companies race to tap the last of the planet’s oil reserves we have a chance to examine that promise up close, in real time.
Several miles off the coast of Guyana sits one of the world’s largest oil reserves. In 2015, ExxonMobil, which had held offshore drilling leases in the country for decades, announced it had found oil and would begin production as soon as possible. Government officials quickly got in line, and in 2019 the first barrels shipped from ExxonMobil Guyana. Today, Exxon projects that oil from Guyana could account for 25% of its total production in the next few years. But environmentalists and government corruption watchdogs have begun to push back on the project. Why start an oil industry in the midst of climate crisis? And especially in a country at great risk of climate impacts? Via a contract that will sooner put Guyana in debt than make it a rich oil state, no less?
In just a few years, Exxon has co-opted both government and civil society, buying up social license in every corner of the country. Oil executives and Guyanese officials are still telling the story that oil equals development and prosperity, and on paper Guyana is the fastest-growing economy in the world, but average citizens aren’t benefiting from the boom. Today, there’s only one journalist left covering the project with any sort of skepticism, and one lawyer left willing to take it on in court. In this special crossover season of Drilled and Damages, we look at what oil colonialism looks like in the 21st century, and why everyone should care.
Podcast Information
About the Host
Host Name: Amy Westervelt
Host Residence Country: United States
Amy Westervelt is an award-winning investigative journalist and executive producer of the independent podcast production company Critical Frequency, which specializes in reported narrative podcasts. In 2020 she was executive producer of Unfinished: Short Creek, a co-production between Critical Frequency and Stitcher that was named one of the best podcasts of the year by The New Yorker and The Atlantic, and received a Wilbur award for excellence in religion reporting. In 2021, she led the reporting and production teams of This Land S2—an investigative, narrative season revealing the various forces behind efforts to unravel tribal sovereignty in the U.S.—which was nominated in April 2022 for a Peabody Award. Her investigative climate podcast Drilled, a Critical Frequency original production, was awarded the Online News Association award for excellence in audio journalism in 2019 and Covering Climate Now's award for excellence in audio journalism in 2021. In 2015, Amy received a Rachel Carson award for women greening journalism, for her role in creating a women-only climate journalism group syndicating longform climate reporting to The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Economist, and many more outlets. A 20-year veteran investigative journalist, Westervelt's earlier work for NPR, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Inside Climate News, and various other outlets earned her Edward R. Murrow, ONA, and Folio awards as well, and is often cited as amongst the earliest examples of accountability reporting on climate.
Average Episode Length
20 Minutes - 1 Hour
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Audience Demographics
Gender
|
Male
55%
|
Female
45%
|
Audience Percent by Country
| United States | 65% | |
| Canada | 5% | |
| United Kingdom | 15% |
Education
| High School | 12% | |
| Some College | 25% | |
| Bachelors | 55% | |
| Masters | 7% | |
| PHD/Doctorate | 1% |
Age
| 12-17 | 0% | |
| 18-24 | 17% | |
| 25-34 | 48% | |
| 35-44 | 17% | |
| 45-54 | 14% | |
| 55-64 | 3% | |
| 65+ | 1% | |
| Median Age: 34 | ||
Income
| Less than $40k | 10% | |
| $40k-$60k | 10% | |
| $60k-$80k | 12% | |
| $80k-$100k | 10% | |
| $100k-$150k | 30% | |
| $150k+ | 28% | |
| Median Income: $111,000 | ||
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