Michael Burns
Michael Burns (formerly of Wisecrack, creator, philosophy and comedy) joins Esteban in the sauna to talk about fossil fuel money in politics, a rhinoceros who won an election in 1959, and the UN’s net zero banking alliance that Michael Burns never believed in anyways.
HOSTED BY Esteban Gast
DIRECTED BY Stoney Sharp
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR / EDITOR Connor Linnerooth
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Adam McKay, Staci Roberts-Steele, Anna Wenger, Jessie Bluedorn, Esteban Gast
GUEST Michael Burns
PRODUCER Stoney Sharp, Carl Fieler
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Brittney Badduke
CONSULTING PRODUCER Elijah Zarlin
DP / CAMERA OPERATOR Connor Linnerooth
SOUND Ben Chan
SET MEDIC Fred DeLaVega
SPECIAL THANKS to every major US bank that joined the UN’s Net-Zero Banking Alliance in 2021, made solemn commitments to decarbonize, then quietly left between November 2024 and January 2025. Bold stuff.
FACTS, REFERENCES, AND MORE
FOSSIL FUEL MONEY IN POLITICS — AND HOW IT SHAPES VOTES
Fossil fuel political giving outpaces renewables 13 to 1 in federal campaign and lobbying spending https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/01/fossil-fuel-political-giving-outdistances-renewables-13-to-one/
For the 2024 cycle, the fossil fuel industry spent over $219 million on the U.S. election https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/01/the-fossil-fuel-industry-spent-219-million-to-elect-the-new-u-s-government/
U.S. Senate Budget Committee report — “Denial, Disinformation, and Doublespeak: Big Oil’s Evolving Efforts to Avoid Accountability for Climate Change” (2024): https://www.budget.senate.gov/chairman/newsroom/press/new-joint-bicameral-staff-report-reveals-big-oils-campaign-of-climate-denial-disinformation-and-doublespeak
FOSSIL FUELS: $757 BILLION IN SUBSIDIES. RENEWABLES: $15.6 BILLION.
https://www.imf.org/-/media/Files/Publications/WP/2023/English/wpiea2023169-print-pdf.ashx
https://ourworldindata.org/how-much-subsidies-fossil-fuels
https://generation180.org/blog/the-absurd-truth-about-fossil-fuel-subsidies/
ALL MAJOR US BANKS LEFT THE NET-ZERO BANKING ALLIANCE AFTER TRUMP’S ELECTION
https://www.esgtoday.com/jpmorgan-leaves-net-zero-banking-group-completing-departure-of-major-u-s-banks/
https://www.sierraclub.org/articles/2025/01/what-does-wall-street-s-exodus-net-zero-finance-alliances-mean
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/oct/03/banking-industry-net-zero-alliance-shuts-down-climate-nzba
For context on how much fossil fuel money these same banks were pumping out simultaneously: See the Banking on Climate Chaos 2025 report — https://www.bankingonclimatechaos.org/
CACARECO THE RHINOCEROS: 100,000 VOTES, ZERO POLICY POSITIONS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cacareco
The New York Review of Books places Cacareco in the broader context of Brazil’s rich protest vote tradition: https://www.nybooks.com/online/2010/10/14/politically-incorrect-brazils-clown-elect/
SO MANY OTHER THINGS TO LEARN AND GET FIRED UP
Books:
Master Plan: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America by David Sirota and Jared Jacang Maher
Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer
Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America by Christopher Leonard
