Hello and welcome to a special episode of climate change on trial.

I'm Philae.

And I'm Anne McElheny.

We haven't seen you for a while.

The band is back together.

Yes.

So I know it's your favorite podcast.

So we have breaking news.

It's breaking all the time.

So just to remind you all, climate change and trial was a daily podcast from inside the DC defamation trial of writer and broadcaster Mark Stein.

Stein was being sued for defamation by climate scientist, Professor Michael Mann.

Stein described Mann's famous hockey stick graph as a fraud.

Mann also sued writer Ran Simberg, who made similar comments.

As you know, we presented the podcast in a very unique way by having actors reenact verbatim.

The most exciting parts of that day's testimony

so that you'd get the most exciting exchanges from the court of that day.

It was hugely popular and there was a result at the end of the trial after I think 15 days.

The jury found that Michael Mann was defamed by writer Mark Stein and awarded him just $1 compensatory damages.

But they also awarded him $1 million punitive damages.

So just to be clear, the jury said you didn't really damage Michael Mann because it was $1 damages,

but we are punishing you for not really damaging them to the tune of $1 million.

That was an unusual finding, let's say, and we always knew there would be legal difficulties with it.

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