Why Is the Fossil Fuel Industry Funding Anti-Trans Politics?

Drilled

Critical Frequency

True Crime, Earth Sciences, Social Sciences, Science

4.8 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 22 August 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this eye-opening episode of Carbon Bros, we hear from special guest Vivian Taylor, a researcher on both trans rights and climate policy, on the shocking connections between fossil billionaires and anti-trans campaigns. Turns out, it’s easy to distract people with genital inspectors so you don’t have to deal with methane leakage inspectors. Amy and Vivian break down the disturbing overlap between anti-trans, anti-climate, and other right-wing movements, as well as the critical need for unity in tackling these pressing issues. It’s a powerful conversation that uncovers the hidden networks funding social division and environmental degradation. Don’t forget to join us next week for the final episode of Carbon Bros! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	If you're going to talk about the intersection between restrictive gender norms and climate
0:04.9	obstruction in the Year of Our Lord 2025, you have to also look at the crossover between
0:11.0	anti-trans groups and anti-climate groups, because folks, that Venn diagram is a circle.
0:21.7	Welcome back to Carmen Bros, a collaboration between drilled and non-toxic.
0:26.3	I'm Amy Westervelt.
0:27.7	I'm Daniel Penny.
0:29.0	Today, we're bringing you a conversation with Vivian Taylor, one of the key researchers
0:33.5	behind a story you might have seen earlier this year in Atmos and Heeded about the fossil
0:39.6	billionaires funding anti-trans campaigns. Vivian has been working on both trans rights
0:45.3	and climate issues for a very long time, so we figured she was the perfect person to talk to
0:51.0	about all of it.
1:13.4	So hi. My name is Vivian Taylor. I am a climate policy and environmental health policy expert.
1:25.6	I am a former researcher who worked at the Climate Tank Climate Nexus before it went away in 2024. I am also a long-time transgender rights activist. I have, in various ways,
1:35.1	been working on trans rights issues since I got out of the army in 2010. From 2013 to 2015,
1:43.2	I was the executive director of the Episcopal Church's International LGBT Rights Ministry.
1:51.3	I also have been working in North Carolina against discrimination focused on transgender people and specifically working
2:05.8	against the promotion of laws to criminalize homosexuality and transgender stuff.
2:14.6	While I was the executive director of the Episcopal Church's International LGBT Ministry,
2:21.2	this was back in 2014 when Uganda passed an anti-homosexuality law, lobbied heavily by white
2:32.3	American Christians.
2:35.0	So I did a lot of work with people in Uganda there,
2:38.7	pushing back against the criminalization of homosexuality in that country,
	...

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