The climate crisis isn’t a distant threat: it’s already here, and it’s deadly. Extreme heat kills more Americans every year than hurricanes and wildfires combined, yet it remains the most invisible threat of climate change. And the demand for clean energy to power a warming world has never been greater.
Veteran science journalist Miles O’Brien explores the surprisingly complex science of keeping people cool.
In Phoenix, researchers are redesigning everything from playgrounds to city streets, using thermal cameras, smart shade structures and reflective pavement, to combat temperatures that are not just uncomfortable, but deadly.
The city runs the country’s first municipal Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, because in the desert Southwest, extreme heat is the deadliest climate hazard of them all.
In Sydney, Australia, physiologist Ollie Jay is tackling the same problem from a different angle, studying how the human body responds to extreme heat and developing low-cost cooling strategies for the people most at risk: those without access to air conditioning.
Then O’Brien puts himself in the hot seat — literally — to find out what it feels like when the body’s cooling system starts to fail.
Go behind the scenes with host Elise Hu
The “Resolve to Solve with Miles O’Brien Podcast” is the official companion podcast of the documentary series.
In this podcast episode, we’ll learn about the problem-solvers in Phoenix and Sydney trying to make life better by managing the increasingly high temperatures.
Miles shares his experiences of sitting in a heat chamber that simulated the 1995 Chicago heat wave. We also learn about the surprising role the Australian Open played in developing heat research.
