Logo designed by Kali Taylor Ventresca

Logo designed by Kali Taylor Ventresca

 
 

HEATED is a Monday through Thursday newsletter about the climate crisis. I created it in September 2019, after six years of covering climate politics for various news outlets in Washington, D.C.

HEATED approaches climate change not as a science or environmental story, but as a high-stakes corruption, power, and disinformation story. It also approaches climate change with the alarm and moral urgency the science tells us it deserves. It rejects the “view from nowhere,” which mainstream news outlets have historically favored on climate, thereby misinforming the public.

With each edition, HEATED seeks to help readers understand that the climate crisis is not solely a problem of emissions, but a problem of culture, economics, media and democracy. The climate crisis is also not the fault of powerless individuals. It’s the fault of individuals in control of powerful systems—the greedy; the cowardly; the despotic; the apathetic.

No individual can solve the climate crisis on their own. But together, a well-informed citizenry can. HEATED’s goal is to expose and explain the forces behind past and present inaction on climate change, to empower the public to effectively tackle the most existential threat of our time.


Praise for HEATED in its first year

Unearthed, Greenpeace’ award-winning, editorially-independent news and investigations platform .

Unearthed, Greenpeace’ award-winning, editorially-independent news and investigations platform .

“The best environmental journalism of 2020”

“This year, Emily Atkin’s newsletter ‘Heated’ has become an invaluable resource for journalists covering the climate crisis. Atkin combines her acerbic wit with a forensic understanding of her subject.”

 
Nieman Reports, a quarterly journal covering thought leadership in journalism

Nieman Reports, a quarterly journal covering thought leadership in journalism

“Climate coverage that engages audiences without overwhelming them”

“Her approach has clearly struck a chord … It’s also been effective. A week after her fossil fuel ad story, presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren tweeted it out, tagging Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and a week later, Twitter changed its policy.”

 
Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2020 Jealousy List, “stories other outlets published that we feel deserve a tip of the cap.”

Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2020 Jealousy List, “stories other outlets published that we feel deserve a tip of the cap.”

“A job well done”

“Week after week, newsletter after newsletter, Emily Atkin drives home the message that the climate crisis is something we should all be furious about. More than that, she provides a specific target for that fury: ‘the heads of our most polluting-corporations and the politicians who support them.’”

 
Columbia Journalism Review, one of the most respected voices on press criticism.

Columbia Journalism Review, one of the most respected voices on press criticism.

“Sterling work, as ever”

“Despite the hellish intensity of the present news cycle, we continue to see outstanding climate journalism. Beat reporters—including at Earther, Grist, and heated, Emily Atkin’s climate newsletter—are doing sterling work, as ever.”

 
The Guardian, “the world's leading liberal voice since 1821.”

The Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice since 1821.”

“Emotive and in-depth”

“Atkin quickly found launching her own platform didn’t just offer her editorial freedom, but her more emotive and in-depth output was giving her subscribers more confidence to talk all things climate in their daily lives.”


More praise for HEATED: