A New Season of the Popular Podcast Is Starting!
05.11.2026
How can science and politics work together to combat climate disinformation? The podcast “Helmholtz Talks – Science and Politics in Dialogue,” launched in January 2026 by the Helmholtz KLIMA dialogue platform in cooperation with the Research Institute for Sustainability at GFZ (RIFS), is kicking off another season. In the podcast, politicians speak with researchers about societal challenges and, above all, solutions that can be developed through collaboration between science and politics.
Heat, drought, and low water levels: Once again this summer, the concrete effects of climate change were clearly felt across the entire European continent. The scientific evidence regarding the causes and mechanisms of climate change is unequivocal. Nevertheless, doubts about these findings persist among segments of the population and in political circles. What’s more, climate scientists and policymakers are facing increasing hostility in the U.S. and Europe. This was also evident in the controversy surrounding the RCP 8.5 worst-case climate scenario this spring.
But how strategically and professionally are disinformation campaigns against climate research and climate protection organized? What strategies and methods are used? Above all, however: How can climate researchers and policymakers protect themselves against such campaigns? And how can the scientific community and policymakers work together to effectively counter disinformation and protect trust in scientific findings?
Prof. Gerrit Lohmann discusses these topics in this episode of a new season. He is a professor of climate system physics at the University of Bremen and heads the Paleoclimate Dynamics Section at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). In this episode, Lohmann discusses these topics with Lisa Badum. She has served as a member of the German Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens and the Bamberg constituency since 2017.
- To the first seasons of the Helmholtz Talks (all in German)
