Everybody in the Pool

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re going way back in time to a company we first interviewed way back in 2024 — it was futuristic then, and still is. Swyft Cities is a startup that spun out of Google and is trying to reinvent urban mobility. And by that I mean they’re developing modular electric tram systems that would take passengers around dense urban areas, hospital or college campuses, or maybe, you know, Google, on a series of cables suspended above buildings and streets. This means reducing the number of cars on the road, sure, but it also means we can build new cities, housing developments, and urban centers that have density without resource-hogging skyscrapers, and which don’t need a ton of extra land for parking and multi-lane highways and such. Wild? Sure. Doable? We’ll see. Interesting? Absolutely. With Swyft Cities founder and CEO Jeral Poskey.Links:Swyft Cities: https://swyftcities.com/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re revisiting one of the most interesting and impactful tools in the individual and corporate arsenal! The bummer news: your bank deposits could be funding the climate crisis? But we’d never give you bummer news without a solution! This week, Molly Wood speaks with Paul Moinester, founder of Topofinance, who reveals the shocking climate impact of conventional banking. Discover how just $10,000 in a major bank generates emissions equivalent to driving 10,000 miles yearly, and why moving your money to climate-friendly banks might be the easiest climate action you've never considered. Paul explains how corporations' banking emissions often exceed all their other emissions combined, and introduces innovative solutions that make greener banking both simple and profitable.Links:Topo FinancePaul MoinesterAll episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z

This episode is a re-air of Molly’s conversation with Jonathan Gilmour about the urgent effort to preserve federal climate data—and why that data matters even more as climate risks, public health threats, and climate tech needs keep growing. Since our last conversation, Jonathan and team have launched a nonprofit called The Impact Project, and possibly inspired the folks at climate.us to rebuild what used to be the federal government’s home for climate data and resources.In this episode, we cover:Why federal climate data is essential infrastructure for researchers, startups, insurers, policymakers, and communitiesHow government datasets help predict extreme weather, track public health risks, and guide climate resilience planningWhat happens when long-standing climate data infrastructure is defunded, removed, or made harder to accessJonathan Gilmour’s work with a team racing to preserve vulnerable datasets and keep them available for public useWhy protecting climate data is not just an academic concern, but a practical necessity for building climate solutionsLinks:Jonathan Gilmour - WebsiteThe Impact Project: https://theimpactproject.org/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re revisiting a conversation about ocean intelligence — especially relevant in light of the US’s recent attempts to dismantle hundreds of ocean sensors around the world. Despite covering more than 70% of the Earth, the ocean remains one of the least understood parts of our climate system — and that knowledge gap has huge consequences for weather prediction, global commerce, and climate resilience.Our guest is Tim Janssen, co-founder and CEO of Sofar Ocean, a company building the world’s largest privately deployed network of ocean sensors. Their inexpensive, solar-powered Spotter buoys collect real-time data on waves, weather, and water conditions — information that fuels better climate models, safer shipping routes, and more sustainable ocean economies.We talk about:The massive “ocean data gap” and why it hinders weather and climate forecastingHow Sofar’s 2,500+ Spotter buoys are creating the largest private ocean sensor networkWayfinder, Sofar’s “Google Maps for ships,” and how it saves fuel and cuts emissionsWhy more ocean intelligence is critical for industries from aquaculture to shippingPartnerships with researchers, governments, and nonprofits to democratize ocean dataThe bigger vision: turning ocean information into a foundation for climate solutionsFrom global trade to Pacific Island communities, ocean intelligence has the potential to save money, reduce emissions, and protect vulnerable coastlines. Janssen explains why data may be the most important climate solution of all.Links:Sofar Ocean: https://www.sofarocean.com/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member and get an ad-free version of the podcast: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/

To kick off our summer vacation, we’re revisiting a conversation with Chris Dickerson, co-founder of Players for the Planet, discusses his journey from being a professional athlete to becoming an advocate for environmental awareness in sports. He shares insights on the impact of sports on the environment, the importance of community engagement, and the need for systemic change in how sports organizations handle waste and sustainability. The conversation highlights the evolution of Players for the Planet, the challenges faced in promoting climate action, and the innovative solutions being explored to create a more sustainable future in sports.Links:Players for the Planet: https://www.playersfortheplanet.org/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z

Philanthropic director Abby Axelrod-Wunderman of Fiduciary Trust International joins Molly Wood to talk about the overlooked role of philanthropy in funding climate solutions. Even though only a tiny share of global giving currently goes toward climate, Abby explains why that definition is expanding to include health, resilience, infrastructure, food systems, education, and community well-being—and how younger donors and the great wealth transfer could shift priorities. They dig into donor-advised funds, private foundations, unrestricted giving, climate as a lens across issue areas, and why philanthropy can act as catalytic capital by taking early risks that government and business often can’t.In this episode, we cover:Why climate philanthropy still receives only a small fraction of total global giving, even as climate impacts touch nearly every other issue areaHow wealth advisors help donors connect their values to climate-related giving through health, education, food, agriculture, resilience, and infrastructureAbby’s path into climate philanthropy through a family foundation in South Florida, where the conversation has shifted from “is climate change real?” to which solutions can scaleWhy philanthropy cannot solve the climate crisis alone, but can act as catalytic capital by piloting ideas, funding advocacy, and taking early risksHow donor values, timelines, resources, and risk tolerance shape philanthropic strategyFundable climate strategies Abby sees gaining traction, including clean energy, batteries, methane, food systems, conservation, restoration, resilience, public engagement, and educationWhy younger generations are often initiating climate giving conversations—and how those interests can pull older generations into the workHow donor-advised funds work, why they can be simpler than private foundations, and why some donors value the ability to give anonymouslyThe debate over whether donor-advised funds can become “holding cells” for charitable money—and how education and advising can help move funds out the doorThe difference between restricted and unrestricted grants, and why flexibility and long-term support are especially important for climate-vulnerable regionsHow modern philanthropy may be moving toward a hybrid model that combines rigorous due diligence and metrics with trust-based, flexible givingWhy the great wealth transfer, AI wealth creation, and a new generation of donors could create a major opportunity to move more money into climate solutionsHow to tell the broader climate story: climate is not a niche issue, but a lens through which to understand health, education, infrastructure, migration, air quality, heat, and community resilienceLinks:Fiduciary Trust International: https://www.fiduciarytrust.com/Everybody in the Pool: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z