In the latest episode of Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South, host Jesse Mayshark sits down with Dr. Stephen A. Smith, Executive Director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, for a wide-ranging conversation about fossil fuels, climate change, and the hype around artificial intelligence.
Smith underscores that denial and delay are no longer acceptable responses to climate change. For Smith, the science is settled, and the question now is whether communities and policymakers will face the reality with the seriousness it demands.
[Climate change] is like gravity. If you drop a rock, it’s going to go down. If you put greenhouse-forcing gases into the atmosphere, you are going to warm the planet, which is going to disrupt the climatic patterns.
Much of the conversation turns to the entrenched power of the fossil fuel industry. Subsidies and infrastructure, Smith argues, have locked us into dependence while slowing the transition to cleaner, healthier energy. The consequences are not abstract — they are felt in the health of frontline communities, the costs borne by working families, and the risks to our shared future.
For Knoxville listeners, the conversation also connects global challenges to local action. Mayshark, who spent years at Compass Knox reporting on politics and social issues, is now launching The Progressive South, a new platform that lifts up voices working for change across the region.
Listen to the full episode here. Dr. Stephen A. Smith joins the conversation around the 8-minute mark.
