Back from Hiatus

With Partner Track!

Life’s been busy — apologies for the hiatus! I know you must have all been lost without my weekly recommendations (I kid, I kid). The break did give me time, however, to finish a new show. It’s even explicitly about climate and has the Leah Stokes (nationally renowned energy policy expert) seal of approval. Perhaps most shockingly, both Ingrid and I liked it! Granted, to deal with the fact that its a rom-com, she watched on 1.5x speed…

So what is this unicorn of a show? Partner Track — one of Netflix’s latest sleek, guilty-pleasure, fluffy dramas. The show follows Ingrid, a lawyer, as she tries to make partner at her big corporate law firm, despite racism, sexism, morally questionable clients, and, of course, a drama-filled love triangle. The kicker? The case that keeps the plot rolling is actually about a big fossil fuel company acquiring a renewable energy startup. It even features some shareholder activism! Honestly, these are the kinds of things that are happening every day and that sometimes pop up in our Movement Monday newsletters or on the Climate Action Explorer.

I loved this show, because it’s what I want to see more of. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Climate change is now affecting every aspect of our lives, and our pop culture needs to reflect that. I don’t need a climate change genre; I need every genre to address climate change… even rom-com law shows. Especially rom-com law shows! We should be meeting people where they’re at.

So, I hope you’ll give Partner Track a try. If not for me, then for Leah Stokes.

Dr. Leah Stokes @leahstokes

Lots of TV shows and movies now have climate plots. The best one I've seen so far? Partner Track. Not to spoil it for y'all but it involves an oil company taking over a clean tech firm to kill a flow battery. Until the shareholder activists come to town. Worth watching.

Seriously, biggest validation of a guilty pleasure watch I’ve ever received.