A year of crazy climate news comes to a close as Christmas and New Year’s approaches. What were the craziest of 2025? You’ll have to tune in to find out.
In our last episode of 2025, The Heartland Institute’s Jim Lakely, Anthony Watts, Sterling Burnett, and Linnea Lueken will share their picks for the craziest and most-significant stories in climate and energy this year. And, as usual, we will answer as many audience questions as we can.

Join us LIVE at 1 p.m. ET on YouTube, Rumble, X, and Facebook.

Visit our sponsor, Advisor Metals: https://climaterealismshow.com/metals

STORIES COVERED ON THE SHOW

MANHATTAN CONTRARIAN (Francis Mention): The Electric Vehicle Collapse: Wow, That Was Quick!
https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2025-12-17-the-electric-vehicle-collapse-wow-that-was-quick

REUTERS: Wind and solar power frozen out of Trump permitting push
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/wind-solar-power-frozen-out-trump-permitting-push-2025-12-10/

YALE360: Facing a Hostile Administration, U.S. Offshore Wind Is in Retreat
https://e360.yale.edu/features/east-coast-offshore-wind

WHITEHOUSE.GOV: Trump Ends Market Distorting Subsidies for Unreliable, Foreign-Controlled Energy Sources
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/07/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-ends-market-distorting-subsidies-for-unreliable-foreign-controlled-energy-sources/

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL: Gov. JB Pritzker set to approve energy bill boosting battery storage for renewables despite debate over costs
https://ilenviro.org/gov-jb-pritzker-set-to-approve-energy-bill-boosting-battery-storage-for-renewables-despite-debate-over-costs/

INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY RESEARCH: California Shuts Down Its Solar Thermal Plant 13 Years Early
https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/big-green/california-shuts-down-its-solar-thermal-plant-13-years-early/

Hollywood is at a breaking point—and audiences can feel it.

On In the Tank Podcast #522, Linnea Lueken, Jim Lakely, Chris Talgo, S.T. Karnick, and Donald Kendal dig into what’s reshaping movies and TV right now: DEI-era gatekeeping, studios quietly changing course, shrinking opportunities for creators, and the growing role of AI in entertainment.

They’re joined by Christian Toto, returning for his fifth annual appearance, to break down how Hollywood’s incentives filtered out creative voices—and why so many films now feel safe, preachy, and lifeless.

The panel also tackles Disney’s new AI deal involving OpenAI’s Sora platform and what it means for writers, actors, and storytelling itself. Plus: the crew runs through their “Unhinged” list of the worst movies and TV of 2025—and what might actually be worth watching next.

If Hollywood has lost its edge, this episode explores why—and what comes next.

Hollywood is at a breaking point—and audiences can feel it.

On In the Tank Podcast #522, Linnea Lueken, Jim Lakely, Chris Talgo, S.T. Karnick, and Donald Kendal dig into what’s reshaping movies and TV right now: DEI-era gatekeeping, studios quietly changing course, shrinking opportunities for creators, and the growing role of AI in entertainment.

They’re joined by Christian Toto, returning for his fifth annual appearance, to break down how Hollywood’s incentives filtered out creative voices—and why so many films now feel safe, preachy, and lifeless.

The panel also tackles Disney’s new AI deal involving OpenAI’s Sora platform and what it means for writers, actors, and storytelling itself. Plus: the crew runs through their “Unhinged” list of the worst movies and TV of 2025—and what might actually be worth watching next.

If Hollywood has lost its edge, this episode explores why—and what comes next.

Join us LIVE at 1 p.m. ET every Friday on YouTube, Rumble, X, and Facebook.

Visit our sponsor, Advisor Metals: https://climaterealismshow.com/metals

Chapters:
00:33 Intro
01:57 Special Guest Introduction
03:55 Support Our Sponsor!
05:50 Unhinged: Worst Movies of 2025
22:08 Film Affected By DEI
49:15 AI in Movies? Good or Bad?
1:19:25 The Future of Movies: Embracing The Experience

STORIES COVERED ON THE SHOW:

DEI To Blame? - Writers and other roles in movie companies are being filtered by DEI politics in Hollywood. Does this have an effect on the quality of films?

https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-lost-generation/

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/hollywood-drops-dei-programs-donald-trump-disney-paramount-amazon-1236327202/

AI in Movies - Where is it good, and Where does it suck?

https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-openai-sora-agreement/
https://archive.ph/2xtns

Optimism for the Future: the best films of 2025, what to look forward to in 2026 and beyond.

https://x.com/vegasstarfish/status/1961588349799731453
https://www.imdb.com/calendar/

The 1.5°C global warming threshold is often treated as scientific fact, but it isn’t. This short explainer shows where the number came from—and why the data doesn’t support the panic.

Watch the full Climate Realism Show podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwMUdQ-X9r8&t=3996s

The signs are all around us. The climate cult is losing its grip on our politics and culture. The UN’s climate conference, COP30 in Brazil, was a flop that even the alarmist cheerleaders in the legacy media could not ignore. A major paper justifying radical climate action was just retracted. The Sierra Club is shedding a shocking number of members. And when was the last time you saw climate alarmist propaganda shoved annoyingly into your favorite TV show or movie – which was very common not so long ago?

Visit our sponsor, Advisor Metals: https://climaterealismshow.com/metals

The signs are all around us. The climate cult is losing its grip on our politics and culture. The UN’s climate conference, COP30 in Brazil, was a flop that even the alarmist cheerleaders in the legacy media could not ignore. A major paper justifying radical climate action was just retracted. The Sierra Club is shedding a shocking number of members. And when was the last time you saw climate alarmist propaganda shoved annoyingly into your favorite TV show or movie – which was very common not so long ago?

The Heartland Institute’s Jim Lakely, Anthony Watts, Sterling Burnett, and Linnea Lueken will be joined by special guest Jason Isaac, Founder and CEO of the American Energy Institute and a former state legislator in Texas. We will also cover some of the Crazy Climate News of the Week, including a new pro-coal movie with an unexpected twist, how to handle a climate crazed wife, a claim that living modern life causes $5 billion of climate damage an hour, and why Americans in blue states pay so much more for energy than those in red states.

Join us LIVE at 1 p.m. ET every Friday on YouTube, Rumble, X, and Facebook.

Visit our sponsor, Advisor Metals: https://climaterealismshow.com/metals

Chapters:
00:55 Intro
02:34 Panel and Guest Introduction
5:30 Crazy Climate News of the Week
14:41 How to stop your Wife from being a Climate Nut Job
28:05 The Guardian: Food and Fossil Fuel Production causing 5Bn Damage
37:11 Blue State Energy Crisis
51:05 Main Topic EPA Exits Climate Alarm Business
1:05:05 Advisory Metals
1:06:33 Q&A

Stories we covered on this program:

1. QUEEN OF COAL
Daily Caller: Netflix To Platform Film About ‘Trans Woman’ Who Yearns For Coal Mines
https://dailycaller.com/2025/12/08/netflix-pump-show-trans-woman-who-yearns-coal-mines-home/

2. TAKE MY WIFE, PLEASE
How Can I Stop My Wife From Badgering Our Friends About Climate Change?
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/style/how-can-i-stop-my-wife-from-badgering-our-friends-about-climate-change.html

3. $5 BILLION OF DAMAGE PER HOUR
THE GUARDIAN: ‘Food and fossil fuel production causing $5bn of environmental damage an hour’
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/09/food-fossil-fuel-production-5bn-environmental-damage-an-hour-un-geo-report-

4. BLUE STATE ENERGY BLUES
INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY RESEARCH: Blue States, High Rates
https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/the-grid/blue-states-high-rates/

5. EPA EXITS ALARM BUSINESS
NY TIMES: E.P.A. Erases Mention of Humans Causing Climate Change From Some Web Pages
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/climate/epa-website-climate-change-causes.html

The U.S. tech race, manufacturing, and future jobs all depend on reliable, affordable energy.
#energy #AI #manufacturing

Watch Full Livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/live/OSWEv7LC0VQ?si=W4ha-U8kXXDasToI

We'll also take a look at the years of widespread fraud inside Minnesota’s social services system, and discuss how Governor Walz not only buried the problem but may be setting the stage for even more abuse through a new program.

The Heartland Institute's Linnea Lueken, Jim Lakely, and S.T. Karnick will talk about all of this and more on Episode #521 of the In The Tank Podcast.

Join us LIVE at 1 p.m. ET on YouTube, Rumble, X, and Facebook.

Visit our sponsor, Advisor Metals: https://climaterealismshow.com/metals

Watch Original Live Stream Here: https://www.youtube.com/live/t2nt3yKuU0Y?si=RX6hHHlOVoNf3v2F

The signs are all around us. The climate cult is losing its grip on our politics and culture. The UN’s climate conference, COP30 in Brazil, was a flop that even the alarmist cheerleaders in the legacy media could not ignore. A major paper justifying radical climate action was just retracted. The Sierra Club is shedding a shocking number of members. And when was the last time you saw climate alarmist propaganda shoved annoyingly into your favorite TV show or movie – which was very common not so long ago?

The Heartland Institute’s Jim Lakely, Anthony Watts, Sterling Burnett, and Linnea Lueken will be joined by special guest and fan favorite Steve Milloy of Junkscience.com. We will also cover some of the Crazy Climate News of the Week, including an exodus from EPA, what climate policy failure looks like in graph form, perhaps the cringiest moment in COP history, and Donald Trump’s call to have those who have pushed climate alarmism investigated.

Join us LIVE at 1 p.m. ET on YouTube, Rumble, X, and Facebook.
Visit our sponsor, Advisor Metals: https://climaterealismshow.com/metals