We recently connected with Doug Parsons and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Doug thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

I was planning to start a podcast in my last job, but then I was let go and was never able to start the project. So between jobs, I decided to keep my brain sharp, and I started the America Adapts podcast. From my own professional experiences, I know a lot of people doing climate adaptation (how society will adapt to the impacts of climate change), so it wouldn’t be hard to find people to interview. Then the hard work came…I never really dealt with audio editing before and podcasting is all about audio. So I taught myself. And we’re very fortunate to be living in an age where you can find almost any tutorial on the internet. Which I did. Nevertheless, I still encountered problems and there was a lot of trial and error. But I published my first episode..and my second…and so on. You can track how many downloads you get, but you don’t really know who’s listening. And then something magical started to happen – I heard from my listeners! They were out there . Listening! And I knew I was on to something when a professor from Harvard University reached out and said he was a big fan. And then I knew I had something.

Doug, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

At the moment I’m a climate adaptation podcaster, but I started my career doing conservation work for environmental organizations. My first job was in Georgia, but then I moved to Australia for 3+ years and got knee deep into the climate change policy space. When I returned stateside I got a job with the state of Florida (and this was a long time ago) I became their climate change coordinator for their state wildlife agency. From there, I moved on to Washington, D.C. to do climate change work with the National Park Service. Federal service wasn’t a good fit, so I moved back to a non profit and then I shifted to media, with my podcast. In most of my jobs I was pretty fearless in doing things I wanted to do. People don’t realize how influential you can be…just by stepping it up, volunteering, being nice, being respectful, but also being ambitious. Some of the things I’m most proud of: I created the first of its kind climate change literacy course in Florida that was then mirrored by the federal government and the state of California. But I’m most proud of the podcast. It started just as a way to keep my mind sharp, but now it’s my full time job. And it’s the most influential I’ve ever been, with people in all levels of government and the private sector not only listening, but are big fans. That’s very humbling but also invigorating.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Even in earlier positions, I’m been obsessed with ways to communicate the issue of climate adaptation. Quite literally it will be the greatest challenge society has ever faced…and you wouldn’t know it from how the public perceives the issue. So that’s where I come in. I experimented with communication approaches at previous positions but it’s been the podcast that has allowed me to communicate this adaptation issue. I’m a one person shop so I have total control over the content I publish and I’m convinced that is the driving force behind my success. I’ve mentored quite a few people on how to start a podcast, but it’s not for the faint of heart. You need consistency. You need a voice. Many organizations try to start one but then end up with too many cooks in the kitchen and the podcast has no identity. So my independence has allowed me to keep publishing and putting my fingerprints all over the episodes. It’s a major hustle to get funding, but it allows me this independence.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I was let go from one of my jobs due to lack of funding. It was the first job I was ever fired from and it was incredibly stressful and humbling. But that urgency led me to take some chances (and also nice to have support of my ex wife who supported the family for a while) and from those tough times came my podcast. And I haven’t looked back!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.americaadapts.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/america_adapts/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/americaadapts
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-parsons-america-adapts/
• Twitter: https://x.com/usaadapts
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChhPL3enyX-rNMCM_HahrZg