POLITICO Energy

Digging into Big Oil’s Dark Side

Episode Summary

This summer, one of Exxon’s top lobbyists broke the first rule of lobbying: don’t give away the game plan, especially to an undercover environmentalist. Since the dramatic interview aired on British TV, House Democrats have been investigating whether American oil giants’ have deployed a disinformation campaign casting doubt on the science on climate change and their climate commitments. Today, POLITICO’s Ben Lefebvre, on what could come out of this investigation. Do you listen to a POLITICO podcast? Can’t miss an episode of POLITICO Energy? We want to hear from you! Take part in our 2021 podcast survey and provide valuable feedback on your favorite POLITICO podcast. Tell us what you like or what you would like to see in the future from the POLITICO Audio team! Your responses will help us improve our offerings and help us better tailor our podcast content to fit your needs. Find the survey at politico.com/podsurvey.

Episode Notes

This summer, one of Exxon’s top lobbyists broke the first rule of lobbying: don’t give away the game plan, especially to an undercover environmentalist. Since the dramatic interview aired on British TV, House Democrats have been investigating whether American oil giants’ have deployed a disinformation campaign casting doubt on the science on climate change and their climate commitments. Today, POLITICO’s Ben Lefebvre, on what could come out of this investigation.

Do you listen to a POLITICO podcast? Can’t miss an episode of POLITICO Energy? We want to hear from you! Take part in our 2021 podcast survey and provide valuable feedback on your favorite POLITICO podcast. Tell us what you like or what you would like to see in the future from the POLITICO Audio team! Your responses will help us improve our offerings and help us better tailor our podcast content to fit your needs. Find the survey at politico.com/podsurvey.


Ben Lefebvre covers energy for POLITICO.
Annie Snider covers environment issues for POLITICO and is the host of POLITICO Energy. 
Carlos Prieto is a Politico podcast producer.
Raghu Manavalan is the host-producer of the Playbook Daily Briefing and a senior editor for POLITICO audio.
Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO’s audio department.