The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth is thrilled to welcome veteran climate and energy journalist Amy Harder as its inaugural Journalism Fellow. As a fellow, Harder will provide context to research and make timely connections between academia and today’s headlines through a variety of campus programming. This includes through her role as co-host of the Institute’s new official podcast, Shocked.
In Shocked, Harder and Institute Director Michael Greenstone will share new ways of thinking about the climate and growth challenge from people on the frontlines as well as cutting-edge solutions—like changing the earth’s atmosphere, making batteries out of sodium and using artificial intelligence to predict the weather. (Stay tuned as Shocked releases its first episode next week!)
“Amy is a star. Her ability to bridge the gap between highly-complex research, policy and technology and what everyday people care about is more than uncommon,” says Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago. “It has been such a privilege getting to work with Amy over the years. We are so excited to be welcoming her back to the University and sharing our new project together with the world.”
Harder recently announced that she will be returning to Axios, where she spent four years as a reporter and columnist earlier in her career. Prior to returning to Axios, Harder built the independent news outlet Cipher, an effort sponsored by Breakthrough Energy. As its founding Executive Editor, Harder helped to elevate the conversation on a wide range of policy and technology topics.
She began her career at the National Journal, a Washington, D.C.-based publication, covering the fracking and oil and natural gas boom of the 2010s. Harder was then recruited by The Wall Street Journal to lead its Washington, D.C. energy coverage before going to Axios.
“The Institute’s breadth of expertise and dedication to rigorous data-driven research is both unique and vital in today’s world of hyper-polarization around climate and energy issues,” says Harder. “I look forward to learning from and working with the experts at the University of Chicago and to sharing this robust research in ways that are relevant for decision makers and the public. I also look forward to sharing my own experiences reporting on climate and energy with University of Chicago students.”
Harder is not new to the University, having served as the inaugural journalism fellow for the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) during the 2018-2019 academic year. She is regularly sought out to speak and participate in events around the country and the world. This has included moderating and participating in panel discussions at UChicago, such as at the Institute’s launch last year.