About this episode

Nico Johnson and Jessica Fishman discuss the importance of public understanding and emotional connection in the clean energy transition.

Clean energy has made tremendous progress on technology. Solar is cheaper. Batteries are scaling. Virtual power plants are becoming real grid assets. Electrification is accelerating. But many people still do not understand why these technologies matter to them personally — or whether they are actually worth the cost. So what’s missing? In this conversation, Nico sits down with Jessica Fishman to explore why the next phase of the energy transition may depend less on technical innovation and more on public understanding, trust, and emotional connection. Jessica shares lessons from nearly two decades working across solar, storage, policy, and communications, including what the industry can learn from the Inflation Reduction Act, why facts alone rarely change minds, and how clean energy companies can better connect their work to the things people already care about: affordability, resilience, independence, and economic opportunity. Expect to learn: 🔹 Why facts alone rarely change minds 🔹 How clean energy can evolve from a “push” industry into a “pull” industry 🔹 What the IRA taught us about public awareness and policy durability 🔹 Why emotional connection often matters more than…

People in this episode

Host: Nico Johnson

Guest: Jessica Fishman

Topics covered

• clean energy
• public understanding
• emotional connection
• energy transition
• technical innovation

Keywords

• clean energy
• public trust
• energy adoption
• Inflation Reduction Act
• emotional connection

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Inflation Reduction Act

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