This week we are once again joined by Dr. Tim Ball, "retired" lecturer in geography and climatology at the University of Winnipeg, for the first instalment of a two-part conversation on the ever-turbulent relationship between climate science and politics. We discuss issues surrounding the lawsuit brought against Dr. Ball by the climatologist Dr. Michael E. Mann; Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs); Dr. Ball's experience of having recently been invited to Washington in connection with Trump's transtion team on the Environmental Protection Agency; the EPA's future under Trump; and the political "hot potato" question of the relationship between Big Oil and Climate Scepticism. (For show notes please visit http://themindrenewed.com)