Marketplace All-in-One
"How We Survive" dives into the disaster economy starting Nov. 18
· Summarized
Key takeaways
- The climate crisis is producing an economy in which weather bettors, restoration companies, insurers, and investors can seek profit from increasingly destructive events.
- Disaster-restoration companies meet genuine needs after storms, but their growth can also resemble “ambulance chasing” because catastrophe creates their business.
- The season treats disaster finance as an ethical question, warning that repeated profit-making around catastrophe could normalize suffering and weaken empathy.
Summary
Season 10 asks who profits from climate disasters
Host Amy Scott introduces the 10th season of “How We Survive,” beginning November 18, as an investigation of the disaster economy. The central premise is that extreme weather brings devastation to communities but also creates opportunities for profit: “where there’s crisis, there’s opportunity for profit,” and the climate crisis is no exception.
Prediction markets turn weather risk into a trade
The season examines people betting on disasters, including the likelihood that a hurricane will make landfall. One speaker admits discomfort with wagering on catastrophe, while another says their firm had just placed a weather-based trade and felt optimistic about the week ahead. The description adds that these markets can let bettors hedge against climate risk.
Restoration and insurance businesses benefit from catastrophe
The reporting will follow the ballooning disaster-restoration industry and the insurance sector’s “staggering comeback.” A speaker says restoration companies serve a real need because disaster victims require help, but calls the business “a little bit of ambulance chasing.” Another describes insurance as a “three-card Monty-style game” in which it is difficult to see where the risk is hidden.
The ethical cost of making money from devastation
The season asks what it means to profit from catastrophes people are living through. Speakers worry that disaster could become casualized and that empathy could erode, while private-equity firms may profit on both sides of climate disasters. The host also notes the tension between investigating these businesses and sounding like a salesperson for them.
Show notes
Where there’s crisis, there’s potential for profit. The climate crisis is no different.
On this season of “How We Survive,” we’re exploring the disaster economy. From prediction markets where bettors can make a buck off the weather and even hedge against climate risk, to insurance companies making record profits, and the ballooning disaster restoration industry, we’re finding out who’s making money from the increase in extreme weather and what it mean for climate progress.
Join us for the new season starting Nov. 18.
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