About Tail Risk

Tail Risk is a conversation about the biggest risks to Earth’s systems and what it would take to respond. We start with the risks themselves, then talk through what responding would actually take, from the research to the money.

The name comes from finance. A tail risk is unlikely but catastrophic, the kind of outcome that sits out at the edge of the distribution. Some of the risks we cover are getting less unlikely every year, and the possible responses carry tail risks of their own.

Who we are

Paul Gambill writes The Overshoot Era, a newsletter about climate risk and stabilization. He has worked on carbon removal since 2015 and co-founded Nori, one of the first carbon removal marketplaces, before turning to Earth systems stabilization.

Susan Su is a climate investor who writes Climate Money. She spent most of her career as a product and growth operator at tech companies before moving into venture, where she built climate and fund-of-funds practices. She is a founding board member of the Carbon Business Council.

How it works

New episodes come out about every two weeks. Most are the two of us talking, and sometimes we’ll bring in a guest. You can watch or listen here, on YouTube, or in your podcast app.

The field is small and we read everything. Reply to any episode email or leave a comment with questions, pushback, or ideas for future episodes.

Views are our own and don’t represent any organization we work with.

Cover image: Mertz Glacier Tongue, Antarctica, from NASA Earth Observatory.