North: The Future of Post-Climate America

In episode 243 of America Adapts, host Doug Parsons welcomes back recurring guest and leading adaptation scholar Dr. Jesse M. Keenan to discuss his new book, North: The Future of Post-Climate America (Oxford Univesity Press). Keenan examines how the United States is already changing through mobility, shifting markets, governance pressures, and evolving cultural identities. Doug and Jesse unpack why adaptation is not just a set of technical responses to climate impacts but a broader transformation in how communities understand stability, opportunity, and belonging. They explore the limits of local governments, the growing influence of market-led adaptation, and the emotional and political tensions surrounding places like Florida. The discussion also touches on Keenan's fictional leap into 2079, using storytelling to highlight where current trends may lead. A central theme emerges: adaptation is an emerging sector still defining its identity, and this book offers a way to think more clearly about that evolution.  If your work intersects with climate, planning, housing, finance, or governance, this episode offers a fresh lens on what climate adaptation means for America's future.

 

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