Dmitri Kalashnikov is a climate scientist and National Science Foundation postdoctoral research fellow at the University of California-Merced. Having created Convolutional Neural Network-based predictive models for lightning in the western United States; he is currently working on applying these predictive models to climate models to project future changes in the climatology of lightning storms in the western United States. Ever wonder how climate science actually impacts your life, especially with wildfire season becoming a new normal? 🌲🔥 Andrew reconnects with postdoctoral climate scientist Dmitri Kalashnikov, who pulls back the curtain on his vital research. They dive into how political policies and funding cuts threaten the scientific foundation we all rely on. Dmitri breaks down the rigorous, multi-year process of publishing a scientific paper and explains his groundbreaking new research that uses AI to predict future risk of lightning-caused fires. From the "Ostrich Effect" in politics to the real-world value of predicting extreme weather, this conversation reveals why the work of scientists is more critical than ever. Read what Dmitri is reading: Doppelgänger by Naomi Klein Watch what Andrew is watching: Ron Deibert from The Citizen Lab speaks about his new book Chasing Shadows: Cyber Espionage, Subversion, and the Global Fight for Democracy Support the pod: https://3reate.com, https://ko-fi.com/3reate or https://patreon.com/3reate Listen to Dmitri's pervious 3reate Podcast, Episode 13