Program Note: This program originally aired on April 29, 2026.
We spend the hour with Michael Regan, who served as the 16th administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Previously, he was secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, where he secured the largest coal ash cleanup settlement in U.S. history.
A North Carolina native, he’s now back in his home state as a Polis Distinguished Fellow at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.
Regan shares with us his connection to North Carolina and his ongoing connection to the state’s environmental justice movement. We’ll discuss the importance of environmental policies and what happens when those policies are taken away.
GUEST:
Michael Regan, the 16th administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, previously served as secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and is currently a Polis Distinguished Fellow at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy for the 2025-26 academic year.
