If students only hear one side of the climate change debate, do they ever realize there’s a debate?
CFACT Collegian Markus Fee set out to answer that question at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, hosting a screening of Climate Hustle 2: Rise of the Climate Monarchy for a group of twelve other students. One room. One film. A conversation that didn’t follow the usual script.
The setup was simple: a campus library, a screen, and a group of twelve students willing to sit down and watch. But the response wasn’t passive. Students reacted in real time—laughing at the film’s comedic moments, leaning in during its critiques, and engaging directly with ideas they don’t typically encounter in class.
Discussion came naturally during and after the film. Students zeroed in on how climate narratives are shaped—who’s driving them, how they’re delivered, and why alarmist perspectives dominate campus conversations. For many, the documentary confirmed suspicions they had long held but been unable to properly articulate due to a lack of context and information.
That shift in thinking matters and marks success. Not because every student walked away in complete agreement with CFACT’s perspective—but because they walked away knowing that the debate over climate change is alive and well. Asking better questions. Looking twice at information they might have previously accepted at face value. Re-evaluating their world view. The essence of college used to be, is supposed to be.
After the credits rolled, no one rushed out. Conversations carried on. ideas bounced back and forth. Real dialogue was taking place.
This is what CFACT’s Climate Realism campaign is built for. No droning lectures, no scaremongering, no browbeating. Exposure. Inquiry. Deliberation. The willingness to test what you’ve been told.
Markus Fee didn’t just host a documentary screening. He created a space where students could step outside the default narrative—and decide for themselves if it passes the smell test.
