Sabotage – Details, episodes & analysis

What makes an oil heiress start funding anti-oil protests? The Gettys have long been synonymous with art, oil and scandal. But now, J. Paul Getty’s granddaughter, Aileen Getty, is rebelling against her family’s legacy in a shocking way – and her fortune just might play a key role in the future of climate activism. Sam and Ali speak to a Getty biographer to peek behind the curtain of this complicated family. They also meet a few people who have a unique understanding of this family’s role in the art scene and how their money shapes the world as we know it. Episode credits: Hosted, reported and executive produced by Alessandra Ram and Samantha Oltman of Good Luck Media  With executive producers Adam McKay and Staci Roberts-Steele of Yellow Dot Studios Producer: Hannah Chinn Consulting Senior Producer: Rebecca Sananes Audio Engineer: Erick Gomez Original music: Daniel G. Harmann Includes "Deadly Roulette" Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License If you want to check out James Reginato’s book, it’s called Growing Up Getty: The Story of America's Most Unconventional Dynasty. Additional materials include: The Gettys: A Tragedy of Riches, from David Ash / ITV Network Centre and Meridian TV by Studio Z The Solitary Billionaire, from BBC Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/GoodLuckMedia Follow us on Instagram: @goodluckmedia  Get in touch at: hello@goodluckmedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was the splat heard around the world. Two young people enter London’s National Gallery… and throw tomato soup all over a beloved painting: Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers.  It shocked onlookers. It made global news. Most of all, it kicked off a radical movement to combat the climate crisis, led by one group: Just Stop Oil. But two years later, most people still don’t know the real story. Who, exactly, was behind it – and why did they do it? As most of their media peers dismiss the soup throwers as crazy, two journalists in California know there’s way more to uncover. So they quit their jobs to dig deeper – only to find an astonishing story about money, power and what it really takes to save the planet. Episode credits: Hosted, reported and executive produced by Alessandra Ram and Samantha Oltman of Good Luck Media  With executive producers Adam McKay and Staci Roberts-Steele of Yellow Dot Studios Producer: Hannah Chinn Consulting Senior Producer: Rebecca Sananes Field Producer: Andy Fallon Audio Engineer: Erick Gomez Original music: Daniel G. Harmann Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/GoodLuckMedia Follow us on Instagram: @goodluckmedia  Get in touch at: hello@goodluckmedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the first season of Sabotage, join reporters Alessandra Ram and Samantha Oltman as they quit their jobs to report on a group of controversial climate activists that much of the world have written off as “crazy.” But are they? This 9-part investigative series takes these two reporters inside a shocking and elusive world… to Hollywood… all the way across the pond to Trafalgar Square… into jail cells… and back again to an American oil heiress with a complicated family legacy. Do these ordinary people, turned extraordinary rebels, have what it takes to save the planet – before it’s too late? Sabotage is a production from Good Luck Media, a studio where climate is the main character. Season 1 is executive produced with Yellow Dot Studios, Adam McKay and Staci Roberts-Steele. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s not just Aileen Getty. Turns out, there’s a growing movement of ultra-wealthy fossil fuel heirs-turned-philanthropists who are trying to make up for their ancestors’ mistakes — and possibly pissing off their families in the process. But are their fortunes actually making a difference? And what, exactly, is an heir whisperer? As Ali and Sam get to know some of these heirs, the granddaughter of the once-wealthiest man in America comes over and shares her journey from heiress to activist. Episode credits: Hosted, reported and executive produced by Alessandra Ram and Samantha Oltman of Good Luck Media With executive producers Adam McKay and Staci Roberts-Steele of Yellow Dot Studios Producer: Hannah Chinn Consulting Senior Producer: Rebecca Sananes Audio Engineer: Erick Gomez Original music: Daniel G. Harmann If you want to check out Leah Hunt-Hendrix and Astra Taylor’s book, it’s called Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea. Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/GoodLuckMedia Follow us on Instagram: @goodluckmedia  Get in touch at: hello@goodluckmedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s the sane thing to do in a world on fire? That’s the question on Ali and Sam’s minds when they meet the man who glued himself to the floor of Coco Gauff’s US Open Semifinal on live TV — and then faced a psychiatric evaluation after his arrest. As Ali and Sam explore ways to cope with climate anxiety and climate change’s health impacts, they hear from a climate therapist, an infectious disease physician, and a young woman dealing with a daunting medical diagnosis. For all of them, activism is a surprising solution. Episode credits: Hosted, reported and executive produced by Alessandra Ram and Samantha Oltman of Good Luck Media With executive producers Adam McKay and Staci Roberts-Steele of Yellow Dot Studios Producer: Hannah Chinn Consulting Senior Producer: Rebecca Sananes Field Producer: Andy Fallon Audio Engineer: Erick Gomez Original music: Daniel G. Harmann Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/GoodLuckMedia Follow us on Instagram: @goodluckmedia  Get in touch at: hello@goodluckmedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meet Holly Cullen-Davies and Marcus Decker — two people who fell in love and built a life together — whose romance has become a high-stakes drama playing out in the headlines. In London, Ali and Sam visit Holly to hear about how Marcus’ daring stunt led to the longest prison sentence in UK history for peaceful protest. But what came next shocked everyone — and today, Holly and Marcus are fighting against incredible odds to keep their family from being permanently ripped apart.  Episode credits: Hosted, reported and executive produced by Alessandra Ram and Samantha Oltman of Good Luck Media With executive producers Adam McKay and Staci Roberts-Steele of Yellow Dot Studios Producer: Hannah Chinn Consulting Senior Producer: Rebecca Sananes Audio Engineer: Erick Gomez Original music: Daniel G. Harmann Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/GoodLuckMedia Follow us on Instagram: @goodluckmedia  Get in touch at: hello@goodluckmedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How far would you go to try to save the planet? Would you take a stand if it meant you'd be branded a criminal? After recruit training, Ali and Sam join Just Stop Oil at a secret meeting point as hundreds of its members prepare to break the law and disrupt everyday life for London residents — risking public violence, media backlash and life-altering consequences. Will the new recruits they met step up and face arrest to demand their government take action on climate change? Episode credits: Hosted, reported and executive produced by Alessandra Ram and Samantha Oltman of Good Luck Media With executive producers Adam McKay and Staci Roberts-Steele of Yellow Dot Studios Producer: Hannah Chinn Consulting Senior Producer: Rebecca Sananes Field Producer: Andy Fallon Audio Engineer: Erick Gomez Original music: Daniel G. Harmann Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/GoodLuckMedia Follow us on Instagram: @goodluckmedia  Get in touch at: hello@goodluckmedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ali and Sam travel to London to embed with Just Stop Oil, one of the most controversial climate groups operating today. At a secret location, they join a training session for new recruits as the group prepares for its biggest actions yet. Once inside, Ali and Sam come to surprising revelations about how members think, how they plan their wild stunts, and why they are taking such risks in the first place. What will happen when they put their plans in action?  Episode credits: Hosted, reported and executive produced by Alessandra Ram and Samantha Oltman of Good Luck Media With executive producers Adam McKay and Staci Roberts-Steele of Yellow Dot Studios Producer: Hannah Chinn Consulting Senior Producer: Rebecca Sananes Field Producer: Andy Fallon Audio Engineer: Erick Gomez Original music: Daniel G. Harmann If you want to check out Dana Fisher’s book, it’s called Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shocks to Climate Action. Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/GoodLuckMedia Follow us on Instagram: @goodluckmedia  Get in touch at: hello@goodluckmedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you go from being one of the most prominent climate scientists in the country to being threatened with felony domestic terrorism charges? Ali and Sam meet two scientists — Peter Kalmus and Rose Abramoff — who realized that if they wanted to make a real difference, they needed to get out of the lab and onto the streets. Clarifications and Corrections (April 2, 2025):  Of the five people arrested at the White House protest, Rose is the only one who identifies as a scientist. Rose was visiting, not living in, North Carolina at the time of our interview. Rose was a reviewer, not an author, of the IPCC report. Although police threatened to charge Rose and the other protestors at the Mountain Valley Pipeline with felonies, in the end, they faced misdemeanor charges.  Episode credits: Sabotage is hosted, reported and executive produced by Alessandra Ram and Samantha Oltman of Good Luck Media With executive producers Adam McKay and Staci Roberts-Steele of Yellow Dot Studios Producer: Hannah Chinn Consulting Senior Producer: Rebecca Sananes Audio Engineer: Erick Gomez Original music: Daniel G. Harmann Additional materials include: News clip from Ford Fischer / News2Share Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/GoodLuckMedia Follow us on Instagram: @goodluckmedia  Get in touch at: hello@goodluckmedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was the shocking protest that started it all. After months, Ali and Sam finally track down the two young people — Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland — who shocked the world when they targeted a beloved Van Gogh painting with a can of soup. As they await their trials, they get candid: What have their controversial tactics accomplished? What will it take for them to stop? How do they feel about Aileen Getty’s oil fortune funding the movement? And after a year of reporting, will Ali and Sam finally meet Aileen? Episode credits: Hosted, reported and executive produced by Alessandra Ram and Samantha Oltman of Good Luck Media With executive producers Adam McKay and Staci Roberts-Steele of Yellow Dot Studios Producer: Hannah Chinn Consulting Senior Producer: Rebecca Sananes Audio Engineer: Erick Gomez Original music: Daniel G. Harmann If you want to check out Leah Hunt-Hendrix and Astra Taylor’s book, it’s called Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea. Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/GoodLuckMedia Follow us on Instagram: @goodluckmedia  Get in touch at: hello@goodluckmedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices