Summary: <p>For years, climate change experts have said that hotter and drier summers would exacerbate the threat of bushfires in Australia. Fires have been raging since September and a prolonged drought and record-breaking temperatures mean the blazes won't stop for weeks — if not months. </p> <p>But to read or watch or listen to the conservative press in Australia is to get an altogether different story: that it's arson, not climate change, that's mainly responsible for the deaths of nearly 30 humans and an estimated one billion animals. Damien Cave is the <em>New York Times</em> bureau chief in Sydney, and he recently wrote about "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/08/world/australia/fires-murdoch-disinformation.html">How Rupert Murdoch Is Influencing Australia's Bushfire Debate</a>." He spoke to Bob about the media landscape of denial and deflection, and why critics say it's making it harder to hold the government accountable. </p>
