About

Given the current state of media, it's become abundantly clear that the precarity of freelance journalism barely works for most. It especially doesn't work if you're a freelancer who didn't go to J-school who lives in a place that only garners national attention when it's being destroyed, whether through natural or unnatural means.

That's why I decided to start Heavy Weather, a 100% reader-supported newsletter that publishes an amalgam of original reporting, critique, and essay at least once a week – maybe even twice if we're lucky. Our special interest is climate, conflict, and the intersection of the two. We are heavily document-focused, so expect a lot of posts related to court records or documents obtained through FOIA.

To give a peak behind the curtain here: I do not believe that "objective journalism" exists. Anybody who says that their an "objective journalist" or that they have "no perspective" is trying to sell you something and thinks that you're stupid enough to fall for their con.

Heavy Weather has an explicitly anti-authoritarian perspective. We know that climate change is the most important story of our lifetimes and we know who is to blame for fueling the climate crisis: the government, billionaires et al. Consequently, every story has a climate angle. Whether it's cops investing AI surveillance technology or colonialism causing the boom in short-term rentals in Puerto Rico, every news story is a climate story.

There will be instances where Heavy Weather deviates from this rubric and that's fine. Everything can't be doom and gloom all the time. Sometimes you want to write a story about a video game or a comic that you loved, but even in those moments, it won't solely be about that piece of media. My main question when writing media criticism is always, "what does it want to say about the world?" And yes, we usually link that back to the climate.

Paid Subscription

Honestly, I am quite hesitant to paywall anything because I think information should flow freely whenever possible. However, the world is expensive and I need to pay for all the court records I have to buy. That's why we have two paid tiers. The first tier ($3) gives you access to everything on the site and the second tier ($10) gives you the same thing but you get to contribute more money. There is no difference between the two tiers except the money you give me.

A paid subscription gets you:

1. When I manage to post twice a week, the Weather Reports (scoops, updates, and media recommendations) will become walled gardens only available to paid subscribers. Until then, the Weather Reports will be free.
2. A paid-subscriber-only curated list of every book and movie ever recommended on Heavy Weather. These are currently in the process of being built and will be available relatively soon.
3. My eternal thanks and knowledge that you have made the world a slightly better place for the price of a cup of coffee (or three).

Why Heavy Weather?

The reason the site has that name is because Heavy Weather is:

1. My favourite stand from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
2. A sci-fi novel about a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by climate change where storm chasers are preparing for a Category 6 hurricane written by Bruce Sterling, one of the founders of the cyberpunk genre.
3. A very good jazz fusion album by the band Weather Report.

Biography Note

My name is Carlos Berríos Polanco. I am an award-winning freelance multimedia journalist who writes about climate, conflict, and the intersection of the two. My reporting has taken me everywhere from the dirt-poor sugar worker towns in the Dominican Republic to the most important climate conference in the world in Azerbaijan.

My reporting has appeared in Puerto Rico's Center for Investigative Journalism, 9 Millones, Unicorn Riot, and Latino Rebels (rip). Photos I have shot have appeared in the New Yorker, Rolling Stone, The Intercept, among other national and international outlets. Meanwhile, videos I have recorded have appeared in El Apagón / Aquí Vive Gente documentary.

Resume available upon request. You can reach me at carlosBP@protonmail.com.

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