A Matter of Degrees

Gina McCarthy has been at the center of nearly every federal climate fight of the last two decades. She led the EPA during the Obama years. Then, under President Biden, she became the first ever White House National Climate Advisor. 

In this episode of A Matter of Degrees, we sit down with Gina for a sweeping conversation about the victories, the setbacks, and why the climate story is much longer than any single administrati...

Back in December,  the Trump administration sent thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into Minnesota. They terrorized communities, took people from their homes, and murdered two American citizens. Climate groups helped lead the resistance. 

In this episode of A Matter of Degrees, a city stands up to state violence. We bring on Aru Shiney-Ajay, the executive director of the Sunrise Movement, to tell us abou...

Dr. Kate Marvel builds climate models — digital worlds that simulate our possible futures. They can tell us how hot it will get, how high the seas will rise, and which forests will burn. But they can't tell us what humans will do next — or how we'll feel as the planet transforms.

In this episode of A Matter of Degrees, we talk with Kate about her new book, Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet. This conve...

 "In the midst of a lot of big, bad things happening, there's one big good thing happening on planet Earth right now."

Today on A Matter of Degrees, we're bringing back the podcast's very first guest — legendary activist and author Bill McKibben. Bill's latest book, Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization, shows how clean energy can create a healthier, safer, more prospero...

Donald Trump's so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" took a sledgehammer to U.S. climate policy, including tax credits for clean cars and appliances. These incentives were helping people cut pollution, lower their energy bills, and make their homes more comfortable. Trump's bill eliminates the credits by the end of this year. 

Wait, don't change the channel—because these incentives haven't expired yet! So for the next few months, ...

Thousands of people lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires. Now, they're looking to their insurance companies to help them rebuild. But as the world warms, disasters like these are becoming more frequent and more severe, exposing an insurance system that isn't equipped to cover the rising damages. In Los Angeles, people who lost everything were left to fend for themselves. This is just the latest example of how insurance is ...

This week we are sharing a special bonus episode from Boiling Point, a new podcast produced by the LA Times and hosted by climate columnist Sammy Roth. This new audio series explores how climate change is impacting California and the American West. 

The first episode focuses on the recent wildfires in Los Angeles and what they mean for the future of the city. Sammy talks with Kelly Sanders, an engineering professor at USC and for...

In this episode of A Matter of Degrees, we partner with Climate One to share an inspiring conversation between Dr. Leah Stokes and Greg Dalton, the founder and co-host of Climate One, when Leah received the 2024 Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication in December.

And as a double feature, this episode also includes a conversation between writer, historian, and activist Rebecca Solnit and Climate On...

The industrial sector makes all of our physical stuff – the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the buildings we live in, and much more. It's also one of the biggest sources of U.S. climate pollution.

In this episode of A Matter of Degrees, we bring on guest host Dr. Eric Masanet, world-leading industrial decarbonization expert, to break down how we can clean up this sector. We are also joined by Rebecca Dell, the Senior Director ...

In this live episode of A Matter of Degrees, Dr. Katharine Wilkinson joined Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson for a conversation on Ayana's new book, What If We Get It Right, Visions of Climate Futures.

The need to build community and the imperative to imagine the futures we want are now more important than ever. These topics are at the heart of this discussion, which took place before the election at the Carter Center in Atlanta.

This...

The election is over, but climate progress doesn't have to be. How can we continue to push for equitable climate policies and defend current investments in clean energy? What are the state and local avenues for addressing the climate crisis? 

In this live episode of A Matter of Degrees, Dr. Leah Stokes is joined by Adrian Deveny, the Former Director of Energy and Environmental Policy for Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer. Lea...

On this episode of A Matter of Degrees, we tell the story of how a powerful grassroots movement, ambitious lawmakers, and Governor Tim Walz turned Minnesota into a climate leader. Then, we talk about using the Minnesota blueprint to make change everywhere else.

It's election season, but the federal government isn't the only venue for climate action. States also play a huge role in our path to healing the planet. Beyond just cutting...

Project 2025 has been all over the news lately. But what exactly is this conservative playbook for the Federal government? And what does it mean for climate policy? 

This week, A Matter of Degrees dives into the Heritage Foundation's plan for the next conservative presidential administration. Just weeks away from a pivotal election, we lay out what Project 2025 would mean for the climate movement and how it threatens to unwind all...

Welcome back for a special bonus episode of A Matter of Degrees! In this episode, we are taking a look back at our live conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris. Since we are once again at a pivotal moment for the climate, we wanted to kick off our new season by looking back at this incredible climate leader who has played a key role in getting us where we are today. We are excited to share this inspiring conversation with yo...

Welcome back for a bonus episode of A Matter of Degrees! We were lucky enough to sit down with Rebecca Solnit — author, historian, and climate activist — to talk about her newest climate anthology, Not Too Late. Leah and Nikayla Jefferson both wrote essays for the book and joined Rebecca onstage for this live episode.

Not Too Late gets at the tough, vital work of culture change and features diverse climate voices from around the ...

In our season three finale, we're transporting listeners to the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world and a vital carbon sink: the Tongass. 

Katharine and Leah investigate the impact of decades of industrial logging in Southeast Alaska and political debates pitting ecology against economy. We learn from the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people, who have lived on and with these lands for more than 10,000 years. And we di...

In his early days in office, President Biden took executive action to deliver environmental justice. Are those policies delivering justice in practice? This episode, we talk to EJ activists and federal policymakers about Biden's Justice40 Initiative, which directs 40% of the overall benefits of climate investments toward disadvantaged communities. We explore the decades of organizing that led to this moment, and what it will take n...

Electric utilities are falling short on climate action. To explain why, we're bringing back our season one finale. This episode features former utilities regulator Kris Mayes, who recently won a nail-biting election to become the second woman and first openly LGBTQ attorney general of Arizona. Go, Kris!

Since season one, Leah has been busy investigating utilities' past and present role spreading climate denial, doubt, and delay. Y...

In this episode, we explore the growing impact of heat on people and the planet. We talk to scientists and "climate detectives" trying to hold the perpetrators of this unprecedented global temperature increase accountable.

Leah and Katharine speak with Neza Xiuhtecutli, executive director of the Farmworker Association of Florida; Kate Marvel, climate science writer and physicist at Columbia University and NASA; and Richard Heede, ...