A Matter of Degrees

A Matter of Degrees

Give up your climate guilt. Sharpen your curiosity. Join Dr. Leah Stokes and Dr. Katharine Wilkinson as they tell stories about the powerful forces behind climate change — and the tools we have to fix it. This show makes sense of big climate questions and critical topics. Our episodes are filled with stories of bold climate leadership, groundbreaking campaigns, and people doing their best to be part of the solution. A Matter of Degrees is produced in partnership with FRQNCY Media, The 2035 Initiative at UC Santa Barbara, and The All We Can Save Project.

Episodes

The Only Good Planet

October 9, 2025 • 40 mins
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 conversatio...
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The Sun Is Having Its Day

September 9, 2025 • 48 mins
 ”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 prosperous world. Bi...
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Cash In On Clean Tech Incentives (Before It's Too Late)

August 26, 2025 • 37 mins
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,...
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The Climate Crisis Is Breaking Insurance

April 4, 2025 • 35 mins
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 ...
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Presenting: L.A. Wildfires: Rebuilding for a Hotter, Drier Future

January 23, 2025 • 38 mins
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 form...
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Leah Stokes: 2024 Schneider Award Winner

January 10, 2025 • 52 mins
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...
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Cleaning Up Industry

December 19, 2024 • 35 mins
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 ...
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The Questions We Ask Matter with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

December 5, 2024 • 39 mins
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...
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What the Election Means for Climate Policy

November 14, 2024 • 58 mins
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...
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Minnesota’s Climate Breakthrough

October 24, 2024 • 34 mins
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...
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Project 2025

October 7, 2024 • 30 mins
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...
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A Look Back at Vice President Kamala Harris on Climate Leadership, Justice, and Solutions

August 26, 2024 • 53 mins
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...
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Live Episode: A Climate Book Talk with Rebecca Solnit

July 20, 2023 • 59 mins
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 w...
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The Tongass: A Way Forward For The Forest

March 2, 2023 • 50 mins
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...
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The Journey of Justice40

February 16, 2023 • 47 mins
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...
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The ‘Darth Vader’ of Electric Utilities

February 2, 2023 • 59 mins
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...
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The Case of the Killer Heat

January 19, 2023 • 50 mins
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, ...
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New Year’s Reflections, Resolutions, and Inspiration from Sherri Mitchell

January 5, 2023 • 55 mins
At the start of 2023, we’re reflecting on past progress and setting climate intentions, both small and large, for the year ahead. And we want to hear from you! Has A Matter of Degrees shifted your perspective or moved you to action? Do you have climate goals for 2023? Share your story with us. To inspire and ground us for the new year, we share a powerful audio essay from the bestselling anthology All We Can Save: “Indigenous Pro...
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Petrochemicals and Plastics: A Fossil Fuel Lifeline?

December 15, 2022 • 44 mins
The fossil fuel industry is banking its future on petrochemicals — the toxic precursor to plastics. In this episode, Katharine and Leah speak with activists who are fighting back against petrochemicals in “sacrifice zones” across America, from the Ohio River Valley to the Gulf Coast. Learn where petrochemicals come from, how they harm people, places, and the climate, and why the fossil fuel industry wants them as a lifeline.  We h...
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Bold vs. BS in Corporate Climate Pledges

December 1, 2022 • 37 mins
In this episode, we investigate corporate climate commitments and how to make them stronger. We get to the root of zero-emissions pledges and greenwashing — specifically in the oil and gas industry.  Dr. Paasha Mahdavi, associate professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, joins us to report this story. Paasha talks with Louise Rouse, a consultant who teams up with investors to push corporations ...
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