In this episode, host Sean Illing speaks with marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson about her book What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures.
Johnson approaches climate change with informed optimism, encouraging us to stop waiting for the worst to happen. She doesn’t reject the realities of a warming planet but reminds us that doomerism is paral ... Show More
Nov 10
Truth in an age of doublethink
We use “Orwellian” to describe everything from campus dust-ups to authoritarian crackdowns. But what did George Orwell actually stand for, what did he get wrong, and what can we learn from him about our age of surveillance capitalism and distraction? Sean’s guest is Laura Beers, ... Show More
52m 16s
Sep 2024
How to Fix Our Climate Crisis — with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist, policy expert, writer, and co-founder of the non-profit think tank Urban Ocean Lab, joins Scott to discuss her new book, “What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures.” She also talks to Scott about what needs to change, the ... Show More
55m 21s
Apr 2025
3 ways to fight climate change without getting overwhelmed (w/ Ayana Elizabeth Johnson)
<p>The future could be amazing, if we get it right. That’s so rarely how we think about it though. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, marine biologist and author of the anthology W<em>hat If We Get it Right?</em>, is constantly collecting visions of the future and of climate solutions that ... Show More
36m 8s
May 2025
Meet A Pioneer Of Modern Weather Prediction
<p>Climate scientist Jagadish Shukla grew up in a small village in rural India, where people starved if the monsoon season didn’t bring rain. To help his village, he set out to become a scientist and discover a way to predict the seasons—an unthinkable idea at the time, in the 19 ... Show More
18m 51s
May 2021
Climate change will displace millions. Here's how we prepare | Colette Pichon Battle
<p>Scientists predict climate change will displace more than 180 million people by 2100 -- a crisis of "climate migration" the world isn't ready for, says disaster recovery lawyer and Louisiana native Colette Pichon Battle. In this passionate, lyrical talk, she urges us to radica ... Show More
12m 58s
Dec 2024
The Questions We Ask Matter with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
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 n ... Show More
39m 15s
May 2023
Rob Verchick, "The Octopus in the Parking Garage: A Call for Climate Resilience" (Columbia UP, 2023)
One morning in Miami Beach, an unexpected guest showed up in a luxury condominium complex’s parking garage: an octopus. The image quickly went viral. But the octopus―and the combination of infrastructure quirks and climate impacts that left it stranded―is more than a funny meme. ... Show More
1h 12m
Sep 2023
Rebecca Solnit and Thelma Young Lutunatabua, "Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility" (Haymarket, 2023)
These days, with catastrophe after catastrophe, it can be easy to turn to despair and to believe that there is nothing we can do. But writer Rebecca Solnit is determined to change that narrative. Over the course of her career, Solnit has published twenty-five books on feminism, p ... Show More
1h 1m