Boiling Point

Latest Episodes:

The Future of the Colorado River Aug 07, 2025

Show notes

The Colorado River is shrinking, and the stakes couldn’t be higher for California. Sammy Roth talks with JB Hamby, the state’s lead Colorado River negotiator, about his vision for one of the West’s most important — and most threatened — water sources. Join Boiling Point in its second season as independent investigative reporter Miranda Green walks listeners through the climate challenges and solutions facing our natural world. Produced by LA Times Studios, the weekly series will feature interviews with Los Angeles Times reporters, state officials, business leaders and scientific experts discussing the latest news and trends impacting Californians and the country.

Abundance, Part 2: What’s Slowing Down Solar? Jul 31, 2025

Show notes

Sammy Roth talks with a California solar industry leader and a conservation advocate about where big solar farms should go — and where they shouldn’t. They discuss wildlife habitat, the urgency of the climate crisis and how to build renewables without destroying nature.

Join Boiling Point in its second season as independent investigative reporter Miranda Green walks listeners through the climate challenges and solutions facing our natural world. Produced by LA Times Studios, the weekly series will feature interviews with Los Angeles Times reporters, state officials, business leaders and scientific experts discussing the latest news and trends impacting Californians and the country.

Abundance, Part 1: Are Environmental Protections Blocking Housing? Jul 24, 2025

Show notes

In the first of a two-part series on “abundance,” Sammy Roth talks with L.A. Times housing reporter Liam Dillon about California’s controversial move to roll back environmental protections in hopes of building more homes, and what that means for climate change.

Cows, Carbon and Fixing Our Food Jul 17, 2025

Show notes

Sammy Roth talks with journalist Michael Grunwald about his new book, “We Are Eating the Earth,” which began as a story about food and became a story about land. They explore how agriculture — especially the way we raise livestock and grow crops — has become one of the biggest drivers of climate change. They also unpack realistic solutions, and think about what it means to love hamburgers and also want a livable planet.

Order “We Are Eating the Earth” here:

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/We-Are-Eating-the-Earth/Michael-Grunwald/9781982160074

Just How Bad Is the Beautiful Bill for Clean Energy? Jul 10, 2025

Show notes

President Trump’s new budget law guts federal support for solar and wind power, while boosting fossil fuels. Sammy Roth talks with Princeton researcher Jesse Jenkins about how the “One Big Beautiful Bill” could increase climate pollution and make energy more expensive.

Read Sammy’s recent column:

https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2025-07-03/republican-budget-bill-would-slaughter-americas-cleanest-cheapest-energy

Boiling Point Introduces: A Matter of Degrees Jun 26, 2025

Show notes

This week, we're sharing an episode of A Matter of Degrees. Hosted by Dr. Leah Stokes and Dr. Katharine Wilkinson, this award-winning series tells stories about the powerful forces behind climate change. This episode discusses how insurance companies are failing to accommodate for the impacts of climate change.

The Lithium Dilemma at Rhyolite Ridge, Part 2 Jun 19, 2025

Show notes

Sammy Roth returns to Esmeralda County, Nevada, to tour the proposed Rhyolite Ridge mine with Bernard Rowe, managing director of Ioneer. Rowe explains why he believes the mine can operate without harming an endangered wildflower, and lays out his company’s vision for responsible extraction of lithium and boron.

The Lithium Dilemma at Rhyolite Ridge, Part 1 Jun 12, 2025

Show notes

Sammy Roth travels to Esmeralda County, Nevada, to meet Naomi Fraga, a botany professor at Claremont Graduate University, and see the endangered Tiehm’s buckwheat up close. The wildflower stands in the way of one of the country’s biggest proposed lithium mines — a project supporters say is crucial to the clean energy transition. This is Part 1 of a special two-part episode.

Fighting Climate Change in an Authoritarian Age Jun 05, 2025

Show notes

What’s a greater threat to humanity: climate change, or the potential collapse of democracy? In this episode, Sammy Roth speaks with Clark University geography professor James McCarthy, who’s studied how authoritarianism and environmental destruction can be deeply intertwined.

As Trump Slashes Renewable Energy, Is Nuclear the Future? May 29, 2025

Show notes

Sammy Roth visits America’s second-largest nuclear plant, Arizona’s Palo Verde Generating Station, and sits down with three experts to explore the pros and cons of atomic energy. It’s one of the few climate solutions with bipartisan support — but it’s also plagued by high costs and pollution concerns from uranium mining.

Read Sammy’s recent column on Palo Verde:

https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2025-05-15/nuclear-reactors-power-los-angeles-should-we-panic-or-celebrate

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