Leah C. Stokes Talks Activism, Democracy and the Struggle For the Earth with Bill McKibben

Leah C.

Stokes is a political scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, known for her academic work on utilities in America, including her book Short Circuiting Policy.

She also played a key role in drafting the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate law in U.S.

history, enacted in 2022.

Her new book, The Carbon Wave, provides an insider’s account of this legislative process, blending her experiences as an academic, activist, and mother of premature twins who spent 75 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Stokes represents a rare combination of expertise in climate policy, grassroots activism, and personal commitment to the cause, often working from unconventional locations like hospital storage rooms while balancing professional and family responsibilities.