The Wide Open

Explore the places where we come together and fall apart. Nuanced reporting on under-covered environmental issues — with plenty of adventure, wildlife and rich sound along the way.

'The Wide Open' podcast: Coming August 1

Explore the places where we come together and fall apart. Nuanced reporting on under-covered environmental issues — with plenty of adventure, wildlife and rich sound along the way.

06-18
02:32

Five Billboards Outside Livingston, Montana

The Endangered Species Act helped bring the Yellowstone-area grizzly population back from the brink of extinction. It also sparked controversy over a question that looms over more species than just grizzly bears: How do we balance the needs of endangered wildlife with the needs of humans?

08-01
44:46

Hell or High Water

The first great battle over the Endangered Species Act begins. Thanks to an eclectic group of activists, a tiny fish in Tennessee halts construction on a massive dam and ends up in front of the Supreme Court.

08-08
50:22

Sue the Bastards

A gang of monkey-wrenching activists try a new approach in the fight to save threatened species and ecosystems: They put on suits and enter the courtroom. In doing so, they change conservation forever.

08-15
48:28

Smoke a Pack a Day

Wolves get trapped in the wild, loaded onto an airplane, and delivered to Montana and Idaho. When they scamper off into the wilderness, they test a question central to endangered species debates: What does it mean to recover a species?

08-22
50:24

The Passenger Pigeon and the Chicken

From grizzlies to wolves, hunting plays a controversial role in many Endangered Species Act stories. This time, an African animal on Texas ranchland shows how hunting does — and doesn’t — serve conservation.

08-29
47:30

Shoot for the Moon

A fish killing mystery that starts with the Endangered Species Act shows how state and federal wildlife law went from a weapon used against tribes, to a tool for tribes to reclaim what was stripped away.

09-05
55:29

Poking the Bear

A scientist realizes if sea ice keeps melting, polar bears will go extinct. To help them, the Endangered Species Act takes on climate change — and in this battle, the law may have met its match.

09-12
42:31

Looking at the Caterpillar

A caterpillar crosses the road. It starts a conversation about the long view of conservation, across species and across generations.

09-19
46:05

'The Wild': Immerse yourself in the natural world and the people who protect it

This week we're sharing an episode of a podcast we think you'll love: "The Wild" with Chris Morgan, from our friends at KUOW in Seattle. On this episode, "The Wild" heads to the hottest place on earth: Death Valley National Park to learn about the Devil's Hole pupfish. This tiny creature, just an inch long, sparked one of the biggest water rights cases in U.S. History.

10-03
45:18

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