The Wide Open

Feb 13 2025 14 ep. 33 mins 338
The Wide Open Podcast artwork

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.

  News  Science
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The Discovery of Extinction — Extra

Feb 13 2025 17 mins  
How Thomas Jefferson’s quest to prove America’s wildlife was bigger and badder and better than anywhere else led him to face off with the idea of species going extinct.

New Administration, new grizzly bear policy? — Extra

Jan 28 2025 3 mins  
Last week, President Trump released an order to freeze all kinds of federal rules proposed in the days before the Administration changed, including the latest grizzly bear delisting rule. The Trump Administration is reviewing what Biden tried to do with grizzlies, and deciding what’s next.

Big news for grizzlies — Extra

Jan 17 2025 7 mins  
On January 8th, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made a big announcement about the future of grizzly bear management. Host Nick Mott breaks down the news and what the reaction to it means looking ahead.

A Grizzly Charge — Extra

Nov 12 2024 20 mins  
Two days after The Wide Open premiered, host Nick Mott had a grizzly encounter of his own.

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

Oct 03 2024 45 mins  
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.

Looking at the Caterpillar

Sep 19 2024 46 mins  
A caterpillar crosses the road. It starts a conversation about the long view of conservation, across species and across generations.

Poking the Bear

Sep 12 2024 42 mins  
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.

Shoot for the Moon

Sep 05 2024 55 mins  
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.

The Passenger Pigeon and the Chicken

Aug 29 2024 47 mins  
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.

Smoke a Pack a Day

Aug 22 2024 50 mins  
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?