Threshold

We’re closing out two years of Arctic reporting with a new series about one of the oldest, most contentious, and most complex environmental issues in the United States—the future of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In 2017, Congress opened part of the refuge for oil and gas development, and the Trump administration says they aim to start selling the drilling rights this winter. But opponents to drilling are saying: not so fast.The Refuge began as a bold vision to preserve enough land to sustain a whole web of Arctic animals. Today, these 19 million roadless acres are home to moose and caribou, wolves and foxes, and birds that fly in from around the world to nest. Polar bears are using the coastal areas as a true refuge as the world warms and the sea ice retreats.But shortly after ANWR was created, an enormous oil deposit was discovered nearby, and a different vision for the far north took hold. Oil production at the Prudhoe Bay oil field transformed Alaska’s economy and provided thousands of jobs. For the last 40 years, these competing visions of public land, conservation, and natural resource development have been colliding. But this isn’t just a fight between environmentalists and oil companies—the indigenous communities in the region are also fighting to be heard. Both the Iñupiat and the Gwich’in have roots in the refuge that go back thousands of years. For some indigenous people, the refuge is sacred land that needs to be preserved. But others say oil development is the best hope for the future of their community.Right now, this decades-long battle is coming to a head. Climate change is warming the Arctic twice as fast as the rest of the planet, and the plants, animals and people living there are struggling to adapt. Oil drilling could turn up those pressures, but as the Prudhoe Bay oil field continues drying up  many Alaskans see drilling in ANWR as the way to revive their faltering economy.In this series, we ask what’s at stake if we drill in the refuge—and if we don’t. We also track down the origin story of this conflict, and try to understand how the fate of this remote Arctic refuge became one of the most contentious environmental issues in America today.“The Refuge” starts next week on Threshold.Learn more about Threshold on our website. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters here. This series was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.  The news clip in this preview was from KTOO Public Media. You can find their full story—and other reporting on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—here.

In this special episode, we feature one of the many podcasts we love. HumaNature tells real stories about human experiences in nature, and helps us reflect on our role in a changing world. Today, tag along with writer Manasseh Franklin on her Alaskan journey to follow glacial melt to its source—on a raftFind out more on our website.Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters on Patreon.

What do "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice and "What Have You Done for Me Lately" by Janet Jackson have to do with the Arctic and climate change?   Find out in this season two special, which will take you on a journey into a permafrost tunnel near Fairbanks, Alaska. This tunnel is sort of a Paleo-museum, a network of human-made caves full of mammoth tusks, bison horns, and clumps of 20,000-year-old grass. All of which is frozen—for now.    Learn more about Threshold on our website. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become a part of our passionate network of supporters on Patreon.   This story/series was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.

What is the Arctic? Who lives there? How are their lives changing as the climate warms? In this Earth Day Special, we take listeners on a three-part journey across the polar north, drawing on our 18 months of research and reporting in all eight Arctic countries.This one-hour Threshold Earth Day Special is formatted to the NPR clock and can be licensed for radio broadcast through PRX, here:http://exchange.prx.org/pieces/271817-s02-earth-day-special. Promotional material is also available through the PRX Exchange, here: https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/270418-s02-promos-earth-day-special.Part I: On Grímsey Island, Iceland, an eight-ton concrete ball maps the path of the Arctic Circle as it moves an average of 14 meters each year.Part II: The island town of Shishmaref, Alaska is only about a quarter of a mile wide, and thanks to the effects of climate change, it’s getting smaller each year. The town has voted to relocate to the mainland, but they need help to make the move. So far, no one seems to be listening.Part III: The Greenland ice sheet is basically a giant ice cube the size of Alaska. What happens when it melts? We spent five days camping out on the ice with a team of scientists who are trying to find out.Season two of Threshold, an award-winning podcast and public radio show, took listeners to the thawing soil and melting ice of the polar north, to experience this fast-changing part of the planet first-hand. All 13 episodes, each 29 minutes long, are also available for broadcast on PRX.Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org.Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast.This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Remember the Sámi family from episode six? The Aleksandersens face threats to their reindeer herding from both climate change and climate change solutions. But a lot has happened since our initial reporting. Spend some time surrounded by these beautiful, antlered ungulates, and get an update on the family’s fight against a nearby wind development. Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org/donate. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast. This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World. 

18 months of reporting. All eight Arctic countries. So many fascinating people. On the final episode of season two of Threshold, we pull back a little and try to see the big picture. Join us as we bust some myths, travel back in time in a Swedish forest, and search for roadmaps into the future. Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org/donate. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast. This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.

The Greenland ice sheet is basically a giant ice cube the size of Alaska. What happens when it melts? We spent five days camping out on the ice with a team of scientists who are trying to find out. Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org/donate. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast. This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.

All across the Arctic, indigenous languages are on the decline. But in many communities, people are finding new ways to reclaim both language and culture. Join some Inuit rockers in northern Canada in the recording studio, singing in their own language and making their first new studio album in more than 30 years.   Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org/donate. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast. This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.

Half of the Arctic is in Russia, and half of Russia is in the Arctic. Oil, minerals, pollution -- it's a web of complicated environmental stories that need to be told. But in Russia, investigative journalists have become an endangered species. Spend some time around a nickel smelter and meet a veteran journalist fighting to do his job. Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org/donate. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast. This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.

Russia has more land in the Arctic than any other nation. It's also a regime that does not tolerate dissent. What does this mean for residents of Murmansk, the Arctic's largest city? Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org/donate. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast. This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.

What happens when the thing you can't live without in the short term threatens your very existence in the long run? Meet two whalers in Utqiagvik, Alaska trying to answer that question. Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org/donate. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast. This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.

If there's one thing everybody's heard about the Arctic, it's that sea ice is melting, and that's bad news. But what's less well-known is that some people see opportunity in sea ice loss. This time, take a seat in the captain's chair of a Finnish icebreaker, sing along with a very musical Alaskan mayor, and find out what it means when the world gets a whole new ocean. Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org/donate. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast. This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.

Take a trip through the Norwegian archipelago, meet workers in the tourism industry, and get a glimpse of some charismatic Arctic megafauna. Plus, Newsmatch begins. Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org/donate. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast. This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.

After thousands of years of tradition, a shifting climate is forcing changes in the way Sámi families herd reindeer. But some climate solutions are also threatening their way of life. This is the story of the Aleksandersens, a Sámi reindeer herding family in northern Norway. Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast. This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.

Everyone's heard of Vikings -- their daring North Atlantic voyages, their mysterious runes. But there's another ancient culture in Arctic Scandinavia that's much older, and just as fascinating -- the Sámi. While the Vikings have been celebrated, Sámi music, language and traditions were forced underground. Why? Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast. This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.

An eight-ton concrete ball and a 32,000-year-old needle collection. What's all this got to do with the Arctic? Find out on this episode of Threshold. Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast. This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.

All across the Arctic, frozen soil is thawing out. A lot of stuff is buried there -- plants and animals that lived more than 10,000 years ago. What happens when a Paleolithic bison bone starts to decompose for the first time? And what does that have to do with climate change? Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast. This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.

When a major storm hit Shishmaref, Alaska in 2005, it became a poster child for climate change in the Arctic. Dramatic pictures of houses falling into the sea showed up in news outlets around the world. But the story here starts way before that storm. Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast. This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.

In Shishmaref, Alaska, no one’s asking if climate change is real. What they want to know is how bad it has to get before the world decides to act. Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast.

What is the Arctic, anyway? Like, is it the North Pole, or the south? Do penguins live there? Polar bears? What about people?On Threshold Season Two, we're taking you on a circumpolar journey to learn about one of the most important regions of the planet: the polar north. Most of us don't think about it very much. But we should. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet and the changes happening there have the power to push climate change to a whole 'nother level of bad. We traveled to all eight Arctic countries to find out what the Arctic is, how it's changing, and why that matters to all of us. Coming September 25.Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org.Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at: https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcastThis season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.

In this final extra for season one, you'll meet Vernon Finley, Chairman of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Amy talked to him last April about the decision to stop the process of transferring the lands of the National Bison Range back to the tribes.You'll also hear a "lost episode" -- or half of an episode -- featuring Karrie Taggert, an unwitting bison activist. Karrie moved to Montana to get away from it all, and ended up taking a leading role in the effort to protect wild bison in her neck of the woods.Plus, "Buffalo Suite," by Travis Yost!To become one of the extremely good-looking people who supports Threshold on Patreon, click here.To be among the first to know when season two is ready, join our mailing list.We are so grateful to all of our listeners and donors! Thank you!

What does it feel like to run with a bison herd? Dr. Dustin Ranglack knows. He spent years studying one of the country's wildest herds in Utah's Henry Mountains. Meet Dustin and Threshold Assistant Producer Nick Mott in this penultimate bison extra.To become one of the extremely good-looking people who supports Threshold on Patreon, click here.To be among the first to know when season two is ready, join our mailing list.We are so grateful to all of our listeners and donors! Thank you! 

To become one of the extremely good-looking people who supports Threshold on Patreon, click here.To learn more about the Gwich'in and the Arctic National Wildlife refuge, click here.To be among the first to know when season two is ready, and to get lots of fun pictures and insider info while we busily prepare it for you, join our mailing list.We are so grateful to all of our listeners and donors! Thank you!   

Today, the Missoulian is reporting that Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is planning to "change course" on the proposed transfer of the National Bison Range to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes -- meaning his agency is not going to support the proposed transfer. We reported on this story in episode five of season one. Check out this page to see pictures and videos of the National Bison Range, to learn more about the CSKT, and to find out about the lawsuit to stop the proposed transfer.Zinke is a Montanan who formerly served as the state's sole representative in the U.S. House (yep, Montana only gets one).  

In the last episode of Season One of Threshold, listeners will encounter pearls of wisdom from youth who have grown up with bison in their midst, and take a trip to the Oakland Zoo, which will soon receive buffalo from the Blackfeet tribe that will help jumpstart a conservation herd there. We also conjure the big ideas driving this first season - what's our future with this animal? How does that connect with our history? Can America ever have wild, free-roaming bison again?

Visit the American Prairie Reserve, a conservation project in the heart of Montana that could eventually be home to 10,000 bison. The vision is to stitch together 3.5 million acres of public and private lands to form the largest wildlife park in the lower 48. But some nearby ranchers feel the push to build the APR is pushing them off their land, and they're mounting a resistance. We also try to solve the Great Elk Mystery: why are elk that have been exposed to brucellosis allowed to roam free in Montana, while bison are not?

"We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever received, and each one must do his part if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of its good fortune."~ Theodore RooseveltIn 1908, the National Bison Range was created by carving 18,000 acres out of Montana's Flathead Reservation. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it is willing to transfer the land back to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. But, a lawsuit has been filed to stop the proposed transfer. In this episode we meet tribal members who feel they are the rightful stewards of the land and the historic bison herd, and others who are trying to stop the transfer.

Lennae Klyap of Dome Mountain Ranch talks about what happened when a lone bison bull migrated onto the ranch's property north of Yellowstone. 

In episode four of Threshold, we meet Robbie Magnan of the Fort Peck Tribes. He believes his community can prosper in the future by reconnecting with their roots as the Tatanka Oyate — the buffalo people. Magnan has built a quarantine facility that could be an alternative to the Yellowstone bison slaughter, but right now it sits empty while more than a thousand bison are being culled from the herd. Why? We'll learn more about Magnan's vision for bison restoration, and investigate why some people are opposed to it.

Humans first encountered bison more than 75,000 years ago, as we migrated north out of Africa. We retrace that journey across Europe and Asia, and into the Americas.

Yellowstone Park Superintendent Dan Wenk gives his take on the bison conundrum.

Many cattle ranchers view wild bison as a threat to their livelihoods. But some think cattle and bison can coexist. On episode three of Threshold, you'll meet two cattle ranchers with different perspectives on wild bison — and, we'll take you on a controversial bison hunt.

A Yellowstone visitor tries to explain how it feels to watch the country's largest wild bison herd grazing in the Lamar Valley.

Amy goes off-trail in the Yellowstone snow and discovers how hard it is to be a bison.

How did we go from more than 50 million wild bison to just 23 free-roaming animals? And how does the decimation of the herds relate to the oppression of Native Americans? Find out on this episode of Threshold.Each season, Threshold podcast explores one story from the natural world, and what it says about us. Season one focuses on the American bison. Dig into the history of the American bison, from their arrival in North America, to current controversies surrounding their management today.

Yellowstone National Park is where we saved the American bison from extinction. But each year, we slaughter hundreds of animals from this prized herd. Why? Learn more on this episode of Threshold.

Each season, Threshold explores one story from the natural world, and what it says about us. Season one focuses on the American bison.When you start out talking about bison, you end up talking about America. Wherever you are in the U.S., bison used to live there too. How did that change so drastically, so quickly? Can the U.S. ever have wild, free-roaming bison again? Should we? Threshold podcast dives deep into the history of the American bison to understand who we are, where we've been, and where we're going.