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Podcast episodes

Check latest episodes from How We Survive podcast

The $80 Million Acre

2023/10/18

Buckeye, Arizona, is a small city with dreams of becoming “the next Phoenix.” It’s one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. In the past few decades, its population has ballooned more than twentyfold, and the city plans to add more than 100,000 new homes in coming years. The only catch? Growth requires water. And Buckeye doesn’t have enough. So what’s a small city with big dreams to do? Part of the answer lies in one scrubby acre of land way out in the desert that’s owned by a group of investors.

Stolen River

2023/10/25

Over a century after its namesake river — the Gila — was stolen by colonization, the Gila River Indian Community won its water rights back. Now the community is using the water to restore its farming economy, build back wetlands that long ago dried up and help stabilize the Colorado River system.

Rewriting the Rules

2023/11/01

The city of Albuquerque exists in part because of the Azotea Tunnel, a massive infrastructure project that effectively rerouted part of the Colorado River into the Rio Grande. The project helped sustain Albuquerque’s rapid population growth. Meanwhile, some communities lost out. Water that would have flowed through the Jicarilla Apache Nation was instead diverted via the tunnel. In this episode, we travel 180 miles north of Albuquerque to the town of Dulce to talk to Daryl Vigil, retired longtime water administrator, about how the tribe is fighting for a seat at the table in ongoing Colorado River management. And we visit To’Hajiilee, a community dealing with water insecurity that stands to benefit from leasing Jicarilla settlement water.

Groundwater Wars

2023/11/08

Kingman, Arizona, a small farming town in the desert, is a cautionary tale in the West’s water crisis. About a decade ago, large corporate farms started moving into the desert of Mohave County, growing thirsty crops like alfalfa and nuts. At the time, there were practically no rules restricting groundwater pumping, and local officials worried the farms would run the town dry. So local leaders did something that hadn’t been done in 40 years. They asked the state to step in and pass strict rules on groundwater pumping. This episode, we travel to Kingman to look at a complicated solution that has splintered a community, pitting neighbors against each other and farmers and ranchers against elected officials.

The Price of Paradise

2023/11/15

When Leigh Harris and her husband, Franck Avril, moved into their dream home, Leigh said she felt like the luckiest person in the world. The home is in Rio Verde Foothills, Arizona, outside Scottsdale, in unincorporated Maricopa County. It’s a large stucco house, with high ceilings, a fireplace and 35 windows to take in the mountain views. There was just one downside. Their home was built on a dry lot, which meant water was hauled in by trucks from Scottsdale. And amid a worsening drought, Scottsdale had to cut them off. This episode, we follow Leigh and Franck as they scramble to find an affordable water supply and make the most of every last drop.

Betting on Conservation

2023/11/22

Las Vegas is a fantastical Disneyland for adults in the middle of the desert. It features fabulous displays of water — like the thousand dancing fountains of the Bellagio Hotel or the winding canals that recreate Venice at the Venetian Hotel. But surprisingly, it’s a city that has also become known for water conservation and innovation. In this episode, we sit down with Pat Mulroy, who was the top water manager in Southern Nevada for 25 years and led conservation efforts in the desert city. We talk with her about the existential crisis that Las Vegas and other desert cities face, how Southern Nevada has been able to cut its Colorado River water use by 31% in the past two decades, and what that means for the trade-offs that we all may have to consider to keep living where we want to live.

Water, water, everywhere

2023/11/29

As water supplies in the west dry up, finding solutions is critical. The good news is that water is all around us, if you know where to look and how to treat it. In this episode, we’re going on a road trip to check out the fascinating technology producing water from the sewer, the ocean and even out of the sky! Plus, Amy tastes the next generation of water and shares her favorite.

Rights of Rivers

2023/12/06

The Colorado River has been carved up and relentlessly fought over for decades. But has anyone ever asked what the river wants? Until recently, that answer was ‘no.’ There’s a growing movement, rooted in Indigenous values, to give nature — rivers, fish, crops and trees — the same rights as people (and corporations). It’s known as Rights of Nature. In our last episode of the season we travel to the other side of the world, visit a mountain town making history and learn from salmon in the Pacific Northwest, as we figure out if personhood is feasible for the Colorado River and what that would mean for the river and those who depend on it.

Introducing “How We Survive: The Worth of Water”

2023/10/11

The Colorado River is the lifeblood of the American West. Millions of people rely on it to live. But we’re using more water than the river has to give, and it’s already lost trillions of gallons to rising temperatures since 2000. Meanwhile, rampant growth and water-intensive farming have depleted groundwater supplies. This means Western states must fundamentally rethink how water is divided up and used. In this season of “How We Survive,” we find an oasis in the desert, float down Las Vegas’ finest canal and give wastewater a taste as we continue our hunt for solutions to the climate crisis.

Burning Questions: Can I be fashionable without hurting the planet?

2023/09/06

Is it really that bad to buy a shirt from a fast fashion company? How can I tell if a company is really committed to sustainable practices? Do things like the quality of fabric matter to the environment? LAist’s Josie Huang sits down with fast-fashion expert and Columbia University professor Elizabeth Cline to discuss the impacts of what we wear. Consume Less, Learn More: Read: “Fashion Creates Culture, and Culture Creates Action” from Vogue Peruse: The ReMake brand directory Get up to speed on: The Fabric Act

Burning Questions: Should we blow it all up?

2023/09/13

Some climate activists think it’s time to ramp up their efforts by vandalizing multimillion-dollar artworks and even sabotaging key infrastructure. Should activists move beyond peaceful protests? Host Amy Scott talks with filmmakers Daniel Goldhaber and Ariela Barer about some of these ideas that show up in their environmental thriller “How to Blow Up a Pipeline.” Related Links: OPINION: The moral case for destroying fossil fuel infrastructure – Andreas Malm WATCH: TED – The fairy tales of the fossil fuel industry — and a better climate story – Luisa Neubauer STREAM: How to Blow Up a Pipeline (Film)

Burning Questions: Can we eat our way out of the climate crisis?

2023/09/20

Do my food choices really matter? What about solutions like composting? In this installment of Burning Questions, NYT’s food journalist and best-selling cookbook author Priya Krishna is in conversation with restaurateur and founder of Zero Foodprint, Anthony Myint, to chat through the personal and structural changes we can make to our food choices to better the climate. CHECK OUT: The impact of specific foods on the environment COMPOST: Even if your city doesn’t offer municipal pick-up DIG DEEPER: The science of regenerative agriculture with Anthony Myint

Read How We Survive podcast reviews

4.9 out of 5

1013 reviews

Accordion2me 2024/01/06

Great Storytelling!

I learn so much from this podcast. Every episode covers a topic that is not only very applicable right now and the immediate future, it’s explored wit...

app nonuser 2023/12/28

We get what we deserve

I love this podcast. It’s a clear-eyed look at the future that awaits if we don’t innovate, conserve precious resources and reduce our consumption.

dws936721 2023/12/06

Great insights!

Important insights into our overall dire climate situation, including lessons from current steps to improve or mitigate it.

40th & Macarthur 2023/11/29

How Do They Do It???

From tribal elders to desert brewmeisters to coastal techies, this podcast interviews a fascinating cast of characters, all working on solutions to wa...

bananaquiet 2023/11/16

S4 Ep5 Incinerator toilet?

I’m just wondering why the couple in Season 4 Episode 5 don’t install a solar panel and an incinerator toilet so at least they don’t have to flush wit...

dirty stasch 2023/11/15

Reality bites

This season, like the others, are so important to really listen to and digest. Amy Scott is so competent in her reporting and narration, she’s a trust...

Corin Brock 2023/11/13

So important!

Everyone who lives in America needs to listen to this podcast. Informative and brings our climate problems to the forefront where we must all pay atte...

zzclg 2023/11/09

Informative, interesting and so relevant to today

Grateful for reporting on subjects so relevant to what we need to correct our behavior and thinking about this very precious planet on which we live.

Dunklezeit 2023/11/06

How we can still thrive

Might better be titled how we could again thrive. Survival is a low bar. The hopeful but pragmatic tone here is helpful and healthy.

Icyyy17 2023/10/25

Love it!

A great podcast all around. Season 2 is GREAT so far and covers a really important issue.

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