90 Miles from Needles: the Desert Protection Podcast

S5E34: Chihuahuan Desert 101 with Dr. Kevin Floyd

we realized that our continent's easternmost desert, the Chihuahuan Desert, is not as well known in many ways as its sister deserts like the Mojave and Sonoran. And we ha

S5E33: From Starfleet to the Sonoran Desert: Coping With a Burro Onslaught

Listeners in Joshua Tree and Moab may think their homes are overrun with jackasses, but this episode's guest has got them beat. We talk with Dr. Jennifer Anderson, whose

S5E32: Hiding Big Projects in Small Pieces

As promised a few episodes back, Chris explores a sneaky trick developers sometimes try to use to evade legally required environmental analysis of their projects. Segment

S5E31: Desert Dispatch, Data Centers, and the People Pushing Back

Desert Dispatch Media is bringing together artists and communities to document how the AI buildout is affecting desert lands and the people who live there. Chris talks wi

S5E30: Why Deserts Need Defending

For our 150th episode, we return to a foundational question: why does the desert need people speaking up for it? Chris offers four answers. Deserts are widely misunders

S5E29: Why Was the North Kaibab Trail Still Open?

Journalist Joe Dana of 12 News in Phoenix joins Chris Clarke to discuss questions raised by the August 29 flash flood in Grand Canyon National Park—and what happened insi

S5E28: 4 Things You Need to Know about Desert Flooding

Episode thumbnail photo by Bo Insogna. The deadly August 29 flood in Grand Canyon National Park received national attention, but it was not an isolated event. Flooding

S5E27: Sonoran Toads and the Dirty Business of Ego Death

Journalist Kimon de Greef joins Chris Clarke to discuss his new book, The Ego Trip: Psychedelic Toads, a Trail of Deaths, and the Guru Who Peddled Transcendence. The So

S5E26: Maps, Vanished Lakes, and Two Desert Squirrels

We think of range maps as static representations of where plants and animals belong. It doesn't often occur to us that maps are just snapshots of a constantly changing wo

S5E25: The Vaquita Can Still Recover

The vaquita is the world’s smallest and most endangered cetacean, but the handful still living in Mexico’s Upper Gulf of California may be more resilient than recent head

S5E24: Tree Sit at the Border

Border-wall contractors have destroyed three ancient Fremont cottonwoods in Lochiel, Arizona. Estimated to have been 200 to 250 years old, the trees stood in the path of

S5E23: Beyond Laws: Building a Movement to Save Our Deserts

Federal environmental laws matter. They have prevented destructive projects, protected wildlife and cultural sites, and given communities a way to challenge powerful inte

S5E22: Morgan Sjogren on the War on Utah's National Monuments

On July 13, 2026, President Trump announced new reductions of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, removing protections from nearly three million

S5E21: Don't Mine 29! Australian Company Threatens Joshua Tree

An Australian company has amassed mining claims across roughly 20,000 acres near Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree National Park. Dateline Resources says its Music Valley

S5E20: Our Love for Fireworks Could Harm the Desert

Fireworks are an American tradition—and a predictable source of wildland fires. Every year, July Fourth produces a sharp national increase in firework-related ignitions,

S5E19: Greenlink West Carves a Costly Path Through Wild Nevada

We visit the Amargosa watershed to discuss Greenlink West, a transmission project now under construction that will ship energy from Vegas-area solar facilities to data ce

S5E18: Desert Heat: Who Really Pays the Price?

In this timely episode, Chris discusses the best ways to avoid becoming a statistic while hiking during desert heat waves. He also points out that the vast majority of pe

S5E17: The Desert Needs Our Voice and We Need Your Help

In the wake of a personal loss and a several-week hiatus, our host Chris wonders about the future of the podcast and whether it's doing what we need it to do to get to th

Short Update: Explaining Our Brief Hiatus

Content note: sadness. Due to the death of a close family member, we will return on June 5. Listen if you want a few details.  Pet Loss Resources and Support Hemang

S5E16: The Double Border Wall: A New Environmental Catastrophe

In this episode, Chris talks with longtime border environmental activist Russ McSpadden about the controversial plans to erect a second border wall on the U.S.-Mexico bor