Broken Ground

Christian Cooper on Birding for Your Soul

Walk out your front door, listen, and look. That’s the advice avid birder Christian Cooper gives to those wanting to take up his passion, birdwatching. Cooper is a lifelo

Jo and Joy Banner: Reclaiming Home

Jo and Joy Banner envision a time, not too distant from now, when travelers visiting their small town along the Mississippi River don’t gawk at the concentration of pollu

Aya Shabu: Highway Through the Heart

On her group walking tours around Durham’s Hayti District, performance artist Aya Shabu brings Black history to life, transporting visitors back to Hayti in its heyday. O

Michelle Lanier: What the Land Witnessed

A “keeper of memory” and Director of the North Carolina Division of State Historic Sites, Michelle Lanier has built a career on understanding layers of history underlying

Latria Graham: The Roots of Environmental Injustices

Writer Latria Graham helps us unearth the surprising ways in which long-ago plantations and modern environmental injustices are intertwined in the South. From some of the

Season 8: Plantations to Pollution

On a map, you can often spot pollution sources like a power plant, a highway, or a factory. But why were these things built where they are, and who lives next door? Answe

Rural Justice: The Power of Coalitions

This season of Broken Ground we spend time in the rural South with the people who call it home. Often celebrated for the quiet life close to nature, and a region that def

The Landfill Next Door

We don’t spend a lot of time thinking about where our trash ends up but, when you live next door to a landfill, you don’t have that luxury. The burning smell of chemicals

After the River Rises

"Inland flooding" was a phrase that often needed explanation. Now all you need to say is "Helene". The storm that ravaged Appalachia was a stark reminder of a phenomenon

The Wood Pellet Paradox

How can a power source that creates more climate warming emissions than coal be called renewable? This is the paradox of wood pellets, a type of biomass being burned at i

The Fishers' Right To Know

Is that fresh-caught fish safe to eat? In too many rivers across the rural South, the answer is a hard 'no.' Failing sewage systems, agricultural runoff, and po

The Strip Mine and The Swamp

To call the Okefenokee swamp a treasure is to undersell just how special this watery world is. Tucked into the rural southeast corner of Georgia, this 438,000-acre swamp

Jonathan Vigliotti on Connecting the Climate Dots

CBS News journalist and author Jonathan Vigliotti joins Broken Ground host Leanna First-Arai to dig into his on-the-ground coverage of breaking climate stories across rur

Cornell Watson on Justice Through Photography

Photographer Cornell Watson's images recognize the camera can be a tool for connection, and action.  Whether its pollution from hog farms, efforts to gut Black neigh

Victoria Bouloubasis and Paola Jaramillo on Bridging Language Barriers

Whether its natural disasters or shifting political winds, Victoria Bouloubasis and Paola Jaramillo make sure Spanish-speakers in North Carolina have access to it. Ensuri

Cameron Oglesby on Collecting Community Stories

Listen to environmental journalist Cameron Oglesby discuss how highlighting Black joy and centering community narratives in her writing drives action.  Support the show

Lyndsey Gilpin and Tajah McQueen on Empowering Community Reporters

Hear what spurred the founding of Southerly, an online publication focused on environmental justice, and how it evolved from more traditional reporting to an outlet focus

Season 6 Trailer: Meet Journalists Reimagining Environmental News

As more and more news outlets close, writers, editors, and photographers across the South are reconsidering how communities stay informed. This season host Leanna First-A

Season 5 Trailer: How Memphis Beat The Odds To Stop A Pipeline

Hear how a small group of neighbors in southwest Memphis built a coalition strong enough to defeat a crude oil pipeline. And listen for lessons you can take back to your

Lesson 7: Do It Again

An announcement late on the Friday of a holiday weekend is a classic move. And in the case of the Byhalia Pipeline it is an end so abrupt many don’t believe it. But it’s