90 Miles from Needles: the Desert Protection Podcast

Fire can erase blackbrush stands quickly, while invasive annual grasses can make subsequent fires more likely.

The Chihuahuan Desert rewards a closer look. UTEP botanical curator Kevin Floyd joins Chris Clarke to talk about its plants and wildlife, disputed boundaries, and the challenges of protecting biodiversity as the climate changes.

Burros are magnificent animals. What happens when unmanaged herds overwhelm the desert habitat around them? Dr. Jen Anderson joins Chris Clarke to describe her efforts to restore the Sonoran Desert Sanctuary near Alamo Lake in western Arizona. She recounts damage to palo verde trees, disappearing wildlife, and years of seeking help from the Bureau of Land Management. The conversation brings together desert conservation, federal wild burro management, animal welfare, and hands-on restoration—and includes a detour onto the bridge of Star Trek: Enterprise.

How developers split projects to sidestep environmental review—and how communities fight back. Cadiz groundwater, Chevron and an Imperial County data center.

Meet the artists behind Desert Dispatch Media’s community-led documentary about AI infrastructure, data centers, and desert communities.