BUZZKILL, presented by REAP/SOW

FERN

Dispatches from the frontlines of food, farming, and the environment. From the Food & Environment Reporting Network, the producers of Hot Farm, REAP/SOW brings you narrative and investigative reporting that examines the consequences of what we choose to eat and why. Currently featuring BUZZKILL, a six-part series on the pollinator crisis

2024 FERN

10hr 6min

Thumbnail for "The divers keeping the water flowing on California’s farms".

Inside the world of the commercial divers working the irrigation canals in California’s Central Valley.

August 15, 202417min 28sec41.94 MB

Thumbnail for "Introducing: Buzzkill, presented by REAP/SOW".

A new limited series about the pollinator crisis – and what can be done to solve it. Premiering January 28. 2025.

January 21, 20252min 47sec2.68 MB

Thumbnail for "The railroad's surprising impact on food and civil rights in California".

The expansion of railways in the United States did more than transport people – it helped change society and the food system.

January 17, 202527min 44sec66.51 MB

Thumbnail for "“Farmin’ ain’t easy” from the Points North Podcast".

Life on a small farm means hard work, and just enough joy – and hopefully enough profit – to keep going.

October 15, 202416min 17sec39.08 MB

Scientists have long predicted that land loss in Louisiana will harm fisheries. That finally seems to be happening—to one of the state’s most iconic fish.

July 9, 202439min 55sec95.81 MB

Thumbnail for "A native people fight for their stolen waters".

In California, a study of centuries-old irrigation ditches suggests the Nüümü people could rightfully lay claim to the waters of Owens Lake.

June 6, 202428min 50sec69.16 MB

Found in everything from pizza boxes to rain jackets, PFAS - aka "forever chemicals" - are now being discovered in our farms, our food, and in our bodies.

May 2, 202456min 24sec135.25 MB

FERN contributor Lisa Morehouse reports on a Japanese-American farmer who uncovers a shocking family secret.

April 4, 202430min 42sec73.65 MB

Thumbnail for "White gold fever from Snap Judgment".

This FERN/Snap Judgment partnership tells the story of how a massive bed of callo de hacha, a prized scallop, could have saved a struggling Mexican fishing village – and why it didn’t.

March 5, 202427min 59sec67.11 MB

Thumbnail for "Weaponized food from The Switchyard Podcast".

Episode four of REAP/SOW is the final installment of our partnership with Switchyard, as host Ted Genoways interviews writers Jori Lewis and Siddhartha Deb.

February 15, 202450min 18sec120.64 MB

Thumbnail for "The Sioux Chef’s decolonized cuisine from The Switchyard Podcast".

FERN editor-in-chief Theodore Ross interviews Chef Sean Sherman about decolonized food, in an episode from the Switchyard podcast.

February 13, 202446min 48sec112.22 MB

Thumbnail for "Tom Colicchio: Finding my voice in food from The Switchyard Podcast".

Top Chef star Tom Colicchio sits down with longtime FERN contributor Ted Genoways for an in-depth conversation with the acclaimed celebrity chef

February 8, 202451min 14sec122.87 MB

Introducing the latest audio project from the Food & Environment Reporting Network

February 1, 20245min 18sec12.72 MB

Thumbnail for "Hot Farm Bonus Episode: Climavores - "Bursting the 'eat local' bubble"".

Buying local makes us feel good, but does it really help the planet?

July 28, 202232min 21sec77.65 MB

A bonus episode about beef from a show called “How to Save a Planet"

June 28, 202241min 21sec99.26 MB

Most of our food comes from California. But in the very near future, climate change will force us to grow more food in other parts of the country. Here’s what that might look like.

May 3, 202230min 11sec28.92 MB

To fight climate change, we need new crops that consume less water, protect the soil and lock away more carbon. For twenty years, scientists have been breeding a grain that does all that. Will farmers grow it? Will people eat it?

April 26, 202228min 51sec27.7 MB

Most American farmers don’t believe man-made climate change is real. But if we’re serious about fighting climate change, we need those farmers to be part of the solution. How can we convince them to change how they farm?

April 19, 202232min 49sec31.51 MB

In the opening episode of Hot Farm, we visit with Dave Bishop, a farmer who shown a willingness to change.

April 12, 202236min 17sec34.83 MB

A new podcast from the Food & Environment Reporting Network about what the people who grow our food are doing, or could be doing, to combat climate change coming April 12.

March 15, 20221min 59sec4.79 MB

The divers keeping the water flowing on California’s farms

August 15, 202417min 28sec

California transports water to Central Valley farmers through a complex network of reservoirs, aqueducts, and canals. This water system is controversial… and without constant maintenance, it might collapse. For REAP/SOW, reporter Lisa Morehouse, host of the “California Foodways” podcast, profiles California’s irrigation canal divers. This episode was produced in partnership with “California Foodways” and KQED’s “California Report” podcast.