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Parched

Colorado Public Radio

The southwestern United States has been in a drought for more than 20 years. It's created a serious problem for the Colorado River, and tens of millions of people in the region. Parched is a podcast about people who rely on the river that shaped the West – and have ideas to save it. Hosted by Michael Elizabeth Sakas, a climate and environment reporter for CPR News.

2023 Colorado Public Radio

The southwestern United States has been in a drought for more than 20 years. It's created a serious problem for the Colorado River, and tens of millions of people in the region. Parched is a podcast about people who rely on the river that shaped the West – and have ideas to save it. Hosted by Michael Elizabeth Sakas, a climate and environment reporter for CPR News.

2023 Colorado Public Radio
5hr 46min
Thumbnail for "Introducing 'Parched'".
A podcast about people who rely on the river that shaped the West and have ideas to save it.
March 30, 20232min 56sec
Thumbnail for "The Last Straw".
The Colorado River is in a water crisis.
April 18, 202330min 43sec
Thumbnail for "Ignored No More".
Getting everybody to the table to come up with Colorado River solutions together.
April 25, 202334min 34sec
Thumbnail for "The Boldest Idea Of All".
Pulling water from another river, like the Mississippi, has tantalized people in the southwest for decades.
May 2, 202326min 37sec
Thumbnail for "Water, Water Everywhere".
On the beach in Southern California, it's easy to look at the Pacific Ocean and wonder what would happen if we could drink it.
May 9, 202330min 40sec
Thumbnail for "Viva Las Vegas".
Las Vegas is a leader in water conservation. What is Vegas doing, and how might people who live in other Colorado River cities follow its lead?
May 16, 202334min 56sec
Thumbnail for "Flush With Opportunity".
From at-home solutions to citywide scale, wastewater reuse and recycling are gaining momentum.
May 30, 202333min 5sec
Thumbnail for "The Cost of Cheap Water".
What we pay for water doesn't reflect how scarce it is with climate change. Could cities get people to use less water by charging more for it?
June 6, 202331min 59sec
Thumbnail for "Water For Pay".
What if the government paid farmers to keep their water in the river?
June 20, 202336min 4sec
Thumbnail for "Desert Farming, Differently".
Cutting back on farms' water use is the biggest way we can live in a drier West. This is the story of how one Indigenous farm manager is working to make farms more efficient.
June 27, 202330min 48sec
Thumbnail for "A River For The Future".
We meet people who have worked for decades to restore parts of the Colorado River Delta's lost wetlands.
July 5, 202341min 27sec
Thumbnail for "How big a deal is this week's Colorado River deal? (Bonus episode)".
A quick response to this week's headlines.
May 23, 202312min 4sec

Water For Pay

Thumbnail for "Water For Pay".
June 20, 202336min 4sec

If we turned off every tap in every city in the southwest, we still wouldn't solve the Colorado River crisis. That's because 80 percent of the water goes to agriculture — to the lettuce and melons in your produce section, the half-and-half you put in your coffee every morning. Those farmers have some of the preeminent rights to the river. So what if the government paid them to keep their water in the river instead? Part 8 of a 10-part series.

For more CPR News coverage of the Colorado River, visit cpr.org/parched.

Host: Michael Elizabeth Sakas
Written by Michael Elizabeth Sakas
Editors: Erin Jones, Joe Wertz
Production and Mixing: Emily Williams
Theme song by Kibwe Cooper. Additional music via Universal Production Music.
Artwork: Maria Juliana Pinzón
Executive Producers: Kevin Dale, Brad Turner
Additional Editorial Support: Alison Borden, Kibwe Cooper, Jo Erickson, Rachel Estabrook, Luis Antonio Perez, Taylar Dawn Stagner, Andrew Villegas
Thanks also to Sarah Bures, Hart Van Denburg, Jodi Gersh, Kim Nguyen, Clara Shelton, Arielle Wilson.

Parched is a production of the Climate Solutions team of CPR News and Colorado Public Radio’s Audio Innovations Studio — part of the NPR Network.