The Wild Idea

The Wild Idea is an exploration of the intersection of wild nature and our own human nature. The hosts, Bill Hodge and Anders Reynolds, through conversations with experts and thought leaders will dive into the ways that humans have both embraced and impact the function and vitality of our remaining wild places.

The Wild Idea is a science podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 150 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts The Wild Idea, a science show with 150 episodes published.

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  Episode #80

  Amy Bowers Cordalis: Indigenous-Led Conservation and the Salmon That Came Home

  Sep 29, 202655 min

  Amy Bowers Cordalis is a Yurok Tribe member, attorney, and executive director of Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group. She helped lead the fight to remove four dams from the Klamath River, the largest dam removal and salmon restoration project in U.S. history. In this conversation, she traces that fight from the first covenant of the Yurok creation story through her great-uncle's arrests for fishing on the Klamath, the Supreme Court case that followed, and the grassroots and legal strategy that turned a hostile utility company into a negotiating partner. She also talks about the day her father was saved by the cold waters of Blue Creek, watching salmon return to spawning grounds within days of the final dam coming down, and why she believes indigenous-led sovereignty, not colonial conservation, is the model the rest of the world needs. Support our show with a one-time or recurring gift through Buy Me a Coffee. Full show notes and links at our website, thewildidea.com .

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  Episode #79

  Mark Haggerty & Megan Lawson: The Economics of Public Lands and Rural Prosperity

  Sep 22, 202649 min

  Some of the highest-output rural counties in the country are losing population, even as public lands get pitched as the answer to everything from housing to the national debt. Mark Haggerty of the Center for American Progress and Dr. Megan Lawson of Headwaters Economics, two economists who study what public lands do for the communities next door, join Bill and Anders to sort out what the numbers actually say. They cover why automation and stagnant wages have hollowed out extractive jobs, the "amenity trap" that can price teachers out of thriving outdoor towns, why selling public land is a weak fix for housing affordability, and what happened to the economy around Grand Staircase-Escalante after designation. Haggerty also lays out a proposal to replace annual federal payments to counties with a permanent fund, and both guests take on whether making the economic case for wild places risks losing the moral one. Support our show with a one-time or recurring gift through Buy Me a Coffee. Full show notes and links at our website, thewildidea.com .

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  Episode #78

  Fitz Cahall: The Million-Signature Push to Save Public Lands

  Sep 15, 202650 min

  Fitz Cahall has spent nearly twenty years telling other people's outdoor stories as the host of The Dirtbag Diaries. Now he's leading one himself: Save Public Lands, a coalition campaign racing to collect a million signatures against public land sell-offs, backroom deals, and giveaways before National Public Lands Day on September 26. Cahall talks with Bill Hodge about the throughline from The Dirtbag Diaries to organizing, including his and Becca Cahall's history with Bears Ears National Monument and the education center they helped build there after its boundaries were first rolled back. They discuss a proposed private resort inside Yosemite National Park, why the campaign's three demands were kept deliberately narrow, and why Cahall believes the fight for public lands isn't as partisan as it looks. Support our show with a one-time or recurring gift through Buy Me a Coffee. Full show notes and links at our website, thewildidea.com.

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  Episode #77

  Jim Klug, Hal Herring & Alex Leone: River Access Is Not a Spectator Sport

  Sep 8, 202647 min

  In most Western states, wading a river through private land can get you arrested for trespassing. In Montana, it can't, and three guests join Bill and Anders to explain why. Jim Klug of Yellow Dog Flyfishing, journalist Hal Herring, and Alex Leone of the Public Land/Water Access Association trace Montana's 1985 Stream Access Law back to its roots in the state's 1972 Constitution and the landowner fights that tested it in court for decades, and explain what the law means for Montana's outdoor economy today. They also connect the dots to other current access fights, from corner crossing to last year's attempted sell-off of federal public land, and close with details on the Montana Stream Access Rally, a September 17 gathering in Bozeman meant to remind lawmakers that Montanans are still watching. Full show notes and links at our website, thewildidea.com. Support our show with a one-time or recurring gift through Buy Me a Coffee .

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  Episode #76

  Christian Hunt & Kelly Cox: Can Wildlife Corridors Cross DC's Political Divide?

  Sep 1, 202641 min

  Parks and refuges were built to protect wildlife, but many function as islands, and the species that depend on them can't always survive within borders drawn decades before habitat connectivity was understood. Christian Hunt and Kelly Cox of Defenders of Wildlife join Bill and Anders to break down the Wildlife Corridors and Habitat Connectivity Conservation Act of 2026, a bipartisan bill that would create the first durable, legal framework for connecting fragmented wildlife habitat across federal lands, from national parks and refuges to BLM and Forest Service holdings. They dig into why the bill has drawn support across the political spectrum, from the economics of wildlife-vehicle collisions to a shared instinct that wildlife belongs to everyone, and what listeners can do to help it move in a shortened legislative calendar. The conversation also turns to Defenders' campaign at Cumberland Island National Seashore, where a National Park Service land exchange plan is raising questions about transparency and the island's mandate to remain undeveloped. Full show notes and links at thewildidea.com. Support our show with a one-time or recurring gift through Buy Me a Coffee.

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