Endangered Spaces–Colorado River
After two decades of drought, the Colorado River, which supplies water for drinking, power, and agriculture to over 40 million people, was named America’s most endangered river. In 2018, river advocates and paddlers Mike and Jenny Fiebig spent five months paddling the Colorado from its source in the Wind River mountains to the Gulf of Mexico to understand the river’s challenges firsthand – while collecting stories about change from the people who depend on it most. Today, as the river faces unprecedented shortages from climate change and overconsumption – activists, indigenous leaders, water managers and scientists are working to find solutions to create an equitable future for the river and those who depend on it.
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Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Aperature by Graham Barton • Chasing the Sun by Sun Shapes • Great Egg Harbor by Memory Place • Pure Wool by Joey Kantor • What We Used to Be by Matthew D. Morgan • Outfox by Joey Kantor • Po River by Sun Shapes • Chteco River by Graham Barton • Delivered by Brendan O’Connell • Tracks provided by Free Music Archive or with permission from the artists.
Last Skier Standing
“At the end of the 24 hours, I looked around and pretty much everyone was still there,” says Brody Leven. “And I’m like, ‘What is wrong with these people?’” In 2022, Brody and Ben Eck were two of nearly 100 skiers who entered The Last Skier Standing. The endurance event has a simple premise: skin up 1,100 feet and ski back down within an hour. And then it repeats every hour. How many laps can you go?
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • BTR by Jupyter • Woman by Fritzwa & J Brodsky • Other Time by Wyst • Play by Amori Sounds featuring Empress & Coda Lab • Dune Buggy by Spatial Relations • Simple by Jupyter • Rose by Toranpetto • Cannonbeach by Toranpetto feat. BrandonLee Cierley • Delivered by Brendan O’Connell • Tracks provided by Free Music Archive or with permission from the artists.
Year of Big Ideas 2023
In 2021, Dirtbag Diaries producer Cordelia Zars launched a theater company. For two years it was a side hustle where she used her strengths as an artist, storyteller and songwriter. Now, she’s taking the leap to directing full time with Empathy Theatre Project.
Plus, friends and contributors share their goals to keep you dreaming and scheming for the year to come.
Happy New Year!
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • River Prayer by Cordelia Zars and Alex Walker Jr. • The Approach by Bradley Carter • October Morning by Bradley Carter • Brooks by Kai Engel • This Song is About You by Ken Christianson • Delivered by Brendan O’Connell • Tracks provided by Free Music Archive or with permission from the artists.
The Zars Brothers
5 years apart, Levin and Tilden Zars are wiry, rugged, and maddeningly strong on mountain bikes. They have scars to prove a childhood of egging each other on, and finesse to prove they’ve never let each other stay down after a fall. Through the ups and downs, the sends and the falls, they share a remarkable sibling bond.
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Her Laughter by Vesper Tines • Particles by Soft Light • The Last Wild Mountain by Bradley Carter • 550 by John Berry • Red Fern by Brian Bombadil • Delivered by Brendan O’Connell • Tracks provided by Free Music Archive or with permission from the artists.
The Shorts–Finding Footing
This week, Autumn Ellingford Rhodes and Nikki LaRochelle find their footing in the mountains after challenging moments in their lives. We hear how pushing themselves in the outdoors helped Autumn and Nikki feel empowered as female athletes.
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Big North by John Berry • Far Away from Everything by Feverkin • Thicker than Water by Jason Tyler Burton • Up Early by Bradley Carter • July by Kai Engel • Walking Barefoot on Grass by Kai Engel • Delivered by Brendan O’Connell • Tracks provided by Free Music Archive or with permission from the artists.
