BONUS: Inherited Podcast “Maíz es Vida” by Paloma Moreno Jiménez

The Bayou: In New Orleans, there is a time before the storm, and a time after. How does one keep up with change in a state losing a football field’s worth of land every hour and a half? On a street where a neighbor’s porch is built 12 feet off the ground? Welcome to As She Rises. In this episode, we visit the land currently known as Louisiana. Poet Jerika Marchan reads from her collection “SWOLE,” recounts living through Hurricane Katrina, and tells us why she'll stay in Louisiana as long as it will let her. Colette Pichon Battle, founder and executive director of the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy, advocates for structural shifts towards ecological equity and climate justice in communities of color on the frontline of climate change. by As She Rises

28 min listen

The Island: “It’s not the same, knowing the theory of climate disaster, and then actually living through it.” There is a fissure on the island of Puerto Rico-- one widened in the wake of massive storms, earthquakes, COVID, and quickened by the dizzying pace of climate change. In this episode, bilingual poet Raquel Salas Rivera finds hope in a poem titled “nota para una amiga que desea suicidarse después del huracán” and tells us about the ripples of trauma Maria left behind. Local activist Amira Odeh recalls being unable to recognize her own home after the storm and how she’s working to rebuild PR. by As She Rises

30 min listen

The Tundra: In the land we know as Alaska, a poet considers a melting landscape also ablaze. What does it mean to live in a “sepia-toned” world, to be forced to distance your ties to your culture, and to truly understand that what happens to the land also happens to the people? “June really isn’t June anymore / is it?” In this episode, we visit the land currently known as Alaska. Joan Naviyuk Kane, Iñupiaq poet and scholar, joins us with the title poem of her collection “Hyperboreal” and her experience watching the landscape she grew up in change drastically because of climate change. Local activist Enei Begaye centers an Indigenized perspective as she works toward a more sustainable and just future for the native communities around her, and Siqiniq Maupin works to strengthen Iñupiaq cultural identity despite the poisonous grip of the oil and gas industry on her homeland. by As She Rises

26 min listen

Introducing: As She Rises: All too often, we learn about climate change through a litany of doomsday numbers that can leave you feeling hopeless. So what if we took a more empathetic and intimate look at the climate crisis? From Wonder Media Network, this is As She Rises, a new show that features poetry and local activists to personalize the elusive magnitude of climate change. Listen and follow As She Rises, anywhere you listen to podcasts. by As She Rises

2 min listen

The Inland Sea: In Northern Minnesota, over eleven hundred glassy lakes create a vast inland sea. The water is so clean that canoers can drink straight from the lakes. What will it take to protect this beautiful and life-giving landscape from human threat? In this episode, we are transported to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of Minnesota. Kim Blaeser, former Wisconsin Poet Laureate, reads her poem “Eloquence of Earth.” And she speaks about how the threat to this water is a threat to Anishinaabe people. Becky Rom, national chair of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, grew up navigating these waters. Today she’s fighting to protect the landscape she holds dear from sulfide-ore copper mining. by As She Rises

30 min listen

The Tinderbox by As She Rises

29 min listen

The Plains: In Oklahoma, a fight is playing out that could finally recognize tribal sovereignty, especially over how to manage the environment. This could set a precedent for the rest of the country, and affect our climate. But the powers that be won’t let go easily. In this episode we visit the plains of eastern Oklahoma. Joy Harjo, the United States poet laureate, reads her poem “Speaking Tree” and shares what happens when we lose touch with traditions that center care for the earth. Casey Camp-Horinek, a matriarch and drum keeper of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma, is an environmental activist fighting to free her community from the clutches of the oil and gas industry. She reminds us that we are all bound in responsibility to each other to care for this earth, and that Indigenous voices should be at the forefront of climate discussions and policy change. by As She Rises

30 min listen

Introducing Season 3: Premiering May 1 wherever you get your podcasts. As She Rises is back for its third season with a new host: Leah Thomas, founder of The Intersectional Environmentalist. This season, As She Rises is traversing the Colorado River Basin downstream, understanding water through a new lens and centering stories of resilience in the face of the drought. by As She Rises

2 min listen

The Watershed: The most visited stretch of beach in Hawai’i should be underwater. Instead, it’s kept afloat by over thirty thousand tons of sand-- sand that drifts out to sea every 5 to 10 years before it's replaced yet again. Before the Ala Wai canal drained the watershed, Waikiki sustained a native population of over a million, and fed and nurtured its diverse wildlife in a self-sustaining system. Today, king tides are trying to reclaim Waikiki. “This is not the end of civilization, but a return to one. Only the water insisting on what it should always have, spreading its liniment over infected wounds. Only the water rising above us, reteaching us wealth, and remembering its name.” In this episode, we visit the man-made beach of Waikiki. Poet Brandy Nālani McDougall reads from her collection “The Salt-Wind, Ka Makani Paʻakai” and tells us of Hawai’i before the Ala Wai. Frankie Koethe, community outreach liaison for the Ko’olau Mountains Watershed Partnership, explains the intricac by As She Rises

31 min listen

The City: “The worst crime I know men have committed is to turn nature into an oppressor.” In the city, the heat is suffocating: it reverberates off buildings, seeps through the concrete, and bounces off glass back down onto a city of 8.4 million people. New York City is hotter than ever before-- but it’s felt differently from neighborhood to neighborhood. Today, we’re ending our season in the land currently known as New York, where increasing heat exacerbates the risks already felt by communities bearing the brunt of a changing climate. Jade Lozada, a college student and climate organizer, recites her poem “The Worst Crime,” commissioned for the Natural Resources Defense Council, and explains the dual role heat plays in bringing her closer to home, and making home uninhabitable. Dr. Melissa Barber, co-founder of South Bronx Unite, studies hyper localized heat islands and protests corporate intervention with community-generated solutions to the climate crisis. by As She Rises

39 min listen

Introducing Season Two: As She Rises is back for a second season to celebrate both Earth and Poetry Month. Throughout April, we’re telling the stories of climate progress that give us the hope we need to keep going. by As She Rises

3 min listen

The River: Straddling the border between the US and Canada, the Skagit Watershed is a haven for sea creatures– the only river in the lower 48 states where all five species of Pacific salmon spawn year after year. The “Magic Skagit” is in peril: the ways of life it has sustained for the communities along its shores are faltering under years of settler disruption, and upstream, its headwaters originate in a pool of unprotected land threatened by extractive industries. Still, there’s hope in numbers: a cross-border coalition of federal, Tribal, and political leadership on all levels, dedicated to saving the Skagit River. “You must have cleaned a lot of fish.” I say. // “I think we cleaned out all of Puget Sound…” Won’t be long before all the fish are gone, then the cannery will go, and all we’ll have is hunger and sorrow.” Welcome to season two of As She Rises. In this episode, we visit the land currently known as Washington. Poet laureate and Lummi Nation member Rena Priest reads her by As She Rises

31 min listen

The Reef by As She Rises

27 min listen

The Desert by As She Rises

28 min listen

The Source: Lake Powell is long and thin. It snakes through the red-desert, running southwest through Utah, ending at the top of Arizona. From above, it looks like a human artery. From the inside, it's idyllic. The water is crystalline. Every year, millions of people flock to the lake to fish, canoe, and hike. Today, Lake Powell is around a fifth of its original size. Pools that used to be deep enough to dive into have turned into puddles of mud. And as the water disappears, the forgotten canyon beneath reemerges. We’re starting our journey just south of Lake Powell, in the Navajo Nation. Over the years, the U.S. government has signed a number of treaties with the Navajo Nation, promising certain amounts of water, and water infrastructure. But, as they struggle to reallocate water in the face of drought, the government still tends to leave indigenous communities out of the conversation. Poet Kinsale Drake reads her poem, “after Sacred Water,” about how the U.S. government drowned an by As She Rises

33 min listen

The Aquifer: Black Mesa is a high desert, arid, with few streams or rivers aboveground. Water tends to come from above or below: sometimes, as a gentle rain. Other times, a rushing monsoon. Navajo and Hopi people have called it home for thousands of years. Its water reservoirs— a complex system of underground pools called “aquifers”— sustain people, livestock, and agriculture on the plateau. More recently, that scarce resource fed the needs of Peabody Coal, an extractive industry that drained the Mesa dry over the last half century. Nicole Horseherder helped establish the non-profit Sacred Water Speaks with a clear goal: get Peabody Energy off the aquifer and bring water back to her community. Amber McCrary reads “Monsoon Musings,” a poem she wrote about the moments when heavy rains arrive in her desert homeland. by As She Rises

30 min listen

The Creek: The Havasupai tribe lives at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, in Supai Village. Just north of the village, a hidden aquifer turns into Havasu Falls, a waterfall that cascades into a pool of blue-green water. This water has sustained the Havasupai people for centuries, nourishing their crops, softening the harsh conditions of the desert, and serving as a place of reverence. But now, the Havasupai tribe’s water source is threatened by uranium mining. Carletta Tilousi is a member of the Havasupai tribal counci’s anti-uranium committee. She explains their 30-year fight against what is now known as the Pinyon Plain Mine. Colleen Kaska, a former Havasupai tribal council member, reads a poem she wrote about the importance of water to her people. by As She Rises

31 min listen

The Accidental Sea: In the southern valleys of California, lies a desert oasis known as the Salton Sea. The inland sea is picturesque— from afar. Up close, the beauty begins to fade. The sea is a result of diverting the Colorado River to the Imperial Valley for agriculture, and it’s filled with fertilizer, pesticides, and salt. Decades of drought have caused the sea to evaporate at a rapid pace, exposing the lakebed, unearthing toxins, and endangering nearby communities. by As She Rises

29 min listen

BONUS: Inherited Podcast “Maíz es Vida” by Paloma Moreno Jiménez: Hey As She Rises listeners! Today, we're bringing you a bonus episode from the Inherited podcast, told by one of our very own team members at WMN: Paloma Moreno Jiménez. Inherited is a climate storytelling podcast by, for, and about young people across the globe. In this episode of the show, storyteller Paloma Moreno Jiménez conjures a folkloric audio fiction about the cross-cultural, agricultural importance of corn, and its relationship with humanity. Her experimental, sound-lush story anthropomorphizes the “three sisters” crops – Maíz (Corn), Calabaza (Squash), and Frijol (Bean) – as real sisters, and follows the eldest, Maíz, as she shares the story of a fantastical journey into the spirit world with her grandchild on the other side. Special thanks to Ace the Storyteller for contributing original music to this episode. Inherited is a production of YR Media and distributed by Critical Frequency. For more informati by As She Rises

30 min listen

The Rainwater: The Sonoran Desert, situated at the bottom edge of Arizona, stretches out into the haze of a horizon, rippled with heat. It’s fed by thin tributaries of the river and, more often, watered by sparse rains. It’s a place that, in theory, could seem pretty inhospitable. But the Tohono O’odham nation has survived and thrived there, thanks in part to traditional agricultural practices that are more relevant than ever as a drought looms ahead. Tohono O’odham poet Ofelia Zepeda reads “Pulling Down the Clouds.” Her poem describes the treasured practice of Saguaro harvesting. It’s a practice Maria Francisco’s family has been taking part in for generations. Maria explains how the harvest is a celebration of rain. But now, climate change has caused the rains and monsoon seasons to shift, so the harvests are shifting too. Amy Juan is the manager of San Xavier Co-op Farm, an operation meant to revitalize traditional agricultural practices. They’re healing the ties to the past that h by As She Rises

36 min listen

Bonus from The Amendment: Keeping Democracy Intact with Nikole Hannah-Jones: We’re bringing you an episode of a new podcast we think you’ll love: The Amendment. A new podcast about gender, politics, and power from The 19th News and Wonder Media Network, The Amendment is hosted by award-winning journalist and 19th editor-at-large Errin Haines. Each week, Errin sits down with people who have fresh perspectives on the state of our country – and asks questions that center the voices of women, queer folks, and people of color. The Amendment adds much needed asterisks to America’s most pressing political conversations – and gets clear on the unfinished work of our democracy. In this episode, we hear from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones on what role the free press should play in ensuring the survival of our democracy. Nikole Hannah-Jones is the creator of the 1619 Project, Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University, and a leading voice on the vital role by As She Rises

36 min listen

The Delta: For the last episode of the season, we’re traveling to the Colorado River Delta, south of Mexicali, Mexico: where all the waters from upstream are supposed to reach. Here, the Colorado River used to split into braided streams and tendrils, forming a complex estuary of riparian forests, rich wetlands, countless lagoons, and abundant wildlife. But today, the river water no longer reaches the sea. However, environmentalist groups have been working to restore sections of the delta and revitalize the river habitat. Edith Santiago, associate director of the Sonoran Insitute’s Colorado River Delta Program, has spent nearly 20 years connecting the river back to the sea. Maria Cisneros Smallcanyon reads her poem, “Un Radio Pierde Su Señal,” about watching a landscape that was once lush and lively turn sterile and silent. For more: Check out Maria Cisneros Smallcanyon’s work in The Chapter House’s ‘Blacklist Me’ exhibition Learn more about the Sonoran Institute and support their by As She Rises

30 min listen

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BONUS: Inherited Podcast “Maíz es Vida” by Paloma Moreno Jiménez

BONUS: Inherited Podcast “Maíz es Vida” by Paloma Moreno Jiménez

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