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It’s the 1990s in the Pacific Northwest. A march of chainsaws clear-cuts the country’s last available old growth forests. Protesters spend months sitting in the tallest trees in the world....
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It’s the 1990s in the Pacific Northwest. A march of chainsaws clear-cuts the country’s last available old growth forests. Protesters spend months sitting in the tallest trees in the world. And at the center, the northern spotted owl becomes the most controversial bird in the country. The "Timber Wars" podcast tells the story of how this conflict reshaped the Northwest and the nation as a whole, and transformed the way we see—and fight over—the natural world.
"Listeners are left with both an appreciation of the magnificence of old growth forests and the toll paid by logging communities when those forests were protected. Environmentalists and loggers don't agree on much, but I think they will concur that 'Timber Wars' is fair and brilliant journalism."
—"New York Times" columnist and Oregon-native Nicholas Kristof
With original music by singer-songwriter Laura Gibson.
Winner of the National Headliner Award for Narrative Podcast, the MIT Knight Science Journalism Program’s Victor K. McElheny Award, Society of Professional Journalism awards for Audio Series and Audio Feature-Hard News, and more.
show less
"Listeners are left with both an appreciation of the magnificence of old growth forests and the toll paid by logging communities when those forests were protected. Environmentalists and loggers don't agree on much, but I think they will concur that 'Timber Wars' is fair and brilliant journalism."
—"New York Times" columnist and Oregon-native Nicholas Kristof
With original music by singer-songwriter Laura Gibson.
Winner of the National Headliner Award for Narrative Podcast, the MIT Knight Science Journalism Program’s Victor K. McElheny Award, Society of Professional Journalism awards for Audio Series and Audio Feature-Hard News, and more.
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Timber Wars Trailer
28 AUG 2020 · It’s the 1990s in the Pacific Northwest. A march of chainsaws clear-cuts the country’s last available ancient forests. Protesters bury themselves in front of bulldozers and spend months sitting in the tallest trees in the world. And at the center, the northern spotted owl becomes the most controversial bird in the country. The "Timber Wars" podcast tells the story of how this conflict redefined how we see the forest and reshaped the Northwest and the nation as a whole, in ways we’re dealing with still. Produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting.1m 53s -
Ep 1: The Last Stand
21 SEP 2020 · When loggers headed into the forest on Easter Sunday in 1989, they found a line of protesters blocking the road. The ensuing battle would help catapult old-growth forests into a national issue, and become known as the “Easter Massacre.”30m 40s -
Ep 2: The Ancient Forest
21 SEP 2020 · For most of America’s history, trees were seen as crops, and the plan was to log the country’s last virgin forests and make them de facto tree farms. We see forests very differently today. How did things change so quickly?32m 39s -
Ep 3: The Owl
21 SEP 2020 · Throughout the 80s, environmentalists lost in the woods and in the courtrooms. There just weren’t many laws that protected trees. But there were laws that protected animals. And the idea started to percolate: what if they could protect the old growth by protecting an animal that depended on it. Depending on who you are, the northern spotted owl is either the hero of this story, or the villain. And the Endangered Species Act is either an incredible conservation tool, or a hammer that smashes rural economies. But those beliefs miss the fact that it was a single sentence in an entirely different law that locked up the forests. How a reclusive bird halted the march of chainsaws. For a transcript of this episode, go to: https://www.opb.org/article/2020/09/22/timber-wars-episode-3-the-owl/33m 13s -
Ep 4: Mill City
21 SEP 2020 · Mill City was one of dozens of flourishing timber towns, where a job in the woods or at the local sawmill could support a good life. But protests and court cases upended that, leaving locals to ask: are owls more endangered than loggers?33m 6s -
Ep 5: The Plan
21 SEP 2020 · The Timber Wars grew so hot that one of President Clinton’s first acts in office was to fly half his cabinet to Portland to resolve the conflict. The result was the Northwest Forest Plan, the most sweeping conservation plan in U.S. history. But it might never have happened if not for some behind-the-scenes dramas that played out in a Capitol Hill bathroom-turned-office and a presidential lunch buffet.38m 8s -
Ep 6: The Backlash
22 SEP 2020 · Before the Northwest Forest Plan had a chance to succeed, Congress seized upon the threat of wildfires to create a loophole and throw the plan out the window. With old growth once again being logged, the fight to defend it grew both more mainstream and more violent, seeding the tactics for many conflicts to come, from environmental to anti-capitalist movements.33m 17s -
Ep 7: A Way Forward
3 OCT 2020 · Is the Northwest fatally divided, or can we overcome our differences and work together? We tell the story of one group of loggers and environmentalists who have found some semblance of common ground. But it didn’t come easy. And no one knows how long it’ll last. If you want to learn more about the Timber Wars, you can find the additional reading list we mention, plus a transcript for this episode, at: https://www.opb.org/article/2020/09/01/timber-wars-trailer-episode-guide/38m 29s -
Bonus Ep: Big Money Bought the Forest
14 NOV 2020 · In 'Timber Wars,' we've talked about how the northern spotted owl took the blame for a lot of other things that cost jobs and hurt timber-dependent towns, like automation and international competition. Well, there was another huge thing the owl took the fall for—something that cost timber towns even more money than locking up the national forests, at least in Oregon. In a year-long investigation, OPB, the Oregonian, and ProPublica explored how Wall Street real estate trusts and other investors gained control of the state’s private forestlands—and how they’ve profited at the expense of rural communities.35m 32s -
Guest Ep: Grouse
21 NOV 2020 · If you’ve been enjoying Timber Wars, there’s a new show you should check out. It’s about a weird and wonderful bird: the greater sage-grouse. You’ll find these creatures in wide open sagebrush country, trying to hang on alongside oil and gas drilling, recreational activity, development and ranching, which puts them right in the center of a controversy that has a lot in common with the fight over the spotted owl. The host, Ashley Ahearn, recently moved to sagebrush country to try to better understand rural America and what this weird, troubled bird can tell us about ourselves and our relationship with the natural world, and we wanted to bring you her first episode. You can find the rest of the series by searching "Grouse" in your favorite podcast app.19m 1s
It’s the 1990s in the Pacific Northwest. A march of chainsaws clear-cuts the country’s last available old growth forests. Protesters spend months sitting in the tallest trees in the world....
show more
It’s the 1990s in the Pacific Northwest. A march of chainsaws clear-cuts the country’s last available old growth forests. Protesters spend months sitting in the tallest trees in the world. And at the center, the northern spotted owl becomes the most controversial bird in the country. The "Timber Wars" podcast tells the story of how this conflict reshaped the Northwest and the nation as a whole, and transformed the way we see—and fight over—the natural world.
"Listeners are left with both an appreciation of the magnificence of old growth forests and the toll paid by logging communities when those forests were protected. Environmentalists and loggers don't agree on much, but I think they will concur that 'Timber Wars' is fair and brilliant journalism."
—"New York Times" columnist and Oregon-native Nicholas Kristof
With original music by singer-songwriter Laura Gibson.
Winner of the National Headliner Award for Narrative Podcast, the MIT Knight Science Journalism Program’s Victor K. McElheny Award, Society of Professional Journalism awards for Audio Series and Audio Feature-Hard News, and more.
show less
"Listeners are left with both an appreciation of the magnificence of old growth forests and the toll paid by logging communities when those forests were protected. Environmentalists and loggers don't agree on much, but I think they will concur that 'Timber Wars' is fair and brilliant journalism."
—"New York Times" columnist and Oregon-native Nicholas Kristof
With original music by singer-songwriter Laura Gibson.
Winner of the National Headliner Award for Narrative Podcast, the MIT Knight Science Journalism Program’s Victor K. McElheny Award, Society of Professional Journalism awards for Audio Series and Audio Feature-Hard News, and more.
Information
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| Categories | Documentary |
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| webmaster@opb.org |
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