Threshold

The controversy over oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is at a critical point: a lease sale may be just days away, but lawsuits have piled up that could put a stop to that sale and put a wrench in the federal government’s efforts to open the refuge to drilling. In this update to our Peabody Award-winning series The Refuge, we dive into this moment through conversations with three...

DFTBA — Don’t Forget To Be Awesome. That’s the motto of Vlogbrothers, a wildly popular YouTube channel. On this episode of Threshold Conversations, we talk with one of the creators of that channel, Hank Green. In addition to his YouTube stardom, he’s a science communicator, novelist, and entrepreneur. Hank talks to us about how DFTBA reminds us to do the work to be good friends and citizens, about...

Today the Trump administration published a “notice of sale” of oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. What that means is on January 6, 2021 oil and gas companies will be able to bid for the right to drill in the coastal plain of the refuge. Stay tuned to our feed for more coverage as this unfolds.  If you enjoy this episode, please support our independent nonprofit journal...

The Greenland ice sheet is the second largest body of frozen water in the world, with the potential to raise sea levels by 23 feet if it melts.    In this Threshold extra, we’re talking with leading climate scientists and glaciologists about the cryosphere—all the things that are frozen in the Earth’s system: permafrost, sea ice, land ice, and snow. We take a close look at how two of its...

In such a challenging time, it seems important to make some space for gratitude. Here’s what the Threshold team is thinking about.    If you enjoy this podcast, please support our independent nonprofit journalism at thresholdpodcast.org/donate   All donations through the end of the year will be doubled by NewsMatch.

“Breathing is civil rights and breathing is environmental justice.”  Dr. Robert Bullard, Distinguished Professor at Texas Southern University and a transformational figure in the environmental justice movement, says that the environment isn’t just out in the woods and wilderness; it’s everywhere. “It's where we live, work, play, worship, learn, as well as the physical and natural world,” he s...

The word crisis comes from the Greek krisis , meaning the turning point in a disease. Today on Threshold Conversations, we sit down with author, activist, and founder of 350.org Bill McKibben to talk about the dual crises of climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. If you enjoy this episode, please support our independent nonprofit journalism at thresholdpodcast.org/donate All donations throug...

Award-winning photographer Ami Vitale has seen the best of humanity and the worst of humanity. She’s documented war and conflict, nature, wildlife, and conservation in places from Kashmir to Kenya.    On this episode of Threshold Conversations, we hear the incredible stories behind some of Ami’s most iconic images — including her photo of a northern white rhino that was on the cover of N...

Become a Member Today! In-depth reporting on climate change, environmental justice, public lands, and so much more. This is what Threshold is about — bringing you important and thoughtful stories about human relationships with the natural world. And we need your help to continue doing this work. Our annual membership drive starts on November 1st. For the cost of a cup of coffee, a larger year-end...

How does your zip code affect your life expectancy?  The impacts of climate change, toxic water, and dirty air aren’t evenly distributed. Low income and communities of color bear the brunt of these impacts.  Today, we dive into conversation with Peggy Shepard, a pioneer of the environmental justice movement who has worked for more than three decades to shine a light on the ways damage to...

Join our host Amy Martin and National Geographic photographer Ami Vitale this Thursday, September 10 for a live recording of Threshold Conversations! Ami Vitale is an internationally-renowned photographer whose work invites us into extraordinary, intimate interactions between humans and wild creatures, and shines a light on the complicated relationships we have with our fellow beings. She’s receiv...

Last week, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge made headlines all over the world: the Trump administration finalized plans to open up this piece of remote, Alaskan wilderness to oil and gas development.  But what does this latest move in the decades-long battle over the future of ANWR really mean? To find out, and to understand what might be next in this saga, we sat down with Heather Richard...

If a whale sings in the ocean, and Michelle Fournet is there to record it, how does it sound?   Find out in this episode of Threshold Conversations.   Michelle Fournet is an acoustic ecologist with the Cornell Bioacoustics Research Program. She studies how marine animals—including humpback whales and other creatures—use sound to communicate, detect predators and prey, and engage with the...

IMPORTANT: DATE CHANGE This event was originally planned for August 27. Due to unforeseen changes in Ami Vitale's travel schedule, it's now happening Thursday, September 10 at 7 pm eastern time. Being a National Geographic photographer may seem glamorous, but sometimes the work just plain stinks—literally!  Ami Vitale is an internationally-renowned photographer whose work invites us into extraordi...

J. Drew Lanham is a Distinguished Professor at Clemson University, and an author, orator and Poet Laureate from Edgefield, SC. As a Black American, he’s intrigued by how ethnic prisms shape perceptions of nature and its care. His writing focuses on his passion for the natural world, and the personal and societal conflicts that sometimes put conservation and culture at odds. His award-winning book,...

In the second episode of Threshold Conversations, Amy talks with award-winning journalist Alfredo Corchado. As Mexico Border correspondent for the Dallas Morning News, Alfredo is one of the nation’s leading reporters covering the complicated issues playing out at the U.S./Mexico border.   We all depend on the food we eat, and on the people who raise, grow, and harvest that food for us. In the...

Threshold Wins a Peabody Award! Threshold was selected as one of 30 Peabody Award winners from a pool of nearly 1,300 submissions. This one of the most prestigious awards in media. We're thrilled! The board of jurors awarded the Peabody to Threshold’s most recent season, “The Refuge,” which examined the controversy over drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The jurors wrote,  “T...

Each week, we’re inviting you to help us document this crazy time, when we’re confronting a national crisis together — from alone in our homes.  This week, we’re asking: Is this the end of the lockdown for you? Or are you still in quarantine mode? Send us some audio that captures the sound of this weird, nebulous moment. Record up to one minute of audio and send it our way. To participate, go...

Hey! We’re starting a new thing! Welcome to Threshold Conversations, a new series featuring interviews with environmental thought leaders. We're still doing our main show—our documentary work, where we take you on a journey deep into one pressing issue. But between seasons of Threshold, we're going to start sharing interviews with people who have interesting things to say on important issues impac...

Each week, we’re inviting you to help us document this crazy time, when we’re confronting a national crisis together — from alone in our homes.  This week, we’re asking: Tell us about a song or a piece of music that’s especially meaningful to you right now. Or — sing it to us. Record up to one minute of audio and send it our way. To participate, go to www.thresholdpodcast.org . We’ve posted everyt...

Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday Now, a new global day of giving to address the immense need created by the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re participating in this campaign all week long.  Nonprofit, independent journalism is more important than ever. If you can, we hope you'll help Threshold stay afloat during these uncertain times. You'll be joining the millions of people around the world who are contribu...

Each week, we’re inviting you to help us document this crazy time, when we’re confronting a national crisis together — from alone in our homes.  This week, we’re asking: What is breaking your heart right now? Does your sadness have a sound, or do you just want to tell us about it? How are you handling your grief? What are you doing with it, especially when you can’t go be with the people you love?...

Each week, we’re inviting you to help us document this crazy time, when we’re confronting a national crisis together — from alone in our homes.  This week, we’re asking: How is the natural world helping you to get through this? And if you can’t access nature at all right now, what are you missing the most? How are you quarangreening? Or, how are you longing to? Record up to one minute of audio and...

We’re launching a new project for this weird time we’re living in. It’s a time when we’re confronting a national crisis together. But we’re doing it from our homes, isolated and often alone. So we’re inviting you to help us document this crazy moment. Every week, starting today, we’ll give you a prompt. Your mission - if you choose to accept it - is to record up to one minute of sound in response...

To get us through this trying time, we’re inviting you around a virtual bonfire to share an Arctic story from our vault.   In the 1920s, Ada Blackjack, an Iñupiaq woman from Nome, Alaska, was recruited to tag along on an expedition to a remote chunk of land north of Siberia called Wrangel Island. Along with four men, seven sled dogs, and a cat, she set off in September of 1921. The trip...