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Nature

Natural Causes

Natural Causes is a podcast about the politics and practicalities of going outside in a world on fire, hosted by Dr. James Stout. It approaches the outdoors, conservation, agriculture, food sovereignty, and Indigenous land rights as interconnected issues. We want to combine unflinching journalism with unabashed advocacy for the land we all share, and welcome everyone into the outdoors and the fight for our public lands. Our shared wild spaces are under threat like never before, from climate change, the Trump administration, and extractive capitalism. Now, more than ever, we need serious journalism and serious solidarity that engages people with the struggle to protect these spaces for generations to come. New episodes weekly.

Latest Episodes:

The Coming Flood Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

In Part Two of our series on The Wall and the Wilderness, James talks about the cultural and ecological damage done by the border wall and continues his interview with Dr. Christina Aiello about the Peninsular Bighorn ram that was killed by razor wire in the Jacumba mountains.

Sources:

https://www.usaspending.gov/search?hash=29de9d51905bd175a701b04c24176b46
https://www-jstor-org.sdmesa.idm.oclc.org/stable/3636811?seq=5
https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_employer=Atkore
https://tucson.com/news/local/border/article_a11265b0-17c3-5bed-b50a-72e5d17e1369.html
https://www.blm.gov/visit/jacumba-wilderness
https://www.usaspending.gov/search?hash=29de9d51905bd175a701b04c24176b46
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/08/2025-05992/determination-pursuant-to-section-102-of-the-illegal-immigration-reform-and-immigrant-responsibility
https://www.enr.com/articles/54215-us-settles-border-wall-suit-against-contractor-fisher-sand-gravel
https://www.atkore.com/about-us
https://desertreport.org/a-border-wall-in-the-jacumba-wilderness-area/
https://gizmodo.com/trumps-border-wall-torn-apart-by-arizona-monsoon-rains-1847535174
https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_70B01C25F00001112_7014_70B01C23D00000010_7014
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1666138/000166613826000010/atkr-20260429.htm

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wall and the Wilderness Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

James talks about the ecological disaster that is the border wall and interviews Dr. Christina Aiello about the Peninsular Bighorn ram that was killed by razor wire in the Jacumba mountains.

Sources:

https://www.usaspending.gov/search?hash=29de9d51905bd175a701b04c24176b46
https://www-jstor-org.sdmesa.idm.oclc.org/stable/3636811?seq=5
https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_employer=Atkore
https://tucson.com/news/local/border/article_a11265b0-17c3-5bed-b50a-72e5d17e1369.html
https://www.blm.gov/visit/jacumba-wilderness
https://www.usaspending.gov/search?hash=29de9d51905bd175a701b04c24176b46
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/08/2025-05992/determination-pursuant-to-section-102-of-the-illegal-immigration-reform-and-immigrant-responsibility
https://www.enr.com/articles/54215-us-settles-border-wall-suit-against-contractor-fisher-sand-gravel
https://www.atkore.com/about-us
https://desertreport.org/a-border-wall-in-the-jacumba-wilderness-area/
https://gizmodo.com/trumps-border-wall-torn-apart-by-arizona-monsoon-rains-1847535174
https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_70B01C25F00001112_7014_70B01C23D00000010_7014
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1666138/000166613826000010/atkr-20260429.htm

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's the Roadless Rule and Who Wants To Scrap It? Sep 14, 2026

Show notes

James and journalist Jason Dove Mark explain the roadless rule, national forests, and the Trump administration's attempts to strip protections from tens of thousands of acres of public land.

https://www.regulations.gov/document/FS-2025-0001-223869
https://www.onxmaps.com/onx-access-initiatives/roadless-rule
https://morethanjustparks.com/threatened-public-lands-map/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did Donald Trump Ban Buffalo? Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

James is joined by Molly to discuss how the Bureau of Land Management is quietly changing its approach to public land management and what it means for approximately 900 bison in Central Montana.

(originally run on It Could Happen Here in May 2026)

Sources:
https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/810541893_202412_990_2025073023621659.pdf

https://gov.mt.gov/_docs/governor/AmericanPrairieProposedDecisionJanuary162026.pdf

https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-17537.pdf

https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2026-01-21/blm-cancels-bison-grazing-permits-for-montana-nature-reserve

https://news.mt.gov/Governors-Office/Governor_Gianforte_Appeals_Judges_APR_Bison_Grazing_Decision#:~:text=Following%20the%20judge's%20order%2C%20DNRC,appeal%20may%20be%20found%20here.

https://t.co/HUAyMUnOVi

https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2015/06/18/business-leaders-provide-green-behind-conservation-effort/28960843/

https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-revokes-american-prairie-bison-grazing-permit

https://www.citizen.org/wp-content/uploads/estatetaxfinal.pdf

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/12/2026-09386/rescission-of-conservation-and-landscape-health-rule

https://www.blm.gov/about/laws-and-regulations/conservation-and-landscape-health-rule

https://largetribes.org/2026/02/affirmative-action-for-cattle-tribes-challenge-feds-plan-to-revoke-bison-grazing-leases-on-public-land-media-share/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Losing Everything: How Communities Recover From Fire When Politicians Abandon Them Aug 31, 2026

Show notes

James follows up on last week's episode and talked to Miles Gray about what it is like to lose your home in a fire and how people can continue to help fire survivors.

Sources:

https://lacounty.gov/2026/08/04/county-of-los-angeles-fire-department-releases-the-investigative-reports-on-the-cause-of-the-eaton-fire/
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-03-19/sce-decomissioned-power-line-eaton-fire-risk
https://apnews.com/general-news-ffcad08a8ef14fa88df8bacdd9e73883
https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/newsom-wildfire-utility-liability-package/
https://x.com/WildfireVics1st/status/2078175502523585021
https://clickstrategies.us/

Donation Links:

Spokane Immigrants Rights Coalition: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/sirc-community-fund

Spectrum running the Rainbow Relief Fund: https://spectrumcenterspokane.app.neoncrm.com/forms/donate

Colville Fund: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/cedar-fund-wildfire-recovery-campaign

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Go Now: How to Prepare for Fire Evacuation Aug 24, 2026

Show notes

Weeks after more than 600 houses in Spokane burned, James talks to community members about how people prepared, cared for each other, and worried about migration enforcement during the fire evacuations.

Sources:

Aldo Leopold- A Sand County Almanac

https://www.instagram.com/p/DcBqjR6RdzJ/

Donation Links:

Spokane Immigrants Rights Coalition: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/sirc-community-fund
Spectrum running the Rainbow Relief Fund: https://spectrumcenterspokane.app.neoncrm.com/forms/donate
Colville Fund: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/cedar-fund-wildfire-recovery-campaign

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who Is Behind America's Cyclospora Summer? Aug 17, 2026

Show notes

James looks into the recent Cyclospora outbreak and what it can tell us about solidarity, food safety, and where our food comes from.

Sources:

https://newsroom.haas.berkeley.edu/magazine/spring-2026/taylor-farms/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/23/billion-dollar-california-salad-company-exploits-undocumented-migrants-say-workers-and-teamsters
https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-economist-interview-2000790016
https://www.thefp.com/p/cyclosporiasis-outbreak-lettuce-media?utm_source=publication-search
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-report-e-coli-outbreak-onions-taylor-farms/
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/imo/media/doc/2026-07-27garciatotaylorfarmsrecyclosporacontaminatedlettuce.pdf
https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Bruce+Taylor&contributor_employer=Taylor+Farms+
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/07/2025-14967/requirements-for-additional-traceability-records-for-certain-foods-compliance-date-extension
https://bsky.app/profile/ufw.bsky.social/post/3msj3j7ordt2w

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No Golf No Masters: Celebrating Our Ungovernable Peccary Friends Aug 17, 2026

Show notes

James talks with Molly Conger about the javelina and their installable appetite for golf courses.

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65x0RvhJNa8

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/nov/05/conservation.sciencenews

https://zoologicalbulletin.de/BzB_Volumes/Volume_56_1_2/049_054_BzB56_1_2_Moraves_Jiri_and_B%C3%B6hme_Wolfgang.pdf

https://www.azgfd.com/wildlife-conservation/living-with-wildlife/living-with-javelina/

https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/8e8abbf4-6775-4575-9a10-fedacb7cb2c1

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing: Natural Causes Aug 07, 2026

Show notes

Natural Causes is a podcast about the politics and practicalities of going outside in a world on fire, hosted by Dr James Stout. It approaches the outdoors, conservation, agriculture, food sovereignty, fire management and Indigenous land rights as interconnected issues. We want to combine unflinching journalism with unabashed advocacy for the land we all share, and welcome everyone into the outdoors and the fight for our public lands. Our shared wild spaces are under threat like never before, The Trump administration is stripping protections, extractive capitalism and data centers are pillaging out common resources, and climate change is accelerating every day. Now, more than ever, we need serious journalism and serious solidarity that engages people with the struggle to protect these spaces for generations to come. New episodes every week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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