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Natural Causes

Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts

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.

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8 episodes
weekly
Avg 29 min
English

Episodes 8

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Monday · 28 min
The Wall and the Wilderness
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.
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September 14 · 28 min
What's the Roadless Rule and Who Wants To Scrap It?
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.
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September 7 · 1 hr
Did Donald Trump Ban Buffalo?
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.
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August 31 · 29 min
Losing Everything: How Communities Recover From Fire When Politicians Abandon Them
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.
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August 24 · 33 min
Go Now: How to Prepare for Fire Evacuation
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.
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August 17 · 25 min
Who Is Behind America's Cyclospora Summer?
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.
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August 17 · 29 min
No Golf No Masters: Celebrating Our Ungovernable Peccary Friends
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.
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August 7 · 2 min
Introducing: 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, 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.
- Transcript

Showing 1–8 of 8 episodes