Could devastating mega-droughts be the new normal in large parts of the United States? Tom talks to climate scientists that look at different data and come to slightly different conclusions.

Christopher Williams

Christopher Williams, professor of geography at Clark University.

Richard Seager

Richard Seager, professor at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.

Michael Wehner

Michael Wehner, staff scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Source: Mega-Droughts In Our Future

Otter

Otters and Climate Change

According to two scientists at the University of California at Santa Cruz, a small animal could have a big impact on climate change. Professor Chris Wilmers explains how sea otters could be key to preserving kelp forests, one of the world’s great carbon sinks.
Source: Otters and Climate Change

Paul Ehrlich

Limiting Population and Consumption

Rich countries must reduce consumption and the world must limit population to avoid catastrophe. That’s the message of Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich. He talks to Steve Curwood on the benefits of having more time.
Source: To Avoid Disaster, Limit Population and Consumption









When The U.S. Paid Off The Entire National Debt

On Jan. 8, 1835, all the big political names in Washington gathered to celebrate what President Andrew Jackson had just accomplished. A senator rose to make the big announcement: "Gentlemen ... the national debt ... is PAID." That was the one time in U.S. history when the country was debt free. It lasted exactly one year. The legend of the national debt and where the debt came from. What happened the one time we paid it all off and why Congress created the debt ceiling in the first place?
Source: When The U.S. Paid Off The Entire National Debt



Download or Play Mega-Droughts Part 1
Download or Play Mega-Droughts Part 2
Download or Play Otters & Limiting Population
Download or Play When U.S. Had No Debt



Music includes Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, Pink Floyd - Hey You, The Evens - On The Face Of It, Freeman Z - New Orleans, Gil Scott-Heron - We Almost Lost Detroit, Harry McClintock - Big Rock Candy Mountain, Adelita - Mariachi, Curtis Mayfield - We Got to Have Peace, Terry Gangstad - Caffeine, Odetta - House Of The Rising Sun

Great Speeches and Interviews' Past Programs