Where there’s smoke, there’s ire

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Earlier this year, our host Nate Hegyi picked a fight with Ryan Zinke.

Zinke is the former Interior Secretary under Trump – the guy who rode into office on horseback. In the midst of an awful few days in June, when Canadian wildfire smoke blanketed the entire east coast, Zinke took to Twitter and argued that the solution was “active forest management.”

Nate assumed that was a political code word for more logging, something Republicans have been pushing for years. But instead of firing back, he decided to fact-check his assumptions and study up. Why are Canadian wildfires getting so intense? Is it possible to stop the smoke by logging the boreal forest? And what would Teddy Roosevelt have to say about this?!

Featuring Phil Higuera, John Vaillant, Ryan Zinke, and Courtney Shultz.

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LINKS

Check out our episode about prescribed burns (10X10: Pine Barrens).

The NPS has a good overview of how indigenous fire practices shaped North America.

“As Canada reels from wildfire, First Nations hope for larger role” (Al Jazeera)

CREDITS

Hosted, reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Edited by Taylor Quimby and Rebecca Lavoie

Our team also includes Justine Paradis, Jeongyoon Han, and Felix Poon.

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

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