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The Wild Idea

Wild Idea Media

The Wild Idea is an exploration of the intersection of wild nature and our own human nature. The hosts, Bill Hodge and Anders Reynolds, through conversations with experts and thought leaders will dive into the ways that humans have both embraced and impact the function and vitality of our remaining wild places.

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  • 142 episodes
  • Updated Friday

Episodes142

Newest first
  • Aug 14, 2025 · 43 min

    Southern Currents: Saving the Buffalo River Again...and Again

    In this second Southern Currents bonus episode of The Wild Idea, Bill chats with Stewart Noland, Tommie Kelly, and Martha Morris from the Ozark Society, the group that came together in 1962 to keep the Buffalo River from being dammed and went on to make it America’s first National River in 1972. They swap stories from that fight, like riding the Jubilee Bus to Washington, D.C. and floating the river with Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, and talk about how the work to protect the Buffalo has come up again and again with new threats like landfills, dams, and hog farms. They also share how the Society keeps pushing forward, protecting rivers and wilderness, building trails, and getting the next generation out on the water. Learn more and access the resources and links mentioned in today's episode at our website, thewildidea.com.

  • Aug 12, 2025 · 34 min

    Joe Whitson: Marketing the Wilderness

    Environmental justice scholar Joe Whitson joins Bill and Anders to talk about how our stories about nature shape the land itself. Joe explains his concept of “wildernessing,” the process of making a place look and feel “untouched” through policy decisions, land management, and marketing, even though these landscapes have deep human histories. The conversation moves from history to the present, exploring how our cultural definition of “wilderness” has shifted over time, why climate change is challenging the myth of pristine nature, and what it will take to create a more just and inclusive future for public lands. Find the resources mentioned in today's episode at our website, thewildidea.com.

  • Aug 8, 2025 · 12 min

    The Wild Line: Montana Rivers Protected, LWCF Threatened, Louisiana Wetlands Abandoned

    Today we report on the rollback of protections in Alaska’s North Slope, revival of a mining project near the Boundary Waters, and threats to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. We offer some good news with proposed Wild and Scenic River designations in Montana, and some bad news with Louisiana’s cancellation of a landmark coastal restoration project, plus public comments open on a controversial Forest Service reorganization plan. Find out more about the news mentioned today and links and resources from today's episode at our website, thewildidea.com.

  • Aug 7, 2025 · 1 hr 26 min

    Southern Currents: Land Loss and Citizen Science on The Gulf Coast

    In this first installment of our special Southern Currents series, Bill travels the Gulf Coast (sadly, without Anders) to explore the crisis of coastal land loss and the role of citizen science in protecting the region's future. We begin in Louisiana with Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Bob Marshall, who has spent decades covering the collapse of his home state's coastal wetlands, before shifting east to the Florida panhandle, where marine biologist, author, and lifelong mischief-maker Jack Rudloe tells the story of founding the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea, Florida. Together, these conversations trace the interconnected threads of land, water, loss, and resilience in the Gulf South and ask what it means to fight for wild places when those places are rapidly disappearing. Learn more and find the resources and links mentioned in today's episode at our website, thewildidea.com.

  • Aug 5, 2025 · 27 min

    Blain and Monique Anderson: Sailing Alaska's Wilderness Waters

    Join us as we climb aboard the BOB, a 50-foot Catalina sailboat, with Blain and Monique Anderson—a husband-and-wife team navigating the remote waters of Southeast Alaska. As the owners of Sound Sailing, they’ve turned their love of sailing and wild places into a platform for sharing the raw beauty and singular experience found only in Alaska’s coastal wilderness. Today's episode is part travelogue, part meditation on modern wilderness, and part love letter to the wild waters of Alaska. Find the resources and links mentioned in today's discussion at our website, thewildidea.com.

  • Aug 1, 2025 · 10 min

    The Wild Line: Senators Slam USDA Reorg, New Parks Deep in the Heart of Texas

    Today we zoom in on layoffs, restructuring, and reorganizations across multiple departments, and cover wins and losses for wildlife and parks. We also inventory what happened on the hill this week. Find out more about the news mentioned today and links and resources from today's episode at our website, thewildidea.com.

  • Jul 29, 2025 · 52 min

    Your Hosts Bill & Anders: You Ask - We Answer

    In this special 20th episode of The Wild Idea, Bill and Anders are recording face-to-face for the first time, from the deck of a sailboat in Southeast Alaska. To mark the milestone, they’re answering twenty questions submitted by listeners. The result is a wide-ranging, often hilarious, occasionally serious, and always thoughtful conversation that covers everything from their dream podcast guests and close calls in the backcountry to artificial intelligence, bipartisan conservation, screen addiction, and the secret behind those corny intro questions. Find the links and resources mentioned today along with the list of questions answered on our website, thewildidea.com.

  • Jul 22, 2025 · 38 min

    Josh Jackson: The Forgotten Lands Project

    Josh Jackson didn’t set out to become a champion for the Bureau of Land Management. But after stumbling into BLM lands in the deserts of California, he found himself transformed, first by the landscape, and then by the history behind it. In this episode, Josh joins Bill and Anders to talk about The Enduring Wild, his new book exploring California’s public lands, and the path that took him from “drive-by desert” skeptic to devoted pilgrim. why the desert strips us bare, how the King Range helped launch a conservation revolution inside the BLM, and the power of returning to overlooked landscapes again and again. Learn more about Josh and the resources mentioned in today's episode at our website, thewildidea.com.

  • Jul 15, 2025 · 50 min

    Cristina Eisenberg: Humility as a Tool for Protection and Stewardship

    In this wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Cristina Eisenberg shares her perspective on the growing crisis facing our forests and why meeting this moment will take more than science alone. As the opening speaker for the Ninth American Forest Congress, Cristina reflects on how this historic gathering signals a shift in how we think about forest stewardship—and why that shift depends on blending Western science with Indigenous knowledge and local wisdom. Together with Bill and Anders, she unpacks why both extractive management and strict hands-off protection have fallen short, and how it’s time to rethink what “wilderness” really means. Learn more, connect with Dr. Eisenberg, and find the links and resources mentioned in today's episode at our website, thewildidea.com.

  • Jul 11, 2025 · 15 min

    The Wild Line: Oil Train Rolls in Utah, Merkley Asks for Wildfire Funds, Trump Targets Park History

    This week on The Wild Line: We’re back with a full roundup of what’s happening across all three branches of government, plus a reminder that history is written not just in laws, but in landscapes. We dive into the latest BLM approvals, two new Trump-era executive orders, a small act you can take to help save our National Park signs, and a whole lot more. Find the links and resources mentioned today on our website, thewildidea.com.

  • Jul 8, 2025 · 44 min

    Tony Bynum: Conservation Through a Photographer's Lens

    Conservation photographer Tony Bynum joins Bill and Anders for a wide-ranging conversation about photography, sovereignty, wild places, and what it means to tell the truth with an image. Tony's work isn’t just about capturing beauty; it’s about telling the full story of a place, pushing for protection, and reminding us what’s at stake. Today's conversation explores what makes an image meaningful, why Tony walked away from shooting for certain publications, and how photography can either glorify or challenge our assumptions about land, nature, and use. Tony also shares insights from his time at the EPA, his work with tribal nations across the Columbia River Basin, and his deep belief that storytelling, when done honestly, can move people to care and act. Learn more and connect with Tony by visiting our show notes page at thewildidea.com, where we've included links and resources from today's episode.

  • Jul 4, 2025 · 14 min

    The Wild Line: Congress Wraps Up Reconciliation, Trump Eyes the Everglades, USDA Considers Nuking NEPA

    Bill and Anders cover the end of the budget reconciliation process which saw the public land sell-off removed, but many more major setbacks for public lands survived. The Forest Service took steps to loosen rules around following the National Environmental Policy Act, and in Montana they ceded management of 200,000 acres to the state through a new Good Neighbor Authority agreement. We track a lawsuit around the lands being used for the so-called Alligator Alcatraz. Learn more and find the resources from today's episode at our website, thewilddea.com.

  • Jul 3, 2025 · 21 min

    Anne Robinson: 'Good News' from the Appalachian Trail

    In this bonus of The Wild Idea, we’re literally taking you to the Appalachian Trail. Anne Robinson joins us from Harpers Ferry, the symbolic halfway point of her 2,200-mile thru-hike, for a conversation about what happens when you step away from your desk and into the woods for months at a time. Anne recently left her job at Southern Environmental Law Center to take on the AT, and in this episode, she shares what she’s learning about land, history, community—and herself—along the way. Learn more about Anne and find the links and resources from today's episode at our website, thewildidea.com.

  • Jul 1, 2025 · 37 min

    The Conservation Alliance: Outdoor Brands Make a Stand

    This week on The Wild Idea, we’re exploring the growing power of outdoor brands to influence public land policy. What happens when the companies that outfit our adventures decide to stand up for the places that make those adventures possible? We’re joined by Paul Hendricks, Executive Director of The Conservation Alliance, and Vince Mazzuca, Director of Marketing at Osprey, to talk about the role of the business community in conservation. Together, they offer a powerful look at how brands are using their voice and their dollars to push back on efforts to privatize or exploit public lands and waters. Learn more and find the links and resources mentioned today at our website, thewildidea.com.

  • Jun 27, 2025 · 16 min

    The Wild Line: Okefenokee Swamp Saved, Trump Targets the Roadless Rule, Lee's Land Sale Hits a Snag

    Bill and Anders break down a big week for public lands. The Okefenokee Swamp is safe from mining, Arkansas banned large hog farms in the Buffalo River Watershed, and Senator Mike Lee’s latest land sell-off push has hit a snag. Major threats remain; the Trump administration moves to repeal the Roadless Rule, putting 58 million acres at risk. Plus, Senate updates, Forest Service rulemaking, and a tribute to Montana wilderness champion Pat Williams. Learn more and find the resources from today's episode at our website, thewilddea.com.

  • Jun 25, 2025 · 40 min

    Chris Wood: Roadless Rule Rescinded

    Chris Wood - the godfather of the Roadless Rule and President and CEO of Trout Unlimited - joins the show to talk about how the Roadless Rule came to be, what it actually does, and why the Trump Administration’s move to undo it threatens some of the most ecologically and recreationally important backcountry we have. From fire mitigation myths to the politics of rulemaking, Wood offers a clear-eyed and hopeful reminder of what’s worth protecting, and how. Learn more and find the resources mentioned in today's episode at our website, thewildidea.com.

  • Jun 24, 2025 · 49 min

    Martin Nie and Monte Mills: Not Just a Box to Check - Tribal Sovereignty and Co-Management

    What does it really mean to share stewardship of public lands with tribal nations? In this episode, legal scholar Monte Mills, a leading expert on Federal Indian Law, tribal sovereignty, and Indigenous cultural protection, and public lands policy expert Martin Nie, whose work focuses on the governance of federal lands and collaborative management across tribal, state, and federal lines, unpack the complex, often misunderstood world of tribal co-management. This episode challenges assumptions, connects legal nuance with lived experience, and makes the case that co-management isn’t a buzzword—it’s a necessary shift toward justice, sustainability, and honoring deep, place-based relationships that predate the United States itself. Learn more about our guests, find the links and resources mentioned in today's episode at our website, thewildidea.com.

  • Jun 20, 2025 · 14 min

    The Wild Line: Wildfire, Broken Promises and Reconciliation

    This week on The Wild Line, we’re tracking three major stories shaping the future of public lands and the communities that depend on them, including a new executive order aimed at “commonsense” wildfire prevention and response. Learn more and find the links and resources from today's episode at our website, thewildidea.com.

  • Jun 17, 2025 · 34 min

    Tracy Stone-Manning: Promises Worth Defending

    Tracy Stone-Manning has spent her career at the heart of public lands policy—from field offices and statehouses to the director’s chair at the Bureau of Land Management. Now, as president of The Wilderness Society, she’s carrying that fight forward with a deep belief in collaboration, connection, and the promise our public lands represent. In this episode, she joins Bill and Anders for a wide-ranging conversation about what’s really happening inside our land management agencies, what the public lands rule was meant to protect, and why the stakes feel higher than ever. Learn more and access the resources and links mentioned today at our website, thewildidea.com.