Episodes

  • A Story of Indigenous Resistance and Renewal from the Klamath River

    A Story of Indigenous Resistance and Renewal from the Klamath River
    Nov 7 2025
    On this week’s Terra Verde episode, host Hannah Wilton speaks with Amy Bowers Cordalis about her new memoir, The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life. Amy shares stories from the Klamath River and the Yurok homelands, tracing her family’s multigenerational struggle to protect the river, restore the salmon, and defend Indigenous sovereignty. From witnessing the largest fish kill in U.S. history in 2002, to watching the Klamath flow free again after the last dam came down in 2024, Amy reflects on the long arc of loss and healing, and how the river’s restoration offers a model for environmental justice and reconciliation. Amy Bowers Cordalis is a member of the Yurok Tribe, an attorney, fisherwoman, and advocate for Indigenous rights and environmental restoration. She is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group, leading efforts to protect tribal sovereignty, lands, and waters—including the historic Klamath Dam Removal project. Former general counsel for the Yurok Tribe and an attorney at the Native American Rights Fund, Amy has earned honors as a UN Champion of the Earth and Time 100 climate leader. The post A Story of Indigenous Resistance and Renewal from the Klamath River appeared first on KPFA.
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    30 mins
  • Terra Verde – October 31, 2025

    Terra Verde – October 31, 2025
    Oct 31 2025
    A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – October 31, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.
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    30 mins
  • How Does Climate Change Affect Our Brains?

    How Does Climate Change Affect Our Brains?
    Oct 24 2025
    It is widely recognized that climate change is the biggest global health threat that we face today. But one piece of information that gets relatively little attention is the question of: how does climate change affect our brains? Dr. Burcin Ikiz is a neuroscientist and global health advisor who studies exactly that. On this episode, she joins Terra Verde host Fiona McLeod to discuss how climate change and environmental factors like air pollution, extreme heat, and malnutrition affect neurological and mental health. Burcin Ikiz, PhD is the founder of EcoNeuro and the International Neuro Climate Working Group. She leads a network of over 250 researchers, physicians, and policymakers with the goal of expanding research on how climate change impacts neurological and mental health, and on translating these insights into tangible global health solutions. She is an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry and an Affiliate of the Center for Human and Planetary Health at Stanford University, where she contributes to transdisciplinary efforts linking neuroscience, mental well-being, and climate resilience to advance brain and planetary health. In 2025, Dr. Ikiz was named a Grist 50 Fixer alongside other climate and justice leaders building sustainable and hopeful futures. The post How Does Climate Change Affect Our Brains? appeared first on KPFA.
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    30 mins
  • Managing Groundwater: From Policy to Practice

    Managing Groundwater: From Policy to Practice
    Oct 17 2025
    California’s 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) was designed to stabilize the state’s groundwater resources, but its implementation has posed significant challenges, particularly for small-scale farmers. Many of these producers across the state face barriers to accessing technical support and taking part in decision-making processes under SGMA. While large agricultural operations can invest in efficient irrigation systems or purchase extra water, small-scale farmers stand to be hit the hardest by water caps and overuse fees. On this episode of Terra Verde, host and producer Hannah Wilton is joined by Catherine Van Dyke, Deputy Director of Water Policy at the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), and Ngodoo Atume, SGMA Small Farms Technical Assistance Coordinator with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Small Farms Network. They discuss how SGMA is playing out on the ground and share their insights on how policy actors can work together to ensure the state’s most vulnerable farmers aren’t left behind. The post Managing Groundwater: From Policy to Practice appeared first on KPFA.
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    30 mins
  • Terra Verde – October 10, 2025

    Terra Verde – October 10, 2025
    Oct 10 2025
    A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – October 10, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.
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    30 mins
  • Terra Verde – October 3, 2025

    Terra Verde – October 3, 2025
    Oct 3 2025
    A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – October 3, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.
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    9 mins
  • Terra Verde – September 26, 2025

    Terra Verde – September 26, 2025
    Sep 26 2025
    A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – September 26, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.
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    30 mins
  • Zone Zero: Can Removing Vegetation Within 5 Feet of Homes Really Reduce Wildfire Risk?

    Zone Zero: Can Removing Vegetation Within 5 Feet of Homes Really Reduce Wildfire Risk?
    Sep 19 2025
    Photos before and after the 2025 Palisades Fire show thick green vegetation between two closely spaced homes. The arrow shows the direction of the fire’s spread. Photo courtesy of Max Moritz; CAL FIRE Damage Inspection photos / The Conversation. The City of Berkeley has passed strict regulations that will require residents in certain parts of the city’s hills to keep five feet around their homes, dubbed “Zone Zero,” free of flammable materials. That includes wooden fences and trellises that are attached directly to homes, trash bins, and most controversially, almost all vegetation. The State of California too, is drafting Zone Zero rules that include limiting vegetation directly next to buildings in high risk areas. In this episode of Terra Verde, Earth Island Journal editor-in-chief and cohost Maureen Nandini Mitra talks with two scientists who study how vegetation ignites and burns — Max Moritz, head of the Mortiz Fire Lab in UC Santa Barbara and a wildfire specialist at the University of California Cooperative Extension, and Luca Carmignani, assistant professor of engineering at San Diego State University and a former fire advisor for the Wildland-Urban Interface in Southern California. Moritz and Carmignani say what appears to matter more for keeping plants from becoming fuel for fires is how well they’re maintained, and that the debate around plants is distracting from the essential and urgent work of implementing other home hardening measures. Read an article they co-wrote citing their concerns in The Conversation. The post Zone Zero: Can Removing Vegetation Within 5 Feet of Homes Really Reduce Wildfire Risk? appeared first on KPFA.
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    30 mins