Points North

Interlochen Public Radio ([email protected])

Points North is an award-winning podcast about the land, water, and inhabitants of the Great Lakes. Through narrative, sound-rich journalism that is deeply rooted in a sense of place, each episode entertains, informs, and surprises listeners everywhere.

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Update frequency: every 13 days
Average duration: 17 minutes
Episodes: 98
Years Active: 2022 - 2025

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Thin As a Rail

Rails are secretive marsh birds, and they’re on the decline. But a researcher playing their recorded calls over a loudspeaker could help bring them back – by tricking them.

00:09:12 | Fri 19 Aug 2022

Untreated Lyme Disease Can Be Severe. Are Doctors in the Midwest Ready for a Growing Number of Infections?

Lyme disease is increasing in the Upper Midwest. The illness is caused by a bite from an infected black-legged tick. But the disease can be hard to spot. If left untreated, it can spread to other par…

00:12:44 | Fri 05 Aug 2022

Asian Carp or Copi? Pushing Back Invasive Fish With a Rebrand

After years of rapid growth, experts are trying everything they can to push back the leading edge of invasive Asian carp in the Illinois River. Their most recent strategy? A new name.

00:15:09 | Fri 22 Jul 2022

Bat Gadgetry: High-Tech Solutions to a Deadly Problem

A deadly fungal infection is pushing some bat species to the brink of extinction. As scientists scramble to track the spread of white nose syndrome, they’re also testing novel ways to treat it.

00:14:34 | Fri 08 Jul 2022

The Culvert King of Acme Township

Dick Mallery is tired of quick fixes to his 50-year-flooding problem; he wants a nearby culvert replaced. But even that will only keep floodwaters away if it’s designed to withstand the new normal. A…

00:12:52 | Fri 24 Jun 2022

Crude Oil Catastrophes Part 3: A Tale of Two Treaties

The Constitution refers to treaties with other sovereign nations as “the supreme law of the land.” But what happens when promises have been made that are potentially in conflict? Two different treati…

00:14:01 | Fri 10 Jun 2022

Crude Oil Catastrophes Part 2: 'A Perfect Storm'

In 2013, a train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. The dangers of oil trains are part of the controversy around Enbridge Line 5 – a pipeline running through the Strait…

00:18:56 | Fri 27 May 2022

Crude Oil Catastrophes Part 1: 'Our Darkest Day'

There’s no safe way to move crude oil across an entire continent. So what risks are we willing to take? And who bears the brunt of that risk? Over the next couple episodes, we'll be looking at two ti…

00:19:14 | Fri 13 May 2022

The Ethics and Economics of Trading Water Futures

Most of the freshwater in the U.S. is in the Great Lakes. That’s why some in the region worry western states will come after it. But others say the real danger is commodifying water. Next time on Poi…

00:13:44 | Fri 29 Apr 2022

The Price of a Permit

On Lake Charlevoix, a landowner is seeking permits to build a controversial boathouse. But conflicts arise where public waters meet private property.

00:14:12 | Fri 15 Apr 2022

Presenting Outside/In: Why Antlers Are Freaking Amazing

This week we’re featuring an episode of Outside/In from New Hampshire Public Radio. It’s a podcast about the natural world and how we use it. Whether you grow them, collect them or grind them up and …

00:35:03 | Fri 01 Apr 2022

[Un]Natural Selection Ep. 7: Frankenfish

Lake trout are on life support in Lake Michigan.Every year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spends tens of millions of dollars raising and stocking them.But what if there was another way? Genetic …

00:21:45 | Fri 25 Mar 2022

[Un]Natural Selection Ep. 6: Damned If We Do, Damned If We Don’t

Over time, people have caused extensive damage to rivers by scouring their banks with logs, channelizing them through towns and cutting them up with dams. In the last 50 years, scientists have discov…

00:16:55 | Fri 18 Mar 2022

[Un]Natural Selection Ep. 5: Rekindling Wilderness

Most people think of the wilderness as a place untouched by humans, but that’s far from the truth. Evidence stored in tree rings in the Minnesota Boundary Waters affirms an oral history of Indigenous…

00:22:02 | Fri 11 Mar 2022

[Un]Natural Selection Ep. 4: 'Forest Of The Living Dead'

North Manitou Island is like a petri dish. It shows what happens when the deer exhaust a food supply, and all the young plants and greenery are eaten to a nub. It’s a cautionary tale about the entang…

00:17:50 | Fri 04 Mar 2022

[Un]Natural Selection Ep. 3: What To Do With The 'Big Bad Wolf'

This month, gray wolves went back on the endangered species list. But it wasn’t because the population suddenly plummeted. It had more to do with an ongoing fight between stakeholders who have strong…

00:22:30 | Fri 25 Feb 2022

[Un]Natural Selection Ep. 2: Houses Built On Sand

There’s a long-term impact to armoring shoreline on the Great Lakes. And as it turns out, it actually exacerbates the erosion it’s meant to stop.

00:16:21 | Fri 18 Feb 2022

[Un]Natural Selection Ep. 1: A Necessary Weevil?

In the 1960s, scientists released a foreign insect to control invasive plants.But the plan backfired. The bugs are attacking a rare native plant in the sand dunes of the Upper Great Lakes.

00:17:31 | Fri 11 Feb 2022

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