Inside This Podcast Episodes

Chris talks with Melinda Matson Spina, Jodi Darby, and Sage Bond about Desert Dispatch Media’s effort to document communities responding to the rapid expansion of AI data centers across the desert Southwest. They discuss a community-led film, public assemblies, and music that draws on sounds from the land.

Why do deserts need protection? For the 150th episode of 90 Miles from Needles, Chris Clarke returns to the reasons this work matters: deserts remain widely misunderstood, receive less scientific attention than they deserve, and cannot be protected without confronting questions of justice. Listeners Kimberly, Nancy, and Diane share what the desert means to them, while Chris considers wildfire, Joshua tree science, environmental inequality, the border wall, urban heat, and the love that ultimately lies behind conservation. An after-credits report examines where the podcast has traveled during its first 150 episodes—and where its coverage still needs to go.

After a personal loss and production hiatus, Chris speaks candidly about the podcast’s reach and asks listeners to help by reviewing, recommending and sharing the show so desert reporting can find the people who need it.

Content note: sadness. Due to the death of a close family member, we will return on June 5. Listen if you want a few details.

Chris explains how collapsing local media has stripped desert communities of context and institutional memory, and introduces the Fellowship for Desert Reporting as a way to support emerging journalists and deeper, systems-aware work.

Responding to the assassination of Charlie Kirk and its political aftermath, Chris rejects political violence, examines corporate media power and argues that independent outlets must defend truth and solidarity in desert communities.

For the 50th episode of 90 Miles from Needles, Chris Clarke looks beyond individual conservation battles to ask what the desert protection movement itself needs. He reflects on resource extraction, disappearing local news coverage, the shortage of people working consistently on desert issues, and the role independent journalism can play in building a stronger movement. It's both a progress report on the podcast and an argument for something larger: informed communities willing to become long-term advocates for desert landscapes.

Independent journalism and grassroots conservation both depend on engaged communities. This special Giving Tuesday episode explains how listener support helps sustain 90 Miles from Needles and the Desert Advocacy Media Network while reflecting on why independent voices remain essential to protecting the deserts of the American Southwest.

Protecting the desert can be emotionally difficult work. This deeply personal episode reflects on grief, disappointment, and resilience in conservation, exploring how people continue fighting for the landscapes they love even after setbacks and losses. It's a conversation about hope as much as hardship.

For generations, Americans have been taught that deserts are barren wastelands waiting to be developed. This episode challenges those misconceptions by exploring what science—and the desert itself—actually tells us about biodiversity, resilience, and why changing our understanding of these landscapes is essential to their protection.

Conservation work can be exhausting, especially when environmental setbacks seem relentless. In this personal episode, Chris reflects on activist burnout, the emotional challenges of protecting the desert, and the encouraging successes that remind us why the work is still worth doing.

Welcome to 90 Miles from Needles, a podcast about the deserts of the American Southwest and the people working to protect them. In this inaugural episode, hosts Chris Clarke and Alicia Pike introduce the show's mission, explore why deserts deserve far more attention than they receive, and preview the science, politics, history, and storytelling that will shape future episodes. Whether you're a lifelong desert lover or a curious newcomer, this is where the journey begins.