Episodes

The desert ironwood, Olneya tesota , is the basis of an entire ecosystem in the Sonoran desert. And this ecosystem includes people. Alicia and Chris hike in Ironwood Country and talk to the renowned Petey Mesquitey, host of G...

The largest reptile in the Mojave faces threats ranging from predation to illegal collection to loss of habitat. But the desert tortoise has defenders. We talk to Tim Shields of Hardshell Labs about his campaign to use 21st c...

On October 12, the California Fish and Game Commission postponed a decision yet again on whether to grant the western Joshua tree protection under the California Endangered Species Act. Chris and Alicia speak to Brendan Cummi...

Solar in the built environment could meet America's need for electrical power. But still the desert is in the crosshairs. Public lands with intact habitat are coming under extreme threat because of the Inflation Reduction Act...

We're not going to be able to save the desert if we self-immolate. Alicia reads Chris the riot act about taking time to enjoy the desert without being preoccupied by saving it. He responds by heading to the Colorado River. Al...

Alicia takes on one of her personal bugbears: the endless supply of mylar balloons landing in the desert, choking wildlife and starting fires, just because people don't care what happens to their floating trash. Also, we subj...

As the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts contend with record rainfalls, climate change and urban development are drying up the Great Salt Lake. We talk to David Smith of Joshua Tree National Park about floods in desert parks, and Za...

With bad news all around, how do we keep up our strength and resolve to protect the places that matter? Chris and Alicia start an ongoing conversation in a couple of those places. In between, 90 Miles from Needles talks to LA...

There's good news: the desert offers sweet sustenance that can be had for a little bit of work. And we mean actual food, not that metaphorical well being stuff. Though that's here too. But first, Chris offers some thoughts on...

Chris enjoys the desert at its hottest. Alicia, on the other hand, is closer to sanity. Both of them treat desert heat with respect. We talk about how to make sure your time in the desert doesn't end in tragedy. The desert ne...

Chris and Alicia explore the harsh realities of desert life in "90 Miles from Needles" with guest Jan Emming from Desert Sense Nursery. Discussing climate change, its impact on the desert biome, and recent rainfall patterns, they delve into survival strategies amidst shifting weather dynamics. List…

The writer Edward Abbey is revered by many desert activists, and roundly criticized by others, all based on the provocative and occasionally offensive things he wrote. Chris and Alicia talk about the prescient and helpful thi...

From the mid-1980s until the first months of the 21st Century, a coalition of desert tribes and non-Native activists worked to keep the state of California from siting a low-level nuclear waste dump in the Mojave Desert, on l...

Explore the urgent challenges facing the western Joshua Tree in this episode of 90 Miles from Needles. Hosts Chris Clarke and Alicia Pike delve into the impact of development on desert ecosystems, with insights from Brendan Cummings of the Center for Biological Diversity and local activist Christin…

Plus, why rock stacking is a bad habit, and how you can keep the state of California from stripping protections from the western Joshua tree. Listen to the episode either before or after you click here: https://act.biological...

Considered extinct by the late 1950s, the Shoshone pupfish was rediscovered 36 years ago by a woman who changed her entire town to preserve the species. We talk to Shoshone resident Susan Sorrells about her life and the fish,...

They're more complicated than the howling silhouette on your bespoke candle holder from Santa Fe, and more interesting. Chris and Alicia discuss living with coyotes in the desert, what they offer, what they don't offer, and h...

Spring is coming, and that means that hundreds of thousands of people start thinking about visiting the desert to see the "superbloom." But even in the rare years when it happens, there's a right way and a wrong way to take ...

As we publish, scientists are announcing that the last dozen years are the driest in more than a millennium. With the desert's cities ever more dependent on water from the Colorado River, how will southwestern society meet th...

Cima Dome was supposed to be a place where Joshua trees were most likely to survive climate change. A climate-accentuated wildfire hit there anyway. In this episode, Chris relates how much the Cima Dome Joshua tree forest mea...

Discovered only in 2017, the Dixie Valley toad is found only in one 400-acre hot spring wetland in remote Nevada. Guess where a giant geothermal corporation is ready to build a wetland-draining power plant? We talk to Patrick...

In this first episode, Chris and Alicia head out to Sand Draw, a beautiful and vibrant bit of desert dry wash woodland in the Mojave Desert that almost became an industrial sacrifice zone for the energy industry. It's a good ...

In this episode, Alicia points out that despite Chris's delusions of popularity, there are people who don't know who he is. Hilarity ensues. Transcript Season 0, Episode 4: Who is Chris? Chris Clarke: This podcast is made pos...

Hello friends! Transcript of this episode is at 90milesfromneedles.com In this Season Zero short episode, Chris and Alicia discuss the commonly shared urban legend that Joshua trees are not really trees. This is a topic that ...