90 Miles From Needles

90 Miles From Needles The desert protection podcast The North American desert is split by county, state, and national borders. The environment doesn’t exist in a vacuum, however.

It holds a diverse range of ecosystems, landscapes, cultures, languages and people. But the California desert, for instance, has more in common with the desert elsewhere than it does with many parts of California. You can say much the same about deserts in Nevada, Texas, Sonora and Baja California. Arid lands face many of the same issues in ecological, cultural and political senses. The American d

esert is a discrete entity that is too seldom respected, or even recognized as something that deserves to exist on its own terms.

90 Miles from Needles, the Desert Protection Podcast, interprets and explains the desert, its living things, its people and our cultures in a clear and compelling fashion. Our main focus is on the desert environment: what it is, what threats it faces, and what people are doing to counter those threats. In fact, the desert is a place where people can’t pretend they aren’t affected by the non-human world. So we will cover environment through the lenses of not just science and recreation, but culture, history, the arts, and politics as well.

90 Miles from Needles is a project of the non-profit Desert Advocacy Media Network. It features the work of journalist, writer, and activist Chris Clarke, who has been interpreting the desert for more than 30 years. He is joined in this project by the community of activists and others working to keep the desert whole. We hope you will find this podcast valuable, interesting, and fun. We invite you to visit our donation page to lend support. We can't do this without our listeners! Thanks! https://www.90milesfromneedles.com/donate

10/04/2025
Spending the day at the for the Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta
09/27/2025

Spending the day at the for the Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta

09/07/2025

The desert undergoes a stunning transformation as a storm rolls in. The temperature dramatically drops, humidity skyrockets, and the landscape bursts with life. Birds sing, and insects gather to drink, revealing the desert's hidden vitality. Have you ever witnessed such a change?

Not available online yet. But if you run into us in the real world, hit us up.
09/07/2025

Not available online yet. But if you run into us in the real world, hit us up.

Stay safe and enjoy!
09/06/2025

Stay safe and enjoy!

Monsoonal rainstorms reshape the desert landscape, and in this episode, Chris explores their recent impact on 29 Palms. Despite the chaos, the storms bring life, vi…

New Episode! "S4E32: Joshua Trees are Still Caught in the Climate Crossfire"Chris Clarke and Brendan Cummings discuss th...
08/23/2025

New Episode! "S4E32: Joshua Trees are Still Caught in the Climate Crossfire"

Chris Clarke and Brendan Cummings discuss the recent approval of the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan by California's Fish and Game Commission. Brendan outlines the journey from the 2019 petition for protection to the 2023 Conservation Act, highlighting its aim to combat climate threats and managed development impacts on Joshua trees.

https://www.90milesfromneedles.com/e/14044656863574/

Friday marks five years since the 43,000 acre Dome Fire killed upwards of 1 million Joshua trees in Mojave National Pres...
08/14/2025

Friday marks five years since the 43,000 acre Dome Fire killed upwards of 1 million Joshua trees in Mojave National Preserve. Our episode due out Friday is a reflection on that place and its importance to certain desert podcasters.

08/13/2025

Project Blue's reach touches everything — immigration, AI, even how homes are targeted. It's about standing up for rights, seeing how connected it all is, and asking, “What can we do?” Who else feels this?

08/13/2025

It's easy to miss until it bursts into lavender blooms, often in unexpected places. To some, it symbolizes searching and finding a sign they're on the right path. "A very special plant."

Have you ever felt this way?

08/12/2025

When a mining project threatened a refuge, an unlikely alliance formed. It was a reminder that sometimes, "we had dyed-in-the-wool MAGA folks working together with the Center for Biological Diversity." What change could this inspire?

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