Timber Wars

It’s the 1990s in the Pacific Northwest. A march of chainsaws clear-cuts the country’s last available old growth forests. Protesters spend months sitting in the tallest trees in the world. And at the center, the northern spotted owl becomes the most controversial bird in the country. The "Timber Wars" podcast tells the story of how this conflict reshaped the Northwest and the nation as a whole, and transformed the way we see—and fight over—the natural world.

"Listeners are left with both an appreciation of the magnificence of old growth forests and the toll paid by logging communities when those forests were protected. Environmentalists and loggers don't agree on much, but I think they will concur that 'Timber Wars' is fair and brilliant journalism."
—"New York Times" columnist and Oregon-native Nicholas Kristof

With original music by singer-songwriter Laura Gibson.

Winner of the National Headliner Award for Narrative Podcast, the MIT Knight Science Journalism Program’s Victor K. McElheny Award, Society of Professional Journalism awards for Audio Series and Audio Feature-Hard News, and more.