Episodes 48
Avg. Duration 29m
Activity Moderate
Apple Rating 4.8 (275)
Since Apr 2019
Latest Episode Apr 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Every 2 Weeks
Format
Episodic
Hosting
rss.buzzsprout.com

About This Podcast

Broken Ground is a podcast produced by the Southern Environmental Law Center digging up environmental stories in the South.

Podcasting 2.0 Features

funding

Explore Statistics

Recent Episodes

S9 Christian Cooper on Birding for Your Soul

Apr 22, 2026 24m Bonus

Walk out your front door, listen, and look. That’s the advice avid birder Christian Cooper gives to those wanting to take up his passion, birdwatching. Cooper is a lifelong birder, Emmy Award-winning…

S8E4 Jo and Joy Banner: Reclaiming Home

Nov 25, 2025 28m

Jo and Joy Banner envision a time, not too distant from now, when travelers visiting their small town along the Mississippi River don’t gawk at the concentration of polluting petrochemical plants…

S8E3 Aya Shabu: Highway Through the Heart

Nov 13, 2025 29m

On her group walking tours around Durham’s Hayti District, performance artist Aya Shabu brings Black history to life, transporting visitors back to Hayti in its heyday. Once known as a Black Wall…

S8E2 Michelle Lanier: What the Land Witnessed

Oct 30, 2025 28m

A “keeper of memory” and Director of the North Carolina Division of State Historic Sites, Michelle Lanier has built a career on understanding layers of history underlying our Southern landscapes, not…

S8E1 Latria Graham: The Roots of Environmental Injustices

Oct 16, 2025 29m

Writer Latria Graham helps us unearth the surprising ways in which long-ago plantations and modern environmental injustices are intertwined in the South. From some of the earliest Freedmen’s…

S8 Season 8: Plantations to Pollution

Oct 09, 2025 0m Trailer

On a map, you can often spot pollution sources like a power plant, a highway, or a factory. But why were these things built where they are, and who lives next door? Answering those questions reveals…

S7E6 Rural Justice: The Power of Coalitions

Dec 19, 2024 14m

This season of Broken Ground we spend time in the rural South with the people who call it home. Often celebrated for the quiet life close to nature, and a region that defines many perceptions of the…

S7E5 The Landfill Next Door

Dec 10, 2024 34m

We don’t spend a lot of time thinking about where our trash ends up but, when you live next door to a landfill, you don’t have that luxury. The burning smell of chemicals, the flocks of circling…

S7E4 After the River Rises

Nov 01, 2024 40m

"Inland flooding" was a phrase that often needed explanation. Now all you need to say is "Helene". The storm that ravaged Appalachia was a stark reminder of a phenomenon that’s becoming more and more…

S7E3 The Wood Pellet Paradox

Oct 10, 2024 34m

How can a power source that creates more climate warming emissions than coal be called renewable? This is the paradox of wood pellets, a type of biomass being burned at industrial scale to produce…

S7E2 The Fishers' Right To Know

Sep 19, 2024 33m

Is that fresh-caught fish safe to eat? In too many rivers across the rural South, the answer is a hard 'no.' Failing sewage systems, agricultural runoff, and politically powerful polluters have all…

S7E1 The Strip Mine and The Swamp

Sep 05, 2024 32m

To call the Okefenokee swamp a treasure is to undersell just how special this watery world is. Tucked into the rural southeast corner of Georgia, this 438,000-acre swamp is one of the most…

S7 Jonathan Vigliotti on Connecting the Climate Dots

Aug 08, 2024 24m Bonus

CBS News journalist and author Jonathan Vigliotti joins Broken Ground host Leanna First-Arai to dig into his on-the-ground coverage of breaking climate stories across rural America, particularly in…

S6E4 Cornell Watson on Justice Through Photography

Sep 28, 2023 30m

Photographer Cornell Watson's images recognize the camera can be a tool for connection, and action.  Whether its pollution from hog farms, efforts to gut Black neighborhoods, or racism at the state’s…

S6E3 Victoria Bouloubasis and Paola Jaramillo on Bridging Language Barriers

Sep 14, 2023 28m

Whether its natural disasters or shifting political winds, Victoria Bouloubasis and Paola Jaramillo make sure Spanish-speakers in North Carolina have access to it. Ensuring that access fuels their…

S6E2 Cameron Oglesby on Collecting Community Stories

Aug 31, 2023 27m

Listen to environmental journalist Cameron Oglesby discuss how highlighting Black joy and centering community narratives in her writing drives action. Support the show

S6E1 Lyndsey Gilpin and Tajah McQueen on Empowering Community Reporters

Aug 17, 2023 29m

Hear what spurred the founding of Southerly, an online publication focused on environmental justice, and how it evolved from more traditional reporting to an outlet focused on putting reporters’…

S6 Season 6 Trailer: Meet Journalists Reimagining Environmental News

Aug 03, 2023 0m Trailer

As more and more news outlets close, writers, editors, and photographers across the South are reconsidering how communities stay informed. This season host Leanna First-Arai talks with the new…

S5 Season 5 Trailer: How Memphis Beat The Odds To Stop A Pipeline

Oct 10, 2022 2m Trailer

Hear how a small group of neighbors in southwest Memphis built a coalition strong enough to defeat a crude oil pipeline. And listen for lessons you can take back to your own community.  Join us this…

S5E7 Lesson 7: Do It Again

Sep 22, 2022 31m

An announcement late on the Friday of a holiday weekend is a classic move. And in the case of the Byhalia Pipeline it is an end so abrupt many don’t believe it. But it’s true. What quickly becomes…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Broken Ground have?

Broken Ground has published 48 episodes since April 2019, covering topics in Earth Sciences, Government.

Is Broken Ground still active?

Broken Ground is currently moderate with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 29m.

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