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Points North
Listen every other Friday, wherever you find podcasts.
Hosted by Daniel Wanschura

Points North is an award-winning podcast about the land, water, and inhabitants of the Great Lakes. Through narrative, sound-rich journalism that is deeply rooted in a sense of place, each episode entertains, informs, and surprises listeners everywhere.

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Latest Episodes
  • Edmonia Lewis’ sculpture, “The Death of Cleopatra.” It disappeared for a century, but is now on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. (credit: Smithsonian American Art Museum)
    Presenting Sidedoor: Finding Cleopatra
    Edmonia Lewis, the first globally-recognized sculptor of African American and Native American descent, achieved critical acclaim for her masterpiece, “The Death of Cleopatra.” But over a hundred years ago, it disappeared.
  • Lake Superior waves crash in Eagle Harbor, Michigan during a storm in October 2022. It was in this area where Keweenaw County Deputy pulled off a dramatic rescue of a 68 year old man, caught in a storm. (Dan Wanschura / IPR)
    A Superior Gamble
    Lake Superior can change in a heartbeat; one minute it’s calm ― the next it's a raging storm. When people in the water get caught off-guard, rescuers have to balance being the hero and knowing when to call it quits.
  • Bugsy Sailor watches the sunrise on October 16, 2025 at Little Presque Isle in Marquette County, Michigan. (credit: Dan Wanschura / Points North)
    The Sunrise Guy
    For almost seven years, Bugsy Sailor has been on a mission to watch every sunrise. But now, he wonders if the inspiration that started this project will also be the thing that ends it.
  • "The Other Side of the Storm" tells the story of a few fishermen fighting for their lives, mere miles from where the SS Edmund Fitzgerald is going down in Lake Superior.
    The Other Side of the Storm
    November 10, 1975: The SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinks in a massive storm on Lake Superior. But just miles away, a few fishermen are struggling in the same storm — fighting for survival.
  • Bluegill are native to freshwater ecosystems in North America east of the Rocky Mountains, including the Great Lakes region. They’ve been introduced throughout North America and other parts of the world. (credit: U.S. Geological Survey)
    Gills Gone Wild
    In October 1960, Prince Akihito of Japan visited Chicago for 21 hours. Chicago’s mayor presented the prince with a diplomatic gift: 18 bluegill. What happened next would change the underwater world of Japan forever.
  • Producer Austin Rowlader takes a bite out of an apple that's survived the winter on a Beaver Island apple tree. (credit: Hannah McWhorter / Hannah Who Media)
    How ‘Bout Them Apples?
    On a remote island in Lake Michigan, some old apple trees could have very rare, never-before-discovered genes. And if they do, they could join the U.S. stockpile of apples poised to fight off future threats.
  • McCormick Place is a large convention center in Chicago right on the shores of Lake Michigan. The building is characterized by it's many glass panels. (credit: Rob Jacob / Wikimedia Commons)
    Presenting Up From Dust: Can We Save Millions of Migrating Birds?
    Buildings and light pollution are taking a heavy toll on migrating birds. Some cities in the Midwest and Great Plains are working to fix that.
  • Chip Dickelman, left, and Will Henriksen, right, get a fishing net ready for harvest in Green Bay. (credit: Ellie Katz / Points North)
    Hopes and Fishes
    In one of the most polluted parts of Lake Michigan, whitefish are thriving. Some people wonder if we should try to replicate that environment elsewhere to save the iconic species. But that could mean doing something untested and controversial.
  • The “Mitchell Map,” circa 1757. This map features inaccuracies that likely contributed to the Toledo War, the 1800s border conflict between the State of Ohio and the Michigan Territory. (Library of Congress image via Wikimedia Commons)
    Pushing the Boundary
    In the early 1800s, a group of politicians decided part of the Ohio border should move farther north. It started a decades-long border fight between Michigan and Ohio. There were winners. There were losers. And in the end, it shaped the states as we know them.
  • Kankakee Mallow flowers, one of the rarest plants on the continent, blooming on Langham Island in Illinois, just an hour south of Chicago. (credit: Claire Keenan-Kurgan / Points North)
    The Pink Prairie Mascot
    In 2014, a group of botanists discovered that a very rare plant native to the Kankakee River in Illinois, had vanished from its only known native habitat in the world. That set off a quest to bring back the missing Midwestern flower.