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Points North
Fridays on Morning Edition and All Things Considered, or wherever you hear podcasts
Hosted by Daniel Wanschura
,
Morgan Springer

Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Upper Great Lakes. It’s about where we've been, where we are and how we move forward.

Latest Episodes
  • An angler pulls his crate of fish from a holding tank at the Lake Erie Walleye Trail competition in Oak Harbor, Ohio of April 2, 2023. (credit: Dan Wanschura / Points North)
    Not Just Another Fish Story
    Two anglers keep winning fishing tournament after tournament, where the prizes range from expensive boats, to thousands of dollars of cash. But one day, it all comes crashing down when they’re caught cheating at a championship event on Lake Erie.
  • In 2019, researchers in northern Wisconsin identified the southern flying squirrel as one of the first known biofluorescent mammals. (Photo by J. Martin, Northland College.)
    Glowing Squirrels and the Search for 'Why'
    Flying squirrels glow pink under a blacklight. How many other mammals do this? What causes them to glow? The hardest question of all might never be answered: why?
  • The late Brian Granger stands in a field at the Elizabeth Hoffman Nature Preserve in Charlevoix, MI, waiting to watch the sky dance of the American woodcock in 2021. (credit: Dan Wanschura / Points North)
    Sky Dancer
    There’s this elusive bird found throughout the Great Lakes region. If you know where to look, you can often spot it where fields and wetlands meet. And in spring time, you’ll see it dancing at dawn or dusk.
  • Recovery airboats try to locate sunken snowmobiles on Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay on Feb. 8, 2023. (credit: The Airborne Angler)
    No Ice Is Safe Ice
    Three guys went ice fishing on Lake Huron in February. Everything was great until it wasn’t. A collision of friendship, peer pressure and what it’s like staring death in the eyes.
  • This white marble crucifix from Italy was carefully lowered into Lake Michigan in 1962. Today, it sits about 800 feet from the shore of Petoskey, Michigan, commemorating people who died at sea. (Courtesy of Dennis Jessick)
    The Mystery of the Underwater Crucifix
    About 20 feet down on the bottom of Lake Michigan, there’s a white marble crucifix from Italy. Diver Denny Jessick uses a trail of rumors to search for its origin story.
  • Laura Neese pets members of her sled dog team before the kick-off of the CopperDog 150 in Calumet, MI. Laura became fascinated with sled dogs when she was 9-years-old. (credit: Michael Livingston / Points North)
    Ruff Racing
    Laura Neese says she was practically raised in a dog kennel. What began as a homeschool project, is now a lifelong obsession, as she competes in some of the biggest dog sledding races in North America.
  • An algal bloom in Lake Erie in 2011. (credit NASA)
    The Phosphorus Paradox
    Harmful algal blooms are a growing concern in the Great Lakes. The toxins they produce can close beaches and even poison drinking water. What’s fueling these blooms? Phosphorus – a key ingredient in agricultural fertilizers. But the way it’s being used comes at a cost.
  • Kenny Pheasant has been teaching Anishinaabemowin since he was 14 years-old. (credit: Dan Wanschura / Points North)
    Complete With His Language: Kenny Pheasant and the Great Lakes' Original Tongue
    Kenny Pheasant first became a teacher of Anishinaabemowin at 14 – from behind the meat counter at a grocery store. Now, it's his life mission to get more people speaking the Great Lakes’ original and endangered language.
  • Near Hillsboro, Wisconsin, black wildcats have become part of local lore after decades of reported sightings. (credit: Patrick Shea / Interlochen Public Radio)
    The Cougar Conclusion
    Cougars are making a comeback. The iconic wildcat hasn’t had a breeding population in the Great Lakes states since the early 1900s, but now they’re moving east. Experts say they could be back soon. Some people swear they already are.
  • A bald eagle in flight. According to a study published in 2022, about half of adult bald eagles have chronic lead poisoning. (Credit: Tom Koerner/USFWS)
    Taking the Shot to Save the Eagles
    America’s bird, the bald eagle, is facing a tremendous challenge. As scavengers, they feed on what we and other animals leave behind. But lead continues to find its way into the environment, and causes problems in more ways than you’d think.
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