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Points North
Listen every other Friday, wherever you find podcasts.

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.

Latest Episodes
  • Kurt Steiner holds the world record for stone skipping. He throws rocks because it makes him happy. And because he says it’s key to escaping digital self-saturation.
  • The idea that wilderness is untouched by man is written into law, but it’s not so accurate. Humans have used fire to shape many places we call “wilderness.” A look at how tree rings affirm a long history of indigenous land management.
  • Alison Vilag pays attention for a living. She counts migrating ducks at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, near Paradise, Michigan. It's key to getting a pulse on different bird populations. But for Alison, counting ducks is more than just science – it's an escape from the expectations of others.
  • States in the Great Lakes kill beavers and remove dams on select rivers and streams. They’re doing it, in part, for anglers and the multi-billion dollar fishing industry. But some people are not on board with that. Today’s episode is all about that conflict, and about how our scientific understanding of the role of beavers may be changing.
  • 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.
  • 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?
  • 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.
  • Three guys go ice fishing on Lake Huron in February. Everything is great until it isn’t. A collision of friendship, peer pressure and what it’s like staring death in the eyes.
  • 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 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.