Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast is hosted by Dr. Josh Anderson, a former American literature professor who returned home to rural ND to help lead local conservation efforts. Often considered “flyover country,” North Dakota is the least visited state in the nation. But thanks to a generous grant from the North Dakota Natural Resources Trust, you can experience this rich and rugged landscape. Josh travels to the pastures, grasslands, and wetlands to talk to Pulitzer Prize winning journalists, award-winning artists, soil health experts, conservation organizations, and local farmers & ranchers.
In this episode of Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast, we talk with Dr. Allison Wallace, a biologist and ecologist from Minnesota State University, Moorhead, and a researcher who worked on the climate science team during the Biden Administration. We also talk with acclaimed artist Corinne Teed, a professor at Temple University who teamed up with Dr. Wallace and their students titled "Fragile Preservation: A Tallgrass Community," which is a permanent art installation at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo.
Listen to the episode to hear how collaborations between science and art can drive policy and grow community across the prairie.
Thank you to Crista Fiala for producing the episode and Matthew Connolly for the theme music.
Special thanks to the North Dakota Natural Resources Trust for the generous grant funding that supports Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast.
7 Jul 2025
Episode 11: The Next Generation of Farmers and Ranchers
In this episode of Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast, we speak with two North Dakota farmers who represent the future of agriculture.
Jake Callander is a farmer raised on a 3,000 acre conventional farm who now runs his own market garden farm with sales of delicious fruits and vegetables direct to customers. Jake is also the facilitator of the Farm Beginnings program with FARRMS (Foundation for Agricultural and Rural Resources Management and Sustainability) (https://www.farrms.org/about-us).
Luke Rotunda is a self-described "city kid" who has joined his uncle to take on the family farm and ranch. We spoke with Luke at his ranch on a windy day in Nelson County, North Dakota, where he was joined by Robert Ford of Ducks Unlimited to discuss their partnership in conservation working lands management.
Special thanks to Crista Fiala for producing this episode and to Matthew Connolly for our theme music. Thanks also to the North Dakota Natural Resources Trust for providing the grant funds that support our efforts here at Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast.
We hope you enjoy today's episode.
16 Jun 2025
Episode 10: How To Restore Soil Health with Jon Stika
Soil health expert Jon Stika discusses key insights from his book about restoring and maintaining soil health, emphasizing the importance of mindset shifts for improving soil function and a farmer's profitability in this interview.
28 May 2025
Episode 9: Sh*t Talk and Deadstock: Livestock Composting with Mary Keena
Mary Keena from NDSU Research Extension Center discusses livestock composting and manure management, explaining the four steps for composting livestock mortality in an interview with Crista Fiala.
1 Apr 2025
Episode 8: Wetlands, Waterfowl, and Working Lands with Ducks Unlimited
In this episode of Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast, we talk with folks from Ducks Unlimited about how wetlands and grasslands are not only good for ducks, but for soil health and working farms and ranches.
Join us for our conversation with Robert Ford, a biologist for Ducks Unlimited, and Emily Schwartz, an agronomist. We speak with Robert and Emily out on a protected wetland site, during the spring migration season.
In this episode, you'll learn why small wetlands are a big deal for migratory birds. And how wetlands and grasslands contribute to soil health.
Thanks to the ND Natural Resources Trust for the grant funding that made today's episode possible.
Thanks also to Crista Fiala, our sound editor, and Matthew Connolly, who produced our theme music.
We hope you enjoy the show!
3 Mar 2025
Episode 7: Flyover Country
In this episode we ask: how can a birds-eye view of flyover country help us to rethink our approach to grasslands conservation with the help of farmers and ranchers? To tackle this question, we take you to "Flyover Country," where we talk with three grassland bird researchers about how ranchers and conservationists can work together to preserve the prairie.
The episode features interviews with Dr. Susan Felege of the Felege Wildlife Lab at the University of North Dakota, Dr. Andy Boyce of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, and Ashlyn Herron, a graduate student at the University of North Dakota, who has been building relationships with local ranchers throughout the northern Great Plains.
Thanks to Crista Fiala for producing today's episode and special thanks to Matthew Connolly for our theme music.
We hope you enjoy today's episode, which wouldn't be possible without the generous support from the North Dakota Natural Resources Trust, the Walsh County Three Rivers Conservation District, and listeners like you.
18 Oct 2024
Prairie Fire and Prairie Smoke: The United Prairie Foundation
In today's episode, we talk with the United Prairie Foundation to learn how seed collection, public outreach, and fire management work together to restore prairie ecosystems.
Throughout the episode, founder John Devries and biologist Patrice Delaney repeat the phrase "no fire, no prairie."
Listen to the episode to learn why fire is so vital to the prairie and to hear about how the United Prairie Foundation is working to "make prairie common again" (a phrase they recently trademarked).
Please consider supporting the United Prairie Foundation (https://unitedprairie.org/) by visiting their website and learning about their incredible work in North Dakota and Minnesota.
We also encourage our listeners to purchase a copy of Under Mother Tree, the beautiful and thought-provoking children's book illustrated by Patrice Delaney. The book offers young readers a stunning introduction to the mycelium fungi network under trees and a heartfelt story of interspecies connection including frogs, birds, and a host of other living creatures. Under Mother Tree is available for purchase on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Under-Mother-Tree-M-Delaney/dp/B0D6MSG3M5/ref=asc_df_B0D6MSG3M5/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=703412952929&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4057829378967645098&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9020765&hvtargid=pla-2327105824005&psc=1&mcid=456c33a7eb5f3a25b8beee3300f13845) and Thrift Books (https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/under-mother-tree/53459788/item/65089321/?idiq=65089321&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_new_condition_books_high&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=593819619485&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwjsi4BhB5EiwAFAL0YFNL_qaFMq2M1wGtFel0VV_72efolNhOk8__0umjFwe_rhmg6pKTmxoCJqYQAvD_BwE#edition=71669575&idiq=65089321).
Special thanks to Matthew Connolly for producing our theme music and to Crista Fiala for producing today's episode.
As always, thanks to ND Natural Resources Trust for the generous grant that makes our work at Common Ground possible.
We hope you enjoy this month's episode of Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast
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10 Sept 2024
Episode 5: Living Roots and Perennial Cultures in Agriculture
In this episode of Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast, we take a tour of local farmer Steve Enger's farm in the Red River Valley of North Dakota. Join us on the tour to learn why Steve adopted soil health principles and how he continues to learn about his soil while he digs for earthworms in his cover crops. Stick around to listen to Steve serve us a homemade lunch and to learn what he believes it will take for other farmers in the region to adopt soil health principles.
After lunch with Steve, we talk with Dr. Aubrey Streit Krug, director of the Perennial Cultures Lab at the Land Institute in Salinas, Kansas. Dr. Streit Krug grew up on a family farm and ranch, and today she works on the "culture side of agriculture." Listen to our conversation to learn how she combines her passions for literature and land to foster resilient and perennial human and plant communities on the prairie.
Special thanks to Matthew Connolly for providing the theme music and to Crista Fiala for producing today's episode.
We hope you enjoy this episode of Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast.
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26 Jul 2024
A Masterclass in Soil Health
In this episode, we visit with Naeem Kalwar, soil health specialist at the NDSU Langdon Research Extension Center in North Dakota.
Naeem tells the story of growing up in Pakistan, where his father was an agronomy professor and his uncles farmed in a nearby village.
Today, Naeem helps to lead soil health initiatives in North Dakota.
Listen to our conversation to learn more about the principles of soil health, the fascinating biology and chemistry of soil, and how our own cultural histories can be told through the history of our soils.
Thanks to Crista Fiala for producing today's episode and to Matthew Connolly for producing the theme music.
We hope you enjoy this episode of Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast.
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13 May 2024
Episode 3: Thinking Like a Prairie
In Episode 3, we ask "what does it take to change our minds and our relationships to land?" And, "how could we begin to think like a prairie?"
To explore these questions, we talk with Dr. Curt Meine (https://curtmeine.com/), senior fellow at the Aldo Leopold Foundation (https://www.aldoleopold.org/) and the Center for Humans and Nature (https://humansandnature.org/).
Listen to the episode to learn how Aldo Leopold's mind changed about land over the course of his illustrious career. From his work to designate the Gila Wilderness (https://www.newmexico.org/the-gila/) as the world's first protected wilderness area in 1924 to his groundbreaking book A Sand County Almanac (1949) (https://www.aldoleopold.org/products/75th-anniversary-edition-a-sand-county-almanac), we explore Leopold's legacy in American conservation and discuss how we can continue to learn from Leopold's example today.
Dr. Meine is the author of the first biography (https://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/4727.htm) on Aldo Leopold and the on-screen narrator for the Emmy-winning documentary Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and A Land Ethic For Our Time (https://curtmeine.com/films/).
We'd love to have you share your stories about moments when your ideas or relationships to land changed. For inspiration, check out Aldo Leopold's essay "Thinking Like a Mountain (https://www.ecotoneinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/aldo-leopold-tlam.pdf)," which inspired today's episode of Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast.
#Aldoleopold, #Asandcountyalmanac, #Aldoleopoldfoundation, #centerforhumansandnature, #conservation, #prairie, #nature, #wolves
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16 Apr 2024
Episode 2: Hope Is The Thing With Feathers
In Episode 2, we talk with three incredible women working to restore grassland bird habitat in partnership with local farmers and ranchers.
In our first interview, we meet up with Jodie Provost and her hunting dog Ava at their restored prairie grassland in the Drift Prairie region of the Sheyenne River Valley. Jodie serves as the communications director of the North American Grouse Partnership (https://www.grousepartners.org/), which is the only conservation organization that advocates for all 12 species of North American Grouse. Listen to the episode to hear the thrum of insects and birds in the background as Jodie takes Josh on a walking tour of her prairie restoration project.
Our second interview features Heather Husband of the North Dakota Meadowlark Initiative (https://gf.nd.gov/meadowlark-initiative). Listen to the interview to hear Heather describe the lessons on diversity, beauty, and toughness she's learned from the prairie, and how the ND state bird--the western meadowlark--is helping conservation leaders to restore North Dakota's grasslands.
Finally, stay tuned for our interview with Amanda Booher of the Audubon Great Plains (https://greatplains.audubon.org/). Listen to the cicadas sing in the sugar maples in Fargo's Oak Grove Park as Amanda describes how Audubon is working to restore riparian grasslands in cities and communities along the Red River. Keep listening for Amanda's description of the beautiful, award-winning documentary Wings Over Water (https://wingsoverwaterfilm.com/), produced with support from Audubon, Ducks Unlimited, and other conservation organizations.
We hope you enjoy this episode of Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast!
Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast is supported by a generous grant from the North Dakota Natural Resources Trust.
#audubon #northamericangrousepartnership #ndmeadowlarkinitiative #birds #ranching #soilhealth #conservation #GreatPlains #prairie #northdakota
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22 Feb 2024
Episode 0: Introduction to Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast
In Episode 0, we introduce you to Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast. Join Dr. Josh Anderson on his journey through the rich and rugged landscapes of North Dakota, where he introduces a wide range of guests involved in conservation efforts.
Listen to Episode 0 to learn how Josh went from a professor of American literature in New England to a conservationist in his home state of North Dakota. Listen to learn how famed American author Mark Twain’s essay “Two Ways of Seeing a River (https://mrbazilewich.weebly.com/uploads/6/2/0/4/6204690/twain_river.pdf?c=mkt_w_chnl:aff_geo:all_prtnr:sas_subprtnr:1538097_camp:brand_adtype:txtlnk_ag:weebly_lptype:hp_var:358504&sscid=21k8_rh80b&utm_source=ShareASale)” inspired the podcast, and stay tuned to learn about how Indigenous writers Louise Erdrich, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Layli Long Soldier, Susan Power, and Stephen Graham Jones have inspired Josh along the way.
Episode 0 features music by Matthew Connolly, sound-editing by Anthony Butler, and interview clips with our guests, including John DeVrie and Patrice Delaney of the United Prairie Foundation, Naeem Kalwar of NDSU Extension, Dr. Alison Wallace of Minnesota State University Moorhead, local farmer Steve Enger, Heather Husband of the North Dakota Meadowlark Initiative, and Mike Jacobs, a journalist for The Grand Forks Herald.
Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast is funded in part by a generous grant from the North Dakota Natural Resources Trust.
To learn more about the origins of Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast, read Delaney Otto’s feature
article in the Grand Forks Herald.
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29 Jan 2024
Episode 1 - Always in Season with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Mike Jacobs
In Episode 1, we talk with Mike Jacobs, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and avid birder, whose column "Always in Season (https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/northland-outdoors/mike-jacobs-always-in-season-a-vagrant-finch-makes-headlines-and-tempts-birders)" has delighted readers and bird lovers in the Great Plains for over 40 years.
We met up with Mike at Kelly's Slough National Wildlife Refuge (https://www.fws.gov/refuge/kellys-slough), which shares ground, water, and air space with the Grand Forks Air Force Base and supports migratory waterfowl and shore birds in North Dakota.
Listen to the episode to hear Mike compose a "prairie symphony" with birdsong. Listen to what happens when our conversation is interrupted by a mating pair of bald eagles. And share the episode with all your friends who will be inspired by Mike's infectious passion for the birds and landscapes of the northern Great Plains.
This podcast is supported by a generous grant from the North Dakota Natural Resources Trust. For more info or to contact us, check us out on the Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/@CommonGroundAPrairiePodcast) YouTube channel and on our website at walshcounty1938.com (https://www.walshcounty1938.com/media/podcast/)
The podcast cover art depicts a western meadowlark on a mural in Hoople, North Dakota, painted by the talented Melodie Alt of Barefaced Studio in Grafton, ND.
#birds #NorthDakota #GreatPlains #conservation #MikeJacobs #nationalwildliferefuge #migratorybirds #waterfowl
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YouTube views
3,757
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.8 / 5
9 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
13 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 44 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
41
Social presence
0
YouTube
68
Engagement
51
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