Tapped

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NEWS COMMENTARY
UPDATED WEEKLY

Water defines life in the Southwest. Tapped explores where it's from, how it's used, and what happens when it disappears.

09/10/2024

Broken Promises, Contaminated Waters: Uranium mining on the Navajo Nation

An investigation reveals the deadly health toll of uranium mining on Navajo land, where contaminated water and broken promises have left generations fighting for survival.

31 min
02/10/2024

Uranium Mining in the Grand Canyon Region: Tribal sovereignty vs. nuclear energy in the climate crisis

The costs of uranium mining and nuclear energy on Arizona's tribal nations are often hidden from the broader public. These communities are facing serious threats as their land and water resources become potential casualties in the pursuit of energy. We dive deep into the environmental, cultural, and historical impacts tied to the region's most precious resource—water. Through expert interviews and firsthand accounts, we uncover how this issue challenges the survival of ecosystems, sacred sites, and the health of Indigenous communities, raising urgent questions about the future of water in the Southwest.

26 min
26/09/2024

Nogales: Reviving arroyos and cultivating water resiliency

Scarcity, pollution, flooding, and unchecked urbanization have created water issues in Nogales, Sonora. The city and researchers on both sides of the border are working on innovative ways to remedy.

24 min
20/09/2024

“This aquifer is our Colorado River”: Rural residents struggle when corporate farms drill deep for water

From Governor Katie Hobbs to Attorney General Kris Mayes, Arizona officials grapple with saving rural water supplies.

25 min
16/09/2024

Never closer and never farther away: The fight over updating Arizona's rural groundwater law

Arizona has no regulations on pumping groundwater in rural areas. The state's governor is trying to modernize its water laws, and the fight over rural groundwater is in the middle of it. So how did the re-introduction of a water policy council that aimed to solve the problem lead to a pair of bills and division amongst its original members?

24 min
04/09/2024

Hedge funds and foreign farms get water, rural Arizonans get empty wells

Saudi involvement in western Arizona's rural La Paz County is already well known. But they are not the only non-local interest in the area making use of water. Hedge funds, foreign countries, and green energy interests want to turn rural groundwater into dollars, and they have a lot of ideas how to do it.

22 min
28/08/2024

From Date Palms to Alfalfa: How Arizona became fertile ground for Saudi farms

The history of Arizona's relationship with Saudi Arabia and the Arabian peninsula starts with a pre-Civil-War military program involving camels run by Jefferson Davis. It went on to involve the state's first college professor, an attempt to launch a new cash crop that became a common tree in the state, and much more. All of that lead to the most recent chapter, when monarchs began seeing Arizona as a place to grow thirsty crops like alfalfa as they exploited weak water laws in the state's rural places.

25 min
14/08/2024

Two Rivers, One Lifeline: Reclaiming the Santa Cruz across borders

US-Mexico collaboration has improved the once polluted and depleted Santa Cruz River. Challenges like flooding and wastewater management persist, requiring new infrastructure and funding. Despite progress, managing water across borders remains ongoing.

20 min

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TRAILER

Season 3 Trailer

Why do so many Saudi Arabian-owned farms grow alfalfa in Arizona? How bad is our current water crisis compared with historical droughts? The new season of AZPM's hit water podcast answers these questions and more. Join us on July 17 for all new episodes.

S3

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1 min
TRAILER

Season 2 Trailer

Tapped returns with all-new episodes on August 23, 2023. This season, we focus on how we get water from where it is to where we want it and the effects that has on our lives and the environment.

S2

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1 min
TRAILER

Introducing Tapped

Introducing Tapped, a podcast where we tell our stories - the stories of people living with the cost of drought in the Southwest, and what we can do to mitigate it.

S1

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1 min