7 episodes

A true story of family, fraud, land and power in the American West. Ghost Herd is a joint production of KUOW and Northwest Public Broadcasting, both members of the NPR Network.

Ghost Herd KUOW News and Information

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.6 • 882 Ratings

A true story of family, fraud, land and power in the American West. Ghost Herd is a joint production of KUOW and Northwest Public Broadcasting, both members of the NPR Network.

    Part 6: The Reckonin'

    Part 6: The Reckonin'

    Native Americans once owned these lands, and they still treat the Columbia Basin as their sacred home. We’ve all benefited from that taken land, but now corporations are the West’s new settlers. Meanwhile, Cody faces a federal judge and his tight-knit rural community. His sons start taking over what remains of the family’s vast operation and beat-up reputation.

    • 32 min
    Part 5: The Bidding War

    Part 5: The Bidding War

    The Easterday empire is being broken apart. Some of the most valuable farmland in America is up for sale, and the billionaires are coming to town. The bidding war over water-rich lands shows the shift in how America farms.

    • 28 min
    Part 4: The Crash

    Part 4: The Crash

    Cody's swindle comes crashing down, and it’s all thanks to Covid. When a giant meat operation discovers the truth about his ghost herd, they take aim at Cody.

    • 28 min
    Part 3: The Gamble

    Part 3: The Gamble

    Why would someone create a ghost herd? Behind Cody Easterday’s swindle was an even-bigger gambling habit on the futures market. That vice may have changed the price of American beef slapping down on your kitchen table. We also look at how all farmin’ is a gamble.

    • 26 min
    Part 2: The Swindle

    Part 2: The Swindle

    Cowboy Cody Easterday lies big, creating a “ghost herd” of 265,000 cattle that only exist on paper and bringing in hundreds of millions of investment dollars from companies including a meat-packing giant. It’s fraud on a massive scale. We examine how he carried it out.

    • 21 min
    Part 1: The Empire Builders

    Part 1: The Empire Builders

    Meet the Easterdays – ranching royalty rooted in the Columbia Basin in southeast Washington state. But behind the well-known family name hides a dark secret, concealed in spreadsheets and bum invoices, that’s eating away at their vast empire.

    • 31 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
882 Ratings

882 Ratings

Kdean509 ,

Please do more about the region around the Tri Cities

This is such a well put together podcast. Amazing to hear things that are so close to my home. I’ll be listening to it again.

Please do more!

Kozmo 702 ,

Killer Reporting

Loved this series, super informative and gripping! Bravo!!

tyleranwall ,

Very Well done

Anna did a great job on this story. I remember when it first was released and read it in the news but then as time went on never followed up. She did a great job with the story. Coming from a deep ranching and farming background myself I thought the story was very well put together.

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