On Common Ground: An American Inheritance

Eleven Dollar Bill
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Wilderness

America holds hundreds of millions of acres of land in trust for the public — national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, wilderness areas, and the waters off our coasts. Right now, that inheritance is being taken, not in secret, but in plain sight, while the country's attention is elsewhere. On Common Ground: An American Inheritance is a six-part documentary podcast about the immediate threats to America's public lands. In 2025, a proposal to sell three million acres of public land set off a national uproar and was defeated. It felt like a victory. But while the country fought that sale, something far more damaging passed into law in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: a mandate to open more than 200 million acres of public land to industrial development — many times the size of the sale that was defeated. The fight we won mattered less than the fight we lost. Across six episodes, the series follows an unlikely and unusually broad coalition: hunters and anglers, Tribal leaders, climbers, scientists, poets, public servants, and local communities. They don't agree on everything, but they share a conviction that some places are worth protecting and passing on to the next generation. At its heart, the series asks a simple question: What does it mean to share common ground as Americans — and what would it mean to lose it? The series is hosted by Bill Hedden, former Executive Director of the Grand Canyon Trust, with co-host John Leshy — former Solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior and one of the foremost authorities on the history and law of America's public lands. All episodes of this limited series will be available in August. Follow along: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/on_common_ground_ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@on.common.ground YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OnCommon_Ground On Common Ground: An American Inheritance is produced by Sarah Hedden, Dagny Scott and Del Feltz. Sound engineering by Joe Flood. On Common Ground is a production of Eleven Dollar Bill.

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    Episode One: The Theft

    Last summer, millions of Americans rose up to defeat Senator Mike Lee's plan to sell off 3.5 million acres of public land. Hunters and anglers, climbers, veterans, and tribal nations all joined the fight. It felt like a victory. It turned out to be a diversion. While the country celebrated, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, forcing open more than 200 million acres of America's public lands to industrial development: 60 times what the Lee amendment proposed selling. There were no hearings, and no debate. The law now mandates oil and gas lease sales every quarter, in some of America's wildest places. It slashes royalties, strips the managing agencies of their discretion, and narrows the public's ability to challenge any of it in court. The cleanup costs, which could reach hundreds of billions of dollars, are left to the taxpayers. Because it is now written into law, no future administration can simply reverse it. In this first episode, host Bill Hedden traces how the fight we were allowed to win concealed the one we lost. Bill has spent half a century defending the public lands in southeastern Utah. He is joined by co-host John Leshy, former Solicitor of the Department of the Interior and our foremost scholar of public-lands law and history, along with voices from across the political spectrum. Together, "The Theft" lays out what was taken, how it happened, and why you weren't supposed to notice until it was too late. On Common Ground: An American Inheritance tells the story of the lands that belong to all of us, and of the fight to protect them. That fight isn't over yet. All six episodes arrive in August. Follow now, and the first one lands in your feed the moment it drops. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/on_common_ground_ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@on.common.ground YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OnCommon_Ground

    Episode One: The Theft

  2. Trailer

    Trailer: On Common Ground

    Public lands belong to all of us. Right now, that inheritance is being taken, not in secret, but in plain sight. Last year, Americans rallied to stop a plan to sell off public land — and won. But the fight that made headlines mattered far less than the one that didn't. While the country celebrated, a far larger giveaway had already begun. On Common Ground: An American Inheritance is a six-part documentary series about the battle over America's public lands, hosted by Bill Hedden with John Leshy, former Solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior. All six episodes arrive in August. Follow now, and the first one lands in your feed the moment it drops. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/on_common_ground_ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@on.common.ground YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OnCommon_Ground

    Trailer: On Common Ground

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

America holds hundreds of millions of acres of land in trust for the public — national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, wilderness areas, and the waters off our coasts. Right now, that inheritance is being taken, not in secret, but in plain sight, while the country's attention is elsewhere. On Common Ground: An American Inheritance is a six-part documentary podcast about the immediate threats to America's public lands. In 2025, a proposal to sell three million acres of public land set off a national uproar and was defeated. It felt like a victory. But while the country fought that sale, something far more damaging passed into law in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: a mandate to open more than 200 million acres of public land to industrial development — many times the size of the sale that was defeated. The fight we won mattered less than the fight we lost. Across six episodes, the series follows an unlikely and unusually broad coalition: hunters and anglers, Tribal leaders, climbers, scientists, poets, public servants, and local communities. They don't agree on everything, but they share a conviction that some places are worth protecting and passing on to the next generation. At its heart, the series asks a simple question: What does it mean to share common ground as Americans — and what would it mean to lose it? The series is hosted by Bill Hedden, former Executive Director of the Grand Canyon Trust, with co-host John Leshy — former Solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior and one of the foremost authorities on the history and law of America's public lands. All episodes of this limited series will be available in August. Follow along: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/on_common_ground_ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@on.common.ground YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OnCommon_Ground On Common Ground: An American Inheritance is produced by Sarah Hedden, Dagny Scott and Del Feltz. Sound engineering by Joe Flood. On Common Ground is a production of Eleven Dollar Bill.

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