Before the year ends, help keep desert stories alive

As the year winds down, I’ve been thinking about how much ground we covered together in 2025 — and how much more ground still needs defending.

90 Miles from Needles exists for a simple reason: deserts are misunderstood, underestimated, and too often treated as empty places where damage doesn’t count. This year, we pushed back on that idea with careful reporting, deep conversations, and on-the-ground storytelling from the Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and beyond.

We talked with scientists, advocates, artists, and people who live with the consequences of decisions made far away from desert places. We challenged bad assumptions, corrected lazy narratives, and tried — episode by episode — to tell the truth about deserts as living, complex systems worth protecting.

None of that happens without listener support.

If this show has helped you see deserts differently, or helped you explain why they matter to someone else, I’m asking you to consider making a year-end donation. Your support helps cover production costs, reporting time, hosting, and the unglamorous infrastructure that keeps an independent podcast alive.

You can make a one-time or recurring donation at
90milesfromneedles.com/donate

As we head into 2026, the pressures on desert landscapes aren’t easing up — and neither can we. With your help, we’ll keep showing up, asking better questions, and telling stories that deserve to be heard.

Thank you for listening. Thank you for caring about deserts. And thank you, genuinely, for being part of this community.

— Chris
Host, 90 Miles from Needles: The Desert Protection Podcast