Natural Causes
Natural Causes
Natural Causes is a podcast about the politics and practicalities of going outside in a world on fire, hosted by Dr. James Stout. It approaches the outdoors, conservation, agriculture, food sovereignty, and Indigenous land rights as interconnected issues. We want to combine unflinching journalism with unabashed advocacy for the land we all share, and welcome everyone into the outdoors and the figh…Social links:
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Lochiel: Speaking for the Trees
In the first of a two part series, James travels to Lochiel, Arizona, to interview land defenders occupying a historic cottonwood known as grandmother tree in order to prevent the tree being destroyed as part of a two layer border wall being built through the region.
32:41
Nomadcast takeover for Indigenous Peoples' Day
For Indigenous People's Day James intorduces an episode of the Nomadcast interviewing Mato Wayuhi. NomadCast is hosted by Caleb “Moose” (White Mountain Apache Descendant) and Cheyanne (White Mountain Apache Enrolled) Endfield from the White Mountain Apache Reservation where the couple went to schoo…
1:37:39
Cracking the Case on Egg Corruption
James looks into the DOJ investigation into egg price fixing and what it can tell us about the way our food system treats animals and people. Sources: https://www.justice.gov/atr/media/1450281/dl?inline https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-unscrambling-the-egg-ma/204490574/ http…
22:27
The Coming Flood
In Part Two of our series on The Wall and the Wilderness, James talks about the cultural and ecological damage done by the border wall and continues his interview with Dr. Christina Aiello about the Peninsular Bighorn ram that was killed by razor wire in the Jacumba mountains. Sources: https://ww…
28:23
The Wall and the Wilderness
James talks about the ecological disaster that is the border wall and interviews Dr. Christina Aiello about the Peninsular Bighorn ram that was killed by razor wire in the Jacumba mountains. Sources: https://www.usaspending.gov/search?hash=29de9d51905bd175a701b04c24176b46 https://www-jstor-org.sd…
28:53
What's the Roadless Rule and Who Wants To Scrap It?
James and journalist Jason Dove Mark explain the roadless rule, national forests, and the Trump administration's attempts to strip protections from tens of thousands of acres of public land. https://www.regulations.gov/document/FS-2025-0001-223869 https://www.onxmaps.com/onx-access-initiatives/r…
28:46
Did Donald Trump Ban Buffalo?
James is joined by Molly to discuss how the Bureau of Land Management is quietly changing its approach to public land management and what it means for approximately 900 bison in Central Montana. (originally run on It Could Happen Here in May 2026) Sources: https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/8…
1:00:32
Losing Everything: How Communities Recover From Fire When Politicians Abandon Them
James follows up on last week's episode and talked to Miles Gray about what it is like to lose your home in a fire and how people can continue to help fire survivors. Sources: https://lacounty.gov/2026/08/04/county-of-los-angeles-fire-department-releases-the-investigative-reports-on-the-cause-of-…
29:43
Go Now: How to Prepare for Fire Evacuation
Weeks after more than 600 houses in Spokane burned, James talks to community members about how people prepared, cared for each other, and worried about migration enforcement during the fire evacuations. Sources: Aldo Leopold- A Sand County Almanac https://www.instagram.com/p/DcBqjR6RdzJ/ Donat…
33:17
Who Is Behind America's Cyclospora Summer?
James looks into the recent Cyclospora outbreak and what it can tell us about solidarity, food safety, and where our food comes from. Sources: https://newsroom.haas.berkeley.edu/magazine/spring-2026/taylor-farms/ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/23/billion-dollar-california-salad-co…
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