Audacious Water with John Sabo

Audacious Water explores the bold ideas and big decisions shaping the future of water in America. Host John Sabo, Director of the ByWater Institute at Tulane University, talks with scientists, policymakers, and community leaders about how we manage, protect, and live with water in a changing world. From flooding and drought to infrastructure and innovation, each episode looks at how water connects to every part of our lives and what it will take to build a future that ensures everyone has access to clean, reliable water.

Episodes

Why the U.S. Needs a New National Water Strategy with Dr. Newsha Ajami and Dr. Martin Doyle (Part 2)

December 2, 2025 • 40 mins

In the second half of John Sabo’s conversation with Dr. Newsha Ajami and Dr. Martin Doyle, the discussion shifts from the 1951 national water plan to what a modern national water strategy needs to address. Together, they explore the economic value of water, the scale and structure of governance, rural water challenges, and why innovation in governance and finance, and not just technology, is essential for the decad...

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Why the U.S. Needs a New National Water Strategy with Dr. Newsha Ajami and Dr. Martin Doyle (Part 1)

November 18, 2025 • 31 mins

It’s been 75 years since the United States released its first and only national water strategy. In this episode, John talks with Dr. Newsha Ajami of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and Dr. Martin Doyle of Duke University about why that original plan mattered, what it accomplished, and why today’s challenges call for a new approach. They explore the historical context of the 1951 plan, the issues it identified that r...

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Season 5 Trailer: Rethinking Water for the Next 75 Years

November 5, 2025 • 1 min

In Season 5 of Audacious Water, host John Sabo asks: Why doesn’t the United States have a modern national water strategy? What would a new one look like? It’s been 75 years since we last had a written plan for managing water. Since then, the planet has warmed, our infrastructure has aged, and the challenges of flood, drought, and equity have grown. Join John and guest experts as they explore what it will tak...

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The Five Transformations, and What Gives Me Hope

May 27, 2025 • 20 mins

In this special bonus episode, John Sabo looks back at the conversations with leading experts in Season 4. Each guest joined him to explore one of the five transformations reshaping the Mississippi River Basin, making it hotter, drier, stormier, saltier, and sicker. He revisits what gave them hope, from grassroots innovation to bold new infrastructure ideas, and highlights how adaptation is already happening in ...

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Mary Hayden: Water, Risk, and the Human Side of Vector-Borne Disease

April 8, 2025 • 29 mins

Dr. Mary Hayden, a medical anthropologist and Research Professor with the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, joins John to explore how human behavior and water insecurity are reshaping the spread of mosquito-borne disease. With fieldwork spanning the U.S. and Latin America, Mary shares how climate change is expanding disease risk into new regions – and why pu...

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Dawn Wesson: The Growing Threat of Mosquito-Borne Diseases in a Changing Climate

February 25, 2025 • 36 mins

Dr. Dawn Wesson, Associate Professor at Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, joins John to explore how climate change is expanding the range of vector-borne diseases. With decades of experience studying mosquito-borne viruses like West Nile and Zika, Dawn explains how rising temperatures and human movement are accelerating the northward expansion of tropical diseases. She also discusse...

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Charles Allen: How Communities Designed Their Future in Post-Katrina New Orleans

February 11, 2025 • 41 mins

Charles Allen, Engagement Director for the Audubon Delta unit of the National Audubon Society and co-founder of the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development, joins John to reflect on nearly 20 years since Hurricane Katrina and what it means for New Orleans today. They discuss his experience with post-Katrina recovery, the importance of community-led rebuilding, and how neighborhoods have nav...

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Marshall Shepherd: The Climate Science Behind Stronger Tropical Storms

January 21, 2025 • 36 mins

Dr. Marshall Shepherd, Director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program at the University of Georgia, joins John to discuss the fourth transformation: how tropical storms and extreme weather are intensifying in frequency and power. From hurricanes moving further inland to the compounding effects of heatwaves and heavy rainfall, Marshall explains the science behind these shifts and the growing challenges they pose for c...

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Tyler Antrup: Green Infrastructure and Climate Adaptation in Coastal Cities

January 7, 2025 • 40 mins

Tyler Antrup, an urban planner focused on climate adaptation and water management, a professor at Tulane School of Architecture, and a member of the Sewerage and Water Board, joins John to discuss the complex water challenges facing New Orleans. From green infrastructure to mitigate flooding to the creeping threat of saltwater intrusion into drinking water systems, Tyler shares insights on adapting urban environmen...

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Allison Lassiter: Sea Level Rise and the Hidden Threat of Saltwater Intrusion

December 3, 2024 • 36 mins

Dr. Allison Lassiter, Assistant Professor in City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania, joins John to discuss one of the hidden dangers of sea level rise—saltwater intrusion. With expertise in climate adaptation and urban water management, Dr. Lassiter explains how rising salinity threatens drinking water systems, agriculture, and infrastructure. Together, they explore the costly solutions, like ...

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Meredith McInturff: Managing Public Health in Extreme Heat

November 19, 2024 • 31 mins

Meredith McInturff, manager of the Public Health Emergencies and Environmental Health Unit at the New Orleans Health Department, joins John to discuss how the New Orleans Health Department is evolving to meet the growing threats of extreme heat. She and John explore the public health challenges faced by vulnerable populations, from unsheltered individuals to transit riders and outdoor workers, and how these challen...

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Jesse Keenan: Climate Migration and the Impacts of Extreme Heat on U.S. Cities

November 5, 2024 • 39 mins

Jesse Keenan, the Favrot II Associate Professor of Sustainable Real Estate and Urban Planning and the Founding Director of the Center for Climate Change and Urbanism at Tulane University, joins John to talk about the second transformation: How extreme heat is moving north due to climate change. Jesse’s work focuses on climate change adaptation and the built environment, including design, engineering, and planning. ...

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Brian Smoliak: Adapting Agriculture for a Drier Future

October 22, 2024 • 39 mins

In this episode of Audacious Water, host John Sabo continues the conversation on the first transformation —the deserts of the west moving eastward—with Brian Smoliak, an entrepreneur and climate scientist at Two Degrees Adapt. Brian shares insights on how climate change is affecting agriculture, and discusses innovative solutions helping farmers adapt. From cutting-edge technologies to evolving farming practices, B...

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Jonathan Overpeck: Aridification and a Drier Future for the Mississippi River Basin

October 8, 2024 • 40 mins

In this episode, John Sabo speaks with Jonathan Overpeck, a renowned climate scientist and Dean for the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. Peck discusses his role in defining critical climate change terms such as “tipping point” and “mega-drought, how climate change is exacerbating drought conditions in the Western U.S. and spreading aridification across the Midwest, and strate...

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Introducing Season 4: The Five Transformations

September 24, 2024 • 1 min

In Season 4 of Audacious Water, host John Sabo dives into how climate change is reshaping the Mississippi River Basin. He'll explore five different transformations over ten episodes with experts and people on the front lines to find out what's happening and how we can take action. Join us as we explore a future shaped by climate change. The new season starts next month.

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A Road Trip to the Mississippi Headwaters

August 15, 2024 • 28 mins

In this special bonus episode, John and his daughter Lilly take a road trip from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the headwaters to get to know this great river, along with some of the people who live along its waters. From a fisherman in Plaquemines to visitors at the headwaters, each person they meet along the journey paints a picture of how they experience life by the Mississippi.

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Sönke Dangendorf and Torbjörn Törnqvist: Sea Level Rise and Coastal Restoration

May 7, 2024 • 31 mins

Tulane professors Torbjörn (Tor) Törnqvist, a geologist, and Sönke Dangendorf, a coastal engineer and physical oceanographer, join John to talk about sea level rise and coastal restoration, and what could happen to coastal communities if we pass the Paris Agreement global temperature threshold of 1.5-degree Celsius. Sönke has more than 15 years of experience researching mean and extreme sea levels, ocean tides and ...

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Richard Seager: The 100th Meridian and Climate Change

March 26, 2024 • 35 mins

Richard Seager, a climate scientist and the Palisades Geophysical Institute/Lamont Research Professor at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, joins John to talk about changes in aridity in North America around the 100th Meridian, and how climate change is going to affect the heartland of the U.S. and the Mississippi river basin. Richard’s current work is focused on how global hydroclimate will c...

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Jay Famiglietti: Groundwater, adaptation, and monitoring water from the sky

October 24, 2023 • 38 mins

Jay Famiglietti, a hydrologist and a Global Futures Professor in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University, joins John to talk about groundwater management and the state of water in the American west. Jay has extensive experience measuring and tracking groundwater and water security issues, including using satellites to help develop advanced computer models to track how freshwater availability change...

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Cash Daniels: The Conservation Kid

September 26, 2023 • 29 mins

Cash Daniels is a 13-year-old from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who has been cleaning up rivers since he was just seven years old and cofounded the kid-run nonprofit, The Clean Up Kids. He and John talk about plastic waste in waterways and what can be done about it, how it affects human and wildlife health, and his upcoming documentary, The Conservation Kid.

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Audacious Water with John Sabo

Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Why the U.S. Needs a New National Water Strategy with Dr. Newsha Ajami and Dr. Martin Doyle (Part 2)

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Why the U.S. Needs a New National Water Strategy with Dr. Newsha Ajami and Dr. Martin Doyle (Part 1)

Season 5 Trailer: Rethinking Water for the Next 75 Years

The Five Transformations, and What Gives Me Hope

Mary Hayden: Water, Risk, and the Human Side of Vector-Borne Disease

Dawn Wesson: The Growing Threat of Mosquito-Borne Diseases in a Changing Climate

Charles Allen: How Communities Designed Their Future in Post-Katrina New Orleans

Marshall Shepherd: The Climate Science Behind Stronger Tropical Storms

Tyler Antrup: Green Infrastructure and Climate Adaptation in Coastal Cities

Allison Lassiter: Sea Level Rise and the Hidden Threat of Saltwater Intrusion

Meredith McInturff: Managing Public Health in Extreme Heat

Jesse Keenan: Climate Migration and the Impacts of Extreme Heat on U.S. Cities

Brian Smoliak: Adapting Agriculture for a Drier Future

Jonathan Overpeck: Aridification and a Drier Future for the Mississippi River Basin

Introducing Season 4: The Five Transformations

A Road Trip to the Mississippi Headwaters

Sönke Dangendorf and Torbjörn Törnqvist: Sea Level Rise and Coastal Restoration

Richard Seager: The 100th Meridian and Climate Change

Jay Famiglietti: Groundwater, adaptation, and monitoring water from the sky

Cash Daniels: The Conservation Kid

Popular Podcasts

Why the U.S. Needs a New National Water Strategy with Dr. Newsha Ajami and Dr. Martin Doyle (Part 2)

Why the U.S. Needs a New National Water Strategy with Dr. Newsha Ajami and Dr. Martin Doyle (Part 1)