Audacious Water with John Sabo

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. audaciouswater.substack.com

Episodes

Fragmentation, Flood Risk, and Rethinking How We Manage Water with Melissa Roberts

February 10, 2026 • 33 mins

What are the challenges communities face when it comes to taking action against flooding?

On this episode of Audacious Water, Melissa Roberts joins John to talk about fragmentation, systemic challenges, and how water really flows. Melissa is the Founder and Executive Director of the American Flood Coalition, where she works with leaders across the country to create local solutions to flood management and pass legislation that helps ...

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Water Infrastructure, Engineering, and Climate Adaptation with John Take

January 27, 2026 • 36 mins

John Take, executive Vice President and Chief Growth and Innovation officer at the environmental consulting firm Stantec joins John Sabo on the latest episode of Audacious Water to talk about how water infrastructure is evolving as climate change intensifies. He draws on more than 30 years of experience as an engineer working on complex water challenges, including post-Katrina New Orleans and long-term planning in the Colorado Rive...

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Innovation, Data, and the Future of Water Management with Will Sarni

January 13, 2026 • 29 mins

Globally recognized water strategist Will Sarni joins host John Sabo to continue the conversation on why the U.S. needs a new National Water Strategy and to discuss what innovation in the water sector actually means.

Drawing on decades of experience working across the private sector, finance, and public policy, Will explains why water must be treated as a strategic resource and how industries from agriculture to data centers depend ...

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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 decades ahead.
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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 remain relevant to...
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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 take to ...
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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 cities acro...
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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 public health strat...
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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 discusses innovative cont...
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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 navigated uneven red...
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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 communities across...
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Tyler Antrup: Green Infrastructure and Climate Adaptation in Coastal Cities

January 7, 2025 • 41 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 environments to the realiti...
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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 desalination, and...
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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 challenges are shaping n...
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Jesse Keenan: Climate Migration and the Impacts of Extreme Heat on U.S. Cities

November 5, 2024 • 40 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. He and John discu...
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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, Brian explains the...
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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 strategies for adaptati...
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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.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discu...
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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.

This is a public episode. If you ...
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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 storm surges and ...
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