Reporter’s Notebook: The making of “The Gen Z Water Dealmaker,” a podcast about the Colorado River negotiations

The Colorado River is in the midst of one of the worst water crises in recorded history. Climate change and overuse are taking a significant toll. Leaders from seven U.S. states must compromise and reach a solution to prevent the river from collapsing.

LAist Correspondent Emily Guerin

To understand how negotiators from those states are thinking in this moment, Emily Guerin, a reporter for LA’s public radio station, LAist 89.3, took a deep dive into the river’s political landscape in her latest podcast series, “Imperfect Paradise: The Gen Z Water Dealmaker” from LAist Studios.

Emily brings a sharp eye to the river’s notoriously complex, multi-layered political landscape, and paints a compelling portrait of the most powerful people tasked with negotiating agreements to share the dwindling water supply.

In this recorded webinar, The Water Desk co-director Luke Runyon and Emily talk about narrative storytelling on the Colorado River, and what the story of the river basin’s most powerful decision-makers tells us about our ability to adapt to a changing climate.

Luke Runyon is a journalist covering water and climate change in the Western U.S. He serves as co-director of The Water Desk, a journalism initiative at the University of Colorado’s Center for Environmental Journalism that focuses on Western water issues and the Colorado River Basin. In 2017 he launched the Colorado River Reporting Project at KUNC, the NPR station for Northern Colorado, where he hosted and reported the podcast, “Thirst Gap: Learning To Live With Less On The Colorado River.” He currently serves as president of the Society of Environmental Journalists, and is a former Ted Scripps fellow at the University of Colorado.

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