The Wide Open
4 February 2025 - 1 hour 1 minLast week, we delved into story of how the Tennessee Valley Authority, which started out as a public institution, ended up acting like a private for-profit company, and the lawsuit that attempted to finally bring the TVA to its heel. Today, Montana Public Radio’s podcast The Wide Open tells the story of a different lawsuit against the TVA that had even bigger consequences. In the 1970s, the fight to save a tiny fish called the snail darter turned the Endangered Species Act from a minor bit of federal law into the most powerful and controversial piece of environmental legislation of the past 50 years.
The Wide Open
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Series Episodes
Constitution Breakdown #7: California AG Rob Bonta
Roman and Elizabeth discuss Article IV, which outlines the relationship between states and between states and the federal government. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is our guest this month.
1 hour 17 mins
27 February Finished
The Longest Fence in the World
How a fence meant to protect sheep transformed the entire Australian landscape.
31 mins
24 February Finished
Molar City
How a small Mexican border town transformed itself into the dental tourism capital of the world, where dental care costs up to 80% less than what it might cost in the United States.
41 mins
17 February Finished
Artistic License Redux
When Idaho put a slogan on their license plates in 1928 it started a trend across all states and this would prove surprisingly contentious.
33 mins
10 February Finished
The Em Dash
The strange history of a punctuation mark that makes writing feel human, and why people now think it proves the opposite.
39 mins
3 February Finished
Constitution Breakdown #6: Adam Liptak
This month, Roman and Elizabeth discuss Article III, which establishes the judicial branch, alongside New York Times chief legal affairs correspondent, Adam Liptak.
1 hour
30 January Finished
