Podcast
Richest Hill
Hosted by Nora Saks · EN
If you don’t know Butte Montana, you might have heard it’s one of the biggest toxic messes in the country. But now the “Mining City” is on the verge of sealing a deal that could clean it up once and for all. So how did we get here? What comes after Superfund? And who gets to decide?
10episodes
Episodes
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Richest Hill Episode 10: We Wear Butte Proudly On Our Skin
Dec 15, 202000:57:42Tap to summarizeRight after talking to a psychic about my own path and Butte’s, I felt comforted. It felt good to let someone else take the wheel for a while, you know? But that comfort turned out to be temporary. Soon, those vague answers about the future only gave birth to more questions.
Transcribe →Richest Hill Episode 09: Butte Never Says Die!
Sep 22, 202000:50:51Tap to summarizeThe core of the Superfund deal itself, and how it proposes to solve Butte’s lingering environmental problems forever, is really important and complicated, both legally and technically. And no wonder. Three levels of government — the county, state and feds — plus a former oil company, all had to settle their differences, and agree on how to clean up, once and for all, the rest of the environmental bust left behind by Butte’s historic copper mining boom.
Transcribe →Like 'Richest Hill'? Check Out 'Shared State'
Sep 9, 202000:02:00Tap to summarizeHi all, Richest Hill host Nora Saks here. I wanted to pop in real quick to let you know that episode 9, which we're calling 'Butte never says die,' is almost done and will be out very soon.
Transcribe →Richest Hill Episode 08: The Art Of The Superfund Deal
Jun 24, 202000:48:10Tap to summarizeRecently, we let the cat out of the bag and told you that Butte’s Superfund parties reached a very big deal; one that will clean up the Mining City forever. That sounds like good news, and I hope it is. But as someone who lives right in the heart of a Superfund megasite, lately I’ve been experiencing some cognitive dissonance.
Transcribe →Richest Hill Episode 07: The Possibilities Are Endless, And The Choice Is Ours
Mar 26, 202000:49:41Tap to summarizeAfter reporting on Superfund for several years, it’s obvious to me that everyone here wants the best possible cleanup for their town. And, there are very different definitions of what that means.
Transcribe →EPA To Announce Final Butte Cleanup Deal
Feb 12, 202000:02:06Tap to summarizeThis season on Richest Hill you’ve been hearing all about what mining meant for Butte, the toxic legacy it left behind, and about sprawling efforts to clean it up that have spanned more than 30 years.
Transcribe →Richest Hill Episode 06: Our Most Cherished Beliefs
Jan 7, 202000:52:53Tap to summarizeAfter more than 30 years in limbo without a final cleanup agreement, the ink is drying on Butte’s big Superfund deal as we speak. What it means and why it matters has everything to do with what played out when Superfund came to Montana’s Mining City. So today we’re asking: back in those early days of Superfund, who were the players, and what was the game?
Transcribe →Richest Hill Episode 05: Out Of The Frying Pan, Into The Fire
Aug 13, 201900:37:11Tap to summarizeFrom Evel Knievel to a 'Great Flood' and on to the dawning of the Superfund era, Episode 5 looks at the origins of the government program designed to force whoever made the mess to clean it up.
Transcribe →Richest Hill Episode 04: We Gave It To The Pit
May 29, 201900:41:23Tap to summarizeI live a mile away from the Berkeley Pit, the mile by mile and a half wide former open-pit mine, which is now filled with a 50 billion gallon toxic lake. Every time I visit, I leave hyper aware of the contradictions and compromises that go hand in glove with industrialization. I find myself wondering: who thought chiseling a colossal hole in the Earth was a good idea, and why? So today, let’s take a dive, figuratively, into open pit mining and some controversial decisions made late last century that changed Butte’s land, people, and environmental legacy forever. This is Episode 4: We Gave it to the Pit.
Transcribe →Richest Hill: Behind The Scenes With Butte Artist BT Livermore
May 9, 201900:09:34Tap to summarizeWe're hard at work on episode 4 of Richest Hill, and still covering lots of Superfund news in Butte right now. In the mean time, meet one of the artists who's contributed to this project behind the scenes.
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