Back to 2050

What if the key to restoring our watersheds isn't a new technology — it's a beaver?

In this episode, I sit down with Julie Vanderwal, Project Manager at the Methow-Okanogan Beaver Project in Washington State, to talk about what it really takes to restore a watershed, why beavers are far more important than most of us realize, and what happens when we lose the wild places that hold everything together.

We talk about how beavers rebuild ecosystems from the ground up, what beaver dam analogs are and why we sometimes need to build fake ones, and what it actually looks like to bring them back to degraded streams.

We also get into Bonaparte Meadows — a rare calcareous fen in Okanogan County that Julie and her partners are racing to protect before an August 31 deadline. It's a place with species in need of habitat protection, thousands of years of stored carbon, and a fragile ecosystem that once lost, cannot be rebuilt.

🌿 Support the Bonaparte Meadows campaign: okanoganlandtrust.org
📍 Learn more about the Methow-Okanogan Beaver Project: methowbeaverproject.org

🎙️ Back to 2050 is a podcast about the people building a better world, one bold idea at a time.

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Milo Putnam spent a decade as the public face of a zoo. He wrote the scripts, managed the tours, went live on camera. Then he watched three elephants die at the facility he worked for. And realized he couldn't keep being the spokesperson for something he no longer believed in.

That reckoning became Laro — a media company dedicated to cutting through the greenwashing that plagues wildlife tourism. Today, Milo is an Ambassador and Mentor at the Conscious Travel Foundation and a communications manager at Re:wild. He's been featured in Vox calling out the buzzwords operators use to make tourists feel good while animals pay the price.

In this conversation, we explore what it actually takes to tell ethical wildlife tourism from exploitation, how to vet an experience before you book, and why words like "rescue" and "sanctuary" can mean absolutely nothing. We talk about the moments when speaking up mid-trip is the hardest — and why doing it anyway matters. We talk about what it means to travel as a gay man in places where that can be illegal. And we end with a game that reveals Milo's ultimate wildlife bucket list.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries — gfas.org
• World Animal Protection — worldanimalprotection.org

🎙️ Back to 2050 is a podcast about the people building a better world, one bold idea at a time.

Follow us on Instagram @backto2050 | All episodes + links: linktr.ee/backto2050

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At 14, Joshua Wright learned scientists gave the world 12 years to address climate change. He'd be 27 when that deadline hit. So he dropped out of school and made a film instead - "Eden's Last Chance," a documentary asking: if this is the end of the world, what do we actually do about it?

His answer: document everything, fight for what's left, and don't be a bystander. Now 22, Joshua is Programs Director for Legacy Forest Defense. He documents what's being destroyed - like the 2,000-year-old yellow cedar recently cut down illegally on Vancouver Island. He joined blockades that became the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history. And his documentation of rare ecosystems has gotten timber sales canceled.

In this conversation, we explore what it takes to drop out at 14 and commit your life to this work, why he believes most climate documentaries get the diagnosis right but the treatment wrong, and what he's witnessed firsthand in the Pacific Northwest's ancient rainforests. We also dig into why public awareness might be the most winnable fight we have, what gives him hope after watching forests disappear, and his advice for channeling grief and outrage into action. Plus, what's next: his work moving north to British Columbia and Southeast Alaska, where old-growth logging continues largely unopposed.

🎙️ Back to 2050 is a podcast about the people building a better world, one bold idea at a time.

Follow us on Instagram @backto2050 | All episodes + links: linktr.ee/backto2050

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For 40 years, Jim McNeill has been measuring what's changing in the Arctic - ice thickness in areas never documented before, polar bear populations, the retreat of permafrost. He's watched the once-frozen Northwest Passage open. But his most radical work might be training everyday people to join him.

Through Ice Warrior Project, Jim has trained over 500 people - not scientists - to become competent on the ice and gather critical climate data. Now, with Ocean Warrior, he's launching an 11-year mission to take the pulse of our oceans, sailing 20,000 nautical miles annually to measure temperature, salinity, and biological health.

In this conversation, we explore what it takes to lead expeditions in extreme environments, why Jim believes ordinary people are essential to understanding our changing planet, and what four decades of Arctic change have taught him about resilience and hope. We also dig into why he's committing the next 11 years to the oceans, what keeps him optimistic after watching the ice disappear, and his advice for anyone wondering how they can contribute to documenting the changes happening right now.

🎙️ Back to 2050 is a podcast about the people building a better world, one bold idea at a time.

Follow us on Instagram @backto2050 | All episodes + links: linktr.ee/backto2050

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At 19, Oliver Dauert faced a choice: marine biology or business school. He chose business - not to walk away from nature, but to learn the tools that could actually protect it.

Now, as founder of Wildya, Oliver helps eco-preneurs become "impact millionaires" - measuring success not in dollars, but in how much their business helps nature thrive. In this conversation, we explore what five weeks in the South African bush taught him about awareness, why business leaders get more attention than scientists (and what that means for conservation), and the most common mistakes eco-preneurs make when seeking funding.

We also dig into why some conservation arguments fail while others succeed, what historical wins teach us about our capacity for change, and Oliver's surprisingly simple advice for taking that first step.

🎙️ Back to 2050 is a podcast about the people building a better world, one bold idea at a time.

Follow us on Instagram @backto2050 | All episodes + links: linktr.ee/backto2050

If this conversation moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear it.