Ghost Herd

By KUOW News and Information

A true story of family, fraud, land and power in the American West. Ghost Herd is a joint production of KUOW and Northwest Public Broadcasting, both members of the NPR Network.

... more

4.6

895895 ratings

Download on the App Store

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

FAQs about Ghost Herd:

How many episodes does Ghost Herd have?

The podcast currently has 8 episodes available.

Ghost Herd episodes:

April 29, 2024 Introducing: Let the Kids Dance!
You know that Kevin Bacon movie where a small town outlaws dancing and the teens fight back? What if I told you that happened in Seattle. In the 90s.

Let the Kids Dance is a new podcast telling an untold story from a famous moment in music history – the rise and fall of Seattle’s teen dance ordinance. A story of moral panic, grassroots activism, and an unstoppable music community that fought for its freedom.

Listen and subscribe here.
Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
...more
3min
February 14, 2023 Part 6: The Reckonin'
Native Americans once owned these lands, and they still treat the Columbia Basin as their sacred home. We’ve all benefited from that taken land, but now corporations are the West’s new settlers. Meanwhile, Cody faces a federal judge and his tight-knit rural community. His sons start taking over what remains of the family’s vast operation and beat-up reputation.
Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
...more
33min
February 07, 2023 Part 5: The Bidding War
The Easterday empire is being broken apart. Some of the most valuable farmland in America is up for sale, and the billionaires are coming to town. The bidding war over water-rich lands shows the shift in how America farms.
Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
...more
29min
January 31, 2023 Part 4: The Crash
Cody's swindle comes crashing down, and it’s all thanks to Covid. When a giant meat operation discovers the truth about his ghost herd, they take aim at Cody.
Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
...more
29min
January 24, 2023 Part 3: The Gamble
Why would someone create a ghost herd? Behind Cody Easterday’s swindle was an even-bigger gambling habit on the futures market. That vice may have changed the price of American beef slapping down on your kitchen table. We also look at how all farmin’ is a gamble.
Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
...more
27min
January 17, 2023 Part 2: The Swindle
Cowboy Cody Easterday lies big, creating a “ghost herd” of 265,000 cattle that only exist on paper and bringing in hundreds of millions of investment dollars from companies including a meat-packing giant. It’s fraud on a massive scale. We examine how he carried it out.
Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
...more
22min
January 10, 2023 Part 1: The Empire Builders
Meet the Easterdays – ranching royalty rooted in the Columbia Basin in southeast Washington state. But behind the well-known family name hides a dark secret, concealed in spreadsheets and bum invoices, that’s eating away at their vast empire.
Correction, 4:25 p.m., 2/27/2023: An earlier version of this story misstated when the Ice Age megafloods occurred. Most of the Missoula floods happened between 15,000 to 20,000 years ago, and some may have occurred as long as a million years ago.
Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
...more
32min
November 23, 2022 Introducing Ghost Herd, coming January 10
It started as an American success story. The Easterday family took a couple hundred acres of farmland in Eastern Washington and grew it into a farming and ranching empire worth millions. Then, it all came crashing down.
Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
...more
4min

FAQs about Ghost Herd:

How many episodes does Ghost Herd have?

The podcast currently has 8 episodes available.

More shows like Ghost Herd

This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

89,933 Listeners

The Moth by The Moth

The Moth

27,146 Listeners

Criminal by Vox Media Podcast Network

Criminal

37,026 Listeners

Reveal by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX

Reveal

8,079 Listeners

American History Tellers by Wondery

American History Tellers

18,917 Listeners

American Scandal by Wondery

American Scandal

18,731 Listeners

The Copernic Affair | Canadaland Investigates by Canadaland

The Copernic Affair | Canadaland Investigates

1,510 Listeners

Family Secrets by iHeartPodcasts

Family Secrets

5,130 Listeners

Chameleon: Dr. Miracle by Sony Music Entertainment / Campside Media

Chameleon: Dr. Miracle

7,374 Listeners

Crooked City: Dixon, IL by truth.media

Crooked City: Dixon, IL

1,597 Listeners

Infamous by Campside Media / Sony Music Entertainment

Infamous

921 Listeners

You Didn't See Nothin by USG Audio

You Didn't See Nothin

1,099 Listeners

Lost Patients by NPR

Lost Patients

644 Listeners

Inconceivable Truth by Wavland

Inconceivable Truth

2,029 Listeners

Come by Chance by CBC

Come by Chance

92 Listeners