Out in the open, beyond the noise of everyday life, the land has a way of revealing us. ‘American Storytelling’ is a collection of podcasts from across the NPR Network, and this summer, we’re presenting a selection of shows that celebrate the great American outdoors, and the deeper stories it tells about who we are.

Wolves represent perhaps nature’s greatest comeback. Exterminated from the West before the middle of the 20th century, they now roam nine Western states. But some scientists say wolves might be in trouble again and that key states may be inflating the number of wolves through faulty science.

Heath and Clark take listeners to rural Idaho to hear from ranchers and farmers who say wolves are literally taking a bite out of their bottom lines. And they talk to a conflict mitigation expert who is trying to save livestock without killing wolves.

A transcript of this episode is available.

Heath and Clark get lost backpacking in Yellowstone National Park on the trail of wolves with Doug Smith, one of the top wolf experts in the world. Along the way, Smith shows listeners how the return of wolves has changed the iconic park’s landscape.

A transcript of this podcast episode is available.

Heath and Clark travel to the Nez Perce Reservation to tell the little-known story of the tribe’s crucial role in bringing wolves back when the state of Idaho boycotted the program. Under their management, the wolf population exploded, exceeding even the most optimistic predictions.

A transcript of this episode is available.

Heath and Clark take listeners back 30 years to get the history of wolf reintroduction from the people who put the predators back on the Western landscape. It’s a wild story of gunshots, death threats, frostbite and close encounters with canis lupis.

A transcript of this episode is available. 

In 1995, the federal government reintroduced wolves. For the 30th anniversary, reporters Heath Druzin and Clark Corbin embarked on a thousand-mile journey through wolf country. They talked to the people who brought wolves back, the ranchers who opposed the program and scientists who say wolves might be in trouble again.