The southwestern United States has been in a drought for more than 20 years. It's created a serious problem for the Colorado River, and tens of millions of people in the region. Parched is a podcast from Colorado Public Radio about people who rely on the river that shaped the West – and have ideas to save it. The podcast is hosted by Michael Elizabeth Sakas, a climate and environment reporter for CPR News. Today we’ll hear the first episode from Parched, titled The Last Straw. Then we’ll talk with host Michael Sakas.
Michael Elizabeth Sakas came to Colorado Public Radio in 2016 after receiving one of the organization’s year-long fellowships. Through that program, she worked in various areas of the newsroom learning and honing her reporting skills before earning a permanent position as general assignment reporter and producer. She got her start in journalism at the radio station at Colorado State University where she worked on-air shifts and was later named station manager. During her tenure as a student at CSU, she served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper and led the school’s reporting efforts during the Aurora theater shooting.
