Explore every episode of the podcast Points North

This is a tale of two cyclists, one legendary race, and an unlikely rivalry.

One minute David Holtfreter was kayaking on Lake Michigan; the next he was in the water, fighting for his life. A fisherman saw David struggling from the shore and swam out about 200 yards to rescue him. But in the rescue commotion that followed, David wasn’t able to give the stranger a proper “thank you.”

One family’s visit to a famous Indiana sand dune turns into a wild tale of a missing boy and mysterious tunnels.

In 1998, a hunter named Mitch Rompola claimed he’d shot the biggest whitetail in North America. It was all over the news, and people waited in anticipation for it to be entered in the record books. But then Mitch just went silent. And instead of becoming a famous hunter, he became an infamous one.

Last December, Theresa Eischen was watching the news when a story caught her attention. The original Star Wars film was being translated into Anishinaabemowin, an endangered language. Theresa had zero voice acting experience, but she loves Star Wars and is fluent in Anishinaabemowin. So she auditioned to voice Princess Leia. It was a long shot.

A researcher in Ohio was surrounded by hundreds of dead ash trees. They had been wiped out by this beetle called the emerald ash borer. But then, in that same forest, she found a lone tree thriving. Could this tree be the key to saving ash from extinction?

For more than 20 years, Nic Theisen has spent his days on his hands and knees in the dirt farming. It’s a tough way to make a living, and for years Nic didn’t always know if the farm would make it. Until something big changed.

Peter Quakenbush’s dream is to create a conservation burial forest – a place that would both preserve the woods and give people the option to be buried in nature. But not everyone is on board with that idea.

Lake trout are on life support in Lake Michigan. Every year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spends tens of millions of dollars raising and stocking them. But what if there was another way: genetic engineering. Could it be used for conservation?

Two guys are hunting coyotes in Michigan. All of a sudden, they say they lure in the biggest coyote they’ve ever seen and kill it. But, it turns out, it’s not a coyote at all; it’s a federally endangered gray wolf about 300 miles from its normal habitat. So, how did the wolf get there? And did the hunters play any role in it?

There’s this biker in the Upper Peninsula. Seems like everybody knows him or knows of him. He competes in some of the most challenging mountain bike races, but he doesn’t even ride a mountain bike. He competes on a single-speed BMX bike. Why does he do it?

We think of the Great Lakes as shark-free, but as legend has it, a young boy named George Lawson was attacked by a shark while swimming in Lake Michigan near Chicago in 1955. Is this story true or just a bunch of bull shark?

Copper is a key metal for renewable energy, and experts say we’re going to need a lot more of it to transition to clean energy. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is Copper Country. Some see copper mining as an economic boon for the region, but others worry it could come at the cost of some of the Great Lakes’ most pristine wild spaces.

It’s a dry spring – 1984 in Wisconsin – and all these suspicious fires are popping up. A conservation warden named Dave is pretty sure it’s arson, but he can’t catch a break. So, he and a pilot decide to get creative.

More than 120 years ago, a Native American village in northern Michigan was burned down at the behest of a white land speculator. Now, the descendants of that village want the federal government to know they’re still here.

Donna Martino stuck a photograph from the newspaper of a handsome kayaker on her fridge. A few months later, Donna matched with the guy on a dating website, and they decided to go out. This story is about what happens when two strangers take a chance on each other.

Iceland has figured out how to use almost 100% of every fish caught – not just the filet. By making things like durable leather, beauty products, and skin graft bandages, it’s increased the value of an Atlantic cod from about $15 to over $5,000. Can this approach help the struggling Great Lakes fishery?

Small, silvery fish called kiyi used to roam the deep, cold waters of nearly every Great Lake. Remnant populations still exist in Lake Superior, and scientists are wondering: Can we find them? And bring them back to the other Great Lakes? CREDITS: Producer: Ellie Katz Host: Dan Wanschura Editor: Morgan Springer Additional Editing: Dan Wanschura, Peter Payette, Michael Livingston Music: Dozer as a Young Man, Cases to Rest, Cherie’s Polvo, The Crisper, Taoudella, by Blue Dot Sessions Sound: Underwater_HullCreaking by OhNoBones, underwater ambience by akemov For more stories from around the Great Lakes, visit our website at www.pointsnorthpodcast.org

When hunter Ben Karasch sees something move out of the corner of his eye, he assumes it’s a deer. But as Karasch gets a better look, he realizes it’s not a deer, it’s a cougar. And it’s slowly creeping towards him.

When U.P. snowboarder Nick Baumgartner lost in a qualifying round at the 2022 Olympics, he broke down on national TV. It was his fourth Olympics, he’d never medaled, and he was 40 years old. He might not get another shot at a medal. But then he got some news.

In the mid-1900’s, a man moves to northern Michigan to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. He starts having religious visions and builds big stone monuments to commemorate them. That’s where the story starts to get twisted.

Three guys went ice fishing on Lake Huron in February. Everything was great until it wasn’t. A collision of friendship, peer pressure and what it’s like staring death in the eyes.

Deer culling is common across the Midwest. Cities often hire sharpshooters or allow hunters to kill a certain number of deer. But one community in Ohio is trying out another solution: deer sterilization.

A team of archaeologists looks for signs of prehistoric life 100 feet underwater in Lake Huron. But they need help narrowing their search. So, they turn to artificial intelligence.

Red-eared sliders are one of the most common pet turtle species in the world. But they can grow to the size of dinner plates and can live around 40 years. Because of that, people often release their pet turtles into the wild. That causes a big problem.

In 2011, Ann Raiho and Natalie Warren climbed into their canoe and pushed off the banks of the Minnesota River just outside Minneapolis. Their goal was to paddle to Hudson Bay, thousands of miles away in Canada. It was a huge test of physical strength and friendship.

In October 1960, Prince Akihito of Japan visited Chicago for 21 hours. Chicago’s mayor presented the prince with a diplomatic gift: 18 bluegill. What happened next would change the underwater world of Japan forever.

David Exelby was scrolling through Reddit when he came across a mysterious post. This guy had stumbled on a ghost town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The problem was no one could find it. David and producer Max Howard go looking.

Tom Wall is a West Michigan rock star who uses plants as bandmates. He uses a device to harness the electricity in plants, which then turns those impulses into musical notes. Tom insists the plants are talking to us through the music. But can they really do that?

Lane Frame was visiting the Great Lakes for the first time. It was a windy day and the water was rough, but Lane and his brothers headed onto a pier to see a lighthouse. Then a wave crashed over the breakwall and pushed him into the water. Lane drowned, but maybe it didn’t have to be that way.

The Great Lakes region — and the rest of the world — is seeing a huge push for solar power. But what happens when those panels expire?

Matt Parker was just out of college. Unsure of what was next, he got this idea to ride a horse across the country. This is a true American adventure story about one young Michigander’s solo ride from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.

Freshwater jellyfish have been in inland lakes and rivers throughout the Great Lakes region since 1933. But a century after their discovery, we still don’t know much about the elusive creatures. A team of student scientists is trying to change that.

Invasive species often spread by hitching a ride on anglers, especially anglers who don’t clean their gear after fishing. Though this is widely known, research suggests many anglers still don’t clean, even though it protects the very thing they’re after – fish. So, can anything be done to change their minds?

This week we’re featuring an episode from the Outside Podcast from Outside Magazine. It's a story about Greg and Julie Welch's near-death encounter with the 2011 Pagami Creek Wildfire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota.

Rock hunting holds a special place in Joyce Fetrow’s heart. Years ago, she battled alcoholism that drove her to some dark places. Now, Joyce dedicates her life to helping others find recovery, and says rocks remind her of that journey and inspire her to keep on track with her sobriety.

Kurt Steiner holds the world record for stone skipping. He throws rocks because it makes him happy. And because he says it’s key to escaping digital self-saturation.

The idea that wilderness is untouched by man is written into law, but it’s not so accurate. Humans have used fire to shape many places we call “wilderness.” A look at how tree rings affirm a long history of indigenous land management.

States in the Great Lakes kill beavers and remove dams on select rivers and streams. They’re doing it, in part, for anglers and the multi-billion dollar fishing industry. But some people are not on board with that. Today’s episode is all about that conflict, and about how our scientific understanding of the role of beavers may be changing.

Two anglers keep winning fishing tournament after tournament, where the prizes range from expensive boats, to thousands of dollars of cash. But one day, it all comes crashing down when they’re caught cheating at a championship event on Lake Erie.

Flying squirrels glow pink under a blacklight. How many other mammals do this? What causes them to glow? The hardest question of all might never be answered: why?

There’s this elusive bird found throughout the Great Lakes region. If you know where to look, you can often spot it where fields and wetlands meet. And in spring time, you’ll see it dancing at dawn or dusk.

Three guys go ice fishing on Lake Huron in February. Everything is great until it isn’t. A collision of friendship, peer pressure and what it’s like staring death in the eyes.

About 20 feet down on the bottom of Lake Michigan, there’s a white marble crucifix from Italy. Diver Denny Jessick uses a trail of rumors to search for its origin story.

Laura Neese says she was practically raised in a dog kennel. What began as a homeschool project, is now a lifelong obsession, as she competes in some of the biggest dog sledding races in North America.

Harmful algal blooms are a growing concern in the Great Lakes. The toxins they produce can close beaches and even poison drinking water. What’s fueling these blooms? Phosphorus – a key ingredient in agricultural fertilizers. But the way it’s being used comes at a cost.

Kenny Pheasant first became a teacher of Anishinaabemowin at 14 years-old, teaching customers from behind the meat counter at a grocery store. Now, it's his life mission to get more people speaking the Great Lakes’ original and endangered language.

Cougars are making a comeback. The iconic wildcat hasn’t had a breeding population in the Great Lakes states since the early 1900s, but now they’re moving east. Experts say they could be back soon. Some people swear they already are.

America’s bird, the bald eagle, is facing a tremendous challenge. As scavengers, they feed on what we and other animals leave behind. But lead continues to find its way into the environment, and causes problems in more ways than you’d think.

Because of its abundant open space, Detroit, Michigan has a thriving ring-necked pheasant population. The birds have endeared themselves to many by representing a connection to the city and the natural world. But some worry what coming development might mean for pheasants and their future in the Motor City.