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 who use water from it. Parched is a podcast about people who rely on the river that shaped the West – and have ideas to save it. Michael Elizabeth Sakas, a water reporter for Colorado Public Radio, takes you on a journey to explore some of the best and boldest ideas to bolster our water supplies.
Parched, the new podcast from CPR News, is coming April 18. Follow the show on your favorite podcast app so you don’t miss an episode.

The U.S. southwest is in a water crisis; it's a front line of climate change. This show takes you to places that rely on the Colorado River, to explore what we can do to ensure life in the region as it dries out. In this first episode, we get high up in the Rocky Mountains to see where our water comes from, and see ground zero for our water problems — the Hoover Dam — where we meet someone who predicted this crisis years before it happened. It's all to answer the question: Just how screwed are we? Part 1 of 10.

Host: Michael Elizabeth Sakas
Written by Rachel Estabrook
Editors: Erin Jones, Joe Wertz
Production and Mixing: Emily Williams
Theme song by Kibwe Cooper. Additional music via Universal Production Music.
Artwork: Maria Juliana Pinzón
Executive Producers: Kevin Dale, Brad Turner
Additional Production Support: Alison Borden, Kibwe Cooper, Jo Erickson, Luis Antonio Perez, Rebekah Romberg, Taylar Dawn Stagner, Andrew Villegas
Thanks also to Sarah Bures, Hart Van Denburg, Jodi Gersh, Kim Nguyen, Clara Shelton, Arielle Wilson and Kevin J. Beaty.

Parched is a production of the Climate Solutions team of CPR News and Colorado Public Radio’s Audio Innovations Studio — part of the NPR Network.

What if we could get more water, instead of just living with less? The idea of pulling water from another river, like the Mississippi, has tantalized people in the southwest for decades. We meet a farmer in Arizona who's become today's big champion for this big idea. Also, an engineer in Colorado and someone with an up-close view of the Mississippi explain what it would take to bring more water to the Colorado River states. Part 3 of a 10-part series.

For more CPR News coverage of the Colorado River, visited cpr.org/parched.

Host: Michael Elizabeth Sakas
Written by Rachel Estabrook and Joe Wertz
Editor: Erin Jones
Production and Mixing: Emily Williams
Theme song by Kibwe Cooper. Additional music via Universal Production Music.
Artwork: Maria Juliana Pinzón
Executive Producers: Kevin Dale, Brad Turner
Additional Editorial Support: Alison Borden, Kibwe Cooper, Jo Erickson, Luis Antonio Perez, Rebekah Romberg, Taylar Dawn Stagner, Andrew Villegas
Thanks also to Sarah Bures, Hart Van Denburg, Jodi Gersh, Kim Nguyen, Clara Shelton, Arielle Wilson.

Parched is a production of the Climate Solutions team of CPR News and Colorado Public Radio’s Audio Innovations Studio — part of the NPR Network.

On the beach in Southern California, it's easy to look at the Pacific Ocean and wonder what would happen if we could drink it. It's already happening in some places, and others from Arizona to the California coast want to expand desalination. If big cities there use more of the ocean and less of the Colorado River, would that leave more water for the southwest? Part 4 of a 10-part series.

For more CPR News coverage of the Colorado River, visited cpr.org/parched.

Host: Michael Elizabeth Sakas
Written by Michael Elizabeth Sakas and Joe Wertz
Editors: Rachel Estabrook, Erin Jones
Production and Mixing: Rebekah Romberg
Additional Production: Emily Williams
Theme song by Kibwe Cooper. Additional music via Universal Production Music.
Artwork: Maria Juliana Pinzón
Executive Producers: Kevin Dale, Brad Turner
Additional Editorial Support: Alison Borden, Kibwe Cooper, Jo Erickson, Luis Antonio Perez, Taylar Dawn Stagner, Andrew Villegas, Emily Williams
Thanks also to Sarah Bures, Hart Van Denburg, Jodi Gersh, Kim Nguyen, Clara Shelton, Arielle Wilson.

Parched is a production of the Climate Solutions team of CPR News and Colorado Public Radio’s Audio Innovations Studio — part of the NPR Network.

Across the country, headlines this week touted a "deal" to save the Colorado River. In this bonus episode, we'll break it down: What you need to know, and what it means for the solutions we're exploring on Parched. Come back next week for our regular storytelling about people and places along the river.

Host: Michael Elizabeth Sakas with Ryan Warner
Written by Rachel Estabrook
Editors: Erin Jones and Joe Wertz
Production and mixing: Rebekah Romberg
Theme song by Kibwe Cooper
Artwork: Maria Juliana Pinzón
Executive Producers: Kevin Dale, Brad Turner
Special thanks to Ryan Warner.
Parched is a production of the Climate Solutions team of CPR News and Colorado Public Radio’s Audio Innovations Studio — part of the NPR Network.