With forest, marshes, deep water, and open plains, the range of plant and animal life in the Great Lakes Basin is a legacy to know and sustain.

Water, Water Everywhere, Not a Drop to DrinkThe struggle to maintain and access clean drinking water stirs community action throughout the Great Lakes.Forty million people in the Great Lakes Basin see their source of fresh water facing unprecedented challenges. We hear voices for the water. Nayyirah Shariff, Director of Flint Rising, has chronicled the water crisis in that city for years and she reports the story. Ansley Simpson of Alderville First Nation delivers scintillating song and voice on her take of the Lakes' past and current state. Barton Bund is an actor turned documentary filmmaker, an 'actorvist' he says, upon learning environmental truths about Line 5. With music from Cindy Doire.

Losing A Lung: Fires in the Boreal ForestThe great forests of the Great Lakes are being remade by fire, with huge implications for the water and warming cycle.Dean Sayers is an elder of the Batchawana First Nation, he story tells of fire and the mighty thunderbird protecting the Great Lakes watershed. From her home in Duluth, Minnesota, Lanue is Sarah Krueger reinvented by her music, going electric and still keeping it honest. Joanie McGuffin, conservationist of the Lake Superior Watershed, enlightens with a talk on natural v. man-made fires. And music by Ansley Simpson.

On this trek of the Great Lakes Odyssey Radio Hour we examine how climate shapes and defines culture. Oxford University professor, international historian, and author Peter Frankopan helps us think through the implications of climate change on the Great Lakes. Andrew McAnsh is a composer, award-winning trumpeter and masters graduate of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, shares Music of the Great Lakes: A Songbook for the Canadian Indigenous. Akua Tuta, the song and lyrics by Claude McKenzie / Erich Michel Poirier / Florent Vollant as performed with Robbie Robertson & The Red Road Ensemble. Songs from Rick Charbonneau and the Red Shadow Singers. And poetry performance by Penn Kemp with Bill Gilliam.

The fresh water seas, the largest source of fresh water on the planet, hold the keys to life to come. Can we envision the life of the Lakes decades from now? Former Anishinabek Nation Grand Chief Patrick Madahbee educates on the Biinaagami initiative. Chevaun Toulouse is a biology student, language researcher and award-winning young leader of ecosystem protection. William, a 12 year old city boy shares his thoughts on what he has learned about the world environment. Mark Mattson is a lifelong advocate for water protection and the founder of Swim Drink Fish. Music from Gord Downie, the Tragically Hip, Guy Smith with the Healing Lodge Singers, Isaac Murdoch with Christi Belcourt, and Tamarack.

The Great Lakes watershed is home to over 55 million people—and the inspiration for music, art, poetry, great food and more. Great Lakes Odyssey will take you to all corners of the five Lakes --from the booming metropolis of Toronto to sleepy backwater villages of Lake Superior—to explore the stories, the history, the voice of this spectacular, irreplaceable being known by the Anishnabek as Nayaano-nibiimaang Gichigamiin, the five freshwater seas.

The Great Lakes watershed is home to over 55 million people—and the inspiration for music, art, poetry, great food and more. Great Lakes Odyssey will take you to all corners of the five Lakes --from the booming metropolis of Toronto to sleepy backwater villages of Lake Superior—to explore the stories, the history, the voice of this spectacular, irreplaceable being known by the Anishnabek as Nayaano-nibiimaang Gichigamiin, the five freshwater seas.

Audio for this program is no longer available online.The Great Lakes watershed is home to over 55 million people—and the inspiration for music, art, poetry, great food and more. Great Lakes Odyssey will take you to all corners of the five Lakes --from the booming metropolis of Toronto to sleepy backwater villages of Lake Superior—to explore the stories, the history, the voice of this spectacular, irreplaceable being known by the Anishnabek as Nayaano-nibiimaang Gichigamiin, the five freshwater seas.

The first episode of the Great Lakes Odyssey Radio Hour.