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Howl
Hosted by Heath Druzin

In Howl, host Heath Druzin and reporter Clark Corbin track the dramatic, controversial return of wolves to the Rockies — and the fierce battle still raging over their place in the wild.

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Latest Episodes
  • A member of Wapiti Lake Pack is photographed near the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park in July 2020. The Wapiti Lake Pack is one of nine wolf packs that was living in Yellowstone as of December 2024.
    5. Ghost Wolves
    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.
  • J Lazy S Angus Ranch: Ranchers Jay and Chyenne Smith raise Black Angus cattle near the tiny town of Carmen, Idaho. The ranch is located just over the ridge from one of the original sites of wolf reintroduction, and the Smiths say wolves have killed more than 200 of their cattle in the past 20 years.
    4. Cattle Battle
    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 woman who trying to save livestock without killing wolves.
  • On four separate occasions, Wolf 907F seized power as the alpha female leader of the Junction Butte Pack in Yellowstone National Park. Readers will learn 907’s life story in part three of Howl, a new longform written series and podcast from the Idaho Capital Sun, States Newsroom, Boise State Public Radio and NPR.
    3. Yellowstone
    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.
  • In 1965, Nez Perce National Historical Park was created by an act of Congress, and what was known as Spalding Park became the headquarters and visitor center for Nez Perce National Historical Park.
    2. The Unwritten Law
    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.
  • Mike Phillips, Jim Evanoff, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Director Mollie Beattie, Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Mike Finley and U.S. Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt carry the first crate with a wolf in it to the Crystal Bench Pen in Yellowstone National Park in January 1995.
    1. Kill All The Goddamn Wolves And The People Who Brought Them
    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 billboard on the Nez Perce Reservation calling for Idaho to restrict wolf hunting. The Nez Perce Tribe played a critical role in bringing wolves back to Idaho and some tribe members say they worry their work is being undone as Idaho tries to kill 70% of its wolf population.
    Trailer
    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.