Who Owns America's Wild Places? Public Lands and the Fight for Truth

Welcome to Open Container, where today we're discussing one of the defining features of the American experience: our public lands.

Host Doug Schnitzspahn kicks things off with a personal reflection on how these wild places are woven into our national identity and the critical roles they play, not just as recreation spaces, but as battlegrounds for conservation, resource extraction, and cultural connection.

Joining Doug is Chris Keyes, former editor in chief of Outside magazine and founder of RE:PUBLIC, a new non-profit newsroom dedicated to covering the politics, people, and future of America's public lands.

Together, they explore what makes the American public lands system unique in the world, how it’s managed, and why it stirs such passionate, bipartisan support.

From the legacy of Indigenous stewardship to the modern pressures of population and politics, the episode asks: Who really owns America's wild places, and how do we ensure their future?

• 00:00 Hope in Public Lands
• 04:35 "Finding Healing on the Road"
• 07:34 Freedom of Camping on Public Lands
• 12:58 Bipartisan Support for Public Land Conservation
• 13:53 Legacy of American Public Lands
• 19:30 Journalism's Advertising Dependency Crisis
• 20:44 Journalism: Navigating Bipartisan Challenges
• 25:42 Nonprofit Media: Partnership Over Competition
• 27:45 Media's Role in Legislative Awareness
• 31:30 "Advertising Threatens Editorial Independence"
• 33:47 Long-Form Journalism's Enduring Appeal
• 37:13 Nature's Restorative Powers: Access Essential

Click here to learn more about RE:PUBLIC.

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