Life After Dead Pool

Originally aired September 25, 2025

ABOUT THE EVENT: Life After Dead Pool book coverAfter decades of drought, the American West is stretched to the breaking point. A changing climate and design flaws in the Glen Canyon Dam have pushed the once-massive Lake Powell reservoir to the brink of collapse, putting at risk millions of people who depend on the Colorado River for water, agriculture, and electricity. Now, as Glen Canyon reemerges, its surprising ecological rebirth reminds us that nature’s capacity to heal may well outpace our own imaginations. Environmental journalist Zak Podmore explores the complex challenges ahead and reframes the inevitable loss of Lake Powell as a turning point for a more sustainable future. Through an arresting mix of science and storytelling, Life After Dead Pool debunks the notion that the West’s water challenges are unsolvable and invites us to secure a future where the Colorado River once again runs free.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Zak Podmore hiking in a slot canyonZak Podmore is an award-winning author and journalist who has spent more than a decade writing about water and conservation issues in the western United States. He is the author of two books published by Torrey House Press, Confluence: Navigating the Personal & Political on Rivers of the New West (2019) and Life After Dead Pool: Lake Powell’s Last Days and the Rebirth of the Colorado River (2024). Zak is the recipient of the Ellen Meloy Fund for Desert Writers award and was the Entrada Institute’s writer-in-residence in 2023. Until recently, Zak was the southern Utah reporter for The Salt Lake Tribune. He lives in Bluff, Utah.

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