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The Story of Nitrogen: How one nutrient shapes life in fields and streams, soil and sea

Nitrogen: unless you’re a farmer, it might not be something you think about every day. But this nutrient is a basic building block for life, and its relative abundance or scarcity shapes what lives in the world around us. Many living things have learned to take advantage of environments rich in nitrogen, while others have learned how to adapt to nitrogen scarcity. Human beings have even created novel ways to extract nitrogen from the air and convert it into fertilizers that boost the productivity of farm fields and green up our lawns.

How does nitrogen interact with plants, animals, algae, and soil microbes to create the world we see around us? How do the changes in nitrogen we see around us change which living things thrive and which decline? And can understanding these interactions make us better agronomists, conservationists, scientists and farmers?

Join us for “The Story of Nitrogen,” a new 5-part audio series where we interview agronomists, ecologists, geologists, farmers and lake scientists, and explore how one nutrient shapes life in fields and streams, soil and sea.

Show credits

Greg Klinger- writer, producer, sound design
Shane Bugeja- producer
Rachel Brees- sound design, audio post-production
Anne Sawyer- editor
Taylor Becker- editor