100 WVIA Way
Pittston, PA 18640

Phone: 570-826-6144
Fax: 570-655-1180

Copyright © 2025 WVIA, all rights reserved. WVIA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Why Does This Swamp Keep Catching Fire?

Season 3 Episode 5 | 13m 25s

In 2011, a fire in the Great Dismal Swamp burned for 111 days. Even a foot of rain from Hurricane Irene failed to extinguish it. The reason was hidden underground in layers of peat, one of Earth's most important carbon stores. What started this fire reveals a surprising story about climate change, America's complicated history, and one of the continent's most remarkable landscapes.

Aired: 06/26/26
Extras
Can new scientific research help unravel the mystery of Cahokia's disappearance?
Sea otters play a vital role in maintaining the balance of sensitive kelp forests.
These secret islands of the Everglades might be the key to saving it.
Could beavers be the ally we’ve been waiting for when it comes to saving the environment?!
The Bonneville Salt Flats took millions of years to form. We altered it in a century.
In Chicago a new resident has upended our thinking about cities and the natural world.
Why do dunes sing? Head into the mysterious world of sand with host Joe Hanson!
Mt. St. Helens Volcano is the site of the world’s newest glacier, one of the few growing.
Every spring, the beaches of Delaware Bay play host to one of the world’s wildest parties.
Learn what’s happening to your body on a coaster and how they might help you feel better.
Latest Episodes
All
  • All
  • Overview Season 3
  • Overview Season 2
  • Overview Season 1
Our thermal drones exposed pollution from a massive AI data center powering the AI boom.
America’s most toxic lake may also be one of its most overlooked resources.
Scientists are studying solar storms in the aurora that can disrupt satellites and power grids.
Each fall in Costa Rica, one of nature's strangest spectacles takes place–a tsunami of sea turtles.
The West Texas desert has a surprising feature: a prehistoric ocean reef.
The Caribbean town of Plymouth lies frozen in the ash of a devastating volcano.
Meet the axolotl, Mexico City’s endangered, smiling salamander.
North Carolina’s Outer Banks may be one of the most dangerous coastlines in the world.
Florida's once endangered crocodiles are making a very unlikely comeback!
Scientists find the exact time of a massive quake using trees, soil and human records.