© 2025 Aspen Public Radio
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

‘Guardians Of The River’ Podcast Explores How To Protect A Place When There’s No Good Answer

Aspen Public Radio | By Eleanor Bennett
Published July 23, 2021 at 3:56 PM MDT
Regional leaders gathering in Tempué, Angola for the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project’s first community stakeholder’s meeting. Due to civil conflicts, landmines, broken roads, and a decommissioned runway, the small town is cut off from the rest of the country. The community has guarded the rivers and lakes that run near it, and now faces an opportunity to reconnect to the rest of Angola -- and the world.
1 of 6  — Guardians of the River
Regional leaders gathering in Tempué, Angola for the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project’s first community stakeholder’s meeting. Due to civil conflicts, landmines, broken roads, and a decommissioned runway, the small town is cut off from the rest of the country. The community has guarded the rivers and lakes that run near it, and now faces an opportunity to reconnect to the rest of Angola -- and the world.
Cat Jaffee / House of Pod
A bird’s eye view of the Okavango River Basin starting at the source lakes in Angola. The podcast tells the story of the guardians of this massive water system in southern Africa. These guardians have a monumental task: safeguard a remote, near pristine environment facing threats from all sides.
2 of 6  — Guardians of the River
A bird’s eye view of the Okavango River Basin starting at the source lakes in Angola. The podcast tells the story of the guardians of this massive water system in southern Africa. These guardians have a monumental task: safeguard a remote, near pristine environment facing threats from all sides.
Cat Jaffee / House of Pod
Writer and audio producer Cat Jaffee interviewing scientist Ben van der Waal about a fish species in Mussuma, Angola. In one episode of the podcast, Jaffee accompanies a team of scientists and local Angolan guides on the largest wildlife survey in the country’s recent history to better understand how documenting local animal populations might help protect the region.
3 of 6  — Guardians of the River
Writer and audio producer Cat Jaffee interviewing scientist Ben van der Waal about a fish species in Mussuma, Angola. In one episode of the podcast, Jaffee accompanies a team of scientists and local Angolan guides on the largest wildlife survey in the country’s recent history to better understand how documenting local animal populations might help protect the region.
Madeleine Foote / Courtesy of House of Pod
A population of elephants in Angola lives in hiding, and only a few villages know their secret. But one big hint to their whereabouts stands tall in the main rotunda of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. If the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness team can find them, these elephants might be the key to smoothening some of the human wildlife conflict in southern Africa.
4 of 6  — Guardians of the River
A population of elephants in Angola lives in hiding, and only a few villages know their secret. But one big hint to their whereabouts stands tall in the main rotunda of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. If the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness team can find them, these elephants might be the key to smoothening some of the human wildlife conflict in southern Africa.
Cat Jaffee / House of Pod
Podcast host Kerllen Costa conducting field interviews in eastern Angola. Costa is an Angolan biologist who is part of the team working to protect the Okavango water system. Throughout the series, Costa brings in different perspectives from local communities that rely on the delta and ecosystem to survive.
5 of 6  — Guardians of the River
Podcast host Kerllen Costa conducting field interviews in eastern Angola. Costa is an Angolan biologist who is part of the team working to protect the Okavango water system. Throughout the series, Costa brings in different perspectives from local communities that rely on the delta and ecosystem to survive.
Cat Jaffee / House of Pod
Cat Jaffee and her team worked for nearly two years with National Geographic and the Wild Bird Trust to create the Guardians of the River podcast. This achievement is especially remarkable given that Jaffee wrote most of the story while undergoing cancer treatment. She didn’t think the podcast would get made, let alone win best non-fiction, narrative podcast of the year at the Tribeca Film Festival this summer.
6 of 6  — Guardians of the River
Cat Jaffee and her team worked for nearly two years with National Geographic and the Wild Bird Trust to create the Guardians of the River podcast. This achievement is especially remarkable given that Jaffee wrote most of the story while undergoing cancer treatment. She didn’t think the podcast would get made, let alone win best non-fiction, narrative podcast of the year at the Tribeca Film Festival this summer.
Cat Jaffee / House of Pod

Catherine “Cat” de Medici Jaffee is a storyteller and writer who grew up on the W/J Ranch in Woody Creek. She now runs a podcast production company in Denver called House of Pod. For nearly two years, Jaffee and her team have been working with National Geographic and the Wild Bird Trust to create “Guardians of the River.”

The eight-episode podcast series is about a mysterious water system that twists and turns through Namibia and Angola and eventually converges into a mighty delta in Botswana called “The Okavango.” It’s the story of what happens when worlds collide to protect a remote and wild place.

Guardians of the River premiered this summer at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won best non-fiction podcast of the year. This achievement is especially remarkable given that Jaffee was diagnosed with dengue fever, malaria and ovarian cancer upon her return to Colorado from southern Africa. She wrote most of the story while undergoing chemotherapy treatment. She didn’t think the podcast would get made, let alone win an award.

Our Morning Edition host Eleanor Bennett spoke recently with Jaffee about the journey of making the podcast and the resonance the story has with local water issues here in the Roaring Fork Valley and across the West.

Aspen Public Radio will also be broadcasting the first episode in the eight-part series on Sunday, July 25 from 7-8pm.
Tags
Environment Water RightsIndigenous RightsConservationPodcastGuardians of the RiverNational GeographicLocal News
Eleanor Bennett
Eleanor is an award-winning journalist reporting on regional social justice issues in collaboration with Aspen Public Radio and Aspen Journalism. A life-long Roaring Fork Valley local, she previously was a reporter, podcast producer and Morning Edition host at Aspen Public Radio. Her stories have ranged from local protests against federal immigration crackdowns to creative efforts to solve the valley’s affordable housing challenge.
See stories by Eleanor Bennett
Related Content