Crooked City: The Emerald Triangle
A 10-Part Narrative Series
Reporter Sam Anderson returns to his sleepy suburban hometown in New Jersey to find out that one of his high school classmates has been arrested for murder. Sam’s friends all say that Zach Wuester, this fun-loving kid from the wrestling team, could never have killed anyone. So, what really happened? To find out, Sam heads West to the legendary mountains of the Emerald Triangle where he becomes immersed in a world of hippies, outlaws and fugitives. He discovers that Zach joined a group of wandering misfits and vagabonds who became drawn into the orbit of a cultish and charismatic pot-grower obsessed with psychedelic drugs. In a search for an off-the-grid paradise, they instead found themselves in Lord of The Flies, when desperation, greed and a seemingly never-ending acid trip created a perfect storm of paranoia that locals refer to as “Hill Crazy.” It all ends in a moment of unspeakable violence. Crooked City: The Emerald Triangle is a gonzo exploration of one generation’s attempt to escape the pressures of modern society, only to find that radical freedom comes at a terrible price.
A herd of Tule Elk. Credit: Lee Eastman/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters.
Point Reyes National Seashore in northern California is one of the most iconic national parks in the region, known for rugged sweeping beaches, lush pastures, and wild animals like the famous Tule Elk. But it’s also one of the only national parks that allows commercial cattle ranching on its land. In 2021, the National Park Service announced over a third of the elk herd at Tomales Point perished, due to starvation and dehydration. A coalition of activists and environmentalists say cattle ranching is the cause of the die-off. In this original audio documentary, reporter Sam Anderson sets out to uncover the fate of the Tule Elk, and falls headfirst into a decades-long battle between ranchers, environmentalists, indigenous groups, and the federal government over who gets to profit from this public land and who controls its future. “Whose Point Reyes?” is an immersive 43-minute audio documentary that transports listeners to the Point Reyes Peninsula to understand how cattle ranching impacts the ecosystem, and how the legacy of colonialism continues to shape the fate of public land in the US.
Written and reported by Sam Anderson and edited by Lucy Kang. Originally aired on KPFA’s UpFront on December 30, 2021.