Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean in modern times, left a wake of destruction in Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti that will take years to recover from. Jamaican climate physics professor Tannecia Stephenson describes the toll of this climate catastrophe, and meteorologist Ryan Truchelut of the consulting firm Weather Tiger joins Host Jenni Doering to explain how the storm grew so ferocious in the blink of a hurricane’s eye.

The fossil fuel industry has sought drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for decades and a recent Trump administration order brings the renewed threat of oil extraction in ANWR. But Gwich’in Alaska Natives, which consider the land sacred and local Porcupine Caribou as relatives, are expressing alarm at how drilling in this fragile environment could upend their world. Kristen Moreland, Executive Director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee, joins Host Steve Curwood to discuss.

The Pacific Northwest of the US harbored a serial killer hotspot of sorts in the 1970s, associated with the neurotoxin lead. Seattle-born author Caroline Fraser explores this link in her book Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers. She joins Host Steve Curwood to discuss how dangerously high lead exposure from smelters and gasoline may have led to the increase of violence and murders in the region.

Axolotls, aquatic salamanders with feathery gills that look like they’re always smiling, are endemic to a single lake in Mexico and critically endangered in the wild. Living on Earth’s Don Lyman reports on a successful release of captive-bred axolotls into wetlands that provides hope for boosting this unique creature’s wild population.

At the start of November, on the Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos, families in Mexico and beyond gather around altars to celebrate and invite back the spirits of loved ones who have passed away. Living on Earth Producer Paloma Beltran explains the symbolic meaning of altar materials and how this yearly tradition took on a new dimension for her this year.