Ghost Herd

Follow Ghost Herd
Share on
Copy link to clipboard

A true story of family, fraud, land and power in the American West. Ghost Herd is a joint production of KUOW and Northwest Public Broadcasting, both members of the NPR Network.

KUOW News and Information


    • Apr 29, 2024 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 21m AVG DURATION
    • 8 EPISODES


    More podcasts from KUOW News and Information

    Search for episodes from Ghost Herd with a specific topic:

    Latest episodes from Ghost Herd

    Introducing: Let the Kids Dance!

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2024 2:22


    You know that Kevin Bacon movie where a small town outlaws dancing and the teens fight back? What if I told you that happened in Seattle. In the 90s. Let the Kids Dance is a new podcast telling an untold story from a famous moment in music history – the rise and fall of Seattle's teen dance ordinance. A story of moral panic, grassroots activism, and an unstoppable music community that fought for its freedom. Listen and subscribe here. Support the show: https://kuow.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Part 6: The Reckonin'

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2023 32:28


    Native Americans once owned these lands, and they still treat the Columbia Basin as their sacred home. We've all benefited from that taken land, but now corporations are the West's new settlers. Meanwhile, Cody faces a federal judge and his tight-knit rural community. His sons start taking over what remains of the family's vast operation and beat-up reputation.

    Part 5: The Bidding War

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2023 28:42


    The Easterday empire is being broken apart. Some of the most valuable farmland in America is up for sale, and the billionaires are coming to town. The bidding war over water-rich lands shows the shift in how America farms.

    Part 4: The Crash

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2023 28:20


    Cody's swindle comes crashing down, and it's all thanks to Covid. When a giant meat operation discovers the truth about his ghost herd, they take aim at Cody.

    Part 3: The Gamble

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2023 26:43


    Why would someone create a ghost herd? Behind Cody Easterday's swindle was an even-bigger gambling habit on the futures market. That vice may have changed the price of American beef slapping down on your kitchen table. We also look at how all farmin' is a gamble.

    Part 2: The Swindle

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2023 21:33


    Cowboy Cody Easterday lies big, creating a “ghost herd” of 265,000 cattle that only exist on paper and bringing in hundreds of millions of investment dollars from companies including a meat-packing giant. It's fraud on a massive scale. We examine how he carried it out.

    Part 1: The Empire Builders

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2023 31:22


    Meet the Easterdays – ranching royalty rooted in the Columbia Basin in southeast Washington state. But behind the well-known family name hides a dark secret, concealed in spreadsheets and bum invoices, that's eating away at their vast empire.Correction, 4:25 p.m., 2/27/2023: An earlier version of this story misstated when the Ice Age megafloods occurred. Most of the Missoula floods happened between 15,000 to 20,000 years ago, and some may have occurred as long as million years ago.

    Introducing Ghost Herd, coming January 10

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 23, 2022 3:23


    It started as an American success story. The Easterday family took a couple hundred acres of farmland in Eastern Washington and grew it into a farming and ranching empire worth millions. Then, it all came crashing down.

    Claim Ghost Herd

    In order to claim this podcast we'll send an email to with a verification link. Simply click the link and you will be able to edit tags, request a refresh, and other features to take control of your podcast page!

    Claim Cancel