The future of water—who gets it and who has access to it—is just the start of an upcoming panel discussion presented by National Public Radio and host of “All Things Considered” Michel Martin. “Water is so central to the development of the west,” Martin says. “We’re working together to talk about something locally important and of national interest.”

“Michel Martin: Going There” is an NPR series that brings together an eclectic and informed panel of guests to the heart of the story, in hopes of igniting a nationwide debate on various issues. The next discussion, “The Future of Water,” is happening on May 24 at Colorado State University, in partnership with KUNC. “There’s art around water, there’s story around water,” Martin continues. “We’re looking for things that aren’t just your usual debate.”

Martin will be joined by local and national guests: Patty Limerick, Colorado State Historian and University of Colorado Boulder’s director of the Center of the American West; Paolo Bacigalupi, author of The Water Knife; Roger Fragua of the organization Water is Life; and Melissa Mays, a concerned mom from Flint, Michigan, who started the group Water You Fighting For. “These are people who you want to spend one-and-a-half hours with,” Martin says. “ Really, it’s like a very interesting dinner party.”

To keep things upbeat, there will be a performance by Colorado’s Seven Falls Indian Dancers, as well as opportunities for audience participation—whether you can make it to the event or not. Attendees can submit questions at the event and anyone, from anywhere, can send questions through Twitter to @NPRMichel or @KUNC, tagged #NPRH2O.

The panel will be streamed live (find details here closer to the event) and recorded for a feature segment on “All Things Considered.” In other words: Don’t be surprised if you see the Centennial State in national headlines later this month.

Attend: May 24, 7 p.m.; Colorado State University’s Lory Student Center, 1101 Center Ave. Mall, Fort Collins; $15