NPCA PODCAST

Episodes

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  Episode 1

  The Show Must Go On
  The only national park site dedicated to the performing arts has been quiet for over a year, but a new chorus of singers is stealing the show at this Virginia venue: a feisty, sex-crazed swarm of Brood X cicadas.

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  Episode 2

  Below the Surface
  An unusual predicament is pitting private oil rights against one of the world’s most treasured places. Could the National Park Service allow a private energy company to build oil wells in the Everglades?

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  Episode 3

  Expecting the Unexpected
  Photographers and artists helped make the case for America’s national parks. Today, a new generation of artists-in-residence keeps the vital connection alive in sometimes surprising ways.

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  Episode 4

  The Undiscovered Cave
  Explorers in a remote area of Grand Canyon National Park discovered a cave they believe human beings had never entered before. Inside this maze of limestone passageways, researchers found thousands of fossils that could change our understanding of one of the country’s quirkiest animals — bats!

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  Episode 5

  Learning to Fly
  Raptors such as peregrine falcons and California condors made the endangered species list decades ago, but thanks in part to monitoring and recovery programs in national parks, things have been looking up.

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  Episode 6

  The Healing Ceremony
  For the last four years, Bears Ears National Monument has been at the center of a critical fight over Indigenous land rights. This awe-inspiring, culturally rich site was part of the largest removal of federal public land protections in U.S. history. But now that the monument is restored, could it serve as a model for Tribal collaboration in our parks?

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  Episode 7

  A Diamond in the Rough
  The only ballpark in the National Park System also has deep ties to African American history. One of the last few remaining Negro League ballparks, Hinchliffe Stadium was nearly lost — but the storied playing field at Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park is getting a new lease on life.

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  Episode 8

  Hiking with Spoons
  Three years ago, an outdoor lover in the Pacific Northwest went on a painful and frustrating hike and is now using that experience as a way to make the park more welcoming, especially for the millions of people living with disabilities and chronic illnesses. How can parks offer a truly accessible experience to people with different interests, needs and ability levels?

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  Episode 9

  An American Hero Turns 200
  This month marks 200 years since Harriet Tubman’s birth, and we’re still learning new information about her life and family, and still marveling at how a woman with all the odds against her risked everything to liberate herself and countless others — and play a significant role in liberating her country. In this episode, we explore Tubman’s life and motivations, some of the public lands devoted to her, and a few ways to celebrate this very big birthday.

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  Episode 10

  A Walk on the Wild Side
  A Supreme Court justice once led a 185-mile trek to save the landscape he loved. Today, park lovers keep that spirit alive through a one-day marathon hike in Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park each spring.

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  Episode 11

  Telling the Truth
  The brutal murder of Emmett Till in 1955 galvanized the civil rights movement. Could a new national park site preserving his story help to bring us closer to understanding and justice?

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  Episode 12

  Making Things Whole
  In 1969, Southern California suffered one of the largest oil spills in history, prompting national outrage and environmental awareness. Today, part of the Pacific coast near Channel Islands National Park remains vulnerable to drilling and other threats. Soon, decades of work by the Chumash people could lead to the country’s first Tribally nominated national marine sanctuary.

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  Episode 13

  The Giving Trees
  Witness trees stood in significant places at key moments in American history, linking past and present and shaping our understanding of both. But what happens when witness trees fall? A unique partnership between the Rhode Island School of Design and the National Park Service lets their stories live on.

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  Episode 14

  The Geography That Unites Us
  At a park that once served as a segregating line in Washington, DC, a unique outdoor theater brought people together for nights of music and poetry under the stars. Structural problems forced the Carter Barron Amphitheater to close in 2017. Can a group of advocates restore and reopen it for a new generation?

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  Episode 15

  The Little Jewel Box
  Winter is often a time when we hunker down and sleep off the dark evenings — but it can also be an ideal season to experience the sparse beauty of our parks. These 5 stories showcase the diverse experiences travelers can have during the colder, quieter days of the year.

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  Episode 16

  Behind the Scenes at Padre Island
  Award-winning journalist Ben Goldfarb shares some of the unexpected adventures that shaped his new feature story in National Parks magazine — and how he built his career traveling to exciting places and writing about them.

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  Episode 17

  A Collision of Breaths
  Poetry and the parks are always there for us when we seek beauty, solace and meaning. Today, we celebrate that timeless connection ― and National Poetry Month ― with some of our favorite national park poems.

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  Episode 18

  Hope Along the Cuyahoga
  The Cuyahoga River was once severely polluted and notorious for catching fire, inspiring the first Earth Day. Now, 53 years later, the river is revitalized, and advocacy is continuing to help the region thrive.

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  Episode 19

  Memorializing the Truth
  The brutal kidnapping and murder of Emmett Till in 1955 changed the course of history and galvanized the modern Civil Rights Movement. Acclaimed journalist Christopher Benson has a unique perspective on this history and the importance of preserving it.

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  Episode 20

  The Heart of America’s Story
  National heritage areas are some of the country’s most beloved hidden gems. In this episode, we feature three of the people who know these distinctive destinations best and who worked for decades to create two of our seven newest sites.

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  Episode 21

  Opening Day
  Hinchliffe Stadium at Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park very nearly met the wrecking ball before passionate advocates saved it and the rich history it preserves. Now restored to its original glory, this true field of dreams reopened this spring with the return of professional baseball—and we were there to take it all in.

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  Episode 22

  Why We Serve
  How do we gain from what we give? A committed group of veterans and an innovative friends group demonstrate the value of service at a beloved national park site in Washington, D.C.

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  Episode 23

  A Reporter ‘On the Brink’ at Cape Hatteras
  In Rodanthe, North Carolina, near Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the rising ocean is causing homes to collapse, creating devastating losses for homeowners and dangerous conditions for park-goers. Journalist Melanie D.G. Kaplan shares what she learned in her new story on the ongoing crisis.

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  Episode 24

  The Beacon
  The Chesapeake Bay is a storied waterway where the Atlantic Ocean meets a series of rivers. It is home to Native American history, early European settlements, maritime traditions and rich Civil War history. After years of work, new legislation could soon preserve many of the region’s distinctive sites and stories as a new national recreation area.

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  Episode 25

  The Skeleton Crew
  A significant new fossil discovery at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area could deepen our understanding of ancient mammal-like reptiles that lived among some of the earliest dinosaurs. A team of scientists shares how they found this unprecedented trove of ancient remains and what it could teach us — including corollaries to our own modern experience of climate change.

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  Episode 26

  Stamped in the Soil
  In 1965, civil rights activists made history by marching from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, overcoming vicious attacks by police and winning voting rights for Black citizens throughout the South. The route they walked is now a national park site, but the rural camps where marchers found shelter are not — and they’re falling into disrepair. Can these lesser-known pieces of history be saved?

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  Episode 27

  Creating the Country’s First ‘Idea Park’
  What happens when a really important place doesn’t seem important to the people in charge? In 1978, Judy Hart was driven to create a new national park, even though people told her the places she wanted to save didn’t look like a national park. By recognizing the need to interpret women’s history, Hart changed the way the Park Service approaches the concept of national significance.

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  Episode 28

  The Beauty of Loss
  Photojournalist Pete McBride spent nearly 20 years returning to the Colorado River again and again to document its magnificence — and its decline. In his new book, McBride shows the effects decades of drought and overuse have had on the river, and he offers ways to help it heal.

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  Episode 29

  Holding Back the Sea
  What does life on the front lines of climate change look like? For the residents of the tiny island of Aunu’u in American Samoa, it means watching the ocean wash away more of their land each year. As temperatures and sea levels continue to rise, could the struggle to preserve the Samoan way of life hold a lesson for the rest of the world?

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  Episode 30

  A Brief Shining Moment
  Experiencing the rare but spectacular event that is a total solar eclipse requires being in the right place at the right time. For April’s eclipse, Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park in Texas—a place deeply connected to the night sky and space exploration—seemed to be the perfect setting… but would the weather hold?

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  Episode 31

  Before the Gate
  On the remote Sea Islands of South Carolina, golf courses and gated developments are changing the rural character of some of the first African American-owned lands in the country. The Gullah/Geechee, direct descendants of the enslaved people who once worked the area’s plantations, are now fighting a new threat to their land and culture, which are central to the history of the nearby Reconstruction Era National Historical Site.

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  Episode 32

  It Takes a Village
  On the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, hundreds of people gathered at Stonewall National Monument in New York to celebrate the opening of its new visitor center — the first of its kind. Everyone from President Joe Biden to Katy Perry to Elton John honored the significance of the site and its watershed rebellion for equality. Mark Segal, one of the participants in the uprising, was among the speakers. In this episode, he remembers that night in 1969 and shares how it sparked a lifetime of activism ― and how Stonewall continues to shape the LGBTQ+ movement today.

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  Episode 33

  For the Love of Dog
  A new guide to dog accessibility at national parks can help people traveling with pets know what to expect at sites across the country. In this episode, we explore concerns, best practices — and a few horror stories to keep in mind — when visiting parks with our furry best friends.

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  Episode 34

  In the Footsteps of Grizzlies
  Can humans learn to coexist with some of the largest, most ferocious animals on the landscape? Former park ranger Kevin Grange has followed this question — and his love for grizzly bears — to some of the wildest lands and waters in North America, documenting ways to give humans and grizzlies a better chance at survival.

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  Episode 35

  The Woman Behind the Weekend
  The home of trailblazer Frances Perkins could soon become our newest national park site, making it just the thirteenth devoted to women’s history. Yet few people know much about the first female U.S. cabinet secretary, who established many of the workplace protections we take for granted.

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  Episode 36

  A School Year on Wheels
  One Minnesota family uprooted their lives to go on a year-long adventure to national parks, building an educational curriculum around the public lands on their trip, and getting a taste of the joys and challenges of “roadschooling.”

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  Episode 37

  A New Park for an Old Hero?
  A proposed Chuckwalla National Monument near Joshua Tree National Park would protect the threatened Mojave Desert tortoise and help many other species thrive, including people.

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  Episode 38

  Photographing Parks After Dark
  When night falls at a national park, many visitors pack up and head home — but dark skies offer rare wonders worth staying up to see. Get tips on where to go and ways to photograph parks after dark.

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  Episode 39

  Save the Dinosaurs
  Dinosaur National Monument preserves one of the richest collections of late Jurassic remains on Earth. But where there are fossils, there are often fossil fuels. Could a push for new drilling and mining threaten this beloved park and its prehistoric reptiles?

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  Episode 40

  The Angel of Glen Echo
  Clara Barton was a trailblazer who devoted her life to helping people in need, and who revolutionized disaster response in the process. But the national historic site where she once lived and worked is now in serious disrepair. After pushing back on a problematic renovation plan, a small group of dedicated historians is helping the National Park Service to honor her legacy more fully.

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  Episode 41

  On the Road Again… and Again
  Taking a year to visit all the national parks is the stuff of bucket lists. It’s also a logistical puzzle and a lot of hard work, especially if you’re reporting stories for an Emmy-winning news magazine and capturing the entire experience in a bestselling book. Conor Knighton did all of that, and today he shares his insights from a year on the road in the national parks.

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  Bonus

  On the Trail with Amy
  We all have a place that feels like home. For park advocate Amy Hagovsky, that place has always been the woods. In this bonus episode, we’re headed On the Trail with Amy.

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  Episode 42

  Squeezed Thin: Park Staff in Upheaval
  A series of staffing crises are squeezing a national park workforce that was already spread thin through years of underfunding. Now, a new reduction in force could put even more pressure on employees as we head into the busy spring and summer seasons.