It’s been said that “if you want to get your finger on the pulse of the nation, take a cruise down America’s Main Street.” Last fall I did just that when I grabbed a microphone and drove Route 66 from Oklahoma to Santa Monica. End to end, that’s a distance of roughly 1,500 miles, but I ultimately logged, 6,845 and spoke with over 100 people along the way. This odyssey resulted in the new season of my show Vanishing Postcards, which invites listeners to join me on a road trip exploring the hidden dives and histories discovered by exiting the interstates.
This journey has, no doubt, proven a grand adventure that’s taken me to eating contests, dances, ghost towns, and even the Grand Canyon. Yet, if I’ve learned anything through these travels, it’s that culture is everywhere and one rarely needs to venture far to encounter richness.
Towards that matter, I hope this summer will find you embarking on some back road excursions of your own, if you don’t have the luxury of jumping in the car, or are simply in need of a momentary retreat, here are a few podcasts I’ve found that consistently transport me elsewhere through the magic of audio.
The Atlas Oscure Podcast from Josephine Baker’s French Chateau, to Harlem’s Hotel Theresa, the streets of La Paz, and Smithfield, Virginia which is home to the “world’s oldest edible ham,” the beautifully produced Atlas Obscura Podcast bills itself as “a short, daily, celebration of the world’s strange and wondrous places.”
Each episode of this intoxicatingly charming listen finds host Brendan Francis Newnam wandering the streets of a new city with a friend as they attempt to get invited to a stranger’s house for dinner. Refreshingly casual, whether dancing in Mexico City or tracing Leonard Cohen’s footsteps in Montreal, Not Lost is a delightful escape that reveals the joys and edification one finds through travel’s unplanned moments.
Described as “a nature podcast for people who like to think big,” Out There showcases tightly woven narratives about everyday people whose lives or perspectives have changed as a result of experiences they’ve had outdoors.
A mouth-watering docu-series from The Southern Foodways Alliance, Gravy uses food as a means to explore the evolving face of the American South by giving voice to the unsung folk of the region who grow, cook and serve our daily meals.
A welcome break from the talking heads that consistently divide us, Our American Stories shares positive tales gathered from all corners of our nation that are ultimately about everyday citizens doing extraordinary things. Fun places visited include a museum dedicated to bad art, small town theaters, and The Wrigley Mansion.