Big Daily Blend

Happy World Car Free Day! On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Travel with Terri" Podcast, travel journalist Terri Guthrie kicks off a new series exploring Amtrak's Mardi Gras Train, joined by Knox Ross, Chairman of the Southern Rail Commission. Terri just rode the full route herself — from New Orleans, through coastal Mississippi, to Mobile, Alabama — and shares what stood out most about...

It's Fall Y'all in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana!  Big Blend Radio host/producer Lisa D. Smith is joined by Natalie Roblin of the Avoyelles Commission of Tourism, filling in for regular co-hosts Wilbert Carmouche and Mary Guillory, who are at the Jefferson Highway Conference in Joplin, Missouri. Together they explore why fall is one of the best times to visit the Centre de la Louisiane. Natalie shar...

Today we're rethinking everything we thought we knew about Mary Cassatt. On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "World of Art" Podcast, host Victoria Chick and Lisa D. Smith welcome Mary G. Morton, curator and head of French paintings at the National Gallery of Art, to talk about her new book, "Cassatt Reconsidered," out this November from Getty Publications. 2026 marks the centennial of Mary...

Happy Global Company Culture Day!  Company culture isn't what's written on your website or printed on a poster — it's how your people feel walking in the door on a Sunday night. On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Supervision Matters" Podcast, HR and organizational culture expert Rita Sever joins Lisa D. Smith to break down what culture actually is, how it's built (and eroded), and why it...

For World Patient Safety Day, this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Quality of Life" Show welcomes author Kenitra W. Dominguez to discuss her debut memoir, "Because I Deserve It: What Chronic Illness Taught Me About Finding My Voice in the Healthcare System" — out now. In 2021, a routine eye exam led Kenitra to an ER visit and, the next day, a diagnosis of idiopathic intracranial hypertension...

September is Pet Memorial Month, and on this shared episode of "The Pet Connection," Lisa D. Smith and co-host Angela Laws of TrustedHousesitters.com dig deep into how we remember the animals who shape our lives — personally, historically, and everywhere in between. From home memorial gardens and paw-print keepsakes to the extraordinary true stories of Old Sam (a Civil War artillery horse secretly...

On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Jo Goes Everywhere!" Podcast, travel writer Jo Clark takes us to Greensboro, North Carolina — the third-largest city in the state and home to Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, site of one of the most consequential battles of the Revolutionary War. A good episode to honor America 250! Jo digs into Greensboro's roots, from the Saura and Keyauwee...

In this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "ABC's of Horses" podcast, World Champion horse trainer Christy Wood is joined by fellow rider Stephanie Callahan Clark for their annual look at the Chief Joseph Trail Ride — a thirteen-year progressive journey on horseback retracing the Nez Perce National Historic Trail across Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana.  They cover this year's route, wildlife...

Debut author Jane Brookwood joins Big Blend Radio's "Books & Authors" series with Books Forward to talk about her new tarot-themed cozy mystery, "The Hanged Man," out September 15, 2026. Jane shares how she built the fictional town of Pineridge Hollow, the real cat named Rosie who inspired Fiona's feline familiar, and how her own tarot practice — including a recurring relationship with the Dev...

It's Intergeneration Month and Terri Guthrie explores why Oklahoma City is one of the top multigenerational family destinations in the US! 

Celebrate Classical Music Month with this edition of Big Blend Radio's American Jukebox! Every first Sunday, award-winning singer-songwriter Johnny Schaefer joins Lisa D. Smith to explore the music, artists, and stories that celebrate America's rich musical heritage as part of the nationwide America 250 celebration. This month's playlist turns to classical and orchestral music, tracing its deep an...

Donna George of The Peanut Patch joins producer Lisa D. Smith to spice up the fall season — from the spicy side of Donna's product lineup to seasonal gift and shipping ideas as The Peanut Patch gears up for its October 1st store reopening. Then it's on to the kitchen for five recipes from The Peanut Patch's collection: Soft Ginger Peanut Butter Cookies, Ginger Date Wontons, Spicy Date Nut Loaf, Do...

Fall is teasing us across the country, and California's Sequoia Country — home to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Sequoia National Forest, the Giant Sequoia National Monument, and the welcoming communities of Tulare County — is right on the edge of the season's first cool breeze. In this episode of Big Blend Radio's "California Sequoia Country" Podcast, Sequoia Tourism Council members Suz...

A great way to kick off National Literacy Month, we're sharing this conversation with award-winning journalist and author Michael J. Seidlinger who joins Big Blend Radio's "Toast to The Arts" Podcast to talk about his satirical horror novella, "Brokeula." It's a story of James Sugre, a vampire who's been broke for centuries and finally cracks under the weight of it, launching a multi-level marketi...

Happy National Matchmaker Day! Jeannine Wolfe, CEO and founder of Soulmate Quest, joins us on Big Blend Radio to talk about what it really means to work with a professional matchmaker.  Jeannine shares how her own search for love after becoming single at 35 turned into a career, why she describes her process as "an executive search for your heart," and how she blends matchmaking with relationship...

Travel writer Eva Eldridge joins Big Blend Radio's "Parks & Travel Podcast to share her firsthand visit to Crater Lake National Park, Oregon's only national park and home to the deepest lake in the United States.  Hear how the caldera formed after Mount Mazama's eruption 7,700 years ago, why the lake has no inlet or outlet, the striking clarity and blue of the water, hiking trails around the r...

This episode of Big Blend Radio's "Getting to Know You" series was recorded back in April with Phyllis Bitner, Chair of the Miners Hall Museum Foundation in Franklin, Kansas. Phyllis shares how Miners Hall Museum grew out of the 2003 tornado that leveled the town's community center, why the museum's twelve exhibit categories focus as much on the immigrant experience as the equipment, and the story...

Michael Calhoun, a lifelong resident of Vernonia, Oregon and Board Chair of the Columbia Soil & Water Conservation District, joins this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Parks & Travel" Podcast — timed to National Park Week 2026 — to share the story of the Banks-Vernonia Trail, a 20-mile former logging railroad that became Oregon's first rails-to-trail conversion and later earned Nation...

Sasha Waters, director and producer of the new American Masters documentary "Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World," joins Big Blend Radio to talk about bringing the life of one of America's most beloved and most private poets to the screen. Mary Oliver was a bestselling poet and Pulitzer Prize winner whose work — including "Wild Geese" and "The Journey" — has reached readers far beyond th...

Lance Laber, Executive Director of DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, joins Big Blend Radio's "Tales of Southwest Artist Ted DeGrazia" Podcast to preview two new fall exhibits opening Friday, September 4th at 5pm: "The Midnight Sketches of Ted DeGrazia" and "Saint Francis of Assisi." Both exhibits run alongside the current "Ted DeGrazia's Painted Ponies" exhibit through January 27, 2027. The Midnight Sk...

It's National Park Week! Every fourth Sunday, Joey Stuckey joins Lisa Smith on Big Blend Radio's Music Talks — and this time they're diving into the music inspired by America's national parks and public lands. Recorded right at the start of National Park Week (August 22–30, 2026), the conversation marks the National Park Service's 110th birthday and the 250th anniversary of American independence....

Filmmaker Casey Carter joins Big Blend Radio to talk about his feature documentary debut, "To Use a Mountain," which traces the search for a permanent U.S. nuclear waste repository back to the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act. Casey and Lisa dig into the six candidate communities featured in the film — in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Nevada — and the farmers, miners, tribal le...

It's the very first episode of "Pets, Plots & Poisons" Podcast! Mystery authors Matt Cost and BJ Magnani launch their new Big Blend Radio show with the story of how they met (a New England Crime Bake conference), what they're each writing now, and a secret collaboration between their characters. BJ shares her latest Dr. Lily Robinson thriller, "We'll Always Have Poisons," sending her poison-to...

In Part Three of her “Lessons Learned from Travel” series, travel writr Linda Ballou takes us into the wilds of Alaska and Canada for a powerful story about adventure, wilderness, and environmental stewardship. In this shared episode of Big Blend Radio’s “Lost Angel Travel Adventures” Show, Linda reflects on her journey down the Tatshenshini River, also known as Raven’s River, which begins near Ha...

In this episode of Big Blend Radio's "Journey Jukebox" travel podcast, travel writer Lisa Evans takes us to Cody, Wyoming, a fascinating Western destination where the spirit of the Old West is still very much alive. Located just outside Yellowstone National Park, Cody combines Western history, art, craftsmanship, music, rodeo, and living history in a destination that's worth more than just a quick...