Charm of the Wilderness Podcast

In April, my family flew to Salt Lake City to pick up a campervan we bought and road-tripped home. We stopped in Bruneau Dunes State Park in Idaho, Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve also in Idaho, and John Day Fossil Bed National Monument . It was a quick but lovely trip, and I recorded reflections each night of our trip to share about our experience and what we learned. Visiting th...

When I heard Steph Littlebird on OPB in March , I wanted to talk with her immediately—not only does she exude vibrancy, she’s so succinct and clear-eyed about why we must have a relationship with the land. And then I saw her book, and I had to reach out. As you will hear shortly on our episode, Steph is an absolute delight! She’s an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde an...

I discovered the National Park Mystery Series a little over a year ago when a friend recommended it. Quickly, the series became my son and my nightly read-together books that got us through many months. We both became attached to the characters, middle schoolers, Jake, Amber, and Wes, and felt incredibly invested in their adventures. Deep into the series and this research, I knew I had to have the...

In the Charm of the Wilderness book project, I’m using the natural elements to shape the narrative. That theme guides each park or trip. The first of all of those was a trip to Yosemite National Park I took last year that centered on fire. The two guys I interview this week played a big role in understanding the landscape of fire and fire management in the United States and the National Park Servi...

In 1972, the state of Montana imposed a constitutional mandate that required all K-12 schools in the state to teach “the distinct and unique cultural heritage of the American Indians” and committed to “its educational goals to the preservation of their cultural integrity.” This was a landmark step as Montana became the only state to require Native education as a part of its curriculum. With Montan...

When discussing and writing about the outdoors, there’s always an elephant in the room: the sheer Whiteness of the outdoors space. The major outdoor brands have admittedly struggled to diversify, and there’s a particular White Male Broey-ness that has always made me feel uncomfortable with the whole industry. I wrote about that a few months ago as well . Things are changing, though, but it’s large...

In the aftermath of what’s been dubbed the “Valentine’s Day Massacre,” where the Trump Administration unceremoniously fired thousands of federal workers, Will C. De Man ’s social media platform skyrocketed thanks to a post on Instagram expressing his empathy for the park rangers who lost their jobs. As a seventh-grade history teacher who also wrote the book A Short History of the National Parks: T...

In January 2021, The Smithsonian Magazine published an article called “ The Lost History of Yellowstone .” I was already in the middle of an awakening about the origins of how the land of North America became settler land (i.e., it was stolen from Indigenous peoples). The article interviews and follows researchers who had recently uncovered artifacts that proved what is now called Yellowstone Nati...

When my family was traveling to the National Parks in Southern Utah last November, I happened to be reading American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God, & Public Lands in the West by Betsy Gaines Quammen , and I became a little bit obsessed. The moment I put it down, I emailed Betsy to interview her for the book I’m working on and to invite her to be one of my inaugural guests for the podcast. I’m excited fo...

Welcome to the Charm of the Wilderness podcast! I’m thrilled to release our inaugural episode featuring not only an incredible educator, but one of my oldest and best friends, Allison Depuy. In this episode, we talk about innovative ways to bring the outdoors to the classroom and how we can inspire our kids to be engaged in nature. Additionally, Alli helps me introduce the podcast and what Charm o...

I’m kicking off Earth Month with an exciting new project: a podcast! I have been talking to so many inspiring and interesting people for the book that I thought you all might want to hear from them as well. Season One of the Charm of the Wilderness podcast features a variety of experts, including educators, researchers, and community advocates working to educate about the true history of the natio...