Kaatscast: the Catskills Podcast

The Delaware County Diggers is a group of metal detecting enthusiasts with a passion for history and preservation. We joined them at the John Burroughs' Woodchuck Lodge in Roxbury, NY, where they beeped and dug their way to an eclectic assortment of 19th- and 20th-century treasures. Come along with us for an archaeological treasure hunt just beneath the surface of John Burroughs' property at the h...

It’s fall in the Catskills, with that too-brief splash of color that draws leaf peepers near and far. In 1862, as famed naturalist Henry David Thoreau lay dying from tuberculosis, he wrote an essay entitled "Autumnal Tints," an ode to autumn in New England. In 2008, we published an audio edition of that work, and this week … a selection from that essay, titled "Fallen Leaves." Thank you to our spo...

This week: bees! wasps! hornets! yellowjackets! (and other things that sting) with special guest Justin O. Schmidt, research biologist at Southwestern Biological Institute, adjunct faculty at University of Arizona’s department of entymology, author of The Sting of the Wild , and creator of the famous  Schmidt Sting Pain Index . Scientific American called Schmidt the "King of Sting." The New York T...

John Lyons is a transportation professional, sustainability leader, solar entrepreneur, and business developer with a passion for addressing the climate crisis and creating a clean energy future. He's been incorporating remote work into his career for decades, and he shares his insights on working remotely from both employee and employer perspectives. Plus, suggestions for translating what we've l...

Dave Conover is Program Coordinator at Sustainable Hudson Valley.  He grew up in the Catskills and has spent much of his career working on environmental issues as an educator and program developer. Climate change is resulting in obvious changes to our very own ecosystem. Dave connects the dots and offers us a hopeful path for the future. But the time to act is now. This episode was produced in col...

“People, Places, Possibilities” – A Conversation with Cynthia Nikitin Sustainable Hudson Valley is working to accelerate progress against climate change through programs to scale up the clean energy marketplace and by helping communities plan for more resource-efficient patterns of living and working.  Like everyone in the Hudson Valley, we are confronting four major crises: Covid-19, social injus...

There are a many conversations these days about the future, and understandably so. We are in the midst of four distinct crises: accelerating climate change, a pandemic, the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression, and a wakeup to systemic racism. Kaatscast is collaborating with Sustainable Hudson Valley on a series called “People, Places, Possibilities," to explore aspects of this new r...

First published in 1903, The Land of Little Rain is Mary Austin’s classic homage to the American Southwest. Her collection of short stories and essays takes listeners on an enchanted journey through Death Valley, the High Sierras, and the Mojave Desert. Aridity and heat lie counterpoint to our Catskills’ seemingly limitless water and endless winters. Like other nature writers of her time — John Bu...

We recorded 85-year-old Nick Lyons at the Jerry Bartlett Angling Collection in Phoenicia, NY, as part of its "Sporting Legends of The Catskills" series.  From that event: "Nick began to fish as a child during summers at the Laurel House in Haines Falls, when the hotel was owned by his grandfather. He went on to wet a line just about everywhere he could find water — from Steeplechase Pier in Brookl...

In The Quarry Fox , Leslie T. Sharpe chronicles the seasons and the vibrant wildlife of a landscape she cherishes, offering her keen insights in an engaging narrative that celebrates the splendor of the natural world. From crafty foxes and hibernating bears to vulnerable monarch butterflies, The Quarry Fox explores the creatures of the Great Western Catskills in loving, lyrical detail. Heir to Joh...

Platte Clove is a steep and narrow valley, accessed by Platte Clove Road between Tannersville and West Saugerties, NY. Part of the road is seasonal use only, offering a gorgeous (and hair-raising) drive April through October. John Farrell and Paul Dibbell are no strangers to this valley, and they talk to us about Elka Park, a 19th-century Victorian community; hiking and driving through the valley;...

Christie Scheele is an artist living in the Catskills, whose art is collected nationally and internationally by hundreds of private and public collectors. She says, "The single most distinctive aspect to what I do as a landscape painter lies in my ability to reduce a scene to its essentials. This gives the viewer what is important, without the distraction, or visual clutter, of too much detail. Bo...

On October 27, 2018, at the Phoenicia Library's Jerry Bartlett Angling Collection , “First Lady” Joan Wulff and her associate Jen Grossman took the floor to tell the story of Joan's remarkable life and career in the angling world. Hooked on fishing at a very early age, she rose to prominence as a National Casting Champion, winning competitions for both distance (161 feet!) and accuracy from 1943-1...

Forest historian Michael Kudish talks trees and forest composition in the Stony Clove, bridging Ulster and Greene Counties. Then, a conversation with forest entomologist Mark Whitmore, on an invasive threat to our Catskill hemlocks.  Thanks to our sponsors, Greene County Soil & Water ; and the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway . 

Full audio edition of John Burroughs’ classic essay, "The Heart of the Southern Catskills."  In 1886, Princeton geology professor Arnold Henry Guyot determined by survey that Slide Mountain, far to the southwest of the Hudson-hugging mountaintops, was the highest peak in the region, reaching over 4,000 feet. The opening of resorts like the Catskill Mountain House and the Grand Hotel at Highmount d...

This audio edition of John Burroughs’ classic essay, "Pepacton: A Summer Voyage," is the story of Burroughs’ journey down the meandering river he called Pepacton, the name native people gave the stream. Burroughs was in his 40s when he made the trip, on a raft-type craft he fashioned himself, a grown man playing Huck Finn, traveling his personal Mississippi. This 19th-century Catskills tale is pur...

Thousands infected, businesses shuttered, social distancing, and closed schools. In this special, unscheduled episode, listen in on 5 interviews on the pandemic, and how the Catskills are responding.  • Lissa Harris, reporter for The River Hudson Valley Newsroom • "Rachel," a recent college grad who's battling COVID-19 head-on • Ulster County Economic Development director, Lisa Berger • Local rest...

The Catskills, with its beautiful scenery and quirky towns, offers ready-made backdrops for movies and TV. Add talented local crews and substantial tax credits, and it's no wonder increasing numbers of film and television productions are setting up here. In this episode, we speak with the Hudson Valley Film Commission's Laurent Rejto, and with a local innkeeper whose B&B was a key location for...

We tour "the loop," of Routes 25 and 23c, that connects Haines Falls to Tannersville, via the mountaintop. Hear from Cyndi LaPierre and Dede Thorpe on historic homes and the origins of Onteora Park; famed residents like Maude Adams (Peter Pan); visiting the Mountain Top Arboretum; and a church that served as a quarantine during the 1914 influenza epidemic (history certainly does repeat itself).

In 1976, renowned artist Jan Sawka fled communist Poland with his wife Hanna, and baby daughter, also named Hanna. They eventually settled in High Falls, NY, and Jan would draw inspiration for his paintings from the Ashokan Reservoir and Catskills Mountains. We spoke with Jan’s family at an exhibition of his work at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, at SUNY New Paltz.

In this episode, hear from Jon Ham and Bob Gildersleeve about the grand hotels that attracted visitors at the turn of the century, and the trains that got them there. Also... "mutton?!" How one hotel's refusal to serve chicken led to the construction of a famous competitor. 

In this episode, you’ll hear from historian Cyndi LaPierre on the history of the word "Catskills," and if you’re wondering why Kaatscast starts with a “K,” instead of a “C,” this segment should help clear things up. In the second half of the show, we’ll travel to Kaaterskill falls with geologist Bob Titus, who takes us back even further, to when the Catskills felt more like … the Bahamas!

Welcome to Kaatscast –– a biweekly podcast delivering interviews, arts, culture, and history, from New York's Catskill mountains. Please subscribe, and be the first to hear all the great content, from quick interviews with Catskills locals, to full-length audio driving tours and fully-produced audiobooks. In this first episode, we take you on a tour of the Northern Catskills’ Mountain Cloves Sceni...