National Park After Dark

Today’s stories include disrupting the natural order, shaming tourons, static ghosts, poop strap injuries, hauntings in Japan, Alaskan thank yous, pennies form heaven and cacti-microneedling Brazilian waxes. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers! Listen to Watch Her Cook on Apple and Spotify! For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, foll...

Hosts Cassie and Danielle from National Park After Dark are launching a brand new podcast, Watch Her Cook! Watch Her Cook is a weekly podcast that highlights the incredible women throughout history who have shattered the glass ceiling on the expectations of what women "should" be. From trailblazing inventors and fierce activists to notorious outlaws and criminal masterminds, these women proved the...

Following a crushing political defeat in 1913, former president Theodore Roosevelt turned to what soothed him the most - the wild and pushing his limits within it. Roosevelt is a complicated historical figure - one who is remembered in teddy bears, for his legacy of public land protection, as the country’s youngest and most influential politician as well as a man who held racist ideals - but not m...

Botanists Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter changed the stereotype of women in botany when they found a love for not the delicate flowers, but the cacti with thorns and the vegetation that thrived in the most inhospitable environments. They set out to do something that had never been done before, to be the first women to boat the entirety of the Colorado River and map out the flora of the Grand Canyon...

In July of 1897, three men were carried into the sky inside a hydrogen balloon with the goal of being the first to reach the North Pole. The fate of their ambitious expedition remained a mystery for decades until a chance discovery unveiled the location of their final camp. But that revelation only gave rise to more puzzling questions we are still trying to answer today. For a full list of our sou...

Today’s stories include slapping the bag, a mother’s intuition, geocaching gone wrong, being saved by spirits, synchronicities and sibling pranks. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers! For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:Instagram: @nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @nationalparkafterdarkS...

In today's episode we had the incredible opportunity to speak with Cecilie Skog. Cecilie has cemented her place in the world of extreme adventure sports as being the first person in the world to have skied across both the North and the South Poles and to have climbed all of The Seven Summits. She completed the first unassisted and unsupported trek across the continent of Antarctica and has made se...

On Valentine’s Day 2025 4,400 Public Land workers were abruptly and illegally terminated from their positions and since then, news of executive orders threatening to exploit our public lands for their natural resources have been flooding headlines. To better understand the gravity of this situation and to hear straight from those most directly effected we are joined by Yosemite and Devils Postpile...

Today’s stories include dumpster lemons, haunted marathons, national park first dates, night hippos, hero dads and being saved by science. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers! For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:Instagram: @nationalparkafterdarkTwitter/X: @npadpodcastTikTok: @nationa...

On April 10, 1815 the most powerful volcanic eruption in human history was recorded on an island in Indonesia. The ash cloud that formed by its explosion was as large and the entire United States and hovered 12 miles above the earth, reaching the stratosphere. The results were catastrophic. It resulted in major climate changes, where in most of the world, summer never came. Wildlife and humans ali...

On July 17th, 1944 the worst home front disaster of WWII unfolded in an instant when a munitions base exploded with the force of 5,000 lbs of TNT just outside of San Fransisco. The catastrophic incident killed 320 people instantly and injured hundreds more. The event resulted in the largest mutiny trial in US Naval History and raised awareness of racial injustice and unsafe working conditions duri...

Today’s stories include check ins from the other side, underwater close calls, man ghosts, cases of mistaken identity, cursed Airbnb’s and bodies in the woods. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers! For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:Instagram: @nationalparkafterdarkTwitter/X: @npadpo...

The area that is now Biscayne National Park was once considered a wasteland and worthless - but the Jones family, newly freed from slavery, saw the value it had. They purchased three islands and created both a home and a lucrative business. When business tycoons finally realized the locations monetary worth, they fought hard to gain control of the land to develop high rises and oil refineries. Sir...

In April of 2010, a young woman from Colorado was living her dream in Asia. At the tail end of her five month solo journey to the continent, Aubrey Sacco elected to embark on a week long trek within Langtang National Park, a place known for its welcoming teahouses, ancient monasteries and incredible scenery.  When she vanished, the longest running search for a missing trekker in Nepal’s history be...

Today’s stories include ghostly gossip, nature soup, weird places, cursed stories, hellos and goodbyes from beyond and proof that fed bears are dead bears. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers! For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:Instagram: @nationalparkafterdarkTwitter/X: @npadpodcas...

It’s our birthday (or, anniversary)! Four years ago this week we released out very first episode with zero clue what we were doing. Since then we have covered over 200 stories, gained thousands of friends and made a lot of memories. Today’s episode is a look back to some (hilarious, cringy, sad and happy) moments on our journey here as well as some updates on cases we have covered along the way. T...

When Jordan and Cody met each other they quickly fell in love and tied the knot. But when Cody disappeared only eight days after their wedding, people began to suspect his new wife may have been involved. For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials:Instagram: @‌national...

Today’s stories include acts of love, stiff pants, angry neighbors camp ghosts, Gila monsters and cougars in Maine. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers! For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:Instagram: @nationalparkafterdarkTwitter/X: @npadpodcastTikTok: @nationalparkafterdarkSupport t...

The Birthplace of Jazz, NOLA, The Big Easy - no matter how you know it, New Orleans is world renowned. While we visit today to toss beads and eat beignets, these streets - and swamps - were once home to one of the most mysterious pirates in history, Jean Lafitte. His smuggling operations throughout the South earned him quite the reputation in life, but the legends of his buried treasure solidified...

Margarett McFaddin Harritt and Joel Polson sparked an unlikely friendship that lead them to plan a thru hike on the AT in 1974. On just their second night they met a strange man at the Low Gap shelter, who unbeknownst to them, was a criminal on the run from police. Their encounter left one of them dead and the other in a fight for survival. For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/epi...

Director Andrew Kightlinger joins NPAD to give us all a glimpse into the making of the much anticipated film - Lost on a Mountain in Maine. From his upbringing in Madagascar to his working interview on Katahdin, Andrew shares how he became involved with Donn Fendler’s story and how proud he was to bring one of Maine’s legacies to the big screen. For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.co...

Today we are joined by Leitah Mkhabela of the Black Mambas - the world's first officially formed, registered and recognized all-women anti-poaching unit that operates within Greater Kruger National Park. She highlights the importance of educating and inspiring the next generation to care for our wild world and how her life is a reflection of one of her greatest teachers - her cousin Anton Mzimba....

In March of 1973, Holly and Gerald Fitzgerald were lost, starving and on the brink of death in the middle of Bolivia. The first leg of their planned honeymoon around the world was almost their last as they fought for their lives atop of raft amongst a flooded jungle. Their love for one another and desire for a shared future kept them alive for 26 days until, of all things, a monkey led to their re...

Today’s stories include boat explosions, unexpected friends, questionable decisions doggie miracles, rescue attempts and almost being killed by a hot air balloon. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers! For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:Instagram: @nationalparkafterdarkTwitter/X: @npa...

Today we follow Elishaba and Jerusalem’s escape through the unforgiving terrain of Alaska. With their father right on their tail and temperatures dropping far into the negatives, they’re in a fight for survival. *Content Warning: This episode contains domestic and sexual abuse.*For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch an...