Our Americana

Retrospective 2 takes us to the origin of the investigation; where Josh's interest in storytelling evolved into his obsession of needing to know everything. And it started in a surprising place: a bound book of correspondence between two teenage girls and their landlord. What started as comedic found writing, became a mystery that people could not let go. And as Josh made his way through it, while...

To celebrate 10 years in podcasting, we're spending the summer going back in time and both highlighting key episodes and telling the stories behind them; you’ll get new behind-the-scenes information about what was happening in life, in various investigations, and in the world that impacted these important episodes and their podcasts. You’ll learn how Josh started podcasting, how he started investi...

A man ahead of his time, built an entire town around the timber industry. A century later, the town is building itself around and in support of a local nuisance. Finding comedy in stress, it turns out, has been a decades-long tradition in Longview, Washington. Plus, the best way to survive a volcano eruption; and how fun, industry, and ecology can thrive in symbiosis. This is a Studio BOTH/AND pro...

A four-person support group, for parents of children with autism, inspires an entire community to become Canada's first Autism-Friendly Town. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to support the show: www.patreon.com/studiobothand Written, edited, and produced by Josh Hallmark Guests: Joan Chaisson, Cathy Lomond, Cindy Goud...

In this collaboration with The Story Behind podcast, we explore the story behind Roadside Attractions. We take a look at how three Roadside Attractions have impacted and been impacted by community: including the world's largest beagle, the world's (former) largest cherry pie pan, and the Unclaimed Baggage Center (a museum of lost luggage). This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodc...

When a rural town's only high school is in jeopardy, the community comes together to change it in some very radical ways. And then the school, in turn, changes the community. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to support the show: www.patreon.com/studiobothand Written, edited, and produced by Josh Hallmark Music by Jon L...

A tornado forever changes the rural town of Greensburg in the most unexpected way. And we separate ideas and movements from the constraints of politics. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to support the show: www.patreon.com/studiobothand Written, edited, and produced by Josh Hallmark Research Assistance by Torey Griffit...

A rural town, known as The Troll Capital of the World, unites over the attempted banning of a book reading and its very close-to-home consequences. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to support the show: www.patreon.com/studiobothand Written, edited, and produced by Josh Hallmark Research by Vanessa York, Nicola Jezequel...

We head to South Florida to take a very candid look at the struggles of drug addiction and recovery through the lens of a listener. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to support the show: www.patreon.com/studiobothand Music by: El Perro del Mar, Chris Zabriskie, Lee Rosevere, and Freya Ridings

Hot off the heels of #VanLife, we stick to the open road and explore American Roadside Attractions. Manatees, vacuums, Big Fish, and some listener stories. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to support the show: www.patreon.com/studiobothand Music by: Drake Stafford, Broke For Free, Three Chain Links, Maxim Kornyshev, Wi...

Josh catches up with the four #VanLifers who he chatted with last July. Jennifer and Josh talk about the privilege of experience. Alex finds solace and liberation in a disconnected life. And we find out whether Giddi and Jace made it back out onto the road after having their baby. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to su...

Seth tries to uncover how exactly the epidemics began and continue to occur. Jesse comes through recovery and starts the long road to creating a new life for himself. Holli, once a beacon for hope in Austin, struggles with the intersections of religion, media, and welfare; and then ultimately loses hope, herself. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi F...

We pause the story in Austin, to talk more personally about HIV. Music by Chris Zabriskie & Luke Pigott. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to support the show: www.patreon.com/studiobothand

In a small, rural Indiana town, what started as a drug epidemic became an HIV crisis. Government, religion, public health, the community, and the media coalesce in their various attempts to help a town in peril. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to support the show: www.patreon.com/studiobothand

In a town with no radio or cellular waves, with no wifi or cable, life is wonderfully quiet. We examine our strange relationships with technology and meet a woman who suffers from electromagnetic sensitivity so bad, she spent a year living in a Faraday cage. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to support the show: www.pat...

In a rural Iowa town rooted in Transcendental Meditation and home to the microcommunity movement, community-building and intention have been redefined. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to support the show: www.patreon.com/studiobothand

A northern Minnesota town, struggling to find its economic identity, gets a little help from an unlikely resident and his uncanny routine. Plus, turtle racing. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to support the show: www.patreon.com/studiobothand

Our Americana listener Adrienne walks us through her hometown. We talk about how tragedy shaped her, politics and conversation in North Carolina, and life in a town full of memories. Plus, a song about bears. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to support the show: www.patreon.com/studiobothand Our Americana is produced &...

In 2013, hundred dollar bills started mysteriously appearing throughout Salem, Oregon; in diaper boxes, tip cups, people's cars. This is the story of the mysterious person hiding them, and how their generosity became contagious. This week's guests: Heather Martin, JoAnn Culbertson, and Rob Whelan Our Americana is produced & hosted by Josh Hallmark. Learn more at www.ouramericanapodcast.com Spo...

It's how this whole thing started. When we set off on the open road that May evening, we knew our lives were about to change; we had no idea exactly how. We had no idea exactly how much, how wonderfully; how it would take us to right here, right now. #VanLife is, of course, bigger than just us and our travels. And so, I reached out to some of our fellow roadtrippers to see how life on the road has...

A high desert ghost town is revitalized as an unincorporated, off-the-grid artists' community. In this ungoverned, un-policed town of 219, law enforcement consists of a self-appointed, five-person Intervention and Safety Team. This town and its governing by volunteerism will change the way you think about law enforcement, guns, ethics, and their impact on community. This is a Studio BOTH/AND produ...

This episode concludes the story of Luna the Whale and his time in Gold River. The town comes together to save Luna, and the town struggles in the wake of his absence and the lessons learned. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to support the show: www.patreon.com/studiobothand This week's guests: Jamie James: Jamie is a...

In 2001, the small town of Gold River was adopted by a baby orca. Over the next five years, Luna the Whale would both unite and spark debate amongst the previously segregated town. And he would put this isolated Vancouver Island community on the map and at the forefront of an even bigger conversation about what happens when conservation and humanity collide. Guests: Donna Schneider Eugene Amos Mic...

In the season two premiere we head to rural Berkshire County, where the coalescence of agriculture, city weekenders, and a regional currency helped create and spread the farm-to-table movement. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to support the show: www.patreon.com/studiobothand Guests: Alice Maggio: Alice is the Local C...

What happens when the town you live in, your home, your culture, your community, becomes a trend? And then, what happens when people declare that trend dead? This week we go to the tiny West Texas art mecca, in the middle of nowhere, to find out. This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.ouramericanapodcast.com / www.bothand.fyi For an ad-free experience or to support the show: www.patreon.com/stu...