Our Missouri

Do you feel the earth move under your feet? Well, if you don't, join host Sean Rost as he talks with Conevery Bolton Valencius about the New Madrid earthquakes. Episode Image: Cracks and footprints in dried mud following a Mississippi River flood, date unknown [Thelma Blumberg Collection (S0402), SHSMO] About the Guest: Conevery Bolton Valencius holds a PhD from Harvard University. Presently, she...

Have you heard of Daniel Boone? Probably. Have you heard of Nathan and Olive Boone? Maybe not. Holly Welch of Missouri State Parks joins Sean Rost to discuss the history of the Boone Family in Missouri as well as Nathan and Olive Boone Homestead State Historic Site in Ash Grove, Missouri. Episode Image: Nathan Boone Monument, Ash Grove, Missouri, date unknown [Gerald R. Massie Photographs (P0016),...

Just in time for Oktoberfest, Walter Kamphoefner joins host Sean Rost to discuss German history, culture, and life in Missouri, particularly his upbringing in the state's German Heritage Corridor and his book,  Germans in America: A Concise History . Episode Image: German Singing Society, St. Louis, 1936 [Arthur Witman Photograph Collection (S0733), SHSMO] About the Guest: Walter Kamphoefner holds...

Next in the "Origins" series, Peter Kastor talks with Sean Rost about the interactive website, Creating a Federal Government, 1789-1829 . Episode Image: Portrait of William Clark by Charles Wilson Peale [Normandy Area Historical Association Records (S0420), SHSMO] About the Guest: Peter Kastor holds a PhD from the University of Virginia. Presently, he is Samuel K. Eddy Endowed Professor, Associate...

In this episode of the "Origins" series, Julie Winch talks to Sean Rost about the history and legacy of the Clamorgan family of St. Louis. Episode Image: Laclede's Landing and Clamorgan Alley in St. Louis, date unknown [George McCue Photograph Collection (S0718), SHSMO] About the Guest: Julie Winch is Emerita Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She is the author of seve...

In this episode of the "Origins" series, Lily Santoro joins host Sean Rost to discuss the new exhibit, "Stars, Stripes, & Celebrations: Missourians Commemorating America’s Founding in Uncertain Times," curated by her and ASH Scholars from the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy, which will be on display at the Missouri State Museum in Jefferson City from June 2026-May 2027. Episode Im...

In this episode of the "Origins" series, Stephen L. Kling, Jr. joins host Sean Rost to talk about his research into the American Revolutionary War in the West, the exhibition  Gálvez and Louisiana in the American Revolution  at the Louisiana State Cabildo Museum in New Orleans, and his October 2026 presentation for SHSMO's History on Elm series. Episode Image: Drawing of Laclede's House [Gloria Si...

In this episode of the "Origins" series, Bill Eddlemen, regional director of the SHSMO-Cape Girardeau Research Center, joins host Sean Rost to discuss his upcoming presentation on June 30, 2026, at the Center for Missouri Studies in Columbia, "The Role of the Revolutionary War and its Veterans in the Settlement of Southeast Missouri." Also, be sure to check out Bill's YouTube presentation for SHSM...

In this episode of the "Origins" series, John Craig Hammond joins host Sean Rost to discuss his new book, The Centrality of Slavery: Empire and Enslavement in Colonial Illinois and Missouri. Episode Image: Map of Illinois and Missouri, 1827 [The State Historical Society of Missouri Map Collection] About the Guest: John Craig Hammond is Associate Professor of History at Penn State University, New K...

In this episode of the "Origins" series, Frances Turnbell joins host Sean Rost to discuss her new book, Spanish Louisiana: Contest for Borderlands, 1763–1803. Episode Image: Spanish Commander’s Home in Ste. Genevieve, ca. 1916 [Ethel Massie Withers Collection (C1440), SHSMO] About the Guest: Frances Turnbell holds a PhD in History from Vanderbilt University. Presently, she is a Visiting Lecturer a...

In this episode, host Sean Rost sits down with Rachel Davidson to discuss Missouri's newest national park, Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park. Episode Image: Pencil drawing by Roscoe Misselhorn of Jean Baptiste Valle Home [Missouri Postcard Collection (P0032), SHSMO] About the Guest: Rachel Davidson is Superintendent of Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park

In the next episode of the "Origins" series, Linda Carol Jones joins host Sean Rost to discuss her book, The Shattered Cross: French Catholic Missionaries on the Mississippi River, 1698-1725. Episode Image: Steeple of Ste. Genevieve Catholic Church, date unknown [Missouri Postcard Collection (P0032), SHSMO] About the Guest: Linda Carol Jones holds a PhD in Instructional Technology from the Univers...

In this episode for the "Origins" series, Mark Walczynski joins us to talk about his new book, Jolliet and Marquette: A New History of the 1673 Expedition. Episode Image: Tower Rock in the Mississippi River, ca. 1960 [Missouri Postcard Collection (P0032), SHSMO] About the Guest: Mark Walczynski is a retired faculty member at Illinois Valley Community College and the Park Historian for the Starved...

Next up in the “Origins” series, Patricia Cleary joins host Sean Rost to talk about her award-winning book, Mound City: The Place of the Indigenous Past and Present in St. Louis. Episode Image: Monk’s Mound, 1987 [James Stebbings Photograph Collection (S0811), SHSMO] About the Guest: Patricia Cleary holds a PhD in History from Northwestern University. Presently, she is Professor of History at Cali...

Continuing the "Origins" series, John Hagermann from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources discusses Missouri’s American Indian Cultural Center at Annie and Abel Van Meter State Park. Episode Image: Mealy Mounds, Callaway County, date unknown [Missouri Department of Natural Resources Photographs (P0136)] About the Guest: John Hagermann is the Park & Historic Site Specialist at Annie and...

If you are a frequent listener of the Our Missouri, you might remember the 2021 series “Bicentennial Book Club” that coincided with the state’s 200th birthday and looked at influential books and authors focused on Missouri history. With the United States’ semi-quincentennial arriving in 2026, Our Missouri is launching a 20-episode series entitled, “Origins: A Reflection on Missouri at 250 & Be...

To conclude the "Cave State" series, Anthony Orazio, superintendent of Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, joins host Sean Rost to discuss Rock Bridge Memorial State Park and the uniquely named Devil’s Icebox. Episode Image: Devil’s Icebox at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park [Image courtesy of Sean Rost] About the Guest: Anthony Orazio is superintendent of Rock Bridge Memorial State Park and the Midwe...

Next in the Cave State series, Murphy Kindoll, Natural Resource Ecologist at Missouri State Parks, talks with host Sean Rost about Roaring River State Park. Episode Image: A group relaxing near the entrance to Roaring River Spring Cave, 1956 [Gerald R. Massie Photographs (P0016), SHSMO] About the Guest: Murphy Kindoll is the Natural Resource Ecologist at Roaring River State Park

In this episode, Ed Schott, superintendent of Meramec State Park, joins Sean Rost to discuss Fisher Cave and Meramec State Park. Episode Image: Stalactites in Fisher Cave, date unknown [John F. Bradbury, Jr. Postcard Collection (R1551), SHSMO] About the Guest: Ed Schott is the superintendent of Meramec State Park. Prior to this position, he worked at Route 66 State Park, Hawn State Park, and Onond...

In this episode, Sean Rost talks with Nick Kromrie of Missouri State Parks about Grand Gulf State Park. Episode Image: A person gazes out at Grand Gulf [Gerald R. Massie Photographs (P0016), SHSMO] About the Guest: Nick Kromrie is park superintendent of Grand Gulf State Park, Bryant Creek State Park, and Eleven Point State Park

In this episode, Sean Rost talks with Tasha Gabel, senior naturalist for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, about Onondaga Cave State Park. Episode Image: Two teenage girls look at cave formations in Onondaga Cave, 1959 [Missouri Ruralist Photographs (P0030), SHSMO] Banner Image: Interior view of Onondaga Cave, ca. 1945 [Mr. and Mrs. Walter Williams Photograph Collection (P0535), SHSMO]...

Continuing the "Cave State" series, Alice Johnson, superintendent of Graham Cave State Park and the Mid-East Section of the Katy Trail State Park, joins host Sean Rost to discuss the unique features of Graham Cave State Park. Episode Image: Graham Cave Quilt Patch by Linda Ann Eatherton, 2021 [Missouri Bicentennial Commission Records (CA6643), SHSMO] About the Guest: Alice Johnson is Superintenden...

If you are from Missouri, you know at least one thing: the weather in the state is always changing. In the summer, we have record-breaking heat waves. And here’s the thing, when winter comes along, there will be days when the temperature struggles to get above zero. Traveling along the state’s roadways—maybe you are doing so right now—you may also notice billboards proclaiming the subterranean won...

To conclude the 2025 Summer Series, Coby Ellison joins host Sean Rost to discuss the  National Museum of Transportation  in St. Louis. Episode Image: Wabash, Frisco and Pacific Live Stream Miniature Railroad, 1950. [Arthur Witman Collection (S0732), SHSMO] About the Guest: Coby Ellison is the Museum Curator at the National Museum of Transportation

Next up in the 2025 Summer Series, host Sean Rost talks with George Guastello, President and CEO of Union Station Kansas City, about one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. Episode Image: Postcard of Union Station, Kansas City, Missouri, date unknown. [Martin Eichenlaub Postcard Collection (P0009), SHSMO] About the Guest: George Guastello II is President & CEO at Union Station Kansas Ci...