Seacoast Stories

This world is riddled with issues. In this election year, you don't need me to tell you what they are. But one problem you likely aren't aware of? That won't get voted on in this year's ballot? Today's guest joins Seacoast Stories to educate you on the problem you may not even know you have: The spiritual clutter that is blocking you from fulfilling your potential. In this week's conversation from...

*This podcast contains references to death and violence. Listener discretion is advised.* "It was all-consuming. It was unbelievable." That's how Justin Juray felt on October 26, 2023, the day after the largest mass casualty event in Maine history took place in Lewiston, an event that claimed the lives of 18 innocent Mainers on a night that will never be forgotten. But Juray, the co-owner of Just-...

The next time you think about attending a show at The Music Hall in downtown Portsmouth...you may want to think twice. Because you may just come into contact with something that will haunt you forever. In today's conversation from a sketchy cellar in Deadwick's Ethereal Emporeum, Portsmouth's top ghost historian Juniper Pickwick and I discuss: Juniper Pickwick's affinity for ghosts (00:00) What ma...

Jezmina Von Thiele has dealt with it her whole life. The racist stereotypes. The assumptions. Others labeling her as a nomad, runaway, and a thief. But rather than shun her Romani heritage, Jezmina leans fully into it. Through her podcast, social media channels, and new book, Jezmina represents swaths of "outcasts" in this country. A nonbinary woman of Romani heritage, Jezmina uses her platforms t...

Jeremiah and Nicole Vernon can't take it anymore. The complaints from the neighbors. The town meetings. The regulation boards. The financial burdens. The stress. The tears. The drama. They just want to focus on what they love to do: Responsibly growing nutritious and delicious food for the thousands of customers who attend their famous agritourism events, shop in the farm store, and value local fa...

*WARNING* This episode contains discussion about suicide. Listener discretion is advised. Carley Crain felt lonely. Away from her college friends, confused about her career path, drowned in student loan debt, and frustrated by social media algorithms that told her she was failing, Carley started feeling an all-consuming sadness that she couldn't shake. She wanted a way out. But she didn't...

Deaglan McEachern didn't want to be the mayor of Portsmouth. But, as a lifelong lover of people and politics, he couldn't help but join the City Council in his beloved hometown. Believing it's our duty to give back to the world that gives us so much, McEachern is devoted to use his privilege to enrich the lives of those in our sacred community. The mayor title, according to him, is sim...

Middle school is a terrible time for teenage girls. Their bodies are changing. Acne is developing. Boys are starting to look at them. And for whatever reason, girls start being really mean to each other. They often feel like no one understands them, like they have to pretend to be someone else, like they're supposed to mold themselves into what society expects them to be. Carrie Penna remember...

Everyone wants to live on the Seacoast. And who can blame longtime city dwellers, newlyweds, retirees, or recent college graduates for wanting to plant down roots here? With proximity to mountains, beaches, great food, and Boston, the Seacoast is a highly practical place to call home. The problem is ... the demand doesn't meet the supply these days. So, as simple economics would have it, housi...

As another Seacoast summer nears its end, so too does the busy season for one of the Seacoast's top tourist destinations. The Nubble Lighthouse, seated along scenic Cape Neddick in Maine, is an enduring symbol of the Seacoast. It's a nod to Maine's past as a commercial hub, an ode to Americana in its purest form. For over a century, the Nubble has captured the imaginations of all who h...

Duncan Robinson never anticipated making it to the NBA. The Seacoast doesn't produce elite basketball talent. The region's best ballers may end up playing a few years professionally in Europe, but that's the extent of it. And Robinson saw himself going down a similar path. As for Robinson's story of attending prep school at Phillips Exeter, playing D-III ball in Massachusetts, tran...

One night at his grandmother's house in South Hampton in the 1980s, Mike Stevens felt an internal calling to go outside. Alongside his cousin, 3-year-old Mike saw something that's still seared into his brain 40+ years later. He remembers the flying saucer coming, and he remembers it flying away. As for what happened in between? Well, it still haunts him to this day. *In today's convers...

Amy Tilton couldn't take it anymore. The incessant emails. The infiltration of politics. The unkind words from parents. So when she realized her job as an elementary school art teacher had become something vastly different than what she had signed up for six years prior, Amy concocted an exit strategy. It was a quiet strategy, but it speaks loudly about who Amy is, what she stands for, and the...

Sarah Oleson was at dinner with friends one night when she announced one of the biggest decisions of her life. A decision that would remove her from teaching elementary school, help her heal from the unhealthy decisions of her youth, and send her on an epic journey that's whisked her to places like Costa Rica, Mexico, Italy, Spain, and so many more. That decision? A trip to Bali for a yoga tea...

Emily Spencer set her sights on winning the Miss New Hampshire pageant eight years ago. First, she won Miss Bedford in 2019. And then Miss Greater Nashua in 2022, Miss Rockingham County and Miss Winnipesaukee in 2023, and then, in May of 2024, she was crowned Miss New Hampshire. Now, the 23-year-old Bedford, NH, native has her gaze set on an even bigger prize, a prize that Miss New Hampshire has n...

Pete Beauregard was tired of "catching bad guys" in cyberspace. So to fill the space left unfulfilled by his day job, he started brewing beer at his home in Portsmouth. Shortly after (and years before craft beer had taken off in New Hampshire) Pete and some buddies toyed with the idea of opening a brewery. And in 2014, after receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding, the grou...

Eventually, in the future, one day, someday. That's when Bridget and Robbie Jenkins decided they'd go all in on their dream business: Growing and distributing local flowers on the Seacoast. But, they made excuses. They couldn't find the time. They had other businesses to tend to. Yet, the inner voices pulling them toward their future remained. And as fate would have it, the universe ga...

*TRIGGER WARNING* This episode contains references to addiction. Listener discretion is advised. Steve Ivanoski wanted to help people. So he chose to pursue a career in pharmacy. Then, after spending years in the industry, he'd had enough. The peeks behind the curtain, coupled with his own personal battle with drug addiction, led him to leave behind everything he'd ever known in search of...

For the first 20+ years of her life, soccer was all that Katy Marshall knew. It was her entire identity. But when reality set in that she wouldn't play professionally, panic ensued. What was her purpose without sports, and where should she go to find it? Over the next few years, Katy asked herself these questions as she left the Seacoast in search of self-discovery. She eventually found the an...

If you've scrolled through social media at any point in the last two years, chances are you've zoomed past clips of Stanford researcher and podcaster Dr. Andrew Huberman waxing poetic about the amazing health benefits of trends like the cold plunge, sauna, floating, red light therapy, and more. Well, the Seacoast was participating in the trend long before Dr. Huberman started going viral....

After spending 48 hours in the emergency room last summer , doctors diagnosed me with Type 1 diabetes at 27 years old, a rare case of an autoimmune disease that hinders the pancreas' ability to produce insulin, the hormone responsible for regulating blood sugar levels as you go about your daily life. I've spent the last year learning my new body, but I still have so many questions about ho...

Last month, Nick Callas performed at The Music Hall Lounge on a perfect Friday night in downtown Portsmouth. A friend and I attended the show, and we laughed out loud the entire time as Nick made jokes about Seacoast citizens with boats and the political climate in New England, among many other subjects. In Part One of our conversation from his home office in New York City's Financial District...

If you've scrolled by a drop-dead gorgeous Seacoast sunset on Instagram, chances are it was posted to @SeacoastLately, the region's go-to guide for celebrating the beauty, culture, and happenings of the Seacoast. An Instagram account with 38,000 followers, @SeacoastLately is the ultimate guide for how to best spend your time, money, and energy while taking in all the magic the Seacoast has...

Every summer, hundreds of thousands of people flock to the Seacoast to take in Portsmouth's most beloved artistic tradition: The Prescott Park Arts Festival. Across 10 jam-packed weeks, the Festival hosts incredible weekly FREE concerts from big-name acts, a musical, and more in a breathtaking historical venue seated along the Piscataqua River. And this summer, the Festival celebrates its 50th...

Host Troy Farkas , a resident of Portsmouth, NH, talks about "Seacoast Stories," a new podcast about the people, places, and businesses that comprise New England's Seacoast region. In this trailer episode, Troy lays out why he's created this podcast, and what you can expect every Monday on the program. Visit Treeline Outfitters on Friday, June 14 for the official podcast launch p...