Episodes

Feb. 6, 2023

96: New Harmony, Part 2

Today Jennifer Greene from the University of Southern Indiana is back with us. Jennifer is going to give us a little more insight on New Harmony, The Harmonist, and there way of life. Episode 2 of 3. Find us on all podcastin…
Jan. 30, 2023

95: New Harmony, Part 1

I'm talking with Jennifer Greene today about one of my favorite hometowns in all of America - New Harmony, Indiana. New Harmony was founded by a religious commune nearly 200 years ago and despite the fact that only 700 peopl…
Jan. 23, 2023

94: Paradise Spring

Long time listeners will know that we’ve been all over the country finding stories - from Florida to Washington State, from Texas to Minneapolis. All this time, there’s been one at the end of our street - literally at the en…
Jan. 16, 2023

93: Our Visit to the Beat Museum, Part 02

Last episode we sat down with Brandon at the Beat Museum in San Francisco to learn more about the Beat Movement and the way it forever changed the way Americans have thought about not only literature but life itself. This ep…
Jan. 9, 2023

92: Our Visit to the Beat Museum, Part 01

In High School I read Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road, like everybody else. So, when we were in San Francisco this past spring we stopped at the Beat Museum downtown, to learn more about the movement Kerouac helped found a …
Jan. 2, 2023

91: Reno, Nevada: Divorce Mills and Lost Cities

After our episode on “the Conqueror’s Curse,” we invited Richard Moreno back to the studio to talk more about the history of the city of Reno. One of the reasons I invited Richard back was to help introduce us to the real Re…
Dec. 26, 2022

90: The Conquerer's Curse

Some would say the 1956 movie, The Conqueror, was cursed from the beginning. It had a terrible script, an unhappy crew, and a producer, in Howard Hughes, who would soon lose his mind to obsessive compulsive disorder and any …
Dec. 19, 2022

89: Virginia City

This episode will be a little different in that we’ll be taking you deep underground in Virginia City. This is the city where Mark Twain worked at a local paper in his younger years and became the writer we know and love tod…
Dec. 14, 2022

From Team Hometown History, Introducing: Mystery Inc

From the same team that brings you Hometown History, we want to introduce you to Shane's new show Mystery Inc. If you enjoy talking about shady mysteries, Aliens, murder, legends, and of course the occasional tea - then Myst…
Dec. 11, 2022

88: Crescent City

In this episode, Shane visits the former lumber town of Crescent City, California, right at the edge of the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Among other things, this quiet coastal village is known for having been hit by m…
Dec. 5, 2022

87: Pig War / San Juan National Historic Park, Part 2

When things go as well as they did during the Pig War, it can be easy to forget just how wrong they could have gone. I asked former Chief of Interpretation and Historian for the San Juan Island National Historical Park, Mike…
Nov. 28, 2022

86: Pig War / San Juan National Historic Park, Part 1

Have you ever had a fight with a family member over something stupid? Better yet, have you ever had that fight, only to realize it wasn’t so stupid after all? That behind that excuse for a fight was a real fight just waiting…
Nov. 21, 2022

85: The North Cascades National Park

After writing "On The Road," and before it was published, Jack Kerouac spent a long summer on Desolation Peak in what is now the North Cascades National Park. We'll be hearing from Kerouac and also our favorite Ranger, Jim B…
Nov. 14, 2022

84: Crater Lake National Park

Before we explore Crater Lake National Park, I’d like to share a few pieces of general advice. I hope this series has inspired you to see more of our national parks, so I asked Jim and Will from More Than Just Parks to offer…
Nov. 7, 2022

83: Bring Back the Civilian Conservation Corps

The Civilian Conservation Corps was founded by Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, and operated for roughly a decade until the program was ended in 1942. In this episode, Jim and Will Pattiz, from More Than Just Parks , explain why …
Oct. 31, 2022

82: Lake Mead, America's First National Recreational Area

If you're looking to learn about the history of the Lake Mead National Recreational Area and what to expect if you go, this will be an episode you won't want to miss. Ad-free episodes are available on our Apple Premium Chann…
Oct. 25, 2022

A Nightmare Before Halloween, Part 2

…1 campfire… …1 dark forest… …31 bone-chilling stories… …Will YOU survive the night? This Halloween season, enter the woods for a unique and truly epic podcast experience! Around the campfire Shane Waters will introduce 31 c…
Oct. 24, 2022

A Nightmare Before Halloween, Part 1

…1 campfire… …1 dark forest… …31 bone-chilling stories… …Will YOU survive the night? This Halloween season, enter the woods for a unique and truly epic podcast experience! Around the campfire Shane Waters will introduce 31 c…
Oct. 17, 2022

81: Death Valley National Park

In 1820, the well-known British writer, Sydney Smith, mocked the United States for its lack of culture and sophistication: In the four quarters of the globe, who reads an American book? or goes to an American play? or looks …
Oct. 15, 2022

Our Team Presents: Rotten To The Core

From the team behind Hometown History, we thought you might enjoy our podcast Rotten to the Core hosted by Josh Waters! (Shane's brother) You can find Rotten to the Core here: https://link.chtbl.com/Rotten
Oct. 10, 2022

80: Grand Canyon National Park

There’s a scene in the show Mad Men that shook me up the first time I saw it. It’s probably not the one you think. In the very first episode, the Draper family picnics along the interstate. The grass is green, the birds are …
Oct. 3, 2022

79: Redwoods National Park

One of my favorite movies as a kid was The Lorax. When I first saw The Lorax, I had some sense that it was about protecting the environment. But it’s more than a cartoon. It’s a thinly veiled environmental manifesto. I didn’…
Sept. 26, 2022

78: Yellowstone National Park

Have you ever heard the saying that “Life imitates art”? The person who coined this phrase was Oscar Wilde, the 19th century poet. Some say he was the first modern celebrity. What Wilde meant was simply that art often shows …
Sept. 19, 2022

77: Yosemite National Park

There’s not much in life you can understand without context. When it comes to the systematic destruction of our planet during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, the context is this – for the first 300,000 years of human hist…