In the late 1850s, a young man named Samuel Clemens started out piloting steamboats on the Mississippi River. Within a few years, he embarked on a writing career, adopting the pen name that became famous: Mark Twain. Armed with a wry sense of humor and a natural flair for storytelling, Twain gained wide acclaim for his short stories, travel sketches, and nov ... Show More
Mar 18
Fan Favorite: Great American Authors | John Steinbeck: The Observer | 4
Growing up in the Salinas Valley of Northern California, John Steinbeck dreamed of becoming a professional writer. In his youth he took on odd jobs and worked amongst ranch hands and migrant workers, who would inspire some of his greatest work, including The Grapes of Wrath. Publ ... Show More
40m 41s
Mar 25
Fan Favorite: Great American Authors | James Baldwin: The Exile | 5
Born into poverty in Harlem in 1924, James Baldwin rose to become a celebrated novelist, essayist, playwright, and poet, and a leading voice in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. In his debut novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, and in his essay collections, Notes of a Native ... Show More
41m 10s
Apr 1
Fan Favorite: Great American Authors | Harper Lee: Mockingbird | 6
In 1949, aspiring writer Nelle Harper Lee moved from her home in small-town Alabama to New York City. She was following in the footsteps of her childhood friend, author Truman Capote. Within a few years she had penned a novel of her own, and called it To Kill a Mockingbird.To Kil ... Show More
40m 41s
Oct 2025
Cemeteries: Our First Public Parks
Graveyards are often portrayed as eerie, haunted places. Today, they’re depicted as places of fear and sorrow, where the living rarely go. But historically, cemeteries were central to community life. Far from being hidden or feared, they were embraced as spaces for reflection, cr ... Show More
1h 16m
Apr 2025
The Moth Podcast: National Parks Week
In honor of National Parks Week, we've got three stories, all about our National Parks, and why they matter. This episode was hosted by Tim Lopez. Storytellers: Kathy Nicarry finds strength in Yellowstone National Park. Tim Lopez is feeling a bit lost, and then becomes a Park Ran ... Show More
41m 53s
Aug 2025
The Murder of Tomomi Hanamure: Grand Canyon National Park
On May 8th, 2006 to celebrate her 34th birthday, Tomomi Hanamure laced up her hiking boots, as she had done so many times before, for an adventure. Her return journey to the Grand Canyon was a way to mark another year around the sun, to a place she felt so personally drawn to. Tr ... Show More
1h 6m
Nov 2025
Lost & Found: The Miraculous Survival of Truman C. Everts. Yellowstone National Park
Truman Everts, a 54-year-old bureaucrat, joined the 1870 Washburn Expedition to explore Yellowstone. After becoming separated from the group, he lost his horse, food, gun, and blankets. Alone for 37 days, he endured brutal storms, frostbite, a scalded hip, and even a mountain lio ... Show More
1h 6m
Nov 2024
National Park After Dark is Scared to Death
Dan and Lyndze Cummins, hosts of Scared to Death join us today to share some creepy tales. First, we chat about their personal thoughts on and experiences with the other side before they bring us to California and Idaho for some very strange stories filled with legends, curses an ... Show More
1h 28m
Jun 2025
The Couple Who Lived and Died for Lions: Meru National Park
George and Joy Adamson lived for lions. After raising a cub they named Elsa and telling the world about it, they were catapulted into the center of conservation and controversy. Their methods were questioned, but their love for the wild was not. While they were both murdered, the ... Show More
1h 24m