National Parks Traveler Podcast

National Parks Traveler Podcast

Author: Kurt Repanshek Language: English Episodes: 100
There's a world of stories waiting beyond the park entrance sign, and the National Parks Traveler Podcast is your audio guide to them. Led by Kurt Repanshek, this series goes deeper than trail maps and visitor statistics. It connects the natural wonder you experience firsthand with the crucial, often unseen work happening behind the scenes-the science informing conservation, the cultural histories embedded in the landscape, and the policy decisions that will shape these places for future generations. As the audio companion to the editorially independent nonprofit media organization, this podcast delivers a thoughtful blend of on-the-ground reports, interviews with researchers and park staff, and nuanced discussions about the challenges and triumphs in managing protected areas. You'll hear the sounds of the parks and the voices of the people dedicated to them. Each episode is an invitation to better understand the complex tapestry of ecology, history, and society that makes every national park far more than a scenic destination. Tune in for a regular dose of insight that will deepen your appreciation and perhaps even shape your next journey into America's most treasured public lands.
Episodes
National Parks Traveler Podcast | National Park Service Upheaval [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:38
There is, across the country, some upheaval going on as the Trump administration works to reduce the size of the federal government. Whether you support that effort or oppose it, you can't deny there's not upheaval going…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Threatened Lands [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:06
Across the United States there are hundreds of millions of acres of public lands. Indeed, there are more than 500 million acres of federal lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, and…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | NPS Cast Aside [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:23
It was just over a week ago, on Valentine's Day, that the Trump administration wiped 1,000 employees off the National Park Service staff without any apparent strategy other than that they were dispensable staff still on…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | National Parks in Crisis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:38
The Trump administration's determination to reduce the size of government regardless of the cost is having a hard impact on the National Park Service. Last month the agency was forced to rescind job offers to seasonal wo…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | The Ghost Forest [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:55
National parks are home to many iconic trees. Bristlecones pines, Whitebark pines, Sequoias, even mangroves. And, of course, redwoods. These trees hold many stories. The size alone of redwoods and sequoias are enough to…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Keeping Cape Lookout Above Water [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:37
Rising sea levels, stronger storms, eroding shorelines, and sinking terrain are taking a toll on the fragile ecosystems and historic resources at Cape Lookout National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. A new…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Parks Under Pressure [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:44
Here we are, a week into the second administration of President Donald Trump. It's certainly a time of change, some of which is expected, and some perhaps not. Do we really need to rename North America's tallest mountain…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Yellowstone Wolves at 30 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:11
There are sounds that wake you up out of a deep sleep, only to be dismissed as you fall back to sleep. And then there are sounds that rivet you, make you sit bolt upright. That was the type of sound that woke us while we…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Threatened and Endangered Parks [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:17
We're five days into 2025, and already there's a lot of news concerning national parks and the National Park Service. Traveler Editor-in-Chief Kurt Repanshek is joined today by Contributing Editor Kim O'Connell to discus…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | A Walk in the Park [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:47
Many of us like to take a walk in our favorite national park, whether it's a short stroll down one of the boardwalks at Yellowstone National Park, the hike to the top of Old Rag at Shenandoah National Park, or up the Mis…