the underview.
The underview is an exploration of the shaping of our place viewed through the medium of bikes, land, and people to discover community wholeness.
The underview is a series of discussions within and about the community of Northwest Arkansas. The underview explores our collective understanding and beliefs about the place we live.
These discussions will include topics that are foundational to the identity of our region, the history of our communities, the truth of conflict with the land and its people, and the current challenges and opportunities for our community.
Episodes
91 episodes
the moment with Mike Rusch (ep 2b, 49).
This bridge episode sits in the tension of the current moment. Across two seasons, the underview has traced power in Northwest Arkansas from indigenous removal through racial terror to the displacement happening right now, asking what our insti...
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Season 2
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Episode 49
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9:44
the journalist with Sam Hoisington (ep 2b, 48).
What happens to a community when no one is paying attention? Since 2005, America has lost more than 3,200 newspapers and the number of journalists per capita has dropped from 40 to just 8 per 100,000 people. The consequences are measurable: vot...
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Season 2
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Episode 48
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1:05:11
the faithful foundations with Scott Page (ep 2b, 47).
In Northwest Arkansas, where housing affordability was once the region's greatest draw, working families are increasingly being pushed to the edges. Women with children in their cars are showing up at church doorsteps asking a question congrega...
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Season 2
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Episode 47
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33:37
the faithful foundations with Candi Adams (ep 2b, 46).
In a region where home prices have jumped 70.9% in five years and median rent has increased by double digits across every major city, affordable housing solutions can feel elusive. But the Faithful Foundations program, created by the Urban L...
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Season 2
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Episode 46
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1:07:26
the Nuevo South with Dr. Perla M. Guerrero (ep 2b, 45).
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Perla Guerrero, Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Maryland and author of Nuevo South, to explore one of the most significant transformations in Northwest Arka...
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Season 2
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Episode 45
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1:13:00
the neighborhood with Solomon Burchfield (ep 2b, 44).
Solomon Burchfield, Executive Director of New Beginnings NWA, brings both lived experience and professional expertise to one of Northwest Arkansas's most urgent challenges. Growing up in a family that faced the real possibility of...
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Season 2
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Episode 44
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1:17:55
the trailblazers with Victor Gurel (ep 2b, 43)
In this episode of the underview, we sit down with Victor Gurel, CEO of Trailblazers, the organization shaping how Northwest Arkansas moves, connects, and imagines its future. From singletrack to city streets, Tr...
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Season 2
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Episode 43
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1:14:34
the rural recreational roads with the Ozark Foundation (ep 2b, 42)
In this episode of the underview, host Mike Rusch sits down with Michael Spivey (President & CEO), Brannon Pack (Senior Director of Operations), and Bobby Finster (Project Lead) from the Ozark Foundat...
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Season 2
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Episode 42
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1:08:05
the cycling community with Andy Chasteen (ep 2b, 41).
In this episode, we sit back down with Andy Chasteen, co-founder of Rule of Three and Oz Gravel, to reflect on the state of cycling in Northwest Arkansas. Andy first joined us in season one to share his vision for cycling a...
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Season 2
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Episode 41
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59:44
the mural with Paige Dirksen (ep 2b, 40).
In this episode, we continue the story of the “All Bikes Welcome” mural, this time from the perspective of the artist, Paige Dirksen, whose vision and brushstrokes brought it into being. What began as a joyful community project with more...
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Season 2
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Episode 40
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1:12:55
the mural with Dr. Rachel Olzer (ep 2b, 39).
In this episode, Dr. Rachel Olzer, Executive Director of All Bikes Welcome, reflects on what the “All Bikers Welcome” mural symbolizes, the weight of the public fight both personally and professionally, and what it reveals about b...
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Season 2
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Episode 39
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1:13:47
the story of Northwest Arkansas with Mike Rusch (ep 2, 38).
In this season two final episode, host Mike Rusch takes us back to the gravel road where the story of Northwest Arkansas began, a road overlooking unmarked graves, a place of silence and memory. From that ground, the season has traced ce...
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Season 2
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Episode 38
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1:01:28
the Van Winkle Family with Barbara Carr (ep 2, 37).
We close this season with the voice of Barbara Carr, great-granddaughter of Aaron Anderson “Rock” Van Winkle, an enslaved boy brought to Northwest Arkansas in the 1830s who became one of the region’s most skilled builders after Em...
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Season 2
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Episode 37
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48:41
the Van Winkle Family with Jerry Moore (ep 2, 36).
Aaron Anderson Rock Van Winkle was born into slavery and is believed to have been one of the first enslaved persons to be brought to Northwest Arkansas. After emancipation, he became a landowner, father, and community member in Ben...
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Season 2
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Episode 36
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1:05:19
the founding ideologies with Dr. Todd J. Stockdale (ep 2, 35).
From Enlightenment ideals to the myth of the American frontier, the founding ideologies of the United States have long shaped how we define humanity, progress, and belonging. In this episode, Dr. Todd Stockdale invites us to trace how th...
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Season 2
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Episode 35
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1:02:43
the president & religion in the south with Dr. Jared Phillips (ep 2, 34).
Religion in the South is more than tradition; it’s a force that has shaped politics, belonging, and identity across generations. In this episode, we return to Dr. Jared M. Phillips to ask for a historical view to try and understand where...
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Season 2
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Episode 34
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1:16:38
the organizer with Irvin Camacho (ep 2, 33).
In this episode, we sit down with Irvin Camacho, a Community Rights Organizer and immigrant advocate based in Northwest Arkansas. Irvin shares how his family's experience—his parents working in the region’s poultry plants—shaped h...
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Season 2
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Episode 33
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1:06:18
the workers with Magaly Licolli (ep 2, 32).
In Northwest Arkansas, the poultry industry has long been a cornerstone of the region’s economic growth. Behind the refrigerated cases and production lines are thousands of workers, many of them immigrants, whose stories and experiences are rar...
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Season 2
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Episode 32
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1:27:24
the companies with Olivia Paschal (ep 2, 31).
In this episode, we confront one of the most culturally significant topics in Northwest Arkansas: the role of Walmart, Tyson Foods, and J.B. Hunt in shaping not only the economy, but the entire identity of the region. These companies hav...
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Season 2
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Episode 31
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1:13:57
the history of latino immigration with Dr. Steven Rosales (ep 2, 30).
For decades, Latino immigrants have come to the United States in search of stability, opportunity, and a better future. But what brought them specifically to Arkansas—and to Northwest Arkansas in particular? In this episode, we sit down with
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Season 2
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Episode 30
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1:19:39
the ozarks with Dr. Jared M. Phillips, part 2 (ep 2, 29).
In part two of our conversation with Dr. Jared Phillips, we trace the transformation of the Ozarks from an agrarian culture built on land, memory, and mutuality into a region shaped by corporate industry and consolidated power. We explor...
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Season 2
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Episode 29
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45:44
the zoning policies with Alli Thurmond Quinlan (ep 2, 28).
In this episode, we continue the story of Southeast Fayetteville—this time by examining the systems that helped shape, and often erase, its historic Black community. Architect and former Fayetteville Planning Commissioner Alli Thurmond Quinl...
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Season 2
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Episode 28
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51:02
the historic district with Tommie Flowers Davis (ep 2, 27).
In this episode, we speak with longtime Fayetteville resident Tommie Flowers Davis about the disappearing legacy of Southeast Fayetteville’s Black community—and the movement to establish a Black Historic District before it’s too l...
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Season 2
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Episode 27
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1:16:32
the civil rights and labor with Dr. Michael C. Pierce (ep 2, 26).
In this episode, Dr. Michael C. Pierce, labor historian and professor at the University of Arkansas, helps us unpack the deep connections between race, labor, and the struggle for civil rights in Northwest Arkansas. Long before th...
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Season 2
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Episode 26
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1:18:31
the people with Brad Sikorski (ep 2, 25).
In this episode, we pause the historical narrative of Northwest Arkansas to check in with one of the region’s most important community leaders. Brad Sikorski is the new President and CEO of the Excellerate Foundation, stepping int...
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Season 2
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Episode 25
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36:03
