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Rooted in the Plains
Rooted in the Plains is a podcast about the people, places and moments that shaped the Great Plains.
We’ll dig into stories of resilience, curiosity and courage. These are the voices that whisper through the wind and are written in the dirt beneath our feet.
Episodes
14 episodes
Bass Reeves? You Seem Familiar.
Content Warning: This episode discusses historical violence, including domestic violence, murder, and attempted suicide. While not graphic, sensitive listeners may want to be aware before listening.Deputy U.S. Ma...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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14:48
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When Fences Became Phone Lines
In the 1890s, Great Plains farmers faced a problem: they desperately needed telephones, but the Bell Telephone Company thought rural areas were too expensive and unsophisticated to serve. So, farmers built their own system—using barbed wire fen...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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19:33
Meadowlarks, Cottonwoods, Honey Bees, Oh My!
In this Season 2 premiere of Rooted in the Plains, we will explore how the Great Plains states chose their official symbols, flowers, birds, trees, and insects. From the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago to grassroots campaigns by women's clubs, dis...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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20:08
Stories from the Plains Sky- Part 2
The sky tells its story in many ways through observation, science and technology. In this episode, Dr. Randy Peppler from the University of Oklahoma explores how meteorology and Indigenous environmental knowledge intersect across the Great Plai...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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12:31
Stories from the Plains Sky- Part 1
The Pawnee people have long looked at the sky for guidance, meaning and connection. In this episode, Matt Reed, the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Pawnee Nation, shares stories of ceremony and tradition that tie the Pawnee to the ...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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18:31
White Gold of the Plains
Nebraska is far from the ocean, but the land remembers water. More than 100 million years ago, it was the floor of a vast inland sea, and its salt still lingers in the marshes around Lincoln.In this episode, we trace how salt shaped Nebr...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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11:24
The Pony Express: Short-Lived with Lasting Effects
From gunfights at Rock Creek to hot peaches at Liberty Farm, this episode traces the short but powerful run of the Pony Express. Though it lasted just 18 months, its mark across Nebraska endures, from relay stations and home stops to the towns ...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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14:54
From Slavery to Service on the Frontier
In the years after the Civil war, newly freed men stepped into uniforms and became part of the U.S. Army’s first Black regiments. Known later as the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry and the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Infantry, these soldiers built f...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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14:45
Mountains, Tribes, and Truth: Grinnell’s American West
In this episode of Rooted in the Plains, we follow the life of George “Bird” Grinnell, naturalist, writer and advocate for the American West. From his early days learning under Madam Audubon to his expeditions across Montana and Yellowstone, Gr...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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11:23
Curtains Up on the Prairie: Nebraska’s Opera Houses, 1870-1920
In this episode of Rooted in the Plains, we open the doors to Nebraska’s opera houses, cultural centers that stood at the heart of prairie towns between 1870 and 1920. Though few ever hosted full operas, these spaces bustled with activity: trav...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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15:16
Barbed Wire and the End of the Open Range Podcast
A deceptively simple invention reshaped the Great Plains. In this episode, we explore how barbed wire transformed farming, ended the era of open-range cattle drives and stirred up fierce legal battles and neighbor disputes. From sod fences, osa...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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9:07
The Letters of Elinore Pruitt Stewart: Homesteading with Grit and Grace
In this episode of Rooted in the Plains, we explore the life and letters of Elinore Pruitt Stewart, whose homesteading experience in early 20th-century Wyoming offers one of the clearest windows into the daily lives of frontier women. From milk...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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10:01