North Words
137 episodes - English - Latest episode: 12 days ago -It's life in the North Country - everything from athletes, to artists, and great stories.
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Episodes
Oh no, not another clip show!
April 19, 2024 04:00 - 42 minutes - 58.7 MB(Apr 19, 2024) North Words looks back at some of the best revelatory moments from the last year and a half and pulls back the curtain on how public radio is made.
"Is love of country the best thing in the world?" Understanding politics through Springsteen
April 12, 2024 04:00 - 19 minutes - 26.9 MB(Apr 12, 2024) Retired SUNY Potsdam Professor John Massaro talks with Mitch about how Bruce Springsteen’s political awakening can help untangle politics for young people.
A happy accident lead to this guy drumming with Gordon Lightfoot for almost 50 years
April 05, 2024 04:00 - 32 minutes - 44.1 MB(Apr 5, 2024) Barry Keane was content just working at a record company. He didn't expect to eventually play on hundreds of records with over 250 musicians.
North Words bonus edition: March 2024
March 29, 2024 04:00 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MB(Mar 29, 2024) It's the March edition of North Words The Radio Show, with all the interviews back-to-back-to-back in a 54 minute package of great listening. Enjoy!
How one guy traveled the entire Hudson river from the Adirondacks to the sea
March 29, 2024 04:00 - 23 minutes - 32.5 MB(Mar 29, 2024) Peter Lourie reflects on his 315 mile journey. He's the first person on record to have made the entire trip by canoe.
"I need to tell you..." about Double Axel
March 22, 2024 04:00 - 27 minutes - 37.7 MB(Mar 22, 2024) A song recorded in the '80s by the popular North Country band, "Double Axel," has found new life thanks to a cover by the former drummer's son, Kyle Tupper.
What to do when your double-axel looks like a near-death experience
March 15, 2024 04:00 - 29 minutes - 39.9 MB(Mar 15, 2024) Paul Wylie is an Olympic Gold Medalist who now trains students on the ice. And his secret for the perfect routine? Well, you've got to fall down a lot first.
A new podcast honors The Vinyl Cafe while exploring new stories
March 08, 2024 05:00 - 38 minutes - 52.3 MB(Mar 8, 2024) Jess Milton hosts a podcast that digs into the Vinyl Cafe archives. She voices essays that explore her relationship with the late host and icon, Stuart McLean.
The history of the sleeping bag is a lot less sleepy than you might think
March 01, 2024 05:00 - 31 minutes - 43.3 MB(Mar 1, 2024) "Making Camp" explores the unexepected history of essential camping gear and the revolution of one of the North Country's favorite past-times
NPR's Tiny Desk Contest proves that talent can come from anywhere
February 09, 2024 05:00 - 13 minutes - 19.1 MB(Feb 9, 2024) For a decade, the contest has been providing opportunities for unsigned artists to be heard around the world
Is your book on the edge of death? Call the Book Doctor.
February 02, 2024 05:00 - 24 minutes - 33.3 MB(Feb 2, 2024) Mark Wish is a novelist who, between books, makes ends meet by giving "tough love" to writers whose stuff isn't up to snuff. His new mystery is "Necessary Deeds."
North Words bonus edition: January 2024
January 26, 2024 05:00 - 53 minutes - 49.4 MB(Jan 26, 2024) All the interviews from the January edition of North Words, in one breezy 54-minute package!
These folks from Osceola are keeping the legend of Old Lard alive
January 26, 2024 05:00 - 15 minutes - 21.2 MB(Jan 26, 2024) On this week's North Words, we'll hear from some B&B owners whose ancestors keep us connected to a simpler time.
Some alphabets are dying out. This writer is trying to preserve them.
January 19, 2024 05:00 - 35 minutes - 48.9 MB(Jan 19, 2024) Tim Brookes is fascinated by language and writing. So he invented a day to celebrate them.
Investigating the far-right landscape of the North Country: a preview of "If All Else Fails."
January 12, 2024 05:00 - 18 minutes - 25 MB(Jan 12, 2024) On this week's North Words, Mitch features a conversation between news director, David Sommerstein, and podcast hosts Emily Russell and Zach Hirsch.
North Words bonus edition: December 2023
December 29, 2023 05:00 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MB(Dec 29, 2023) No reruns for us! It's a fresh, 53-minute radio show for the last Friday of December.
Coming out almost derailed this country artist's career. A Christmas song helped bring it back.
December 22, 2023 05:00 - 25 minutes - 34.6 MB(Dec 22, 2023) Drake Jensen says that when he came out, his music stopped getting the attention it used to. But now his Christmas song is an independent country sensation.
Every musician remembers the song that inspired them to pick up their instrument
December 15, 2023 05:00 - 19 minutes - 26.5 MB(Dec 15, 2023) Jim Madeja is a founding member of the Orchestra of Northern New York. We asked him to name the song that started his musical journey.
It's no baloney: Croghan's Blaine Campany knows how the sausage is made
December 08, 2023 05:00 - 28 minutes - 39.8 MB(Dec 8, 2023) Everyone thinks Croghan Bologna is a huge business. But it's actually a mom-and-pop shop. Its fourth-generation owner is bringing things into the 21st century.
This Saratoga Springs author hiked the route used to escape Auschwitz
December 01, 2023 05:00 - 27 minutes - 38 MB(Dec 1, 2023) In order to write about Rudi Vrba, Steve Sheinkin had to walk in his footsteps. Literally. But most people don't know who Rudi is or why he's important to WW2.
North Words bonus/not bonus edition: November 2023
November 24, 2023 05:00 - 53 minutes - 49.2 MB(Nov 24, 2023) It's the last Friday of the month, so this is when we would normally inflict your podcast player with an extra episode of North Words. But it's also Thanksgiving week, so this is the only one you're getting today. It's the best content from the past month - think of it as Thanksgiving leftovers for your brain.
This financial planner wants to ditch the "starving artist" stereotype
November 17, 2023 05:00 - 27 minutes - 37.6 MB(Nov 17, 2023) A former Crane student and financial planner knows that the way to keep art healthy in the North Country is to encourage financial literacy in musicians.
How this Saranac Lake teacher got a banned book back on the shelf.
November 10, 2023 05:00 - 18 minutes - 25.4 MB(Nov 10, 2023) This Saranac Lake teacher reached out to a Pulitzer Prize winner to say she adored her book. She didn't expect a response... or to be asked for a personal favor.
Hidden Brain's Shankar Vedantam on how to rewrite the story of your life
November 03, 2023 04:00 - 12 minutes - 17.5 MB(Nov 3, 2023) How we frame the story of our lives might have profound health effects. A new series is trying to make it easier for us to start telling our stories differently.
Pursuing Racial Justice on the Adirondack Frontier
October 27, 2023 04:00 - 25 minutes - 34.5 MB(Oct 27, 2023) The journey toward equity in the North Country has been ongoing for more than 150 years. A new book explores our region's surprising history of racial justice.
North Words bonus episode: October 2023
October 27, 2023 04:00 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MB(Oct 27, 2023) It's the last Friday of the month, so we are filling your podcast queue with all the content you can stand, or maybe more!
How this North Country artist is sewing her autobiography
October 20, 2023 04:00 - 17 minutes - 24.3 MB(Oct 20, 2023) I don't like craft stores. But I loved these stories about fiber arts... which should tell you that they're good.
How this filmmaker decides which movies should be made and which shouldn't
October 13, 2023 04:00 - 23 minutes - 31.8 MB(Oct 13, 2023) Before you make a movie, you have to ask yourself "why am I making this?" Some stories maybe shouldn't be told. The co-founder of Stone Lantern Films stopped by the pod (along with ACW's Nathalie Thill) to talk about effective storytelling.
Ethan Shantie (almost) got his cat back
October 06, 2023 04:00 - 25 minutes - 35 MB(Oct 6, 2023) It takes a lot of guts to get up on stage and tell a story in front of a live audience. Up until a few weeks ago, Ethan Shantie, host of NCPR's storytelling podcast, had never done it. Which is more than a little ironic.
The first time Ari Shapiro sang professionally, it was for 18,000 people
September 29, 2023 04:00 - 13 minutes - 19.2 MB(Sep 29, 2023) Folks often define themselves by their career. But all of us have a side-gig that we're probably more passionate about. Some of us work on cars or sew or go fishing. But if you're NPR's Ari Shapiro, you sing on stage for thousands of people.
North Words bonus episode: September 2023
September 29, 2023 04:00 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MB(Sep 29, 2023) If it's the last Friday of September, it must mean your monthly dose of an extra North Words episode! This month's radio edition of North Words features two hand-selected interviews plus a special musical performance, perfect for listening on a crisp autumn day.
Could you spend an entire year with no internet? Aron did.
September 22, 2023 04:00 - 26 minutes - 36.2 MB(Sep 22, 2023) Aron Lee Rosenberg's new book is all about his year offline and what he learned about himself - and humanity - after he cut himself off completely from tech.
Ever wonder what it's like to be on a game show? This guy has been on 13.
September 15, 2023 04:00 - 30 minutes - 41.9 MB(Sep 15, 2023) Mitch Teich's claim to fame is that he's a 2-day Jeopardy champion. But this Ontario native? Well... let's just say he's a game show pro.
The poetry of plumbing supplies
September 08, 2023 04:00 - 21 minutes - 29.9 MB(Sep 8, 2023) jim bourey has had all kinds of jobs. he's a veteran, he's sold used cars, he's a former plumbing wholesaler. And all of that has helped his new profession: the poet laureate of Dickinson Center.
This is what makes New York State weird and wonderful
September 01, 2023 04:00 - 14 minutes - 20.6 MB(Sep 1, 2023) Heather Alexander has written a new book about all the weird and cool ways that New York is different from everywhere else in the world — and it’s for kids.
Revisiting the "Las Vegas of the Adirondacks"
August 25, 2023 04:00 - 18 minutes - 24.9 MB(Aug 25, 2023) A look back on Mitch Teich's conversation with an author who has spent years traveling through the Adirondacks, admiring its mountains, lakes, trail markers, and even its neon signs.
North Words bonus episode: August 2023
August 25, 2023 04:00 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MB(Aug 25, 2023) It's the happiest Friday of the month! The day when you get two (count 'em, TWO!) episodes of North Words. This one is the full, 54-minute long radio show, artisanally crafted in small batches, just for you.
This is the only SUNY President to become a character in Archie Comics
August 18, 2023 04:00 - 29 minutes - 40.6 MB(Aug 18, 2023) Zvi Szafran has been collecting comics since he was a kid. His collection has exploded to over 75,000 books... and he's even a character in one of them.
How Ann Sweeten uses her own illness to make music that can help through the healing process
August 11, 2023 04:00 - 26 minutes - 37 MB(Aug 11, 2023) Ann Sweeten started her musical career playing in a rock band. Now she's a Steinway Artist, creating music for people who are facing illness.
Looking back on a teacher who got 250 of her students to write a song together
August 04, 2023 04:00 - 24 minutes - 33.3 MB(Aug 4, 2023) Carrie Woodcock never intended to become an elementary music teacher. But the pandemic changed all that.
Why this ADKX curator says the Adirondacks have always been a mecca to artists
July 28, 2023 04:00 - 20 minutes - 27.7 MB(Jul 28, 2023) A new exhibit at the ADKX seeks to open visitors’ eyes to how this region has been so inspirational for so many diverse artists.
North Words bonus episode: July 2023
July 28, 2023 04:00 - 54 minutes - 49.9 MB(Jul 28, 2023) And on the last Friday of the month, you get two North Words episodes. Here's the full radio show that aired at noon on July 28th. Enjoy these miraculous 54 minutes.
Getting intimate with strangers - Why live storytelling matters in the North Country
July 14, 2023 04:00 - 21 minutes - 29.7 MB(Jul 14, 2023) We're bringing the HOWL Story Slam to the podcast world, with 10 great stories from North Country folks who have told some incredible tales.
This is why the North Country is one of the best places to fish
July 07, 2023 04:00 - 19 minutes - 27.3 MB(Jul 7, 2023) A few North Country lakes and rivers were just named top fishing spots by Bassmaster Magazine. Its editor joins Mitch Teich to tell him exactly how that happened.
These photos of environmental devastation are surprisingly beautiful
June 30, 2023 04:00 - 19 minutes - 27 MB(Jun 30, 2023) J. Henry Fair's aerial photos show the human effect on the Adirondacks. The impacts are profound, and the images are strikingly beautiful.
North Words bonus episode: June 2023
June 30, 2023 04:00 - 54 minutes - 49.6 MB(Jun 30, 2023) Because some people prefer their North Words in full loaves rather than slices, here's the June edition of North Words the Radio Show. 54 minutes of unrivaled listening, and we even cut off the crust.
Plink! Plink! fizz fizz, this Burlington startup wants you to drink more water
June 23, 2023 04:00 - 18 minutes - 17.4 MB(Jun 23, 2023) A couple of transplanted Brits in the Champlain Valley are aiming to better hydrate the North Country and eventually the world.
Doug Smith reimagines digital art, tall tales, and "ADK Legends" thanks to AI
June 16, 2023 04:00 - 20 minutes - 18.9 MB(Jun 16, 2023) On the latest North Words, Mitch Teich takes a wild ride into the world of ADK Legends, the Instagram feed of time-bending Adirondack folklore created by Doug Smith
"How can I still make music without being swallowed by worlds that are ugly and dark?"
June 09, 2023 04:00 - 24 minutes - 33.3 MB(Jun 9, 2023) The latest music by the Boulay Sisters explores uncharted territory, but still sounds like if Simon and Garfunkel were reinvented as two sisters from Quebec.
From Willsboro to Juneau and back: travels with Joe, the caricature artist
June 02, 2023 04:00 - 21 minutes - 29.1 MB(Jun 2, 2023) Joe Ferris has been on a months-long solo road-trip, collecting experiences, meeting new friends, and drawing caricatures whenever he decides to stop.