Iditapod artwork

Iditapod

118 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 213 ratings

The Iditapod is a podcast following the Last Great Race, from Alaska Public Media. Daily episodes during the Iditarod Sled Dog Race take you out on the trail -- into checkpoints, down along the sea ice, and across the finish line in Nome. Hear interviews with mushers, behind the scenes news, and in-depth race analysis you won't find anywhere else.

For episodes from past seasons of the Iditapod, visit www.alaskapublic.org/iditapod

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Episodes

S3E1: An abridged history of Alaska mushing and 2018 Iditarod

February 19, 2019 20:12 - 26 minutes - 23.9 MB

Ramping up our 2019 Iditarod coverage, we look back at the history of dog mushing in Alaska, the dawn of long-distance racing and... yes, we talk a little about last year's race.

S2E16: Wrapping up from Nome

March 15, 2018 22:28 - 32 minutes - 44.6 MB

Alaska Public Media's reporter on the Iditarod Trail, Zachariah Hughes, talks from Nome about the scene there as race finishers mush into town, and KNOM interviews with third-place finisher Mitch Seavey shed some light on his race, including a tough trail along the Bering Sea coast and becoming better friends with Joar Leifseth Ulsom (the new champ!) and runner-up Nicolas Petit. Plus, we go rapid-fire with questions about how fast the dogs run, trail mail and the Burled Arch.

S2E15: A new Norwegian champ, and the runner-up reflects

March 14, 2018 18:18 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MB

The Iditarod has crowned a new Norwegian champion: Joar Leifseth Ulsom. The 31-year-old pulled under Nome’s Burled Arch at 3 a.m. Wednesday with eight dogs in harness to claim his first championship, taking the win in Iditarod 46. Ulsom is the first Norwegian musher to win the thousand-mile sled dog race since Robert Sørlie in 2005. Girdwood's Nicolas Petit arrived a little over two hours later, and he spoke to reporters about how his race went and where it went wrong.

S2E14: The ol' Norwegian switcheroo, and the old guard passes the mantle

March 13, 2018 18:01 - 23 minutes - 32.9 MB

There was a major shakeup at the front of the 2018 Iditarod on Monday, when Joar Leifseth Ulsom slipped past previous leader Nicolas Petit while Petit lost the trail on the Bering Sea coast between Shaktoolik and Koyuk. The table is now set for Ulsom, first to White Mountain and only 77 miles from the finish in Nome, to win his first Iditarod championship and the first for a Norwegian -- or anybody else not originally from the U.S. -- since 2005. But, as we hear in this episode, a lead and a...

S2E13: Onto coastal ice, DeeDee in UNK and oh snaps! Plus, Dallas Seavey in Norway

March 12, 2018 17:20 - 24 minutes - 34 MB

It's Monday and the frontrunners in the 2018 Iditarod are on the Bering Sea coast, venturing out on a trail over sea ice from Shaktoolik to Koyuk. Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes caught up with the top three -- Nicolas Petit, Mitch Seavey, Joar Leifseth Ulsom -- in Unalakleet on Sunday, as well as the legendary musher DeeDee Jonrowe, who scratched earlier in what she says was her last Iditarod after 36 total starts. We also hear from a Norwegian mushing reporter on four-time Iditarod ...

S2E12: Petit leads, but how did we get here? Plus: Fantasy mushing..?!

March 11, 2018 20:29 - 27 minutes - 37.9 MB

As Girdwood's Nicolas Petit, Norwegian Joar Leifseth Ulsom and defending champ Mitch Seavey lead a chase pack to Unalakleet and the Bering Sea coast, we talk to Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes about how the 2018 Iditarod shaped up like this and how that chase pack got so bunched up. Also on today's Iditapod, we have a report from KCAW's Katherine Rose about a way for Iditarod fans around the world to get connected to the race: fantasy mushing.

S2E11: Scramble in Anvik, slog up the Yukon and Takotna survives on pies

March 10, 2018 20:51 - 25 minutes - 34.9 MB

With the Iditarod leaders on the mighty Yukon River and through the village checkpoint of Grayling, we hear about how weather prevented flying supplies to Eagle Island and caused the checkpoint to be downgraded to a mere "hospitality stop." That's why mushers scrambled to get mandatory rest in earlier and why they had to load up on supplies before one of the most formidable overnight trips of the race. Plus, back in Takotna, the village reflects on why it's been so steady as a checkpoint ove...

S2E10: First to the Yukon, Alaska Native mushers and a bison encounter

March 09, 2018 18:48 - 19 minutes - 26.1 MB

Friday morning saw Girdwood musher Nicolas Petit charge ahead leading the 2018 Iditarod to Anvik after passing teams resting in the ghost town checkpoint of Iditarod. As the first to reach the Yukon River, Petit is treated to a five-course meal. The main course is bison, which is an animal Whitehorse's Marcelle Fressineau encountered very much alive and not on a dinner plate farther back on the trail. We talk to Fressineau about how she fended off the bison with an axe, as well as some of th...

S2E9: Leaders into Iditarod, where to 24 and snack attack returns!

March 08, 2018 18:27 - 20 minutes - 28.8 MB

As Iditarod mushers decide when and where to take their mandatory 24-hour layovers, the leaders are in to the ghost town of Iditarod. And our trail reporters are breaking into their snack packs! Also, we hear from a Takotna elder about the moose he shot and fed at the village checkpoint.

S2E8: An icon drops out, 24-hour rests and dog-doping reignites

March 07, 2018 22:21 - 26 minutes - 24.1 MB

A lot has happened since the last podcast: Willow musher DeeDee Jonrowe has scratched in her 36th Iditarod, which she said would be her last. Meantime, front-of-the-pack mushers are taking their 24-hour layovers, so this is a good time to talk about how times are adjusted to correct from the staggered, every-two-minute race starts. Plus: More off-trail drama related to dogs and drugs! Sheesh! We talk to a fellow Iditarod reporter about what has been described as a confrontational encounter b...

S2E7: Race day 3, and tricky mushing out of Rainy Pass

March 06, 2018 21:10 - 17 minutes - 23.5 MB

Things get pretty technical for Iditarod mushers heading out of the Rainy Pass checkpoint and into the Dalzell Gorge before Rohn and Nikolai. Plus, we hear from animal-rights activist and documentary filmmaker Fern Levitt, and we get four-time Iditarod Jeff King's take on criticism of dog mushing.

S2E6: Race day 2, plus Rookie of the Year contenders

March 05, 2018 18:06 - 11 minutes - 10.7 MB

In less than 24 hours, the Iditarod front-runners have made it to the Finger Lake checkpoint, 123 miles into the 1,000-mile race. But not before checking in at Yentna and Skwentna, the first two checkpoints after leaving Willow. And, even before that, KNOM's Davis Hovey caught up with two top candidates for Rookie of the Year: Two Rivers' Matt Hall and Nenana's Jessie Holmes.

S2E5: Race clock ticking after Willow restart

March 05, 2018 06:51 - 15 minutes - 14.4 MB

Mushers in the 2018 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race are officially on course for the 1,000-mile trek to Nome after the restart in Willow. We take a rather, uh, unique question from a listener, and Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes does whatever it takes to get an interview.

S2E4: Ceremonial start and the trail-side parties

March 04, 2018 07:24 - 20 minutes - 19.2 MB

The 2018 Iditarod kicks off with the ceremonial start in Anchorage and an 11-mile jaunt through downtown and the city's trails, past race revelers that call themselves "trailgaters." We introduce KNOM News Director and trail reporter Davis Hovey, and hear from DeeDee Jonrowe, Nicolas Petit and some of the folks along the trail.

S2E3: The season so far, and a look ahead

March 02, 2018 02:40 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MB

We look at two of the most dramatic races of the season so far, the Kuskokwim 300 and the Yukon Quest. Host Casey Grove speaks with KUAC's Zoe Rom, Ben Matheson, and Zachariah Hughes about what this year's mushing season can tell us about the Iditarod ahead.

S2E2: What the heck is happening?

February 24, 2018 05:09 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MB

We look at three major problems hitting Alaska's mushing community ahead of the Iditarod. ADN's Tegan Hanlon and Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes sit down with host Casey Grove to discuss the whirlwind of recent news, including a doping scandal, musher mutiny, and increasing pressure from animal rights groups.

S2E2: What the heck is happening?

February 24, 2018 05:09 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MB

We look at three major problems hitting Alaska's mushing community ahead of the Iditarod. ADN's Tegan Hanlon and Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes sit down with host Casey Grove to discuss the whirlwind of recent news, including a doping scandal, musher mutiny, and increasing pressure from animal rights groups.

S2E1: A look back at last year's race

February 21, 2018 04:06 - 23 minutes - 21.3 MB

Host Casey Grove speaks with trail correspondents Ben Matheson and Zachariah Hughes about the 2017 Iditarod, what stuck out, and what's ahead in this year's podcast.