Common Land
Episodes
BONUS - The Race to Save the Cherokee Language
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This bonus episode comes from The Broadside, produced by North Carolina public radio. The Broadside explores stories from the American South, focusing...
Appalachian Trail Episode 12: Journey's End?
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Katahdin is the Northern terminus of the AT, and one of the trail’s most iconic mountains. As Matt attempts to reach Katahdin’s summit and finish ...
Appalachian Trail Episode 11: The 100-Mile Wilderness
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Matt enters Maine, the last state of his AT journey, and by far the most remote section of the Appalachian Trail. We explore recent plans to protect l...
Appalachian Trail Episode 10: The Alpine Hut Paradox
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Matt, Candy and their tramily continue through the White Mountains, reaching New Hampshire’s highest peak, Mt. Washington. A frustrating experience ...
Appalachian Trail Episode 9: Tramily Matters
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
While Candy prepares to return to the trail, Matt connects with a fun group of hikers and forms a “tramily.” As Candy rejoins, the group enters Ne...
Appalachian Trail Episode 8: Roadblocks
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As Candy is forced off trail, Matt experiences numerous obstacles as he tries to continue the hike. He learns of a Native American reservation in Conn...
Appalachian Trail Episode 7: Climate Change on the Trail
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Matt and Candy experience some of the most challenging terrain along the entire AT during an intense thunderstorm. The weather is changing, and that m...
Appalachian Trail Episode 6: The Trailblazing Grandma Gatewood
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Candy reflects on how few older women she sees thru-hiking the AT, and we dive into the history of Appalachian Trail thru-hikes. This history begins w...
Appalachian Trail Episode 5: Halfway There
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As Matt and Candy reach Harper’s Ferry, known as the psychological mid-point of a thru-hike, we explore how the trail went from simple footpath to a...
Appalachian Trail Episode 4: Walking Off the Grief
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Matt and Candy experience tragedy on the AT. A friend and fellow hiker loses his life in a tragic accident, forcing Matt to reflect on the loss of his...
Appalachian Trail Episode 3: Fear and the Chestnut Tree
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Matt and Candy hike their first 20 mile day, despite Candy’s fear of injury. There are other things to fear on the trail too - Matt and Candy have t...
Appalachian Trail Episode 2: Trailnames and Cherokee footpaths
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Matt goes birdwatching on the trail and discovers his trailname. The exploration of trail names continues with another thru-hiker who thru-hiked the A...
Appalachian Trail Episode 1: The Journey Begins
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Matt and his mom Candy begin their thru-hike in Georgia. As they begin to get a feel for their new routine, we explore the history of the former Chero...
Season Two trailer
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Season two of Common Land follows show producer Matt Podolsky as he attempts to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail with his 65-year-old mom, Candy. Matt ...
Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: Katahdin
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mount Katahdin sits at the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, in the remote central Maine woods. This bonus episode documents host Matt Podol...
Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: Cars Versus Hikers
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Navigating trail towns and road crossings along the Appalachian Trail can be a challenge for long distance hikers. Most towns lack pedestrian infrastr...
Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: A Not-So-Perfect Day on Bellvale Mountain, NY
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Not every day is perfect, and in this mini-episode we explore one of the most challenging days that producer/thru-hiker Matt Podolsky has had on his A...
Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: Birding the AT
04 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Birdsong is ever present on the Appalachian Trail, and in this mini-episode, host Matt Podolsky shares recordings that he’s gathered of birds that h...
Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: The Loss of a Fellow Thru-hiker
17 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Just a few weeks ago, a 23-year-old thru-hiker lost his life on the Appalachian Trail. This mini-episode is a reflection on this tragic loss.Advertisi...
Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: A Perfect Day on Roan Mountain
27 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An update from the Appalachian Trail, in which producer Matt Podolsky and his mom Candy share stories from one of their best days of the journey thus ...
Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: Trail Magic and the Church
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout Southern Appalachia, church groups commonly provide what’s referred to as “Trail Magic” - a free bonus snack or meal shared with Appa...
Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: Army Ranger Training
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On day two of my journey along the Appalachian trail, an encounter with an Army Ranger training exercise inspired this interview.Advertising Inquiries...
Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: Rowan’s Interview
27 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Before embarking upon a 6-month-long hike across the spine of the Appalachian Mountain range, my 8-year-old son Rowan had some questions. This is the ...
BONUS Episode: A Positive Experience
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this bonus episode of the show, shared with you via the podcast HumaNature, we’ll hear about a father who takes his young daughter out on her fir...
BONUS Episode: A Tribute to John Freemuth
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
John Freemuth was a public policy professor and the Cecil Andrus Endowed Chair of Environment and Public Lands at Boise State University whose voice w...
Season 2 Prequel: COVID-19 and the Appalachian Trail
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Season Two of Common Land was supposed to be focused on the Appalachian Trail, and production was scheduled to start in March of 2020. Unfortunately,...
Birds of Prey Episode 10: The Climate Crisis and Our Uncertain Future
02 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The future of the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA is highly uncertain as the area and its unique raptor population face a multitude of thr...
Birds of Prey Episode 9: The Cheatgrass Fire Cycle
26 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Cheatgrass, an invasive annual grass species, has spread throughout the Intermountain West, including the entire area that makes up the Morley Nelson ...
Birds of Prey Episode 8: Unceded Land
19 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The arrival of substantial numbers of European American settlers in Southwest Idaho in the mid-1800s led to conflict over land ownership with the Shos...
Birds of Prey Episode 7: Ancient History
12 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While our primary focus in this series has been the very recent history of the Snake River Canyon region, this area has been occupied by humans for ov...
Birds of Prey Episode 6: Combat Training
05 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Conflict erupted in the newly designated Snake River Birds of Prey NCA as land managers and recreational users were forced to deal with the presence o...
Birds of Prey Episode 5: A National Conservation Area
27 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Although Idaho is known as one of the most politically conservative states, it also has a long legacy of land protection. In this episode, we analyze...
Birds of Prey Episode 4: The Swan Falls Agreement
20 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Just two years after the expansion of the Snake River Birds of Prey Natural Area, an extremely controversial water rights issue exploded into the fore...
Birds of Prey Episode 3: Land of the Prairie Falcon
13 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The 1970s saw the emergence of a truly unique partnership in the Snake River Canyon between scientific researchers and policy makers. Raptor biologis...
Birds of Prey Episode 2: Protecting the Canyon
06 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
By the late 1960s Morley Nelson had a clear goal - to establish federal protection for the Snake River Canyon. He began to steer his ever growing cad...
Birds of Prey Episode 1: Morley's Vision
30 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One man is largely responsible for establishing the vision for protection of the Snake River Canyon - Morley Nelson. Our first episode tracks Morley&#...
Season One trailer
19 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Season One of Common Land explores the creation story behind the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area. This unique stret...