Isaac Fitzgerald — American Rambler: Walking the Trail of Johnny Appleseed - with Ben Smith episode artwork

EPISODE · May 24, 2026 · 49 MIN

Isaac Fitzgerald — American Rambler: Walking the Trail of Johnny Appleseed - with Ben Smith

from Politics and Prose Presents · host Politics and Prose

New York Times bestselling author Isaac Fitzgerald sets off to the heart of America, following the path of the legendary Johnny Appleseed on an epic journey that both takes him far from home and brings him closer to it.“It’s a difficult thing, to separate legend from story from memory from fact.”As a child, Isaac Fitzgerald was always captivated by Johnny Appleseed, drawn by family ties to the legend, his father’s larger-than-life stories, and a shared restlessness to leave home and discover what lies beyond. In American Rambler, he sets out, walking from Massachusetts to Indiana on a year-long journey to follow Appleseed’s path, turning a childhood fascination into a profound reckoning of loss and grief, ritual and faith, grimy gas-station bathrooms and scenic apple picking. A moving blend of memoir, history, and travelogue, American Rambler is at once an ode to the American heartland and an antidote to the breakneck pace of modern life.Isaac Fitzgerald is the New York Times bestselling author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts. He is also the author of the bestselling children’s book How to Be a Pirate as well as the co-author of Pen & Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them and Knives & Ink: Chefs and the Stories Behind Their Tattoos (winner of an IACP Award). He appears frequently on The Today Show, and his writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Esquire, GQ, The Guardian, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and numerous other publications. He lives with his wife on the North Fork of Long Island.Fitzgerald is in conversation with Ben Smith, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Semafor, where he oversees the production of Semafor’s weekly Media newsletter. Prior to Semafor, he served as a media columnist for The New York Times and was the founding editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News. With over a decade of experience, Ben has covered American politics, media, and technology at Politico, the New York Daily News, and other outlets. He is the author of Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral.PURCHASE:https://politics-prose.com/book/9780593537794?ic_referral=M6djFilqiyD_IYgZVIMHArjlOuN3cLTUFUIZW5E8VLcwM0S7EimxkXjVIV05HoFwgBCdXRQMUt9BSpH60ObdSWP9PS6IFGLwoL-1uKdpfAHPjEZ8fZwpbC6CzEbd8f0QKtNrDMA

New York Times bestselling author Isaac Fitzgerald sets off to the heart of America, following the path of the legendary Johnny Appleseed on an epic journey that both takes him far from home and brings him closer to it.“It’s a difficult thing, to separate legend from story from memory from fact.”As a child, Isaac Fitzgerald was always captivated by Johnny Appleseed, drawn by family ties to the legend, his father’s larger-than-life stories, and a shared restlessness to leave home and discover what lies beyond. In American Rambler, he sets out, walking from Massachusetts to Indiana on a year-long journey to follow Appleseed’s path, turning a childhood fascination into a profound reckoning of loss and grief, ritual and faith, grimy gas-station bathrooms and scenic apple picking. A moving blend of memoir, history, and travelogue, American Rambler is at once an ode to the American heartland and an antidote to the breakneck pace of modern life.Isaac Fitzgerald is the New York Times bestselling author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts. He is also the author of the bestselling children’s book How to Be a Pirate as well as the co-author of Pen & Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them and Knives & Ink: Chefs and the Stories Behind Their Tattoos (winner of an IACP Award). He appears frequently on The Today Show, and his writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Esquire, GQ, The Guardian, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and numerous other publications. He lives with his wife on the North Fork of Long Island.Fitzgerald is in conversation with Ben Smith, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Semafor, where he oversees the production of Semafor’s weekly Media newsletter. Prior to Semafor, he served as a media columnist for The New York Times and was the founding editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News. With over a decade of experience, Ben has covered American politics, media, and technology at Politico, the New York Daily News, and other outlets. He is the author of Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral.PURCHASE:https://politics-prose.com/book/9780593537794?ic_referral=M6djFilqiyD_IYgZVIMHArjlOuN3cLTUFUIZW5E8VLcwM0S7EimxkXjVIV05HoFwgBCdXRQMUt9BSpH60ObdSWP9PS6IFGLwoL-1uKdpfAHPjEZ8fZwpbC6CzEbd8f0QKtNrDMA

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Isaac Fitzgerald — American Rambler: Walking the Trail of Johnny Appleseed - with Ben Smith

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This episode was published on May 24, 2026.

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New York Times bestselling author Isaac Fitzgerald sets off to the heart of America, following the path of the legendary Johnny Appleseed on an epic journey that both takes him far from home and brings him closer to it.“It’s a difficult thing, to...

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