Locals Only

Wilderness is a fundamental part of the American land preservation equation. First designated by the U.S. Forest Service in 1924, and later formally established by the 1964 Wilderness Act, America’s 764 federally-designated Wilderness areas represent almost 110 million acres (an area roughly the size of California) of permanently protected roadless land. In this inaugural episode of Topophilia, we dig into two questions about wilderness. First: how do the boundaries around wilderness areas actually get drawn? Will tells the story of the Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness, and we speak with Dr. Kevin Marsh, professor of environmental history at Idaho State University and author of Drawing Lines in the Forest, about Washington’s Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and make some interesting discoveries about the role of grassroots community movements in creating wilderness areas. We also seek to determine the place of wilderness designation in our current and future political climates. We chat with Ben Greuel, Washington State Program Director for the Wilderness Society, to get at this question. To highlight the rich history of Wilderness designation in the United States, we have created this accompanying interactive data graphic, embedded here below. Click here for a full-page version. We have many people to thank for helping with this episode, especially: Ben Greuel and Dr. Kevin Marsh for their time, knowledge, and willingness to talk; our many friend-editors who endured drafts and gave great feedback; our respective housemates Liz, Sarah, Paul, Max, and Granite for being quiet while we recorded things, and the makers of Rainier for fueling our late-night recording sessions. Music in this episode courtesy of Broke For Free, Latché Swing, and freemusicarchive.org. Additional sound effects from ZapSplat.

Topophilia is excited to bring you the first episode of The Current. In a time where there are so many things competing for our attention, we want to be a source of relevant information about the places you care about and the issues that affect them. Here’s what you can expect: every 2 weeks (or so) we’ll bring you a new episode with 3-4 summaries of insightful and noteworthy stories. Whether it’s books, podcasts, articles or films, the idea is to give you a chance to stay on top of the issues you care about and maybe learn something new. This week, we have four stories to share: With the public release of Patagonia’s latest film Public Trust just a few weeks away, Topophilia hosted a pre-release screening and discussion with our listeners. The film pushed us to think critically about issues that face our public lands and how we can come together to fight for them. Click here for more info about Public Trust. After the coronavirus pandemic shuttered ski areas early last spring, resorts across the country have begun releasing their plans for operating during the upcoming winter. Will reservation systems make it impossible to have a casual day of skiing? Or is this a potential model for the future to combat the overcrowding that has recently threatened the ski resort experience? Check out the following: Letter to Epic Pass Holders (Vail Resorts) Mt. Baker Ski Area COVID-19 Notice Letter to Ikon Pass Holders (Alterra Mountain Co.) With the pandemic making most summer city activities like concerts and farmers markets prohibitive, people all over the country are spending unprecedented amounts of time outdoors. Many of them are first time campers or hikers, and there have been reports across the west of overcrowding and destruction of public lands. We talked to Lynda Mapes, author of the Seattle Times article, Recreation becomes ‘wreckreation’ as careless outdoor adventures turn destructive, spark wildfires. Link to the Seattle Times article. As the Black Lives Matter movement has forced a reckoning on police brutality and race relations in America, high scrutiny has been paid to corporations and how they perpetuate these problems. After weeks of silence, Patagonia acknowledged its shortcomings in an Instagram post. Music in this episode courtesy of freemusicarchive.org.

The 3 Splooges are at it again with no topic too odd to dive into. This week the Splooges take a look at Coprophilia, an abnormal interest and pleasure in feces and defecation.

Hiiiiii divas! We will be back next week with ALL NEW EPISODES, but this week we're featuring MY episode of Homophilia with the delightful Matt McConkey and delectable Dave Holmes (full disclosure, Dave was not there for this episode, but he remains delectable nonetheless). On Homophilia, Dave and Matt grill your favorite LGBTQ+ celebrities on what they’re loving, and who they’re loving. These queer-centric conversations spotlight their guests’ pop culture obsessions and personal experiences with dating, sex, and love. So sit back, relax, and enjoy a deep and dishy 1-on-1 therapy session/gossipy hang/spiritual exorcism. We discuss the enduring power of Linda Ronstadt, sloughing off the old "struggling artist/waiter" identity, how to have the perfect breakup, the meaning of Madonna, and SO. MUCH. MORE. Hear more wherever you get your podcasts!