Wild Things

What happens when an everyday person decides they’ve had enough of the machine? In this episode of Bubble and Squeak, we travel from the mountain lakes of Pennsylvania to the ancient chalk hills of southern England, exploring resistance, memory, and the people who put their bodies between sacred landscapes and bulldozers. Our show comes in three parts: Part One: A Sound Slice from Mauch Chunk Lake Peterson brings us into the center of the circle at the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania’s Annual Powwow in Jim Thorpe, PA. As drums pulse and the cameras are put away, the Chief of the Unami clan offers an expansive thanksgiving prayer to the four directions, Mother Earth, and every living creature. Along the way, Peterson unpacks the town's strange, tangled history—named after legendary Sac and Fox Olympian Jim Thorpe, who never set foot in the community during his lifetime. Part Two: The Librarian Who Said No In 1992, Emma Must was quietly stamping book due dates at the Winchester library. But twice a day on her train commute, she watched in tears as construction crews stripped the green topsoil off Twyford Down for Margaret Thatcher's massive motorway expansion. Refusing to concede, Emma joined the young eco-activists of the Dongas Tribe and the Friends of Twyford Down, locking herself to earthmovers, surviving the violent clearing of "Yellow Wednesday," and landing in London's Holloway Prison. She reads from her poetry collection, The Ballad of Yellow Wednesday, capturing how frontline resistance turned into the poetry of witness. Part Three: Rebel Soul We close out with the defiant, celebratory track "Rebel Soul" by Katharine Appleton. Links & Resources Mentioned Poet Emma Must: Learn more about Emma’s writing and teaching at her official website: emmamust.com. Her poetry collection, The Ballad of Yellow Wednesday, is published by Valley Press. Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania: Learn about their ongoing cultural preservation work, attend upcoming gatherings, or support their scholarship fund at lenape-nation.org. Music: "Rebel Soul" by Katharine Appleton, provided via Epidemic Sound. Connect with Peterson Toscano: Find Peterson online at peterson-toscano.com, or follow along on TikTok, Instagram, and Bluesky.