PODCAST · society
Vanishing Postcards
by Evan Stern
Vanishing Postcards is a documentary travelogue that invites listeners on a road trip exploring the hidden dives, traditions, and frequently threatened histories discovered by exiting the interstates. Named one of the Best Podcasts of 2022 by Digital Trends.
Episodes
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Postcard from Springfield, IL - The Cycles of Shea’s
Despite its legend and history, like all roads, Route 66 is transitory and in a constant state of evolution. The small businesses that form its backbone face continuously steep odds and iconic sites aren't immune from decay or closure. This was deeply felt in 2015 when Shea's, a beloved gas…
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Postcard from Springfield, IL - Decades at The Cozy Dog Drive-In
Officially opened in 1949, Springfield's Cozy Dog Drive-In claims to be the home of the first batter-fried hot dog on a stick, and having born witness to over seventy years of transitions, ranks amongst Route 66's most beloved institutions. Now in its third-generation of family ownership, we'll...
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5. Postcard from Laredo - "Two Cities, One People"
The US-Mexico border is a constant fixture in today's 24 hour news cycle. But often lost amidst the noise of talking heads and pundits is any discussion of the rich culture and humanity that can be found there, and how turmoil on both sides has altered the region's social dynamics. Forgotten as...
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4. Postcard from South Texas - "Communion through Cabrito"
The author and folklorist J Frank Dobie once said, "The boundaries of culture and rainfall never follow survey lines." This is certainly true of Dobie's native south Texas, which is a place shaped by both the cultures of Mexico and the American West. In this episode host Evan Stern travels below...
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3. Postcard from Rockport - "Blessed Egg Rolls by the Bay”
The third most spoken language in Texas behind English and Spanish is Vietnamese. This is especially evident in Houston, a metropolis that's home to more than 120,000 residents of Indo Chinese descent where restaurant menus tout such Texas-Asian dishes as Viet-Cajun crawfish, brisket pho and...
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2. Postcard from Galveston - "Spaghetti, Sausage and a Slice of Sicily”
Once perhaps the greatest town of significance between New Orleans and San Francisco, Galveston's fortunes shifted following the Great Storm of 1900, and today its population doesn't even rank in the top fifty of Texas cities. But while Austinites are often apt to say that their community is…
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1. Postcard from Serbin - "Noodles in a New Nation"
The Central Texas hamlet of Serbin sits off a country road, about an hour past Austin. It was last included in the census over twenty years ago when its population numbered a mere thirty-seven. Yet, it remains a place of significance as the sign on the edge of town announces it as the home of the...
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Introducing - "Travel Tales by Afar"
As a special bonus, we are honored to share our space and introduce you to Travel Tales by Afar. On Travel Tales by AFAR, fascinating people share their stories of life-changing travel, from novelist Maggie Shipstead’s chilly Arctic saga to comedian Michelle Buteau’s tale of getting stood up in...
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17. Postcard from Santa Monica - "Passing Time at the Pier's End"
If you're driving East to West, the spiritual end point for Route 66, regardless of the technicalities of history, is The Santa Monica Pier. Considering this, it is no coincidence we're ending this season there where more than snapping a picture, we'll learn of the artist Bob Waldmire from vendor...
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16. Postcard from Bakersfield - "In Search of The Sound"
Between the years of 1930 and 1940, some 3.5 million Americans fled the Great Plains, with the Dust Bowl blowing roughly 440,000 out of Oklahoma alone. For many, the end destination was the promised land of California and Route 66 provided a path of exodus. Some, with cars loaded, followed the…
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15. Postcards from Diners - "Pride and Pies"
Diners are fundamental to the Route 66 experience- not just for burgers and milkshakes, but because of the connections they help facilitate. In this episode we'll step inside three in Oklahoma, Texas and Arizona to hear stories from their remarkable owners who not only labor hard to serve mouth...
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Inroducing - Cerca - Texas & SpaceX: The Doorstep to Mars
On the southernmost tip of Texas, where the US and Mexican borders meet the sea, sits the tiny town of Boca Chica. Surrounded by nothing but wild open scrub land, eight miles of virgin beach and a rich array of wildlife, the twenty-something residents of Boca Chica live in peace and…
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14. Postcard from Williams and the Grand Canyon - "Riding the Rails to the Rim"
In 1903, President Teddy Roosevelt addressed a crowd at The Grand Canyon. When speaking of this natural wonder, he said- “Man cannot improve on it; not a bit. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it. What you can do is keep it for your children and your children’s children and…
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13. Postcards from Haunted Hotels - "Ghosts in Gallup, Santa Fe Spirits, and Phantoms in Flagstaff!"
A cigar chomping nun. A suicidal gambler. A naked property manager. And a wounded bank robber. These are just a few of the spirits whose stories are shared in today's episode which features a sampling of tales collected in old hotels out west, about people who checked in for a night of rest, but...
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Bonus - "In conversation with Will Dailey"
Will Dailey is an acclaimed independent recording and performing artist. His sound has been described as having a rich vintage vibe while having a firm appreciation of AM rock, pop and big hooks leading famed Rock journalist Dan Aquilante to call him “the real deal." Most recently, he has added...
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12. Postcard from Santa Fe - "El Embrujo de El Farol"
Santa Fe has consistently lured free thinkers and intellectuals of different stripes. People like Georgia O’Keefe. DH Lawrence. And Robert Henri who in 1917 said, “Here painters are treated with that welcome and appreciation that is supposed to exist only in certain places in Europe.” It was…
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11. Postcards from Las Vegas, NM and Winslow, AZ - "The Footprints of Fred Harvey"
Michael Wallis has famously said that Route 66 is for travelers, not tourists. As he tells it, "tourists like the familiar, tend to gawk at culture from afar, and generally like to cram as much into their agendas as possible provided it’s cheap, safe and by all means comfortable. Travelers, on…
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10. Postcards from Motels - "Beds and Benedictions"
When speaking of Tucumcari, New Mexico author Jim Hinckley describes it as "a great example of what Route 66 was. What its bypass did to communities. And the future it holds." All of this is perhaps best discovered through the town's motel culture, which in recent years has enjoyed something of a...
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9. Postcard from Amarillo - "Busting Belts at The Big Texan"
Unlike many places visited in this series, The Big Texan Steak Ranch isn’t hidden off some hard to find back road, and isn’t exactly starved for attention. But while it migrated to I-40's shoulder over 50 years ago, its story was absolutely born on Route 66, and flies in the face of anyone who...
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Introducing: "Sound of Our Town"
As a special treat, we're honored to introduce and share our space with Sound of Our Town. Brought to you from the guys behind Disgraceland, Sound of our Town is hosted by award winning indie musician Will Dailey, and is born out of his mission to reaffirm how important live music is to our...
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8. Postcards from Erick, OK, Winslow, AZ and Highland Park, CA - "Sentinels of Route 66"
Anyone who's ever traveled Route 66 will tell you that its greatest resource can be found in the people who live and work along it. Whether diner waitresses or museum volunteers, car mechanics or preservationists, its keepers embody many forms, and all are vital. At the same time, some manage to...
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7. Postcard from Luther, OK - "This Place Matters"
Driving Route 66 from Tulsa to Oklahoma City, about three miles before the town of Luther you'll notice an old sandstone building with peeling white gables. At first glance, it's the kind of structure a realtor might dismiss as a "tear down." But behind its dusty windows rest a pair of faded…
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6. Postcard from Tulsa - "The Ghosts of Greenwood"
In 1921, the city of Tulsa bore witness to the greatest incident of racial violence in American history when the prosperous African-American neighborhood of Greenwood was invaded and destroyed in an act of mob terrorism. But while this disgrace which resulted in as many as 300 deaths was ignored...
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Introducing: "2 Lives"
As a special treat, we're pleased to introduce you to one of our favorite podcasts, 2 Lives. This title comes from the quote, “We all have two lives. The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” These are stories of people who have faced darkness and how those moments transformed...
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5. Postcard from Tulsa - "Carousing at Cain's"
"The Carnegie Hall of Western Swing" is just one of many titles that have been bestowed on Tulsa's famed Cain's Ballroom since its opening in the 1920s. It was from this stage that Bob Wills helped introduce Western Swing to the masses, and decades later crowds continue to flock here to take a…
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4. Postcards from Roadside Oddities - "Totem poles, whales, slug bugs and Cadillacs!"
From "The World's Second Largest Rocking Chair" in Cuba, Missouri, to "The Leaning Water Tower of Groom, Texas," Route 66 boasts no shortage of roadside oddities that are all great for a stop, snap and chuckle. At the same time, it's easy to forget that these sites were all built by people with...
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3. Postcard from Miami, Ok - "A foreign field that is for ever England”
Entering the town of Miami, Oklahoma on Route 66, you'll pass the GAR Cemetery. A resting place for over 20,000, its director Nancy Bro is quick to say that each one of their graves holds a life that meant something for many people. This is, of course, true of all burial plots. Yet GAR is unique…
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2. Postcards from Quapaw, Gallup and Lupton - "Pottery and Patriotism"
Among the titles it's earned, Route 66 is often hailed as "The Main Street of America." But America is a lot of things and absent from many of its popular myths and legends are the stories of those who preceded the pilgrims or Jamestown. Yet it is indisputable that our country wouldn't exist as…
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1. Postcards from The Mother Road - "The Roots of Route 66"
The name Route 66 has a certain kind of magic. For some, it calls to mind images of muscle cars and neon. For others, the words of Kerouac and songs of Guthrie. But how did this legend come to be, and what is Route 66 to begin with? Featuring a sampling of stories collected over a journey…
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Introducing: Vanishing Postcards - The Route 66 Season
COMING SOON! Named "One of the Best Podcasts You Should Listen To in 2022" by Digital Trends, Vanishing Postcards returns for a cross country odyssey on Route 66. From the plains of Oklahoma to the beaches of the Pacific Coast, ride along with host Evan Stern as he explores how the past, present...
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Bonus - A Christmas Postcard, "Remembering Charles Kuralt"
Heralded as "The Walt Whitman of American Television," Charles Kuralt while sharing a drink with a cameraman aboard a 1967 flight high above Ohio sparked upon an idea. "By God," he said. "Next time we go somewhere, we ought to drive and find out what's really going on in this country!" For nearly...
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15. Postcard from Fort Worth - "Stockyard Songs and Stories"
In this final episode of Vanishing Postcards' inaugural season, we pay a visit to Fort Worth's famed Stockyards. A historic district where western identity is embraced without the slightest hint of a wink, here rodeos are hosted each and every weekend, while crowds clamor for the fajitas at JT...
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14. Postcards from Ghosts - "Weeping Women and the Ghoulish Side of Galveston"
It deserves mentioning that today's episode features visits to not one but two haunted houses, a cat that's likely lived more than nine lives, and the tale of a spirit that's rumored to wander the banks of the Rio Grande. Whether you're a skeptic or a believer, the adrenaline we experience when...
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Introducing: "Fascination Street"
We're pleased to introduce our listeners to Fascination Street, an interview podcast hosted by Texas based broadcaster, Steve Owens. "I'm fascinated by stories," says Owens. "Walk with me as I share them." In his more than 250 episodes, Steve has spoken with a diverse roster of individuals...
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13. Postcard from Oakville - "Dobie Dichos and Legends in Live Oak County"
The village of Oakville sits hidden in plain sight along an isolated stretch of I-37 between Corpus and San Antonio. Founded in 1856 by a hearty group of Irish settlers, at its zenith this one-time stagecoach station boasted a population of 400, claimed seven saloons and was a notorious site of...
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12. Postcard from Rosenberg - "The Boldness of Black Cowboys"
Mention the word “cowboy” today and you might think of Gary Cooper in High Noon, or Gene Autry singing under “starry skies.” Indeed, one can’t overstate the impact Hollywood, comic books, and showmen like Buffalo Bill played in shaping the mythology of the American West. What is rarely reflected…
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11. Postcard from Galveston - "Memories of the Maceos"
While garden clubs and hotel brochures are quick to remind visitors of Galveston’s Gilded Age, few seem to acknowledge that in the more recent past this beachfront city provided a luxurious playground where the likes of Sinatra and Alice Faye flocked to gamble and dance at hotspots like The...
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10. Postcard from Houston - "Wasting Time at The West Alabama Ice House"
Houston is a place that's rich in diversity and innovation. It readily embraces modernity and is less burdened by the weight of tradition one feels in other southern cities. This can be wonderfully liberating. At the same time, many argue its embrace of the new makes it challenging to define....
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Bonus - Bobby Earl Smith Remembers Freda and the Firedogs
An elder statesman of Austin's music scene, Bobby Earl Smith is perhaps best known as a founding member of Freda and the Firedogs. The band that helped launch the career of legend Marcia Ball, they packed houses at The Armadillo and Split Rail, and when writing of them in 1972 The Statesman…
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9. Postcards from Country Stores - "Crassness in Castell, Legacies in Ledbetter"
The Castell and Stuermer Stores are separated by about 160 miles and sit on opposite ends of Central Texas. Their hours can hardly be described as regular, nor do they boast expansive aisles dedicated to rice, face wash, or Greek yogurt. Yet, they help bridge the past of the communities they…
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8. Postcards from Brownsville and San Antonio - "A Tale of Two Tacos"
More than being delicious, food can bring people together, heal the body and soul, and is intertwined with generations of history and tradition. Today, we’re gonna dig into some of this by getting a taste of South Texas. We’ll start at its end point in Brownsville, then visit its gateway in San...
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7. Postcard from The Rio Grande Valley - "Community and Conjunto"
Born of the blending of cultures in South Texas, the music of conjunto tells a uniquely American story. In this episode, we'll take a trip to its birthplace in San Benito, where we'll tour the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and learn of its origins from the Avila family whose patriarch, Rey,...
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6. Postcard from The Hill Country - "Picking Peaches in Fredericksburg"
While Texas summers are famously brutal, they are not without their pleasures. Towards that matter, few joys are as delicious as peach season. In this episode, we'll take a trip to The Hill Country at the peak of the harvest to sample the bounty and get to know the extraordinary families who have...
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5. Postcards from Museums - "Conspiracies, Curiosities, and Coffins!"
Museums are important. They're places where we can explore our heritage, and learn about culture, history and ideas in environments that foster conversations. Say the word, and palaces of civilization like The Met, Prado or Louvre often come to mind. In this episode, however, we'll criss cross…
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4. Postcard from East Austin - “Bygones and Barbecue”
In a fast-changing city, no neighborhood has undergone a greater transformation than Austin's East Side. Historically African-American, and once neglected, today espresso bars have replaced convenience stores and boutique hotels tower over long vacant lots. But what is left of what had been, and...
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Bonus - The Poetry of Hoot Gibson
While this series has introduced us to countless extraordinary individuals, in terms of personality, few have proven as expansive as cowboy renaissance man James E. "Hoot" Gibson with whom we shared a beer at Arkey Blue's Silver Dollar. Considering this, it only felt right to give him some extra...
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3. Postcard from Bandera - “Downstairs at The Silver Dollar”
In Germany they have biergartens, and in Mexico they have cantinas, but Texas has honky-tonks. What is a honky-tonk? In simple terms, most will tell you it's just a beer bar with live music, and a little sawdust on the floor. In talking with the bartenders, musicians and locals at Arkey Blue's...
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2. Postcard from Seaton - "Sundays at Sefcik Hall"
Seaton, TX hasn’t had a post office since 1907, and as of last count, its population hovered somewhere around 40. Situated on a lonely stretch of highway, about ten miles east of Temple, it’s not on most maps and is easy to miss. Yet, on Sundays, this town comes alive when couples gather, as they...
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1. Postcard from West Austin - "Drinking at The Dry Creek"
A beer at Austin's Dry Creek Cafe will only cost you $3. What’s more, at the time of our visit their bartender, Angel, was only the third to work there since 1953. We’ll swap stories with her over a cold one, learn about the cedar choppers who once drank here from author Ken Roberts, and hear…
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Introducing: Vanishing Postcards
From the shores of Galveston to the dance halls of The Rio Grande Valley, join host Evan Stern on a journey deep into the heart of Texas where we'll hear stories from people in places that don't often make the pages of glossy travel brochures. Alternately touching and humorous, "Vanishing...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Vanishing Postcards is a documentary travelogue that invites listeners on a road trip exploring the hidden dives, traditions, and frequently threatened histories discovered by exiting the interstates. Named one of the Best Podcasts of 2022 by Digital Trends.
HOSTED BY
Evan Stern
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Vanishing Postcards have?
Vanishing Postcards currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Vanishing Postcards about?
Vanishing Postcards is a documentary travelogue that invites listeners on a road trip exploring the hidden dives, traditions, and frequently threatened histories discovered by exiting the interstates. Named one of the Best Podcasts of 2022 by Digital Trends.
How often does Vanishing Postcards release new episodes?
Vanishing Postcards has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Vanishing Postcards?
You can listen to Vanishing Postcards on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Vanishing Postcards?
Vanishing Postcards is created and hosted by Evan Stern.
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