Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer

Tucked away on a side street in downtown Hot Springs , Deluca’s Pizzeria repeatedly wins rave reviews for their homemade pizzas. Chef and owner, Anthony Valinoti regularly wins accolades including one of Arkansas’s ten best Pizzas and consistantly number one in Hot Springs. Join correspondent Tom Wilmer at Deluca’s for a visit with chef Valinoti. Back in 1928 Alex and Alice McClard opened a Hot Springs motor court where they served...

Join correspondent Tom Wilmer in Arkansas' Hot Springs National Park , at the Superior Bathhouse Brewery , where he visits with owner and brewster Rose Schweikhart. Superior Bathhouse Brewery is the only distiller in the world that utilizes mineral-rich geothermal water, and it's the only brewery in America liccensed to operate in a national park. Schweikhart shares insights about her current favorite brews and operating he...

Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with Annette McGivney , author of " Pure Land: A True Story of Three Lives, Three Cultures, and the Search for Heaven on Earth ." McGivney is Southwest Editor for Backpacker Magazine and former professor of journalism at Northern Arizona University. McGivney’s book tells the story of Tomomi Hanamure, a Japanese citizen who loved exploring the wilderness of the American Southwest. She was murd...

Correspondent Tom Wilmer reports from the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport . County airport director Kevin Bumen shares information about COVID-19 sanitation initiatives within airport terminals and aboard aircraft. Bumen also talks about dealing with reduced daily flights (down fifty percent from 2019), a marked reduction of income from ancillary revenue streams such as long-term parking, and Bumen's new position as the...

Join correspondent Tom Wilmer in Door County , Wisconsin for an exploration of diverse attractions including 11 historic lighthouses (including a few that a definitely haunted), ferryboat rides to Washington Island, and bayside family-owned resorts . Distinctive culinary offerings include fresh-caught fish, and locally produced cheese and cherry culinary dishes. This show was originally broadcast July 16, 2019 and is reposted as a ...

Join the American roots music duo, Suzanne and Jim at the Historic Arkansas Museum in downtown Little Rock . The musical duo came to the museum to do a presentation about historical presidential campaign songs, from the mid 19th century to President Roosevelt’s campaign slogan and song for the 1932 election, Happy Days are Here Again. Listen in as Suzanne and Jim sing some classic songs from historic American presidential campaigns...

Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with Katya Cengel , adjunct professor at San Luis Obispo's Cal Poly about her passion for baseball, specifically minor league teams. While working as a reporter at the Louisville Courier, Cengel spent over a year traveling with regional minor league teams. Her baseball odyssey is chronicled in her book, Bluegrass Baseball—A Year in the Minor League Life . This show was originally broadcast July 1...

Memphis, Tennessee, native Booker T. Jones started playing the piano as a toddler, and began singing in his church choir as a six year-old. With the release of “Green Onions” in 1962, Booker T. & the M.G.’s organ-infused Memphis soul sound became a number-one hit on Billboard’s R&B chart. Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with Jones at the North Carolina Folk Festival, where he recalls growing up in Memphis, playing as a stud...

Journeys associate producer Rebecca Nolan reports from Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she learns about how the city is returning to its rivers and revitalizing downtown. The St. Joseph, St. Marys and Maumee rivers are the reason the city was founded. The place where Fort Wayne sits today used to be called Kekionga, the Miami tribe's largest village. When Europeans came to the area in the 17th century, the place where the three rive...

Correspondent Tom Wilmer reports from Zac Brown ’s Southern Ground Studio in the heart of Nashville’s historic Music Row. Matt Mangano , studio director and bass player in the Zac Brown Band, talks about the facility’s history and present day operations in the former church. This show was originally broadcast September 24, 2019 and is reposted as a “best-of-the-best” podcast in celebration of Journeys of Discovery’s 30th anniversar...

With travel adventures limited due to COVID-19, Cal Poly adjunct journalism professor Katya Cengel takes us on a different sort of trip – to a country that does not technically exist. Reality may seem surreal at present, but in the former Soviet Union where Cengel lived earlier this century there were enclaves such as Trans-Dniester—and even though the little country was complete with its very own president, according to the surrou...

Associate Producer Rebekah Nolan explores " Girls Who Fish " a program designed to attract girls and women to become involved in Newfoundland's commercial fishery. Nolan says, "fishing is the thing that brought the first settlers from England and Ireland about 400 years ago, and it continues to be a vital part of the province’s economy." This show was originally broadcast May 17, 2017 and is reposted as a “best-...