Vanishing Postcards
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
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 Paris (really!).
In the Travel Tales episode we're sharing today, writer Chris Colin hits the rails with his teen daughter, Cora.
As ...
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 Mannie Mendelsohn, hear the trumpet stylings of Buddy Balou, and take some time to reflect on the journey we've taken through revisiting ...
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 road all the way to Los Angeles, but at Barstow many more detoured north to the San Joaquin Valley. In the process, these migrants not only ...
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 watering pies, but compassion to those who enter.
--- Send in a voice message: http...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 disconnection. Away from the noise of the modern World.
It was that peace and disconnection that Maria Pointer, AKA Boca Chica Maria, and her husband R...
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 for all who come after you, as one of the great sights which every American, if he can travel at all, should see.” More than a century later...
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 never left...
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 podcasting to his list of accomplishments through his new, acclaimed show Sound of Our Town which is a travel program about the ...
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 around then, on a hill about a mile past the main plaza, a colony of artists began to spring up on Canyon Road. Their imprint remains in the f...
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 the other hand, hanker for the hidden places and in making new discoveries often discover a thing or two about themselves." At the same time...
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 renaissance thanks to pioneering owners who are working hard to reinvigorate these properties while honoring their pasts. Yet beyond the ...
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 culture. In each episode, Will takes us from the boardwalks of Asbury Park, to the biggest and smallest stages of LA, while introducing us to h...
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 signs that simply read in orange print, "This place matters." The place is The Threatt Filling Station, which in its heyday was a black owned ...
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 for decades, a century later, it seems to be getting its share of attention. Last year, 107 year old survivor Viola Fletcher, riveted Cong...
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 them. It’s created and hosted by veteran journalist Laurel Morales who among many accomplishments claims an Edward R Murrow Award, and over ...
"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 spin on its legendary dance floor. In this episode, we'll experience this venue's magic on the occasion of Asleep at the Wheel's 50th Annive...
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 hopes and dreams, and most always offer a bit more than what meets the eyes. In this episode, we'll visit Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park, Th...
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 as walking its grounds, you will notice a Union Jack flag flying above fifteen WWII Era graves bearing the badges of Britain's Royal Air F...
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My name is Jay Shetty, and my purpose is to make wisdom go viral. I’m fortunate to have fascinating conversations with the most insightful people in the world, and on my podcast, I’m sharing those conversation with you. New episodes Mondays and Fridays. Listen anywhere you get your podcasts, and please rate and review the podcast if you enjoy it. Live life today ON PURPOSE.