The US Explained

Come with me to the prairies and badlands that marked for countless settlers the edge of the Plains, the beginning of the rugged West that lay beyond, an essential center of agriculture, transportation, and finance. This is Nebraska - The US Explained

No state in the country has seen, or even come close to, the shockingly high population explosion Nevada experienced over the past half century. Las Vegas, a small roadside stop, has become the engine of its rise, a city unmatched in America in its extravagance and opulence. A place that could barely have been described as a city in 1960 is today the twentieth largest urban area in the country. Outside of Las Vegas, outside of Reno, Nevada looks much the same as it would have in 1960. Dry, barren, remote. A vast, empty desert, whose lonely roads wind through one of the most sparsely populated places in the country. This is The US Explained, Episode 37 - Nevada.

West Virginia is an anomaly. Given its own statehood long after any of its neighbors, indeed even after most of the West Coast, the Mountain State born in the fires of the Civil War had long existed in isolation from the rest of Virginia, indeed from anywhere else around it. Here lies some of the most beautiful scenery in the eastern half of the country, home to America’s newest national park. Scenic small towns, rivers spanned by covered bridges, sit at the foot of tree-covered mountains. To truly know America, you must know the mountain backbone that built it. This is The US Explained, Episode 36 - West Virginia.

Kansas is peaceful, rural, an epitome of the American Heartland, sitting in fact, at the exact center of the country’s Lower 48 states. Its most famous export, The Wizard of Oz, made its very name synonymous with familiarity, comfort, home. It's hard to believe that this was a state born in bloodshed, forged in fire, its very creation deemed a dress rehearsal for the Civil War. This was frontier country, the Wild West. From the badlands of the west to the cities of the east, and the never-ending prairies that lie between, this is the US Explained, episode 35 - Kansas.

Within the massive borders of this West Coast state, sit one major city and several smaller ones, towered over by the lonesome, snowcapped peaks of the Cascades. Here too are a remarkably rural coast, thundering waterfalls, lush forests of the Pacific Northwest home to rich logging country, and one of the most sparsely populated places in the nation, a vast high desert of salt pans, ranchland, and the deepest canyon in the country. This is The US Explained, Episode 34 - Oregon.

At the beginning of the journey of one of the world’s greatest rivers, sits Minnesota. In the country’s icy north, it’s charted an impressive journey of its own, today consistently ranking among the most livable states in the nation. A land of lakes great and small, of farms and forests, prairies and ports, here sit massive mines essential to the industrialization of America, the leafy neighborhoods of two major cities side-by-side, open rows of cornfields, and thousands of tranquil interlocking lakes you can explore by canoe. This is the US Explained, Episode 33 - Minnesota.

The most populous state by far in the nation. One of the largest economies on the planet. Home to an incredibly diversity of both cultures and regions, some of the largest cities in the country, and more national parks than any other state. California is iconic and influential, a place dreamed about, sought out for centuries. Its is an incredible American story. The California episode is out in two parts. The first is already live. I recommend you give it a listen first. I hope you enjoy the story of my home state. This is the US Explained - Episode 32, Part 1 - California.

The most populous state by far in the nation. One of the largest economies on the planet. Home to an incredibly diversity of both cultures and regions, some of the largest cities in the country, and more national parks than any other state. California is iconic and influential, a place dreamed about, sought out for centuries. Its is an incredible American story. The California episode will be released in two parts. The next is already written and will be live within the next few days. I hope you enjoy the story of my home state. This is the US Explained - Episode 32, Part 1 - California.

Wisconsin feels different. America’s Dairyland is, of course, part of the agricultural Midwest, but in this tree-covered state, lake houses and woodland cabins abound. Here are mining and manufacturing towns, major cities and sparsely populated wilderness alike. In a state largely skipped over by the glaciers, sharp hills, gullies and ravines look more Appalachian than Midwestern. This is a state of scenic natural beauty, an industrial giant critical to creating the America we know, and a key player in the country today. Join me for Episode 31 of the US Explained - Wisconsin.

In the heart of America, between the country’s two greatest rivers, stretches a vast expanse of flat farmland and picturesque rolling hills. This is a land of small towns and small cities, yet one key to feeding and fueling the United States. A humble, rural state, often overlooked, yet it picks presidents. Iowa is, in a sense, quintessential Middle America - to experience it is to understand what America imagines itself to be. So come with me to the heart of the Heartland, and let’s explore a place outsiders often forget, overlook, yet one quite deserving of our attention. This is Episode 30 - Iowa.