This week we have a special preview of Mossback, a companion podcast to the popular Mossback’s Northwest video series that airs on KCTS 9. The Mossback podcast digs deeper into the topics that fans want to know more about from the current season of Mossback’s Northwest.

Hosted by Sara Bernard, each episode of this series will feature an interview with Mossback, Knute Berger, about one episode of the video series. The podcasts will provide stories and factoids that were left on the cutting room floor, along with critical analysis from Berger and a greater context that will stitch each topic into the long, storied history of the Pacific Northwest.

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Credits

Hosts: Sara Bernard, Knute Berger

Editorial assistance: Mason Bryan

Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten

Peter Rainier never set foot on this continent. Some tribal members suggest giving a more fitting name for Washington’s tallest peak.

For the very first episode of Crosscut Escapes, we told a story about a mountain. Not just any mountain — the mountain. You know the one. It’s the biggest in the state, the one you can see from Seattle, Tacoma, Yakima and sometimes even farther away.

You also know the name. It’s on beer cans, baseball stadiums, plumbing companies, street signs and beaches. But that name you know so well is not what everyone calls it. In fact, the mountain has many names, given to it by the many different peoples who were here before there was a Washington, and who are still here.

Peter Rainier, an 18th century admiral in the British Navy for whom the mountain would eventually be named, never even saw the peak. The Indigenous communities who have thrived here for millennia have connections that run far deeper.

For the final episode of Season 2 of Crosscut Escapes, we take a step back and listen to some of the people who have the most to say about this mountain — and what it would mean to change its name.

Crosscut video producer Beatriz Costa Lima was the reporter for this episode. The video she produced on the topic was part of Crosscut’s Deeply Rooted series about environmental justice in Washington.

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Credits

Host/Co-producer: Ted Alvarez

Co-producer: Sara Bernard

Music: The Explorist

Executive Producer: Mark Baumgarten

Ted Alvarez thinks birding is boring. But with so much interest in it now, he decides to investigate.

The Pacific Northwest is a haven for thousands of bird species, from sage grouse to bald eagles to common finches. Many impressive migrations take place every year. And the enthusiasts who love spotting all these birds can be very enthusiastic.

Birding draws obsessives; there are bird societies, events and even competitions. But you know who really doesn’t care about all this? Crosscut Escapes host Ted Alvarez. He’d rather spot any other kind of wildlife than a bird. A bird is a disappointment, in his book.

Yet in the past year, birding has exploded as a pastime. A pandemic that forced us to interact with nature first in our homes, and then in the outdoors, meant we all started watching the birds in our backyards and then on the trail, very, very closely.

In this episode of Crosscut Escapes, Alvarez puts aside his skepticism to hear from conservationists and researchers who help open his eyes to the bustling avian world all around us.

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Credits

Host/Co-producer: Ted Alvarez

Co-producer: Sara Bernard

Music: The Explorist

Executive Producer: Mark Baumgarten