Season One: The ConfluenceHeadwaters is a public radio-style podcast by Glacier National Park, produced with support from the Glacier National Park Conservancy. By visiting familiar places, the show tells unfamiliar stories about the park. We travel to every major region of Glacier in search of confluences: places where nature and culture come together in unexpected ways. Listen Online & Apple PodcastsShow Notes:You should always bring food, water, and plenty of layers when you go hiking in Glacier, but sometimes you might even need… a passport? Together, Montana’s Glacier National Park and Alberta’s Waterton Lakes National Park form Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park: a transboundary park jointly managed by two agencies. In this episode, we’ll learn about the friendship that led to the world’s first International Peace Park. After that, two stories about how that designation has affected those that live and work here.
Featuring: Natalie Hodge, Tracey Wiese, Lisa Bate, and Justin and Kim McKeown. Voice acting from Bob Adams. How does fire affect our relationship with the park? In this episode of Headwaters we explore our relationship to fire through different lenses. What is it like to be in a wildfire? How have native people used fire? How does fire affect plants and animals? And finally, what can we learn about our history from fire?
Featuring: Chris Peterson, Tony Incashola Sr., Dawn LaFleur, Teagan Hayes, Mike Sanger, Sarah Peterson, and Brent Rowley.
History of fire in Glacier: Sélis Qlispe Culture Committee: In this episode of Headwaters we visit one of Glacier’s most popular and unique destinations: Logan Pass. First, we’ll learn about the road that gets us up here, the Going-to-the-Sun Road, and about some hilarious attempts to reduce our impact at Logan Pass. We’ll learn about appreciating the natural smells of the park, and end with the search for a rare and disappearing flower.
Featuring: Bill Schustrom, Jeff Hoyt, Emlon Stanton, Will Rice, and Darren Lewis. Planning a visit: Leave No Trace: You’ll find some of the park’s most popular trails in Many Glacier. As many as 600 people hike the Grinnell Glacier trail each day during the summer! Why? Many people want to see Grinnell because—like the other glaciers in the park—it is retreating. But a retreat that takes place over decades can be hard to see for yourself. In our search to understand how Grinnell Glacier has changed, we meet someone who last visited the glacier over 30 years ago and hike with a researcher who discovered the power of portraits.
Featuring: Gerard Byrd, Bob Adams, Diane Sine, and Lisa McKeon
USGS Repeat Photography Project:
Glacier Overview: What does it mean to be wild? In this episode of Headwaters, the Flathead River uncovers our own notions of wilderness, and fossils found nowhere else on earth. We learn about a remote alpine glacier with a complicated connection to the origins of the ice age—and we climb to the top of a mountain to learn that even the park’s most isolated office space isn’t as lonely as it seems.
Featuring: Colter Pence, Amanda Wilson, Kurt Constenius, Dale Greenwalt, Christoph Irmscher, Beth Hodder, Karen Reeves, and interviews & letters from Kay Rosengren—courtesy of the Northwest Montana Forest Fire Lookout Association. Voice acting from Alex Stillson and Lora Funk. Montana Memory Project: In this episode of Headwaters, we visit St. Mary, looking for experiences that are disappearing from the world. After hearing about the legendary St. Mary winds, Michael gets up early to try to see a grizzly bear, and we learn how these animals are faring in Glacier’s ecosystem. Andrew stays up late to visit the St. Mary observatory and learn about dark skies and stargazing in Glacier.
Featuring: Debby Smith, Bob Adams, Tabitha Graves, and Lee Rademaker. Bear Safety: Glacier National Park, a place often celebrated for its natural scenery, offers an equally diverse and rich cultural landscape. In this episode of Headwaters, food offers an introduction to the area’s indigenous communities. We also explore the longest-running indigenous speaker series in the National Park Service.
Featuring: Darnell Rides At The Door, Vernon Finley, Mariah Gladstone, Rose Bear Don’t Walk, Tony Incashola Sr., and Kelly Lynch.
Indigikitchen: Recovering our Roots: More at our website: 
The Headwaters TeamHeadwaters was produced by Glacier National Park's media team. Andrew Smith and Michael Faist recorded, edited, and hosted the show. Ben Cosgrove wrote and performed our original music. Alex Stillson provided technical direction. Quinn Feller designed the Headwaters cover art using historic Harpers Ferry Design Center illustrations. Renata Harrison helped write and research each episode.
Supported by the Glacier National Park ConservancySupport for Headwaters comes from the Glacier National Park Conservancy, who work to preserve and protect Glacier National Park for future generations. Each year, the Conservancy funds vital projects across the park, including those explored in this podcast series. We couldn’t do this without them, and they couldn’t do it without support from generous donors. To learn more, go to glacier.org. |
Last updated: December 4, 2020