We Always Lie to Strangers: An Ozarks Podcast

A podcast about Ozarks history, folklore & beyond

76) We Always Lie About Bigfoot 2: Bigfoot Men

This episode, Part 2 of our October miniseries, Gus leads us out of The Ozarks for a primer on one of the organizations dedicated to the hunt for Bigfoot. What does an expedition entail? We'll find out. What does this have to do with The Ozarks? We'll get there in the end

10-11
42:40

75) We Always Lie About Bigfoot 1: Bigfoot Camp

October becomes Gustober, as Gus leads us through a 4-part series (at least) on Bigfoot in The Ozarks and the men that search for them. This week, we look into the Camp Orr legend of Smokey Joe, the last of the untouched (by us) Bigfoot-adjacent lore of The Ozarks proper, and touch on a couple of other historical wildman tales and the possibility that maybe.. it could just be bears

10-04
45:34

74) Taum Sauk Reservoir + Failure

The story of the Taum Sauk Reservoir in southeast Missouri and the time the walls came tumbling down

09-27
47:12

From Our Patreon: The Elkhorn Tavern

A supplemental episode from our previous Governor Isaac Murphy series, the story of the Elkhorn Tavern at Pea Ridge National Military Park

09-20
22:52

73) The Harrison Railroad Strike Part 2: The Violence Escalates

The conclusion of the Missouri & North Arkansas Railroad strike in Harrison, Arkansas. It gets pretty dark

09-13
01:19:37

72) The Harrison Railroad Strike Part 1: The Strike Begins

One of America's longest railroad strikes took place in The Ozarks and you've probably never heard about it. Maybe privatizing public goods isn't the best idea. We also read a couple listener emails

09-06
01:10:35

71) A History of Corn Cob Pipes

We look at corn cob pipes, from their patenting in the northern Missouri Ozarks, to a small day to day look at a former factory in Everton, Arkansas

08-30
36:41

70) The Branson Cross

The life story of B. Dean Brown and the Branson Cross

08-23
58:21

A WALTS Special Report: That New Racist Commune in the Arkansas Ozarks

We discuss the New York Times article that was released today about that racist intentional community near Ravenden, Arkansas that's trying to expand into Missouri and across elsewhere in the South

08-20
29:23

69) The Monster of Peter Bottom Cave

The story of a Bigfoot-type monster supposedly near War Eagle, Arkansas

08-16
31:03

68) The Cobra Scare with Beyond the Breakers

In a podcast first, we have guests in the wonderful Beyond the Breakers podcast. Normally ones to focus on shipwrecks and maritime disasters, we pull them onto land and discuss one of the wackiest incidents in Springfield, Missouri history, The Cobra Scare.

08-09
01:51:04

67) The Harmonial Vegetarian Society

The tale of a vegetarian religious sect (called the Grass Eaters by locals, accidentally left out of the script) that set up shop in the pre-Civil War rural Arkansas Ozarks. We have a Patreon, an Instagram, a Bluesky

08-02
45:35

66) Damascus, Arkansas: Speed Trap

We discuss the history of Damascus, Arkansas and the time they got in trouble for issuing too many speed tickets

07-26
32:27

65) Walter Majors // The Easter Lynchings of 1906

This episode involves a dark and heavy topic, with our first coverage of a lynching in The Ozarks. The primary focus this week is the life Walter Majors, an African American inventor from Springfield, Missouri, but we also discuss the Easter Lynchings of 1906, one of countless lynchings in The Ozarks between 1890-1910, and its lasting impact on the African American community in Springfield and Springfield as a city from then to now

07-19
01:10:28

64) The 1974 Ozark Music Festival

The story of music festival at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in.. Sedalia of all places?

07-12
01:00:11

63) Isaac Murphy Part 3 & 4: Post-War & Reconstruction

The conclusion of our Isaac Murphy series, in one episode instead of two. A major focus of the episode is on Reconstruction, and we only barely scratch the surface of it's importance, both then and now

07-05
58:46

62) Isaac Murphy Part 2: Governor Harris Flanagin

An episode on Harris Flanagin, the Governor of Arkansas prior to Isaac Murphy. A Civil War heavy episode. Ray also commits a cardinal podcasting sin by eating ice on mic. You've been warned

06-28
39:17

61) Isaac Murphy Part 1: "I therefore vote no"

We are back to our Governors of Arkansas series and focus on Isaac Murphy, Arkansas's lone vote against secession and Arkansas's most defensible governor.

06-21
01:17:11

60) David Leong & Springfield-Style Cashew Chicken

The life story of David Leong, a Chinese-born Ozarks icon, and his legacy, Springfield-style cashew chicken.

06-14
53:18

59) Samuel Hudson

A look into the history and myth of Samuel Hudson, early settler into Newton County, Arkansas

05-31
23:21

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