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PODCAST

The US Explained

riffingandranting

The United States is a vast and beautiful country, spanning continents, time zones, and countless regions, biomes, and ecosystems. The US Explained dives into the geography, history, and culture of the country, one state at a time. This ongoing, 56-part series covers every state, territory, and federal district of the US, by order of admission. Join me on my journey across America! Hosted by Carter Property of That Is Interesting

history

All Episodes

67:32

West Virginia - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2026/03/11

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

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59:33

Kansas - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2026/01/27

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

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66:25

Oregon - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2026/01/09

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.

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83:16

Minnesota - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2025/12/01

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

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97:40

California - The US Explained (Part 2)

The US Explained ·

2025/11/12

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

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114:23

California - The US Explained (Part 1)

The US Explained ·

2025/10/29

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

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73:26

Wisconsin - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2025/09/18

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

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01:05:01

Iowa - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2025/08/27

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

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01:58:49

Texas - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2025/08/27

Where the American South meets the American West, this is a land of cattle ranchers, cowboys, and oilmen, of Cajuns, of border towns where Spanish has been spoken long before this place was ever called Texas, of wide-open starlit skies and of skyscraper-studded cities where people have come from across the country and the world seeking the opportunity that it promises. An independent country that chose to join the United States, Texans retain their strong sense of identity and pride that has made

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01:39:55

Florida - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2025/08/27

Florida - It's a land of swamps and islands, beautiful yet for much of its history remote, a backwater jutting into the Gulf of Mexico. Today though, it's the third most populous state in the country, a global tourist destination, a diverse meeting point of cultures from across the hemisphere, and a state that year after year, decade after decade, has been one of the fastest growing places in America, a place whose name is known the world over. This is its story. Episode 28 - Florida.

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01:14:15

Michigan - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2025/08/27

Michigan - mountains and mines, wild forests, islands, and lakes sit together with one of the largest cities in the country, a heavily urbanized hive of industry home to millions of people. This is a fascinating state - one that tells the story of America - both its failures and its promise. I hope you'll join me to hear it. Episode 27 - Michigan.

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01:09:17

Arkansas - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2025/08/27

Here in Arkansas the swamps and bayous of the fertile Mississippi Delta meet the country’s largest cluster of mountains between the Rockies and Appalachians. A mostly rural state, it’s home to a number of small cities, some of which have become economically vibrant boomtowns. The Natural State is an all too often overlooked corner of the country, packing a beautiful landscape, important history, kind people, and some really fascinating cities and towns into the Lower 48’s smallest state completely

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01:03:04

Missouri - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2025/08/27

Missouri sits in the middle. For the last forty years, it’s been the average center of the country’s population, and today, more than any other, it can claim to be the state where the north meets the south, and the east meets the west. Roughly halfway between the Rockies and the Appalachians, the Canadian border and the Gulf of Mexico, home to flat expanses of farmland, the forested mountains, hills, and cliffs of the Ozarks, and two major American cities, this is Episode 25 - Missouri.

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54:47

Maine - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2025/08/27

Maine - The state at the northeastern tip of the United States is an outlier. In the heavily urbanized East Coast, it’s predominantly rural. It takes up half of New England’s land area yet has one of the smallest populations in the country, much of it wilderness that’s far removed from any city or town. Thousands of moose roam wild in the forests that surround beautiful mountains and lakes, while the small fishing villages that line an island-filled coast look like they’ve barely changed since as

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59:27

Alabama - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2025/08/27

The story of Alabama is in large part the story of America, one that has much to be proud of, with progress and innovation, kind people and a strong regional culture, yet at the same time one that has also been marked by violence, prejudice, poverty, and conflict. Above all it’s a story that is essential to understand. Home to forests and farmland, mountains and beaches, small towns and a number of different cities, this is Episode 23 - Alabama.

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01:06:53

Illinois - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2025/08/27

The river winds through a canyon, at times more than a thousand feet from top to bottom. But unlike the canyons of the west, its walls are made not of earth and rock, but of glass and steel, a man made wonder showcasing some of the most famous buildings in the world, the birthplace of the skyscraper itself. It’s a town that, sitting in one of the most strategically-placed locations in the country, rose from actual ashes to become among the largest and most iconic cities in the world, an essential

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46:54

Mississippi - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2025/08/27

Famed author William Faulkner said of his home state, “to understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.” As I take you on this journey through every part of the United States, it would be a mistake to ignore the story of the Magnolia State. The challenges it deals with, such as high poverty, low development and quality of life, and an economy that’s struggled to diversify have brought severe economic difficulties to a state with among the worst histories of racism in the

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45:12

Indiana - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2025/08/27

It’s spanned by vast fields of corn and soybeans, making it one of the most agriculturally productive states in the country. Stunning sand dunes, one of the only national parks in the Midwest, stand hundreds of feet tall over the shore of Lake Michigan, and beautiful forests, hills, and river valleys cover much of the state’s southern half. A former industrial powerhouse, whose limestone and steel built some of the country’s most famous buildings, it's home to a major city, a number of smaller ones,

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45:54

Louisiana - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2025/08/27

Among the swamps and bayous, marshes and forests, that sit at the mouth of one of the largest river systems on earth, sits a state unlike any other. It’s a cultural melting pot, sitting in the Deep South, home to one of the largest Black populations in the country, and more culturally connected to and shaped by France than any other state in the US. Its culture, history, geography, and society is vastly different from anywhere else in the country, and a world away from even its neighbors, it

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47:57

Ohio - The US Explained

The US Explained ·

2025/08/27

Ohio. It sits between the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley, where the Midwest, with its flat expanses of farmland meets Appalachia, home to rolling hills, forests, and valleys. One of the largest Amish populations in the country sits in a state famed for its industrial prowess, manufacturing, and business. Major cities sit not far from farms, forests, lakes, and islands. It's home to a huge population and has played an important role in the US throughout history and today. This is Episode 18 -

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