National Park After Dark

Carved into the granite heart of the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore is one of America’s most recognizable, and most controversial, monuments. Beneath the towering faces of four presidents lies a dark and often untold history of stolen land, massacres, and the erasure of Indigenous people who have called this place sacred for generations. From sculptor Gutzon Borglum’s troubling past to the Lakota’s ongoing fight for recognition through the nearby Crazy Horse Memorial, this episode explores how a monument meant to celebrate a nation has become a lasting reminder of the violence and displacement that built it.

Today’s stories include traumatizing rites of passage, calls for help, wedding dress ghosts, missing friends and anonymous letters. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes

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In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month, today’s episode is dedicated to George Meléndez Wright, the first Hispanic person to occupy a professional role in the National Park Service. His life was cut tragically short, but his holistic approach to wildlife management in the National Parks has left an indelible mark.

To submit a business for the Outsiders Gift Guide, please email assistant@npadpodcast.com by October 22nd :)

Sources:

Book: George Melendez Wright: The Fight for Wildlife and Wilderness in the National Parks by Jerry Emory

Articles/Webpages: National Park Service, Geo...

When a small Cessna went down in the San Gabriel Mountains in February 1979, eleven-year-old Norman Ollestad was thrust into a fight for his life. Stranded in a blizzard on alpine terrain more than 8,500 feet up, he drew on the skills and grit he’d learned from his father to make his way out.

Sources: Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival, by Norman Ollestad (2009).

For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes

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Today’s stories include being locked in taxidermy museums, meeting legends, lightning escapes, ghostly hikes and trolling blue butterflies. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

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Thank you to the week’s pa...

When Jefferey Lendrum was a boy, he loved birds. What began as a childhood passion volunteering for an ornithology program transformed into a life of wildlife crime - scaling cliffs to steal and then smuggle falcon eggs around the world. Despite multiple arrests, steep fines and various investigations - he just couldn’t quit. What motivated him? How did his dedication to birds turn to destruction? This is the story of the “Pablo Escobar of Falcon Eggs”.

NEW MERCH AVAILABLE NOW!

Sources:

Book - The Falcon Thief by Joshua Hammer

Documentary - Poache...

Crime doesn’t take a day off. And neither does Crime House Daily. Hosted by self-defense instructor and advocate for victims, Katie Ring, Crime House Daily is
coming to you twice every weekday, covering the biggest crime stories as they unfold. Morning episodes give you the need-to-know. The latest headlines, breaking developments, and where things are going next. Evening episodes go deeper. Into the people, the evidence, and the moments that matter most. The pursuit of justice never stops. And with Crime House Daily, you won’t have to either.

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In today’s long awaited collaboration, we team up with Kaelyn Moore of the podcast Heart Starts Pounding. Kaelyn covers all sorts of creepy, strange and unexplainable topics from around the world on her show, but today we all dive into the Reddit world (which is scary in and of itself) to bring you some tales of scary and strange happenings from where we know best ... the forest.

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In 1925, famed British explorer Percy Fawcett set out on his most ambitious journey yet — to find a legendary city hidden deep in the Amazon. At his side were his 21-year-old son Jack and Jack’s best friend, Raleigh Rimell. All three vanished without a trace. What began as a quest for discovery became one of the most enduring mysteries in the history of exploration.

Sources:
The Lost City of Z, film (2016).
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, by David Grann (2009).
“The Lost City of Z,” by David Grann (The New...

Today’s stories include lightning drama, peeing with friends, and choosing the bear. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

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Today marks the NPS’s 109th birthday! In celebration (?) we pulled a few less than enthusiastic 1 star reviews of some of our favorite places. A few are straight up silly, some are maddening and others prove that just because National Parks are for everyone, not everyone are for National Parks.

Sources: All reviews found on Yelp, NPS History

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Ti...

On May 8th, 2006 to celebrate her 34th birthday, Tomomi Hanamure laced up her hiking boots, as she had done so many times before, for an adventure. Her return journey to the Grand Canyon was a way to mark another year around the sun, to a place she felt so personally drawn to. Tragically, the date that marked her entrance into this world would also be the day someone violently ripped her out of it.

More info on WFA classes HERE

Sources:

Book: Pure Land: A True Story of Three Lives, Three Cultures and the...

Today’s stories include traumatizing children, urns in odd places and a day of the grizzlies. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

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For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes

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She’s been called the wildest woman in America—and with good reason. Carol Ruckdeschel has wrestled alligators, dissected roadkill in the name of science, and lived off the grid in the wilderness she vowed to defend. But behind the sensational headlines is a sharp, fearless conservationist whose tireless efforts helped protect one of the last truly wild places in the Southeast: Cumberland Island National Seashore. Taking on powerful families and even the National Park Service, Carol waged a relentless fight to preserve the island’s fragile ecosystems—and she won, but the fight isn’t over.

SOURCES:
“Wild...

Today’s episode is a collaboration a long time coming! Our friends Josh and Austin of the Lights Out podcast hosted us in their studio during a recent trip to Denver to discuss the extremely disturbing case of Robert Hansen aka The Butcher Baker.

Listen to Lights Out wherever you listen to your favorite shows!

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Today’s stories include getting schmacked, stinky ghosts, victorian asylums, salty situations and rescues from beyond the grave. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

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For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:

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Support the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to...

Val Plumwood was an Australian philosopher, environmental activist and crocodile attack survivor. During a 1985 trip to Kakadu National park, Val was attacked repeatedly by a crocodile but miraculously survived. The experience completely reshaped her life and her perspective of her role within it.

Sources:

Book: The Eye of the Crocodile 

Documentaries: Kakadu: Land of the Crocodile 

Articles: The Guardian, National Museum of Australia,

Websites: Val Plumwood,  Remembering Val Plumwood, Kakadu National Park, Sightseeing Tours Australia, PBS

For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes

...

This week NPAD is on vacation, but as a special treat, we wanted to share an episode of our other podcast, Watch Her Cook, with you. This episode has a few surprising NPAD tie ins, and we are so excited to share it with you all. We will be back to our regularly scheduled National Parks programing next week! - Cassie and Danielle

What began as a vivid dream on a stormy night during the “Year Without a Summer,” after a round of German ghost stories by the fire, would go on to spark the birth of science fict...

In today’s exciting crossover episode we are joined by Aaron Habel from the Generation Why Podcast. We recap four of our most memorable NPAD true crime and mysterious disappearance cases, provide some updates and discuss what makes them so intriguing.  Aaron also brings us a story we have never covered that remains one of the most puzzling cases to ever come out of Yosemite.

Listen and follow Generation Why wherever you get your podcasts!

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For a full list of our sou...

Editors Note and Content Warning: This episode was recorded in June before the devastating floods that took place in Texas on July 4th. Listeners should be aware that this episode includes descriptions of mass death, including children. Please take care while listening. Our hearts are with the families and communities affected by the floods. For more information about how to help the survivors and families impacted by the Texas floods please see:  The American Red Cross Kerr County Flood Relief Fund TEXSAR Additional organizations can be found here. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help i...

Come for the animal stories, stay for the giggles. T&C and NPAD are reunited for another collab episode!

Listen to Tooth & Claw: True Stories of Animal Attacks here, snag some fun merch here, and keep an eye on their upcoming trips here!

For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes

For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:

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Today’s stories include small town legends, embarrassing young canoodling, haunted cheese factories, Hidebehinds and visits from the great beyond. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

Listen to Watch Her Cook on Apple and Spotify! Follow us on Instagram

For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes

For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:

Instagram: @nationalparkafterdark
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Support the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free li...

George and Joy Adamson lived for lions. After raising a cub they named Elsa and telling the world about it, they were catapulted into the center of conservation and controversy. Their methods were questioned, but their love for the wild was not. While they were both murdered, their legacy remains alive in Africa and beyond.

Grab some Merch!

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Sources:

Documentary: Elsa’s Legacy: The Born Free Story by PBS

Books:  Tropical Nature: Colonial and Post-Colonial Conservation in Afr...

Atlas Obscura began as a website and global community to catalog and celebrate the world's unusual and obscure places, stories and foods. Since 2009, it has expanded to include six books, group adventures around the world, a Youtube Series and a podcast! Today, we have the immense pleasure of speaking with Dylan Thuras, co-founder of Atlas Obscura to talk all things weird and wonderful.

Atlas Obscura Podcast: Listen Here

Danielle’s AO Profile

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Today’s stories include debunking aliens, an outdoorsy Maya Rudolph, Hot Springs love, spooky family lore and horny birds. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

WE HAVE NEW MERCH!

Listen to Watch Her Cook on Apple and Spotify! Follow us on Instagram

For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes

For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:

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Today we are joined by the Founder of LGBTQ Outdoors, Justin Yoder, as we tell the story of Marsha P. Johnson and the Stonewall Uprising.  In the early hours of June 28, 1969, a police raid on the Stonewall Inn ignited a rebellion that would change history. The Stonewall Uprising became the catalyst to a nationwide LGBTQ rights movement.  At the heart of this moment was Marsha P. Johnson, a Black trans activist, drag queen, and revolutionary who became a symbol of resilience and joy in the face of injustice.

If you are interested in becoming a member, an am...

In the 1970s Shirley Dougherty moved to Harpers Ferry West Virginia and started experiencing strange occurrences. And she wasn’t alone. Residents were quick to tell her their experiences with the paranormal, and she eventually complied them into a book - a text that became the foundation of what she claims to be America’s’ oldest ghost tour. Today, Danielle brings us on our own through one of the country’s most spooky locations.

Grab some Merch! 

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Sources:

Articles: National...

Today’s stories include women in STEM, chirping mountain lions, cabin guardians, simultaneous hauntings, family lore and dead dad signs. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

Listen to Watch Her Cook on Apple and Spotify! Follow us on Instagram

For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:

Instagram: @nationalparkafterdark
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Support the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Po...

In the fall of 1961, a couple driving through New Hampshire’s White Mountains encountered something no one could explain. What followed would become the first widely reported alien abduction case in American history — and the blueprint for every abduction story that came after.

WE HAVE NEW MERCH!

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Sources: The Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill: Alien Encounters, Civil Rights, and the New Age in America, by Matthew Bowman (2023). “Do We Have Evidence of Alien Life?” by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023). “They Knew What...

In the summer of 2021, the world was captivated by the story of Gabby Petito, a young woman who went missing and was later found murdered in Wyoming. While her story is heartbreaking, the widespread media coverage concerning her case revealed something equally disturbing - the disproportionate attention to cases of missing young, conventionally attractive white women, compared to cases involving missing people of color, particularly those of Indigenous women. In honor of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Awareness month we bring attention to two Indigenous women whose stories did not receive the same media attention as Gabby’s (and others li...

Today’s stories include life saving coolers, Fyre festival honeymoons, ripples in the space/time continuum, laughing lights, weird guys in the woods and a wilderness medicine origin story. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

Listen to Watch Her Cook on Apple and Spotify! Follow us on Instagram

For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:

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In the winter of 1997, a man-eating tiger terrorized a remote village in the Russian Far East. This wasn’t a defensive attack — the tiger was hunting specific humans, with eerie patience and purpose. What followed is one of the most chilling wildlife stories ever documented.

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Sources: The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival, by John Vaillant (2010). Conflict Tiger, film by Sasha Snow (2006). For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes

For the latest NPAD updates, group trav...

On October 11th, 1923, deep in Tunnel 13 high in the Siskiyou mountains of Oregon, four men were killed in a train robbery gone wrong. The trio responsible, the DeAutremont brothers, had planned the crime and dreamed of stealing their way to a life of riches but made a series of fatal mistakes that would haunt them forever. What has gone down in Pacific Northwest history as “the last great American train robbery” is also recognized as the birth of modern American forensic criminology.

Listen to Watch Her Cook on Apple and Spotify!

For the latest NPAD updates, grou...

Today’s stories include lighting strikes, protective birbs, family lore, finding yourself, poor planning and a strangely large amount of pet psychics. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

Listen to Watch Her Cook on Apple and Spotify! Follow us on Instagram

For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:

Instagram: @nationalparkafterdark
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Support the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or...

In 1910, two trains became stranded in Washington’s Cascade Mountains during a record-breaking snowstorm. After six harrowing nights, a massive avalanche swept them off the mountainside — the deadliest avalanche in U.S. history. More than a century later, one question still lingers: could the disaster have been prevented?

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Sources: “A ‘haunted hike’ brings Washington disaster to life,” by Courtney Flatt (Northwest Public Broadcasting, 2023). “White Death in the Cascades,” by Lauren Tarshis (Scholastic Scope, 2022). “The 1910 Wellington Train Disaster,” (Washington Our Home, 2021).
The White Cascade: The Great N...

In 1997, a lifelong Canadian logger had reached the end of his rope. For years Grant Hadwin attempted to sound the alarm to the dangers of the logging industry, but his attempts to speak for the trees repeatedly fell on deaf ears. Ultimately, he did something almost unforgivable, he cut down K’iid K'yaas - a sacred, protected and beloved Sitka Spruce. His hopes of using the act to garner attention to the evils of logging backfired and shortly after committing the crime, Grant Hadwin disappeared forever.

For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us...

Join hosts Morgan Absher and Kaelyn Moore as they take you deep into the world of the most notorious crimes ever — where a single clue can crack a case wide open.
From shocking murders to serial killers, Clues dives into all the forensic details
and brilliant sleuthing of the world's most infamous cases. CLUES is a Crime
House Original, powered by PAVE Studios. Follow and listen now wherever you
get your podcasts.

Today’s stories include paranormal protectors, New Jersey karma, close calls, ghost sailors and slip and slides from hell. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

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For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:

Instagram: @nationalparkafterdark
Twitter/X: @npadpodcast
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Support the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Wa...

Today, more than 1 billion people around the world celebrate Earth Day—but decades before this global movement began, one woman laid the foundation. When aerial pesticide programs drenched the Northeast in chemicals like DDT, devastating ecosystems and killing thousands of wildlife species, marine biologist and writer Rachel Carson sounded the alarm. Her groundbreaking book, Silent Spring, ignited a nationwide reckoning with the hidden environmental costs of modern life.

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Resources: 

The Sea Around Us, by Rachel Carson (1951). Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson (1962). “The St...

After over a month of a long, arduous overland journey the Roosevelt-Rondon Expedition finally reaches the waters of the River of Doubt. Their troubles have just begun as they are about to face not only the beauty of the unknown, but its perils. Everyone will starve and suffer - but not everyone will survive.

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For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:

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Support the show by...