Our Missouri Podcast

Welcome to Our Missouri, a podcast about the people, places, culture, and history of the 114 counties and independent city of St. Louis that comprise the great state of Missouri. Your host is SHSMO oral historian and lifelong Jefferson City resident Sean Rost, who earned his PhD from the University of Missouri specializing in twentieth-century US, Missouri, and African American history.

Engaging with subject matter experts, each episode focuses on a topic related to the state's complex history and culture, from publications about Missouri’s history to current projects undertaken by organizations to preserve and promote local institutions.  Join Rost as he explores what makes Our Missouri.

Our Missouri is free and generously provided thanks to the support of State Historical Society of Missouri members and donors. Books featured on the show are available for purchase through the SHSMO Richard Bookstore; purchases support the State Historical Society of Missouri.

New episodes are posted twice a month. You can also subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher.

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Region
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Season

Episode 83: History Keepers - Christine Peoples (African American Heritage in the Ozarks, Part 8)

To conclude Season 5 and the series “African American Heritage in the Ozarks,” this episode features Christine Peoples, Timmons Hall Education Coordinator for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, highlighting upcoming programs at Timmons Hall and the legacy of the History Keepers.

 

Episode Image: Timmons Hall, Springfield, Missouri, 2021 [Courtesy of Andrew Olden]

Banner Image: Alma Clay showing documents to Sean Rost, Haley Frizzle-Green, Christine Peoples, and Kathleen Seale, Springfield, Missouri, 2021 [Courtesy of Andrew Olden]

Episode 81: George Washington Carver National Monument - Curtis Gregory (African American Heritage in the Ozarks, Part 6)

In this episode, Curtis Gregory, a park ranger for the National Park Service, discusses the activities and history of George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri, and reflects on the life of George Washington Carver.

 

Episode Image: Statue of George Washington Carver as a young boy, Diamond, Missouri, 1960 [Gerald R. Massie Photographs (P0016), SHSMO]

Banner Image: Moses Carver Farm, Diamond, Missouri, date unknown [Whitaker Family Collection (SP0076), SHSMO]

Episode 80: Frederick Douglass Comes to Springfield (African American Heritage in the Ozarks, Part 5)

In this episode, host Sean Rost looks back to Frederick Douglass' 1893 visit to Springfield, Missouri, and examines who Douglass was, why he came to Springfield, and what he advised Missourians to consider at the dawn of a new century.

 

Episode Image: College Street, Springfield, Missouri, date unknown [Arthur Richard Hill Photographs (SP0067), SHSMO]

Episode 79: CCC Co. 1743 - Andrew Olden (African American Heritage in the Ozarks, Part 4)

This episode features Andrew Olden, a PhD candidate at the University of Missouri-Columbia and staff member for the African American Heritage in the Ozarks Project, discussing Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1743, an African American unit based at Washington State Park along the banks of the Big River near De Soto, Missouri, in the mid-1930s.

 

Episode Image: Thunderbird Lodge, Washington State Park, 2021 [Courtesy of Andrew Olden]

Banner Image: Washington State Park, 2021 [Courtesy of Andrew Olden]

Episode 78: Voda Curtis Revisited (African American Heritage in the Ozarks, Part 3)

This episode focuses on the life of Voda "Bea" Hardy Curtis, and documents the path of her family from slavery to suffrage. The episode also features audio clips from Voda Curtis' 1977 oral history (S0829) housed at the State Historical Society of Missouri's St. Louis Research Center, as well as final thoughts from past oral history interns–Cydney Smith, Cassie Draudt, and Keely Doll–who conducted research on Voda Curtis' life.

 

Episode 77: From Potosi to the Potomac (African American Heritage in the Ozarks, Part 2)

In this episode, host Sean Rost introduces listeners to the life and legacy of John A. Lankford. Born in Potosi, Missouri, in 1874, Lankford achieved immense fame as one of the most celebrated architects of his generation. Listen here to learn about Lankford's journey from Potosi to Washington D.C., along the banks of the Potomac River.

 

Episode Image: Forge Room at Lincoln Institute in Jefferson City, Missouri, ca. 1903 [Lincoln University Photographs (P1096), SHSMO]

Episode 76: Introduction (African American Heritage in the Ozarks, Part 1)

In 2021, the State Historical Society of Missouri was awarded an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant through the National Endowment for the Humanities and Missouri Humanities for a project titled “African American Heritage in the Ozarks.” Over fifteen months, staff at SHSMO identified and compiled an extensive list of primary and secondary sources related to African American life in the region, provided public programming in numerous Ozarks communities, developed physical and digital exhibits, and conducted more than two dozen oral histories preserving the voices and memories of the

Episode 75: Sports Journalism in the 21st Century (Title IX in Missouri, Part 7)

To conclude the Title IX in Missouri series, host Sean Rost talks with four journalists, Kathryn Lucchesi, Maddy Glab, Lauren Michelson, and Dani Wexelman, about the evolution of sports journalism in the 21st Century.

 

Episode Image: Radio interview between Mary Margaret McBride and Goldena Howard, Columbia, Missouri, date unknown [Mary Kathy Dains Photographs (P0300), SHSMO]

Banner Image: Women in the grandstand at Rollins Field, Columbia, Missouri, ca. 1913 [University of Missouri School of Journalism Scrapbook (P0162), SHSMO]

Episode 74: AIAW (Title IX in Missouri, Part 6)

The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) had a lasting impact on countless Missourians, even though it was only in existence for roughly a decade during the 1970s and early 1980s. In the latest Our Missouri Podcast episode, learn about the legacy of the AIAW and listen to oral history interviewees from the Missouri Sports & Recreation oral History Project (C4377) discuss their memories of the first few crucial years of Title IX and the AIAW.