Rooted in the Plains

Rooted in the Plains is a podcast about the people, places and moments that shaped the Great Plains. We'll dig into stories of resilience, curiosity and courage. These are the voices that whisper through the wind and are written in the dirt beneath our feet. This summer, we're taking it to the field. New episodes dropping all season, subscribe so you don't miss the adventure.

Rooted in the Plains is a history podcast hosted by Nicole Blackstock, with 26 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Nicole Blackstock hosts Rooted in the Plains, a history show with 26 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #16

  Rooted Turns One And We Brought a Gift

  Aug 6, 20262 minS2

  Rooted in the Plains turns one today! And I have a big announcement... Rootedintheplains.com is LIVE Come check out the timeline and episode pages, with more to come.

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  Episode #15

  Lincoln: It Has a Ring to It

  Jul 29, 20268 minS2

  On July 29th, 1867, three men sat down in a private home in Lancaster, Nebraska, a settlement of fewer than fifty people and voted to make it the capital of the state. Twenty-two years later, that same ground was home to fifty thousand people, seventy factories, eighty wholesale houses, and thirty-one miles of streetcar track. In this episode, I take you on a walk starting at the spot where it began, then through Lincoln's Haymarket district, tracing the city that grew out of a prairie vote. Along the way, the first federal building built from Platte River limestone, an Omaha businessman who bet on Lincoln and an impressive overview of what those first twenty-two years of life brought to the Capital city. Happy Anniversary, Lincoln! This is part of the Iron & Power series. If you missed the first two, start with The Cheyenne Ring: Cattle Country's Power, and The Capital Ring: Power of the Platte. For then-and-now photos, maps, and glimpses of the past, follow @rootedintheplains on Instagram. Want to learn more? Davies, Russ, and Robert E. Gallamore. "On the Spur to the Dome: How the Mile-Long Lincoln, Haitch Street & Capitol Railway Helped Build Nebraska's Monumental Tower on the Plains." Railroad History , no. 204 (2011): 52–63. Hayes, A.B., and Samuel D. Cox. History of the City of Lincoln, Nebraska . Lincoln, NE: State Journal Company Printers, 1889.

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  Episode #14

  The Capital Ring: Power of the Platte

  Jul 15, 202617 minS2

  For thirteen years, two sides of the Platte River fought over the same prize: Nebraska's capital city. The stakes weren't just political — whoever held the capital held the federal payroll, the railroad route, and the future. Omaha had won every fight. Then statehood changed everything. In this episode, we follow the fight from its rigged beginnings in 1854, through legislative brawls, land schemes, and a midnight wagon heist, to the afternoon of July 29th, 1867 — when three men sat down in a private home in Lancaster, Nebraska, and changed the map forever. Along the way, we meet a land speculator who knew too much, two senators who tried to be clever and got outmaneuvered, and a group of ladies in Yankee Hill who produced ice cream on the open prairie and still didn't get what they wanted. This is Part Two of the Iron & Power series. If you missed Part One, start with The Cheyenne Ring: Cattle Country's Power. For photos, maps, and glimpses of the past, follow @rootedintheplains on Instagram. Want to learn more? Berens, Charlyne, and Nancy Mitchell. "Parallel Tracks, Same Terminus: The Role of Nineteenth-Century Newspapers and Railroads in the Settlement of Nebraska." Great Plains Quarterly 29, no. 4 (2009): 287–300. Crowe, Rebekah. "A Madman and a Visionary: George Francis Train, Speculation, and the Territorial Development of the Great Plains." Great Plains Quarterly 34, no. 1 (2014): 35–61. Davies, Russ, and Robert E. Gallamore. "On the Spur to the Dome: How the Mile-Long Lincoln, Haitch Street & Capitol Railway Helped Build Nebraska's Monumental Tower on the Plains." Railroad History , no. 204 (2011): 52–63. Hayes, A.B., and Samuel D. Cox. History of the City of Lincoln, Nebraska . Lincoln, NE: State Journal Company Printers, 1889. Potts, James B. "The Nebraska Capital Controversy, 1854–59." Great Plains Quarterly 8, no. 3 (1988): 172–82.

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  Episode #13

  The Cheyenne Ring: Cattle Country’s Power

  Jul 1, 202613 minS2

  The cowboy myth says it was all grit and open range: noble ranchers, hardworking cowhands, civilizing a wild frontier. The truth is messier. In this episode, we trace who actually ran Wyoming in the late 1800s, and the answer isn't "cowboys." It's a railroad, a small circle of cattle barons, and two senators, nicknamed "the Cheyenne Ring", who answered to both at once. We follow the Wyoming Stock Growers Association's reach across state lines, all the way to Custer County, Nebraska, where the same fight over land and power played out fourteen years earlier: a shooting, a revenge killing, and a conviction that didn't stick. This is Part One of a two-part story. Part Two picks up later this month, recorded on location, where we find out how the location of Nebraska's capital city is connected to this same story. For photos, maps, and glimpses of the past, follow @rootedintheplains on Instagram. Want to learn more? Butcher, S.D. Pioneer History of Custer County, Nebraska . Broken Bow, 1901. Hewitt, William L. “The ‘Cowboyification’ of Wyoming Agriculture.” Agricultural History 76, no. 2 (2002): 481–94. Miller, Michael M. “Cowboys and Capitalists: The XIT Ranch in Texas and Montana, 1885–1912.” Montana: The Magazine of Western History 65, no. 4 (2015): 3–28. Hansen, Peter A. “Still Controversial: The Pacific Railroad at 150.” Railroad History , no. 208 (2013): 8–35. "1884 Round-Ups of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association." Broadside, courtesy of Tom Berry, compliments of Armour's Livestock Bureau.

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  Episode #12

  Fort Atkinson - The People Who Keep It Alive

  Jun 17, 202617 minS2

  The fort is still standing. And so are the people who keep its story alive. In the final episode of our Fort Atkinson summer series, we go to the source: the volunteers who show up on the first weekend of every month, put on the uniforms, and bring the 1820s back to life for everyone who walks through the gates. A soldier. A blacksmith. A tinsmith. A weaver. And Andrew, our guide through this whole series, is back on the bluff where it all began. I asked them all the same questions: What do people get wrong about life at this fort? What moment from a visitor has stayed with you? And why does this story still matter? Enjoy. Fort Atkinson Living History Weekend runs May through October, the first weekend of every month. Fort Atkinson State Historical Park, Fort Calhoun, Nebraska. Free with a Nebraska State Park entry permit. For photos, maps, and glimpses of the past, follow @rootedintheplains on Instagram.

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