Field Trip

The Washington Post

The Washington Post’s Lillian Cunningham journeys through the messy past and uncertain future of America’s national parks. In trips through five iconic landscapes, she ventures off the marked trail and beyond the parks’ borders to better understand the most urgent stories playing out in these places today. Along the way, she meets the people fighting to help these parks evolve – and survive.

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Episodes

Introducing, "The Sports Moment"

Ava Wallace, sports reporter at The Washington Post, is in France to report on the Summer Games — and eat a lot of croissants. Join her through the entire run of the games, for several episodes a week as she captures the highs, the lows and the Paris of it all, along with other Post colleagues. Follow The Sports Moment podcast on  Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify ,  Amazon Music  or  YouTube . Sign up for  The Sports Moment: Olympics Edition newsletter here ....

Jul 24, 2024•59 sec

Introducing “The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop”

Grenada’s Black revolutionary leader, Maurice Bishop, was executed in a coup in 1983, along with seven others. The whereabouts of their remains are unknown. Now, The Washington Post’s Martine Powers uncovers new answers about how the U.S. fits into this 40-year-old Caribbean mystery. “The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop” is an investigative podcast that delves into the revolutionary history of Grenada, why the missing remains still matter and the role the U.S. government played in shaping the fate...

Oct 17, 2023•4 min

Gates of the Arctic National Park

Established in 1980, Gates of the Arctic marked a radically different way of thinking about what a national park should be. Compared to previously established parks, it’s hard for the public to access. This park is truly undeveloped — there are no roads or infrastructure. And it’s immense. You could fit Yosemite, Glacier, Everglades, White Sands, Death Valley and the Grand Canyon all within its borders and still have room to spare. But even here, in one of the most remote and least visited of th...

Jul 19, 2023•1 hr 1 min

White Sands National Park

White Sands National Park contains a geological rarity: the largest field of gypsum sand dunes anywhere on earth. The blinding white dunes stretch for miles in every direction, dazzling tourists, inviting selfies and sled rides.  But there’s much more to this park than meets the eye. White Sands National Park, one of the newest in the system, is embedded within White Sands Missile Range, the largest military installation in the country. Today the missile range is a testing ground for cuttin...

Jul 12, 2023•1 hr

Everglades National Park

Many people mistake the landscape of Everglades National Park for a swamp, full of mosquitos and razor-sharp sawgrass. Technically it’s a wetland, home to a stunning array of wildlife and beloved by visitors and conservationists alike. But that view of the Everglades as a treacherous and hostile place informed more than a century of efforts to tame and transform the landscape in ways that are still playing out today. In this episode of “Field Trip,” Washington Post reporter Lillian Cunningham te...

Jul 05, 2023•1 hr 4 min

Glacier National Park

This episode has been updated. All 63 national parks sit on Indigenous ancestral lands. They’re places Native people called home for thousands of years. But for more than 100 years, these places have also been public lands, intended to benefit all Americans. Sometimes, that puts Native tribes and the National Park Service into conflict.  That’s particularly true in Glacier National Park, where members of the Blackfeet have fought to preserve their deep connection to the land in the nearly 1...

Jun 28, 2023•57 min

Yosemite National Park

California’s Sierra Nevada is home to a very special kind of tree, found nowhere else on Earth: the giant sequoia. For thousands of years, these towering trees withstood the trials of the world around them, including wildfire. Low-intensity fires frequently swept through groves of sequoias, leaving their cinnamon-red bark scarred but strengthened, and opening their cones to allow new seeds to take root. But in the era of catastrophic wildfires fueled by climate change, these ancient trees are no...

Jun 28, 2023•56 min

Introducing “Field Trip”

Journey through the messy past and uncertain future of America’s national parks. The Washington Post’s Lillian Cunningham ventures off the marked trail to better understand the most urgent stories playing out in five iconic landscapes today. “Field Trip” is a new podcast series that will transport you to five national parks: Yosemite, Everglades, Glacier, White Sands and Gates of the Arctic. More on the national parks: • Journey into awe-inspiring landscapes • A comprehensive guide to the Americ...

Jun 13, 2023•3 min

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