As soon as Mary Vaux arrived in the Canadian Rockies in the 1880s, she began photographing and documenting one glacier in particular, year after year. The Illecillewaet Glacier, like so many of the world’s glaciers, is now a fraction of its original size. Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger introduced viewers to Mary Vaux Walcott and her work in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s much more left to learn. In this episode of Mossback , Berger joins co-...
Apr 22, 2026•34 min•Season 7Ep. 9
Chief Seattle’s daughter, Kikisoblu, dubbed “Princess Angeline” by white settlers, could be considered one of Seattle’s first celebrities. Toward the end of her life, her portrait appeared on so many postcards and tchotchkes that she became, in many ways, the symbol of Seattle. Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger introduced viewers to Princess Angeline in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there is much more to her story. In this episode of Mossback , Berger...
Apr 15, 2026•42 min•Season 7Ep. 8
What are Seattle’s most iconic foods? There's a history to that! Mossback co-hosts Knute Berger and Stephen Hegg delve into the past and present of the Seattle food scene with Cascade PBS’s resident foodie Rachel Belle, host of the video series The Nosh and the podcast Your Last Meal . Berger also joined Belle to discuss and taste local foods for a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there was much more left to explore. In this episode of Mossback , the three Seattleites...
Apr 08, 2026•36 min•Season 7Ep. 7
Today, Seattle is a UNESCO City of Literature – and it’s been a literary city since its founding. In fact, the first local library was created even before the city was officially incorporated. Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger explored this history in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there are more pages left to turn. In this episode of Mossback , Berger and co-host Stephen Hegg discuss their own love of libraries, the earliest books on Seattle’s shelves...
Apr 01, 2026•36 min•Season 7Ep. 6
One of the oddest cases of World War II espionage involved a woman, Velvalee Dickinson, who spied on Northwest shipyards for the Japanese. How did she do it? By writing coded letters about dolls. Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger told this story in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s more left to examine. In this episode of Mossback , Berger joins co-host Stephen Hegg to discuss Dickinson’s remarkable story, how she was ultimately caught by the U.S....
Mar 25, 2026•35 min•Season 7Ep. 5
Why did the U.S. buy Alaska from Russia? It wasn’t for gold or fur, it turns out. It was for fish. And it was a politician from the Washington Territory who lobbied the hardest for the purchase. Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger explored some of this history in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s more left to discuss. In this episode of Mossback , Berger joins co-host Stephen Hegg to dig into the geopolitical events that set the stage for the Alaska...
Mar 18, 2026•36 min•Season 7Ep. 4
Seattle once hosted a summer celebration called The Golden Potlatch. But in July 1913, political tensions mixed with revelry erupted into a riot, resulting in a brief period of martial law and intense battles over freedom of speech. Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger explained what happened in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s more left to unpack. In this episode of Mossback , Berger joins co-host Stephen Hegg to explore the differing accounts of w...
Mar 11, 2026•35 min•Season 7Ep. 3
Despite two centuries of speculation and science, a strange prairie full of small, evenly spaced hills south of Olympia remains a mystery. Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger unearthed some of the theories on the famous Mima Mounds’ origins in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s more left to explore. In this episode of Mossback , Berger joins co-host Stephen Hegg to dig deeper into the many explanations that have been put forth over the years, includi...
Mar 04, 2026•33 min•Season 7Ep. 2
The Mossback’s Northwest video series launched its 11th season last fall, covering topics ranging from the mystery of the Mima Mounds to World War II espionage to Seattle’s Princess Angeline. In October, Cascade PBS hosted a live event to celebrate the season premiere, featuring Mossack’s Northwest host Knute Berger, Mossback podcast co-host Stephen Hegg and executive producer Sarah Menzies. In this bonus episode of the Mossback podcast, Berger, Hegg and Menzies kick off the season by digging in...
Feb 25, 2026•51 min•Season 7Ep. 1
The massive Columbia River travels more than 1,200 miles from start to finish. It crosses four mountain ranges, powers 14 hydroelectric dams and irrigates hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland, among other feats. But its origins start humbly: in a gentle lake in the mountains of British Columbia. Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger journeyed to these headwaters for a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s far more left to explore. In this episode of M...
Apr 02, 2025•33 min•Season 6Ep. 9
In the second half of the 19th century, a businessman named George Francis Train rose to prominence through his success with global shipping and trade. As his wealth grew, so did his obsession with himself, and his tireless self-promotion made him a social media phenomenon of his age. Train is perhaps best known for the alleged relationship between his world travels and the Jules Verne bestseller Around the World in 80 Days , and less well-known for his attempts to beat subsequent travel records...
Mar 26, 2025•32 min•Season 6Ep. 8
The tumultuous mouth of the Columbia River, near Astoria, Oregon, is beautiful but deadly. Thousands of ships have capsized and wrecked on its shores over the centuries. That’s earned it the menacing nickname “Graveyard of the Pacific,” although that’s not the only gloomy moniker in the region. Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger explored some of this history in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there are more stories left to tell. In this episode of Mossba...
Mar 19, 2025•33 min•Season 6Ep. 7
The Pacific Northwest has a reputation for the macabre. We’ll never escape the allure of Twin Peaks , for instance, or the terrible crimes of some of the most infamous serial killers in American history. But some of the weirdest things can happen to corpses after death. Did you know that dead bodies can turn into soap? Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger explored a few lesser-known stories of regional murder and mystery in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but ...
Mar 12, 2025•34 min•Season 6Ep. 6
A few seasons ago, the Mossback’s Northwest video series profiled Catherine Montgomery , an early 20th-century wilderness advocate who has been dubbed “the Mother of the Pacific Crest Trail.” But after the video aired, a viewer reached out with some more information: Catherine Montgomery, a “progressive” of her time, expressed extremely racist views. This, unfortunately, isn’t a new story. Many American heroes, including in the context of wilderness access and preservation, perpetuated racism an...
Mar 05, 2025•32 min•Season 6Ep. 5
In 1996, some of the oldest human remains ever found in North America were discovered along the banks of the Columbia River, ultimately illuminating Indigenous presence in the region since time immemorial. Long a crucial source of sustenance, culture and trade, the Pacific Northwest’s largest river has continued to be a vital part of human civilization, whether through its salmon or its many hydroelectric dams. Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger dug into this history in a recent episo...
Feb 26, 2025•35 min•Season 6Ep. 4
At the turn of the 20th century, almost no one had a car in Seattle. There weren’t traffic laws or paved roads, and at first, only the wealthiest people could own these “horseless carriages.” Within a couple of decades, though, cars were everywhere, and Pacific Northwesterners were using their cars for all kinds of intrepid adventures, from long-haul road trips to mountainside camping. Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger took a look at early car culture in our region in a recent episod...
Feb 19, 2025•36 min•Season 6Ep. 3
The Columbia River has been carved up by more than a dozen dams over the past century. But it’s the colossal floods and lava flows from millions of years ago that truly set it on its winding path. How do we really know what we know about the Columbia? To better understand this history, Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger joined forces with geologist Nick Zentner of Nick on the Rocks in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series. But there’s much more left to unearth. In ...
Feb 12, 2025•29 min•Season 6Ep. 2
At a live event, Knute Berger, Stephen Hegg and Nick Zentner discussed Mossback’s Northwest and the 10th season's focus on the Columbia River. Mossback’s Northwest is still going strong, with its most recent season covering everything from the Columbia River to a history of racist exclusion in the outdoors. In October, Cascade PBS put on a live event to celebrate 10 seasons of the beloved video series. Stephen Hegg, who’s produced past seasons of Mossback’s Northwest , interviewed host Knute Ber...
Dec 17, 2024•51 min•Season 6Ep. 1
Adelaide Lowry Pollock was an educator, birder, author and believer in the power of civic participation at the turn of the 20th century. In the early 1900s, pioneering educator Adelaide Lowry Pollock was the first woman to be named principal of a Seattle grade school. A lifelong love of birds dominated her curriculum. Her students went on birding field trips, mapped birds’ nests, researched bird behaviors, learned bird songs and even built elaborate birdhouses. Ultimately, though, Pollock was in...
May 31, 2024•32 min•Season 5Ep. 8
Sitka trees were key military materiel in both World Wars. Knute Berger shares how the need for wood and the women who harvested it changed logging. In the early 20th century, Sitka spruce, a giant conifer native to the Pacific Northwest, became known as an excellent material for building airplanes. As a result, when the U.S. entered World War I, the demand for that wood exploded. The American military set up what was called the “Spruce Division” and brought in soldiers to Washington forests to ...
May 24, 2024•32 min•Season 5Ep. 7
Minoru Yamasaki was among the most influential architects of the 20th century. Knute Berger tells the story. Minoru Yamasaki was born in Seattle in 1912, studied architecture at the University of Washington and went on to design some of the most celebrated buildings of the 20th century. Among them: the World Trade Center in New York and the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. Yamasaki aimed to do something that few were doing at the time. He subverted the bare, minimalist and sometimes brutalist ...
May 17, 2024•29 min•Season 5Ep. 6
Environmental activist Polly Dyer teamed up with Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas in the 1950s to keep a stretch of Washington wild. Today, more than 73 miles of Washington’s rugged Olympic Coast is still rugged. It’s accessible only to hikers, not cars. Part of the reason for that is a famous 1958 beach hike led by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice – and Washington resident – William O. Douglas. The three-day hike, co-organized by environmental advocate Polly Dyer, was designed to prote...
May 10, 2024•31 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Audiences loved Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, but what he sold as “authentic” was anything but. Knute Berger shares how the myth shaped our idea of the frontier. You’ve probably heard of Buffalo Bill. The name is nearly synonymous with “the Wild West,” a kind of cultural mythology created as white settlers colonized the American West in the late 19th century. Although he’s now larger than life, Buffalo Bill was, in fact, a real person who hunted buffalo, scouted for the U.S. Army and developed ...
May 03, 2024•33 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Folk songs, clam bakes, aquaculture and more: Knute Berger explores the myriad ways clams have shaped our region’s culture. Clams are among the Pacific Northwest’s most vital natural resources. From thousands of years of aquaculture to folk songs and university mascots, the celebration and consumption of clams permeates local food and culture. Cascade PBS’ resident historian Knute Berger dug up some of these stories in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s more l...
Apr 26, 2024•31 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Boeing's Plant 2 was so crucial that the military asked Hollywood to hide it from the enemy. Knute Berger shares the story. From the moment the United States entered World War II, Seattle was vital to the war effort. Boeing’s Plant 2 was a key manufacturing hub for thousands of B-17 bombers, one of the Allies’ most important tools in Europe. Fearing the consequences of a military attack on the facility, the U.S. Army hired a Hollywood set designer to help make its roof look – at least from the a...
Apr 12, 2024•33 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Back-to-back disasters in Washington and B.C. killed more than 150 people in 1910. Knute Berger digs into the traumatic circumstances and their fallout. In the stormy winter of 1910, an avalanche struck two stalled trains in Wellington, a railroad outpost in Washington’s Central Cascades. Three days later, another one blanketed dozens of rail workers in the Canadian Selkirks. Both events remain the deadliest avalanches in North American history – and both are connected to the rapid expansion and...
Apr 05, 2024•34 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Crater Lake wasn’t always a lake. Knute Berger tells the story of when a blast 50 times the size of Mt St. Helens' blanketed the PNW in ash. Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon is known for its crown jewel: a brilliantly blue and very deep alpine lake. But some 8,000 years ago, this lake was a mountain. Then the mountain erupted, blowing its top and layering ash so far afield that it impacted wildlife in Canada. Indigenous people carry oral traditions that share what it was like to witn...
Nov 24, 2023•29 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Asahel Curtis shot thousands of images in the early 20th century. Knute Berger talks about the effort to share them with the public for the first time. Asahel Curtis, the renowned Pacific Northwest photographer, was amazingly prolific. He documented regional life for 50 years, from the 1890s to the 1940s. Crosscut’s resident historian Knute Berger explored Curtis’ work and legacy in Season 5 of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but that legacy now has a new chapter. As Berger detailed in a ...
Nov 17, 2023•31 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Catherine Montgomery spearheaded a movement to preserve old growth in Washington forests. Knute Berger shares her story. In the early 1900s in Washington, women couldn’t yet vote, but many formed powerful civic groups to advocate for everything from prison reform to forest preservation. One woman stands out: the mountaineer, teacher, activist and suffragist Catherine Montgomery. Her advocacy helped support women’s empowerment, protect wilderness and old growth trees, and even plant the first see...
Nov 10, 2023•31 min•Season 4Ep. 6
In 1915, Germany wanted to keep the United States from joining World War I. Knute Berger explains how the fight came to the Northwest. In the years leading up to World War I, Germany and its sympathizers tried to prevent the United States from entering the conflict. An intricate network of spies and saboteurs attempted to sway public opinion as well as interrupt shipments of war materiel at U.S. ports. Seattle was not immune to these forces. In the wee hours of May 30, 1915, a scow packed with d...
Nov 03, 2023•32 min•Season 4Ep. 5
