• The American Countryside is truly a slice of Americana. It might be a well-known music or TV star or just someone with an interesting story that lives down the street. From Iditarod sled dog mushers, to NASA scientists... from the Rooster Crowing Championships to NFL greats...The American Countryside is sure to be of interest. Click the button above to listen to the latest show, or visit the American Countryside archives.
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Preparing for Agriculture’s Future

The next 40 years are predicted to bring an ever increasing population both here and around the world.  Food needs will rise and agricultural jobs will become increasingly important.  However, despite those trends, some say there is little future for American kids who hail from small to mid-size farms.  This professor is out to prove, it just isn’t true…..

Resolving Controversies in Animal Agriculture

It used to be that controversies in agriculture revolved around which color of tractor to buy or what kind of seed to plant.  Those debates still exist, but these days, some of those debates have wound up at the ballot box in a number of states.  How should those in agriculture engage consumers in these issues?  It’s all a part of this professor’s class…..

Maximizing Animal Production and Producers’ Time

There are an increasing number of farmers in this nation who also have off-farm jobs.  However, the farm can be just as profitable for them as it might be for a full time producer.  So how do you keep a farm well into the black even if you can’t spend as many hours on the land?

Best of 2011: Helen Netherton

It’s a tradition the last week of each year we give you the “Best of the American Countryside.” And in 2012 we interviewed 110 year old Helen Netherton. Since that original broadcast, Helen passed away at her home just shy of turning 111. Today we go back to listen to her wisdom on living a full life on this edition of the American Countryside.

The Denver Sleigh Works

Santa needs his sleigh to make deliveries around the world and this man makes sure he’ll never run out of transportation…..

The New Madrid Earthquake

Although California and Alaska are most often the epicenter of major earthquakes in the United States, it was the Midwest that produced one of the most violent events in history. It’s been 200 years since that quake in southeast Missouri, a quake felt on the east coast that you can still see the effects of today…..

Keith’s Cafe

In Memphis, Missouri, there’s a café where great food has been served for about 65 years now. This is the story of the family who began the place and what’s you’ll find hanging from the ceiling…..

A Man’s Castle

It’s said that a man’s home is his castle. For Robert Snyder, his home was a castle. But this building, one of the grandest structures in the entire state, was also a place of sadness…..

A European Castle in the Midwest

Everyone who ventures here seems to have the same two questions: How did this place get its name and why is there a European castle in the middle of the wilderness? The answers to those questions are over a century old and we unravel the tale…..

Veterinary Care in Afghanistan

In this nation, a veterinarian may be called upon to help a sick animal. The vets Peter Shinn helps train not only heal animals, they also must dodge a war taking place around them……

Agriculture In Afghanistan

There are certainly plenty of battles and firefights that continue to be waged in Afghanistan. However, for this team, most of the challenges there are fought with a shovel and helpful knowledge…..

The Ethanol Debate

Is turning corn into ethanol causing food prices to rise and some people to starve around the globe? You may have heard such arguments, so what is truly the answer?

The Petroglyphs at Washington State Park

When the Civilian Conservation Corp was working here in the 1930s they began to notice some unusual carving in the rocks alongside the roads they were building. They had stumbled upon one of the most important and intriguing archeological sites in the Midwest…..

Herman, Missouri

Why did one family move their piano making business from Philadelphia to a fledgling community in the Midwest? In may seem odd to some, but there was something here that was a draw for many families just like theirs…..

The German Settlement Society

Today we might look at a travel guide for insights on where to take a vacation. Those who looked at this man’s travel guide decided not to vacation here, but to move here. This is the story of one river town and the families who came here nearly two centuries ago…..

Show-Me Energy

We may have heard of cellulosic ethanol production, but cellulosic plants can be used to provide a variety of energy products. Here’s a facility that’s working to offset the use of coal as an energy source…..

Mammoth Springs

When farmers put hay bales in this spring, the reappeared three days later seven miles away. The underground waterway just happens to be one of the largest springs in the country and it has attracted people to this region for centuries…..

A Delicious Fruit

It’s one of the world’s most popular varieties of fruit and we have it because one farmer couldn’t get a nasty spout to go away. It’s a story that will take us to two state fairs before a delicious taste is discovered…..

St. Genevieve, Missouri

We’ve all seen a log cabin. Such structures were the norm for many Americans early in the country’s history. But did you ever see a log cabin with the logs arranged vertically instead of horizontally? There are only a handful in the U.S?and most are here…..

A Town on the Banks of the Mississippi

When these French Catholics learned that the British Protestants had taken over, they weren’t pleased. It may be the reason this city still exists today…..