Rangers Michael, Peri, Gaby, and Daniel (left to right) discus the show. Photo: GNPC
A brand new season of Glacier National Park’s podcast is projected to be released early 2023. Headwaters is a podcast made possible thanks to your donations to the Glacier National Park Conservancy.
GNPC sat down with the Headwaters team to get the inside scoop on season 3.
Glacier National Park Conservancy (GNPC): Can you give us a synopsis of the upcoming season?
Headwaters Team: This season is going to be history of Glacier National Park, centuries in the making. It is a collection of stories about the creative–and destructive–forces that shaped Glacier before it was a park. We’ll examine moments and movements, asking how history is written and how we remember it.
GNPC: What is your favorite part of the upcoming season?
Michael: There are exciting field opportunities but as a whole I’m really excited that this season is a chance to explore familiar stories through unfamiliar lenses, as a long term ranger I’m learning new things every day. A lot of our stories are taking us outside of the park but are helping us see how much the park is connected to larger national stories of importance.
Gaby: Talking to amazing people who are doing amazing work right now. We met with Diane Boyd, who was a long time wolf biologist, and continues to do great work. It was an amazing day and she so willingly shared so much about her career and her life, about her struggles and triumphs. During the visit we saw something truly amazing and special at her house. You’ll have to listen to find out what it was!
Peri: I have learned so much! Some of this history is already part of the park’s canon but even for those stories we’re sort of taking a different look at them or looking at them through the eyes of a new character. I have just gotten to learn so much that I did not know about this place and we’re excited to share that with listeners.
Peri and Gaby record a segment for season 3. Photo: NPS
GNPC: How does this season compare to seasons one and two?
Michael: I think we can safely say that it has proven to be one of the most challenging seasons because last season, Whitebark Pine, was this enormous topic that we took a lot of time to really understand and this season we have a lot of briefer visits into topics that are equally grand.
When you’re looking at the history of the park from over a hundred years ago there are not a lot of living people from that time frame to talk to, so it’s been a new challenge to figure out how to successfully interpret that history and share it in an engaging way. I think it is also maybe our most ambitious season yet.
GNPC: Can you tease some of the stories that will be featured in Season 3?
Peri: We’re doing a story about the Buffalo Soldiers and the Ahern expedition in 1890 which was some of the early exploration of the park and something I did not know that the Buffalo Soldiers were a part of here. Kind of makes you ask why some stories become a part of our park’s canon and others not so much.
Daniel: We’re working on one story about oil development and both the causes and consequences of climate change that you can see here in Glacier. We have a history of oil extraction in the park. The very first oil well in Montana was in Glacier so we are exploring that history, and then talking about the consequences today in terms of climate change.
These are not stories that you’ve heard before in this place. Some of them are going to be twists on old stories but there’s some stuff that we are gathering together that is original research that hasn’t been put together before.
GNPC: What’s one word you would use to describe the season?
Gaby: Complicated
Peri: Profit
Michael: Ambitious
Daniel: Groundbreaking
Meet the Team
Daniel started working with the National Park Service in the mid-2000s as a GS-01 and has been wearing the green and grey across the country ever since. From Alaska to Texas he has done just about every type of work a person can do in the park service. Eventually he landed in Glacier and began collaborating with the Conservancy on interpretive media projects, including the Headwaters podcast.
Peri started working for NPS in 2013, after finishing her Masters in Geology. She has held a variety of interpretive and scientific roles in Glacier, Joshua Tree, Grand Teton, Grand Canyon, and Yosemite. She specializes in science media and outreach, especially video and writing projects. Peri is an avid birder, hiker, and old time fiddler.
Michael started at Glacier in 2014, answering the phones at the front desk of park headquarters in what he later learned was the lowest-paid position in the park. After that foot in the door, he worked as an Interpretive Ranger giving public programs, a winter Education Technician leading snowshoe field trips, and finally as a media team member for the park. When not working on the podcast, you’ll find him exploring Glacier to find good skipping rocks.
Gaby came to Glacier this winter, working as a fellow with the Conservancy and the Park. She previously worked in communications at Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks, after graduating with a degree in journalism from the University of Florida. Gaby enjoys cooking food that reminds her of home and family — and loves sharing those meals with friends.
How You Can Hear the Headwaters Podcast
Learn more about Headwaters, and listen to the episodes on our Headwaters page. Be sure to check out our collection of Headwaters merch!
Your Support Makes A Difference
This project and many other critical projects would not be possible without your donations to the Glacier Conservancy. Learn more about how your support is making it possible to protect wilderness in Glacier National Park.
