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Wilder

Wilder

By: iHeartPodcasts
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Jack Kerouac but make it a girl with braids. Carrie Bradshaw, but without the sex, and also braids. An American Icon. An American Odyssey. American propaganda. Violently so, in some cases. Laura Ingalls Wilder is evergreen. For better or worse. Since the first Little House book was published in 1932, generations of readers have flocked to Laura’s cozy stories of the Ingalls family settling the Western frontier. The series inspired a TV show, pageants, and entire fashion lines. Behind this franchise is a woman who experienced almost a full century of American history. She’d made her first trips in a covered wagon, and eventually flew on a jet plane. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s life and legacy remain as powerful, mesmerizing, controversial, and violent as the America she represents. In a country currently at odds with itself and its history could there be a better time for an exploration of this woman?

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Episodes
  • A Little House 50th Anniversary Special!

    A Little House 50th Anniversary Special!
    Aug 29 2024

    We’re back for a very special episode! It’s been a year since you last heard from us and so much happened. Thousands of people have listened to the show and continue to keep the dialogue about Laura’s life and legacy alive. Glynnis and Jo published books. But perhaps most importantly, the Little House on the Prairie TV show turned 50! To prepare for this momentous anniversary in early September (and Glynnis’ 50th birthday), Glynnis and our producer Emily got together to share memories from the road and reflect on the lessons we learned from making this show that we still think about every day. Plus, they share never before heard clips from the road trip that started it all and from interviews with some of the most beloved Little House actors who still play a huge role in keeping Laura’s legacy alive.

    Buy Glynnis' book, I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself, and Jo's book, The Sicilian Inheritance!

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    41 mins
  • BONUS: "Oh, that Nellie Oleson!" with Alison Anrgrim

    BONUS: "Oh, that Nellie Oleson!" with Alison Anrgrim
    Oct 20 2023

    Surprise! We’re back to share our extended interview with Alison Arngrim, aka everyone’s favorite mean girl: Nellie Oleson. She’s a powerhouse when it comes to keeping the Little House legacy alive, from her marathon re-read of the books on Facebook Live during the pandemic, to attending events at the Laura Ingalls Wilder homes and fan conventions across the country, to using her celebrity for meaningful activism. Beyond all that, she’s simply a delight and we hope you enjoy the interview!

    Read Alison Arngrim’s memoir, Confessions of a Prairie Bitch

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    45 mins
  • 10. “It can never be a long time ago.”

    10. “It can never be a long time ago.”
    Aug 31 2023

    As we talked about in our very first episode, the last line of Big Woods reads, “Now is now, it can never be a long time ago.” That line might be the most accurate description there is of the Little House series. Little House on the Prairie might be about another time, but Laura’s stories are very much alive in our time. We can't seem to let her go. But of course, some of the ways in which Laura is relevant are painful to consider. The story she tells is narrow, contributing to a long held mythology of the American West that prioritizes white narratives. For a final look at Laura’s impact, Glynnis and Wilder producer Emily drive further west, beyond Laura’s homesteads, to understand what we’re missing when we hold on too tightly to one narrative. Could it be time to let Laura go?

    Go deeper:
    More on Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills
    More on the Gordon Stockade
    More on the Battle of the Little Bighorn
    More on Buffalo Calf Road Woman
    More on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

    Follow us for behind the scenes content!
    @WilderPodcast on TikTok
    @Wilder_Podcast on Instagram

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    1 hr and 1 min
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I totally agree with the review written by EBD: some interesting content but an overload of the narrator’s conflicted introspection. I genuinely appreciate the historical context and knowing a bit more about what was left out. Like one of the listeners said in episode 10: representation matters, so those of us who descend from the settlers in the woods need to know how our ancestors lived, how they viewed the decisions they made (that we may not agree with now), and what they chose not to tell the younger generations. Rather than turning me off the Little House books, this has inspired me to read more about that settlement period in my own country.

Beloved books in historical context

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There is interesting material drawn from biographies, mixed with a lot of presentism and "why can't people from the last century be as enlightened as we are" sort of thing. If you can fast forward through that, its worth a listen.

Mixed bag

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