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.’s first female cryptanalyst and the Northwest’s unique role in international spy games throughout the 20th century. 

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at [email protected]. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today. 

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Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editors: Sarah Menzies, Adam Brown

Studio recording: Roger Basquette

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 Purchase, the far-sighted Washington clerk who helped make it happen and how all of that ultimately transformed the Pacific Northwest and its fishing industry. 

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at [email protected]. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today. 

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Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editors: Sarah Menzies, Adam Brown

Studio recording: Roger Basquette

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 why the riot took place, the political undercurrents at play at the time, the enduring power of the press and how so much of what happened then resonates eerily with our world today. 

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at [email protected]. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today. 

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Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editors: Sarah Menzies, Adam Brown

Studio recording: Roger Basquette

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, including earthquakes, fires, floods and ancient gophers. Plus, we get a peek behind the scenes at the Mossback’s Northwest video shoot at the Mima Mounds and local geologist Patrick Pringle weighs in. 

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at [email protected]. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today. 

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Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editors: Sarah Menzies, Adam Brown

Studio recording: Roger Basquette

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 into the fascinating stories on deck, the evolution of the series over time and the thinking and planning that goes on behind the scenes.  

Get ready for the next season of the Mossback podcast! Weekly episodes drop starting March 4 on CascadePBS.org or wherever you get your podcasts, alongside new, extended-cut video versions available on YouTube. 

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at [email protected]. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today. 

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Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editors: Sarah Menzies, Adam Brown

Live event recording: Resti Bagcal

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 Mossback, Berger joins co-host Stephen Hegg to share what it was like to make the trek to that peaceful lake in Canada where it all begins. Berger and Hegg also discuss the fur trade that kicked off an early-19th century era of exploration along the Columbia; the Welsh-Canadian explorer and cartographer known for navigating and mapping the entire river from start to finish; and the existential threat that climate change poses to the ice and snow that feed the river and its watershed. 

This is the last episode of the season! Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next season with more. In the meantime, check out the new Mossback's Northwest Special. It's a 30-minute deep dive on the Columbia River, streaming now on Cascade PBS and at CascadePBS.org.

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at [email protected]. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today.

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Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editor: Sarah Menzies

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 through a partnership with a newspaper in Tacoma.  

Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger shone a spotlight on Train and his adventures in the Pacific Northwest in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s much more left to uncover. 

In this episode of Mossback, Berger joins co-host Stephen Hegg to more deeply explore Train’s eccentric and monomaniacal exploits. Berger digs into Train’s obsessions, travels and unique psychology; reads aloud from some of his writings; explains how he coined the still-beloved Tacoma moniker “City of Destiny”; and ponders Train’s uncanny resemblance to some contemporary figures. 

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at [email protected]. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today.

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Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editor: Sarah Menzies

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 Mossback, Berger joins co-host Stephen Hegg to discuss the early explorers who coined so many of the area’s depressing names, from Cape Disappointment to Dismal Nitch; the natural forces that make the river's mouth so treacherous; some of the area’s most famous shipwrecks; and the deadliest tragedy to ever occur here and its uncanny parallel to Berger’s own family history. Plus, Berger shares his adventures from scouting and shooting the video for Mossback’s Northwest, including breathless hikes, sandy mishaps and barking sea lions.  

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at [email protected]. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today.

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Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editor: Sarah Menzies

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 there is much more left to share.  

In this episode of Mossback, Berger joins co-host Stephen Hegg to offer a deeper look at the grim tales of Hallie Illingworth, the “Lady of the Lake” whose body was found in Lake Crescent in 1940; “Mother Damnable,” a storied resident of 19th-century Seattle whose corpse allegedly turned to stone; and a recurring recent phenomenon involving disembodied feet washing up on beaches along the Salish Sea. 

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at [email protected]. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today.

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Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editor: Sarah Menzies

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 and exclusion. Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger invited Alison Mariella Désir, host of the Cascade PBS video series Out & Back, to join him in an episode of Mossback’s Northwest to discuss these uncomfortable and lesser-known truths. 

In this episode of Mossback, Berger joins Désir and co-host Stephen Hegg to dig even deeper into the big questions of wilderness access: How many celebrated environmentalists, from John Muir to John James Audubon, did and said unconscionable things? What do we do with this knowledge? And what impact has this history of bigotry had on the experiences of people of color in outdoor recreation today? Plus, Désir shares stories rarely told about the ways people of color have always  participated in – and championed access to – the great outdoors. 

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at [email protected]. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today.

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Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editor: Sarah Menzies

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 episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there is much more left to discuss. 

In this episode of Mossback, Berger joins co-host Stephen Hegg to revisit the story of The Ancient One and the decades-long controversy that ensued over his bones. They explore the significance of the river to its people over the centuries; the impact of the arrival of European and American traders and settlers; and the impact of the creation of so many dams, especially the one that submerged Celilo Falls.  

Special note: The voice of Lana Jack in this episode comes courtesy of Creative FRONTLINE. The clip is from “Celilo Falls and the Culture of Death” with Lana Jack, produced by Tracker Ginamarie Rangel Quinones (Apache Investigative Reporter) and filmmaker Robert Lundahl. The full episode initially aired on Creative FRONTLINE, KPFK Los Angeles 90.7, Pacifica Network. 

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at [email protected]. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today.

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Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editor: Sarah Menzies