Amandah van Merlin asks how have dams changed our relationship with the North Saskatchewan River. To explore her question, we brought Amandah to the Provincial Archives of Alberta, to dig for files on the two dams upstream of Edmonton: the Brazeau Dam and the Bighorn Dam. We also met up with local writer Billie Milholland, author of Living in the Shed: Alberta’s North Saskatchewan River Watershed.

This year, we’re embarking on a new season of Let’s Find Out, exploring these ideas. We kicked things off with a live show at The Almanac this February. It featured short talks about humans and natural history in the Edmonton area, and games for audience members to play.

In this episode, you’ll hear from Marlena Wyman, Miranda Lucas, Jacquelyn Cardinal, and Hunter Cardinal.

More info and a bevy of pictures and links from the event:

From clearing the prairies with fire to planting elm trees along our streets, humans have been shaping the land in the Edmonton area for millennia. And it’s been shaping us right back.

Join us Saturday, February 9 at 2 PM for an afternoon of short talks and a live recording of Let’s Find Out! Ever wondered how Edmontonians helped create the river valley parks? Curious about how lawns mould the locals who live nearby? We’ll share short stories about how humans and nature have shaped each other in our city.

At the end of the day, you’ll be able to throw in your own questions about humans and nature for the next season of Let’s Find Out.

More info and tickets here: https://letsfindoutpodcast.com/2019/01/07/feb-9-live-panel-on-how-nature-shapes-us/

In our second episode, we wondered about the name of a black student in an Edmonton Technical School class photo from 1932. In this episode, Kyle Muzyka explains how he found out the answer.

Earlier in 2018, we hosted a live panel dedicated to one of the most important questions in Edmonton’s food history: how the heck did green onion cakes get so popular in Edmonton? These delicious, flaky, greasy little circles of fried goodness didn’t just magically worm their way into our hearts. This episode, we’re getting a taste of what’s changed for green onion cake master Siu To since that episode.

Back in 2017, Sheila Thomas asked why there was no headstone to mark the grave of Frank Beevers – the first Edmonton police officer killed in the line of duty. This episode, we find out what it’s like to actually see your idea turn into cold, hard, granite reality.

With geese flying south in August and snow in September, it sometimes feels like winter in Edmonton spills far outside its season. What if instead of getting frustrated with the weather though, we tweaked the way we measured the year?

Ben Freeland learned that the Cree calendar divides the year into six seasons. So he wondered why we don’t revive the calendar here in Treaty Six territory.

Further reading on this month’s episode:

Here’s that promo code for $5 off tickets to LitFest:

This episode is supported by Taproot Edmonton.

How is the proliferation of tall buildings in Edmonton affecting training and planning by Edmonton Fire Rescue? Susan Padget asked that question on Taproot Edmonton‘s story garden. Finding out the answer taught us about a surprisingly tangible transition the city is making.

How did Edmonton come to be known as a prairie city? Dustin Bajer asked that question on Taproot Edmonton’s story garden. Finding out the answer – and figuring out whether this area is aspen parkland, or prairie, or forest – challenged our ideas about the land we live on.