The Ozarks of northern Arkansas have a culture that sets them apart from the rest of the state and one expression of that culture is through architecture. This month's video explores that expression and looks deeper into just what makes these seemingly simple homes so special.

Also there are Frasier clips. The Frasier clips are also present in the video version of this topic. I will not apologize for my stupid, stupid art.

To see some images of the structures discussed here, check out the companion video on my YouTube channel: Mapstronaut.

Arkansas has long been plagued by difficulties providing quality education to her residents, especially the ones residing in the depths of the mountainous regions of the Ozarks and Ouachitas. In the late 19th and early 20th century, one plan to address these shortcomings were known as mountain mission schools. However, was education all that these schools were trying to instill in the hillfolks or did something more sinister reside in the classrooms? Join Mapstro (and an unfortunately hot mic) to learn more about this often overlooked part of Arkansas history.

 wake up, try again by Barradeen | https://soundcloud.com/barradeen

In 1984, a young man lay dying of a mysterious disease behind a sealed door in a hospital in Little Rock. No one understood the transmission or details of the disease that he had and most people feared even being in the same room as someone who had it. Then the door opened and a 24-year-old woman walked in. She wasn't a doctor or a nurse, not a researcher or a scientist. Her name was Ruth Coker Burks and this young man would be the first of thousands of AIDS patients that she cared for over the next several years.

This is the story of the more than 40 unclaimed gay men resting beneath Files Cemetery.

Recorded in a food desert in the Arkansas Delta, this episode takes a look at the history of malnutrition in Arkansas and the efforts that have been made (and are still being made) to combat it. Today's episode is brought to you by the word "nixtamalization," a word Mapstro only knows how to pronounce because Alton Brown once said it on an episode of Good Eats.

Since 1908, Arkansas has been represented at almost every Summer Olympics-- and three Winter Games! Today's episode looks into who some of those elite Arkansas athletes were and who you should watch out for this year in Tokyo. 

On August 9, 1965, 55 civilian contractors went to work updating and repairing a Titan II missile silo near Searcy, Arkansas. Only two of these workers would come home. What happened in rural White County that claimed the lives of over 50 men?

Summers are already hot enough, but when a stubborn system sets up over the central and southern U.S. in June of 1980, the region is in for a real scorcher. Guess what-- Mapstro talks about the weather on this one.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

The Colbert Raid was the only battle of the American Revolution fought in the area that would one day become the state of Arkansas. 

Learn what it was about and see how much Mapstro struggles to pronounce the name "Jacobo Dubreuil" over and over again, despite having repeatedly listened to its pronunciation-- all on this week's episode of Mapstronaut Bonus!

In 1984, a young man lay dying of a mysterious disease behind a sealed door in a hospital in Little Rock. No one understood the transmission or details of the disease that he had and most people feared even being in the same room as someone who had it. Then the door opened and a 24-year-old woman walked in. She wasn't a doctor or a nurse, not a researcher or a scientist. Her name was Ruth Coker Burks and this young man would be the first of thousands of AIDS patients that she cared for over the next several years. 

This is the story of the more than 40 unclaimed gay men resting beneath Files Cemetery.

A podcast about Arkansas history, culture, nature, geography, and probably some other stuff, but mostly those things.