How do you describe your part of the North Country to people who live in other places? Chances are good that you’d talk about the Adirondacks or the St. Lawrence River. Maybe the snow, or hockey, or Fort Drum. Or it could be SUNY Potsdam or Plattsburgh. How about Stewart’s ice cream or a pizza place you like? For years, North Country writer Ginger Henry Kuenzel has been taking on an even greater challenge. She describes life in her tiny community on Lake George to people who might never have been to an American small town - and for whom English is not their first language.

If you ever travel to places like New York City, Boston, or Montreal, it can seem like there are theaters and concert venues on every street corner. So many events going on all the time. When we’re holed up in Potsdam or Keene or LaFargeville, it might feel like the only active culture at hand is in the yogurt in your refrigerator.

But you know, there are always things happening in the North Country, even if they can be tricky to find. That's a problem that North Country transplants Beth Rowland and her husband Tim are trying to solve.

The North Country. We love this place, and yet we hate it. It's a conflict that is both charming and one that can drive people away. And it's not unique to northern New York. Writer Idra Novey's conflicting attitudes towards her own Rust Belt town were a major inspiration for her latest novel, "Take What You Need." In this episoide, Novey talks with host Mitch Teich about the book and the difficult questions that lie beneath it in this politically polarized era in rural America.

Exploring what makes the North Country unique in conversations about life, history, and the arts with Mitch Teich