The historian and author has devoted five years of his life to studying and writing about what he characterizes as this country’s first major foreign policy initiative. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led some 40 people in an exploratory mission, hoping to find a water route from the Mississippi to the Pacific Northwest. They failed in that quest but did make contact with great indigenous nations and visited bustling trade centers. Fehrman’s new book, This Vast Enterprise, looks at the expedition through the eyes of a number of participants.

Hosts Michael Glab and Tristra Newyear chat with Bloomington’s most fascinating people.