Grab your helmet and your grip tape for a ride through the surprising past and thrilling present of skateboarding, a sport that’s indelibly shaped West Coast slang, fashion, and urban landscape design.

Our hosts are joined by former pro skater and current Olympic judge Alex White for a journey through the drained swimming pools, Costco curbs, and other surprising locales that nurtured some of the world’s best skaters. Learn about the rebellious origins of skateboarding, as “sidewalk surfing” among the bored teens of suburban Southern California in the 1960s; the sport’s mainstream crossover with the X Games and rise of stars like Tony Hawk in the ‘90s; and the present, when city councils and urban planners are embracing a sport once viewed as criminal and fans gear up to watch world-class athletes catch air at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles—right where it all started. 

Roll into these historic skate spots:

Alex White is a lifelong skateboarder and self-described skate nerd who grew up skating in unsanctioned spots in Los Angeles during the late ’90s boom. After spending her youth dodging mall security, she grew up to be a professional skateboarder. 

She’s now a skateboarding brand manager, co-host of the skateboarding podcast “Good Luck With That,” a certified Olympic judge and Olympic skateboarding commentator, and chairperson of the board at Skate Like a Girl, a nonprofit that creates opportunities and advocates for skateboarders of all ages, abilities, and gender identities. Alex lives in Monterey, California with her two sons and two cats.

Sporting a sparkling sky-blue tail, Rachel Smith goes to work every day as a professional mermaid. It turns out, you can find mermaids swimming all over the West—if you know where to look! Every May, they congregate at the California Mermaid Convention, the longest-running mermaid event in the West (which Smith co-founded), to parade through the cobblestone streets of Old Sacramento.

In this episode, Smith dives into the colorful history of a cultural movement that dates back to the early 1900s. Learn about the craft required for their elaborate costumes and how they gracefully perform underwater without looking like “flappy fish.” For Smith, mermaiding offers more than just her job as head mermaid at the Dive Bar in Sacramento: It’s where she’s found a community of fellow merfolk. Get an inside look at some unlikely, landlocked destinations where mermaids swim in bars, casinos, and motel pools.

Splashy mermaid spots include:

Rachel Smith has been the head mermaid at the Dive Bar in downtown Sacramento since it opened in 2011. There, she trains, schedules, hires, and performs with a team of mermaids and mermen who swim nightly in a 40-foot saltwater aquarium. Born in Hawaii to two professional hula dancers, she’s one half of Mermaid and Mom, a company she runs with her mother, Laurie, bringing mermaid entertainment to events across Northern California and creating a fully swimmable line of fabric mermaid tails.

Since becoming a professional aquatic entertainer, Mermaid Rachel has performed across the United States and internationally—at corporate events, mermaid conventions, and festivals, and as a featured performer in documentaries and films. In 2019, she and her business partner Mermaid Ashley produced the first-ever California Mermaid Convention, which now draws hundreds of merfolk to Sacramento each summer. She is also lifeguard certified—so yes, this mermaid could save your life.

Taste the stories, history, and energy behind modern Native American cuisine with Chef Crystal Wahpepah. A member of the Kickapoo Tribe and key player in the recent resurgence of Indigenous food, Wahpepah became the first Native woman to own a restaurant in Northern California when she opened Wahpepah’s Kitchen in Oakland in 2021. Her debut cookbook, A Feather and a Fork, came out in 2026.

In this episode, Wahpepah details her journey from growing up foraging with her grandfather in Oklahoma to becoming the first Native chef on the Food Network show Chopped. Her own journey reveals the complex and emotional connections between Native cultures and foods, which heal communities, preserve ancestral ways, and express a deep love for the land. In one segment, she recalls the powerful moment when a man at her restaurant openly wept after eating blue corn, which he hadn’t tasted since leaving his reservation decades prior. Wahpepah also shares some of her favorite Native dishes and where to try them.

Indigenous restaurants mentioned include:

Guest: Crystal Wahpepah

Chef Crystal Wahpepah, a Kickapoo Tribe member, is a leading advocate for Indigenous food sovereignty. She gained acclaim as the creative force behind Wahpepah’s Kitchen in Oakland, California, the first Native woman–owned restaurant in Northern California. Her culinary work connects diners to vital Native issues and ancestral foodways, and educates the public about the health benefits of traditional Indigenous ingredients. Her debut cookbook, A Feather and a Fork: 125 Intertribal Dishes from an Indigenous Food Warrior, was released in March 2026.

Beyond her restaurant, Crystal has been recognized for her advocacy, including induction into the Native American Almanac and appearances on Food Network programs such as Chopped. She has cooked for the White House Hunger Conference with the James Beard Foundation and for the Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences and has served as chef-in-residence for the Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab at Cal Poly Humboldt. She is the new consulting chef at 39 Restaurant at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City. 

According to a 2025 survey, nearly one in three people believes in Bigfoot: that fantastical, forest-dwelling hominid, famously captivating yet camera-shy. And interest is growing. But why? What does science have to say about our contemporary concept of Sasquatch? And how would anyone know what a “Bigfoot call” actually sounds like?

Grab your night-vision goggles and join us as journalist Laura Krantz, host of the podcast Wild Thing and author of The Search for Sasquatch, tracks footprints on a journey that will tantalize true believers and skeptics alike. You’ll hear early Indigenous stories about Bigfoot-like creatures; learn about the Northern California hoax that first sparked widespread interest in the 1950s; and get a firsthand account of the modern-day Bigfoot-hunting expedition Krantz joined in the wilds of Oregon, where she learned to use apples as bait and distinguish between Bigfoot howls, snorts, and roars. Proof may be elusive, but in its place you’ll find mythology, anthropology, pop culture—and the knowledge that sometimes unsolved mysteries are the best kind. 

Guest: Laura Krantz

Journalist Laura Krantz believes that exploring the unknown can help us better understand ourselves. In the first season of her acclaimed podcast, Wild Thing, she chased after Sasquatch. Season 2 found her looking skyward for extraterrestrial life. The deeply reported series garnered praise from Scientific American, Rolling Stone, and Esquire. The Atlantic called it “a mind-altering experience” and twice named it one of the year’s best podcasts. The show is also the inspiration for a series of kids books, including Do You Believe In Magic?, Is There Anybody Out There?, and The Search for Sasquatch.

In addition to Wild Thing, Laura has worked on multiple award-winning podcasts, including Master Plan, Blood Vines, and The Syndicate. Laura’s prior experience includes close to a decade of editing and producing at NPR in Washington, D.C., and at KPCC in Los Angeles. An Idaho native who grew up camping in the woods, Laura now lives in Colorado—conveniently close to prime Sasquatch territory. This is her second appearance on the Via podcast; last season, she took us on a road trip to the West’s most notorious UFO hot spots.

By the early 1900s, gray wolves had been hunted, trapped, and poisoned out of the West. Now, more than 3,000 wolves roam here. Our guest, wildlife biologist Diane Boyd, has spent nearly 50 years tracking their remarkable comeback—from the arrival of a lone gray wolf from Canada in 1979 to today’s thriving packs. In pursuit of her resilient quarry, Diane has faced down grizzly bears, forded icy rivers, and skimmed above the treetops in a tiny bush plane. 

In this unforgettable episode, she brings us up close and personal with these fascinating canids, including when she first felt a wolf’s heartbeat—its breath inches from her face—and the time she discovered the sedated wolf on her lap was actually fully awake. She also slows down to marvel at the wild wonders of life near Glacier National Park, including singing frozen lakes and swirling northern lights. Tune in for Diane’s expert wolf-watching tips, too. By the end, you’ll be howling to spot one yourself.

Diane Boyd is a wildlife biologist and one of the world’s foremost experts on gray wolf recovery and ecology. She has spent nearly five decades studying and advocating for wolves in the wilds of Montana near Glacier National Park. When she started in the 1970s, she was the only female biologist in the U.S. researching and radio-collaring wild wolves. With her two dogs for company, she faced the rigors of the Montana winter in an isolated cabin without running water or electricity.

In her memoir, A Woman Among Wolves, Diane takes readers on a wild ride from the early days of wolf research to the present-day challenges of wolf management across the globe, highlighting her interactions with an apex predator that captured her heart and her undying admiration. Her writing resonates with her indomitable spirit as she explores the intricate balance of human and wolf coexistence.

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

Pack the car! Route 66 turns 100 this year, and the Mother Road is still one weird and wild ride. We’re hitting the highway from the California border to the New Mexico high desert, where we’ll encounter the feral donkeys who rule the streets of a gold rush boomtown, visit an abandoned zoo with a body count, and climb a 2,000-year-old pueblo with a hidden staircase that outsmarted the Spanish conquistadors.

Along the way, journalist and adventurer Will Grant introduces us to the people who populate this legendary road: a Hualapai elder who remembers the highway’s golden age, the determined shopkeeper who fought to preserve her town’s iconic neon glow, and a young Diné man who grew up at his family’s trading post. Together, they share what the centenarian route means to the communities that depend on it—and tap into the powerful hold it still has on the nation’s imagination.

Whether you long for an epic Western roadtrip or you’re just here for the vintage kitsch, this episode will have you reaching for the keys.

Born and raised in Colorado, Will Grant brings a cowboy-philosopher’s eye to the landscapes, characters, and histories that make the West unlike anywhere else on earth. After college, he worked as a cowboy and a horse trainer in Colorado, Wyoming, and Texas, where he apprenticed under the legendary horseman Jack Brainard. In 2008, he pivoted to a career in journalism, but he continues to seek out ways to combine horses and storytelling. His 2023 book, The Last Ride of the Pony Express, recounts his 2,000-mile journey along the famed mail route with his horses Chicken Fry and Badger. Other adventures include a 600-mile horse race across Mongolia, an expedition to find gold in Arizona, and two trips to Kyrgyzstan to play kok boru, the most dangerous horseback game on the planet. 

For Via, Will traded his saddle for a steering wheel to investigate some of the most storied—and strangest—stretches of Route 66. His writing has also appeared in Outside magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek, the Wall Street Journal, and regional publications throughout the West. Will currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his partner, Claire Antoszewski, and two dogs, three chickens, and five horses.

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

Missed a stop? We’ve got you. This season’s recap rewinds our best moments. Join hosts Mitti and Michelle as they recall tales of haunted nights aboard the Queen Mary, close encounters near Area 51, a record-breaking birder who can hoot like an owl, the rhinestone sparkle of Portland’s 8 Seconds Rodeo, and the cuddly joys of goat yoga. Along the way, they share listener shout-outs, unexpected lessons, and a few dream guests they’re already plotting for season three. (Kendrick Lamar, call us.)

Best-of hits: 

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

We visit haunted hotels you can actually book—from the Stanley Hotel (inspiration for The Shining) to Glacier National Park's Belton Chalet—with the hosts of National Park After Dark. Our guests, Danielle LaRock and Cassie Yahnian, share chilling tales of historic lodging near our country’s most majestic parks. Join us (if you dare) to meet the West’s creepiest overnight guests, including Scary Mary and her terrifying grip as well as a helpful suitcase-packing specter. 

Danielle and Cassie also provide practical advice for ghost-curious travelers, explain why the pleasures of staying in these classic sites can offset their supernatural challenges, and why you might not want to sleep—or even shower!—alone in some of them. Whether you’re plotting your next national park road trip or just love a spooky story, this episode is for you.

With campfire-storytelling flair, Danielle LaRock and Cassie Yahnian share meticulously researched survival tales, morbid histories, and paranormal lore meant to inspire—not discourage—exploration. The best-friends-turned-cohosts of the popular podcast National Park After Dark believe that learning the history of a place—no matter how gruesome—will deepen your experience there. The pair first met while working at an animal hospital, bonded on long hikes, and now road-test historic lodges, haunted hotspots, and national park legends. To help their listeners put the show’s motto, “enjoy the view, but watch your back,” into practice, the two also organize wilderness first aid courses and international group adventures. 

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

Noah Strycker is the Indiana Jones of birding, willing to brave jungle heat and Arctic cold just to spot that rare bunting, owl, or hawk. In 2015, in a quest that spanned 41 countries and all seven continents, he set a world record by finding more than 6,000 different kinds of birds—more than half the bird species on Earth—in a single year.

But, as Noah explains in this episode, searching out our feathered friends doesn’t necessarily require epic treks across the globe. Sometimes birding is as simple as keeping your eye on a backyard feeder or taking a mindful walk in the woods. It can also be a great part of any road trip in the West, from the canyons of Arizona to the Bering Strait. Noah regales aspiring birders Mitti and Michelle with tales of his own greatest birding adventures and offers tips for anyone who wants to embark on one of their own.

Destinations we visit:

 Birds we observe:

Guest:

Noah Strycker is a writer and photographer based in Eugene, Oregon. He has written several bestselling books, including Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World and The Thing With Feathers: The Surprising Lives of Birds and What They Reveal About Being Human. He is also the associate editor of Birding magazine. He’s been called a “Travel Pioneer” by the BBC and “Birdman of Razzmatazz” by Newsweek. Noah has an especially soft spot for penguins, which he's observed and researched on nearly 50 expeditions to Antarctica.

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

Drop in to the world of Hawaiian surf culture—its deep roots in island history, why it’s the perfect place for beginners to learn, and how women are reclaiming their places on the waves.

Tourists visiting Hawaii from the mainland might look out from the beach at the surfers riding the waves, and think it’s all just part of the tropical scenery. But to native-born Hawaiians, those surfers signify a whole lot more. They’re living links to the history of the islands. They’re echoes of an era when Hawaiian royalty had their own private breaks off the same beach. They remind them of when Duke Kahanamoku rode a single wave for more than a mile on Oahu's south shore. And even of a time when Hawaiians first arrived in the islands after sailing from Tahiti. That’s how deep its roots are.

Join us as we explore those roots with Mindy Pennybacker, author of Surfing Sisterhood Hawaii: Wahine Reclaiming the Waves. We talk about the history and culture of surfing in Hawaii, but also her own evolution from bookworm to seasoned surfer, the best places for beginners to learn, and why she thinks surfing in California is inferior. (The short version: Cold water, kelp, and great white sharks.)

Guest:

Fourth-generation Hawaiian Mindy Pennybacker is a distinguished journalist, author, and lifelong surfer. A former surfing columnist for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, she has also contributed to The Atlantic, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Pennybacker is the author of Surfing Sisterhood Hawaii: Wahine Reclaiming the Waves and Do One Green Thing: Saving the Earth Through Simple, Everyday Choices. She holds degrees from Stanford University and UC Davis School of Law and attended the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. As a youngster, she was the only girl in the competitive Tonggs Surf Gang. Mindy lives in Honolulu.

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.