The United States is a vast and beautiful country, spanning continents, time zones, and countless regions, biomes, and ecosystems. The US Explained dives into the geography, history, and culture of the country, one state at a time. This ongoing, 56-part series covers every state, territory, and federal district of the US, by order of admission. Join me on my journey across America! Hosted by Carter Property of That Is Interesting
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Riffingandranting Podcasts
In the heart of America, between the country’s two greatest rivers, stretches a vast expanse of flat farmland and picturesque rolling hills. This is a land of small towns and small cities, yet one key to feeding and fueling the United States. A humble, rural state, often overlooked, yet it picks presidents. Iowa is, in a sense, quintessential Middl…
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Where the American South meets the American West, this is a land of cattle ranchers, cowboys, and oilmen, of Cajuns, of border towns where Spanish has been spoken long before this place was ever called Texas, of wide-open starlit skies and of skyscraper-studded cities where people have come from across the country and the world seeking the opportun…
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Florida - It's a land of swamps and islands, beautiful yet for much of its history remote, a backwater jutting into the Gulf of Mexico. Today though, it's the third most populous state in the country, a global tourist destination, a diverse meeting point of cultures from across the hemisphere, and a state that year after year, decade after decade, …
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Michigan - mountains and mines, wild forests, islands, and lakes sit together with one of the largest cities in the country, a heavily urbanized hive of industry home to millions of people. This is a fascinating state - one that tells the story of America - both its failures and its promise. I hope you'll join me to hear it. Episode 27 - Michigan.…
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Here in Arkansas the swamps and bayous of the fertile Mississippi Delta meet the country’s largest cluster of mountains between the Rockies and Appalachians. A mostly rural state, it’s home to a number of small cities, some of which have become economically vibrant boomtowns. The Natural State is an all too often overlooked corner of the country, p…
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Missouri sits in the middle. For the last forty years, it’s been the average center of the country’s population, and today, more than any other, it can claim to be the state where the north meets the south, and the east meets the west. Roughly halfway between the Rockies and the Appalachians, the Canadian border and the Gulf of Mexico, home to flat…
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Maine - The state at the northeastern tip of the United States is an outlier. In the heavily urbanized East Coast, it’s predominantly rural. It takes up half of New England’s land area yet has one of the smallest populations in the country, much of it wilderness that’s far removed from any city or town. Thousands of moose roam wild in the forests t…
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The story of Alabama is in large part the story of America, one that has much to be proud of, with progress and innovation, kind people and a strong regional culture, yet at the same time one that has also been marked by violence, prejudice, poverty, and conflict. Above all it’s a story that is essential to understand. Home to forests and farmland,…
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The river winds through a canyon, at times more than a thousand feet from top to bottom. But unlike the canyons of the west, its walls are made not of earth and rock, but of glass and steel, a man made wonder showcasing some of the most famous buildings in the world, the birthplace of the skyscraper itself. It’s a town that, sitting in one of the m…
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Famed author William Faulkner said of his home state, “to understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.” As I take you on this journey through every part of the United States, it would be a mistake to ignore the story of the Magnolia State. The challenges it deals with, such as high poverty, low development and quality o…
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It’s spanned by vast fields of corn and soybeans, making it one of the most agriculturally productive states in the country. Stunning sand dunes, one of the only national parks in the Midwest, stand hundreds of feet tall over the shore of Lake Michigan, and beautiful forests, hills, and river valleys cover much of the state’s southern half. A forme…
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Among the swamps and bayous, marshes and forests, that sit at the mouth of one of the largest river systems on earth, sits a state unlike any other. It’s a cultural melting pot, sitting in the Deep South, home to one of the largest Black populations in the country, and more culturally connected to and shaped by France than any other state in the US…
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Ohio. It sits between the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley, where the Midwest, with its flat expanses of farmland meets Appalachia, home to rolling hills, forests, and valleys. One of the largest Amish populations in the country sits in a state famed for its industrial prowess, manufacturing, and business. Major cities sit not far from farms, forest…
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Tennessee. There, black bears roam in the high peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains, paddle wheel steamboats chug up the wide, muddy, winding Mississippi, and in between sit small southern towns and a number of major cities, some growing incredibly quickly, that have had a major influence on American music. It's home to beautiful natural scenery, exc…
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It’s part Appalachian, part Southern, and has Midwestern influences. Farms and pastures where some of the world’s top racehorses are trained sit in the same state as bustling port cities on the Ohio River and Appalachian coal mining towns that are among the most impoverished parts of the country. It’s the birthplace of bluegrass and bourbon, and st…
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It’s one of the most rural and least populated parts of the country. Covered in forests and mountains, filled with lakes and islands, Vermont is renowned for its scenery and splendor. It’s a land of small farms and towns, tucked into tiny valleys and along the shores of Lake Champlain, a place where covered bridges cross small creeks and rivers, an…
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Within this small chunk of the United States, a piece of land that could fit inside Rhode Island 17 times over, live nearly 700,000 people, more than the entire populations of Vermont or Wyoming. The history of the country has been shaped inside its halls and buildings, and on its streets and parks, and from this tiny district, decisions have been …
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If there’s one thing you know about Rhode Island, it’s probably that it is very, very small. In fact, 622 different counties, nearly one fifth of all the counties in the United States, take up more land than Rhode Island. The state at its length is 48 miles. That’s barely more than the average American commute to work. Despite this, the state packs…
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It’s hard to characterize North Carolina. It’s a southern state, home to regional barbecue sauces, a bluegrass and country blues tradition, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. At the same time, it contains vast regional differences, stretching from the mountains in the west to the swamps and islands in the east, with millions of people living in between. …
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Throughout US history, the country has been dominated by an urbanized string of cities stretching along the coast of the Northeastern United States. Home to a stunning 52 million people, an enormous chunk of the US population, the Megalopolis, as it’s referred to, has guided and exerted influence over much of American culture, history, politics and…
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Virginia. It’s where the North meets the South. It’s home to the wealthiest part of the United States - leafy suburbs of the nation’s capital where business is booming - as well as struggling coal mining towns in the hills and mountains of Appalachia. Tobacco is still grown in much of the state, on farmland where enslaved people once toiled and Civ…
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It’s a land of stunning mountains, vast forests, numerous lakes, and a beautiful coastline. It’s a rural state in an urbanized part of the country, and small towns and cities dot it’s landscape, even as one of the largest urban areas in the US sits not far across state lines. Despite being home to less than two million people, it plays an essential…
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South Carolina is the first predominantly rural, the first reliably red state I’ve discussed in this series, and the most Republican-leaning state on the entire east coast. It’s the first state in the US Explained that has a national park, and one of the first whose population is not centered around one or two major urban areas, but is instead spre…
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Only eight states are smaller than Maryland, which takes up less land than Rwanda, Equatorial Guinea, or the Solomon Islands. But within that relatively small area, it fits a cross-section of the Eastern United States, home to the peaks and valleys of Appalachia, two of the largest urban areas in the US, and the country’s 9th largest coastline, str…
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Geographically, it’s a very small state, with a drive from the coast to its Western edge taking just a few hours. Yet few other parts of the country have had as much of a historical and modern impact on the United States as Massachusetts. It takes up less land than seven different counties in the US, and can fit into Alaska 63 times over, but is ho…
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Connecticut. By area it’s the third smallest state in the entire United States, yet is home to millions of residents. An old and historic state, it’s today a center of the US financial industry. Despite its small size, Connecticut has a unique culture, divided between New England and the New York metro area. Home to a beautiful coastline, densely p…
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Georgia - It’s home to tall mountains and vast swamps. Farm after farm as well as one of the largest cities in the country. Long suffering some of the worst racism in the country, it played a central role in the Civil Rights Movement, and is today a center of Black art, music, and business. Georgia is a unique and fascinating state, and is the four…
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New Jersey. Despite being the fourth smallest state in the union, it is home to nearly 9 million people. While not having a single city whose city limits contain more than 300,000 people, it is the most densely populated state in the US, even more so than far smaller states like Rhode Island and Delaware. And with much of its land divided between t…
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Pennsylvania, the second state to join the Union, has always played a major role in the United States, and continues to do so as one of the most populous states in the country. With enormous cities and spectacular natural areas, a major regional divide and interesting history, Pennsylvania is a fascinating state and will be the second place I will …
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Delaware. It’s the second smallest state in the US, the 6th most densely populated, and was the first to ratify the US Constitution. Though small, Delaware is a fascinating state, and will be the first place I will cover in this 56 part series on every state, territory, and federal district in the United States.…
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Interview with Kyle from Geography King
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Carter, Quinn, and Brett bring on Kyle, the host of YouTube's Geography King, to talk geography, road tripping, and his channel.By riffingandranting
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