Best WXPR Public Radio Podcasts (2025)

It wasn’t all that long ago that seeing a bear in Northern Wisconsin wasn’t just a wilderness encounter. It was a roadside attraction.By Kerry Bloedorn

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Budget impacts on local health, runaway Langlade County teenager, smoke health concerns 5:59

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23d ago5:59

5:59

WXPR news for 6/3/2025By John Burton

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Daffodil Project, disabled deer hunt, Wisconsin Rapids mill site future 6:30

24d ago6:30

6:30

By John Burton

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Stewardship funding, wildfire smoke, Rhinelander school building project 5:31

27d ago5:31

5:31

By John Burton

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Canadian Nightcrawlers: More Than Just Bait 4:04

2M ago4:04

4:04

While they’re famous among anglers, few people realize that Canadian Nightcrawlers—Lumbricus terrestris—have a fascinating biological story all their own, one that stretches across continents and ecosystems.By Gretchen Gerrish

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A Northwoods Love Story: The Hodag Wedding 3:48

2M ago3:48

3:48

What began as a whimsical marketing campaign by the Rhinelander Chamber of Commerce transformed into a memorable community celebration of local culture.By Kerry Bloedorn

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Field Notes: Nitrogen Fixation and Bombs 5:02

3M ago5:02

5:02

Though it may be a nuisance in some situations, tag alder has a magic trick – it can fix nitrogen.By Susan Knight

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Frozen in Time: Northwoods Ice Storm History 2:02

3M ago2:02

2:02

The Northwoods is no stranger to winter weather, and ice storms have historically been among the most destructive. But even by Wisconsin standards, the most recent ice storm that slammed northern Wisconsin March 29th and 30th, 2025 was one for the books.By Kerry Bloedorn

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Field Notes: Frost and Roads 5:02

4M ago5:02

5:02

In this month's installment of Field Notes, Scott Bowe of Kemp Station discusses frost and roads – all part of managing our sustainable natural resources.By Scott Bowe

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Lelah Starks: Potato Pioneer 5:00

4M ago5:00

5:00

In the heart of Wisconsin’s Northwoods, Lelah Starks tilled out a legacy that would shape the potato industry for generations. A woman ahead of her time, Starks became one of the most respected seed potato growers in the country, blending science with practical farming expertise.By Kerry Bloedorn

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Field Notes: Calling a fish a ‘fish’ 3:33

4M ago3:33

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‘Fish’ is one of those words, useful in the image it evokes but less reliable as a lineage, clearly defined.By Gretchen Gerrish

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The Doctor is in: Remembering the life of Dr. Warner S. Bump 4:09

4M ago4:09

4:09

Among storied Northwoods doctors are names like Torpy, Pelham-Newcomb, Sheik, and Cline. But one Rhinelander doctor worked diligently to usher in a new age of medicine during his five decades of practice, Dr. Warner S. Bump.By Kerry Bloedorn

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Field Notes: Otters 4:57

5M ago4:57

4:57

Otters are mustelids and related to other Northwoods mammals including mink and weasels. They were common throughout North America until Europeans overharvested the animals for their warm, dense and beautiful coats.By Susan Knight

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Field Notes: The Fish of Vilas County 4:15

7M ago4:15

4:15

In this episode of Field Notes, Lonnie Parry Gillis takes us on an exploration of the fish of Vilas County, Wisconsin—an area blessed with an astounding 1,300 plus lakes.By Lonnie Parry Gillis

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Looking back at Rhinelander’s winter weather history 3:37

7M ago3:37

3:37

Winter weather records are a fascinating thing to explore, from the longest stretches with snow on the ground to the heaviest snowfalls in a single season or day. Digging into the record books is a chance to relive the power of winter, and today, we’re taking a look at some of Rhinelander’s most memorable winter weather events.…

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Field Notes: Producers and Consumers 4:43

8M ago4:43

4:43

In this month's installment of Field Notes, Scott Bowe of Kemp Station discusses producers (plants) and consumers (fungi) in the forest world around us.By Scott Bowe

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Rhinelander Woman’s Club played important role in Women’s voting rights 2:30

8M ago2:30

2:30

On Friday, March 12, 1920, the Rhinelander Woman’s Club gathered at the Teachers Training College in the old Oneida County Courthouse for a special “mock election.” This wasn’t just a simple exercise—it was the final exam for a citizenship class that aimed to prepare local women for their first opportunity to vote in a U.S. Presidential election.…

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Field Notes: Bountiful Blooms in our Water Bodies 5:59

9M ago5:59

5:59

Seasonal blooms are common and often monitored in warm and high nutrient lakes throughout southern Wisconsin, but are less commonly reported in lakes up north. This makes it challenging to track and manage across the 1,000s of regional lakes.By Gretchen Gerrish

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Tony Sarocka, Remembering a Rhinelander Football Standout 3:56

9M ago3:56

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Anton Sarocka, known as Tony, was a standout football player for Rhinelander High School. Born in Port Washington on October 11, 1910, Tony graduated in 1928.By Kerry Bloedorn

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The Three Lakes Cyclone, 100 years after 3:55

10M ago3:55

3:55

Sunday, September 21st, 1924 is listed on the Wisconsin Watch website as the third worst day of tornadoes in state history.Few single communities were impacted that day as much as Three Lakes, Wisconsin, which suffered the worst tornado in it’s historyBy Kerry Bloedorn

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Field Notes: Harvesting Ginseng 5:38

10M ago5:38

5:38

One of the crops most iconic to our area is ginseng, Panax quinquefolia. Marathon County, just south of Lincoln County is the center of ginseng farming, not just in Wisconsin but it is recognized as the largest source and the best quality of ginseng in the world.By Susan Knight

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Field Notes: Thermally Modified Wood 4:21

11M ago4:21

4:21

In this month's installment of Field Notes, Scott Bowe of Kemp Station discusses thermally modified wood, a chemical free way to preserve wood for outdoor use.By Scott Bowe

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The Enterprise Forest Radiation Project 3:08

11M ago3:08

3:08

Few people know that the Northwoods was once exposed to intense radiation for scientific research amid fears of nuclear war. Fifty-one years ago, a site near Rhinelander, Wisconsin, was developed to study radiation’s effects on northern forest ecosystems, known as the Enterprise Radiation Forest Project.…

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Tank Mired in the McNaughton Muck 3:33

12M ago3:33

3:33

Whenever talk turns to military tanks in the Northwoods, one story still echoes through the forest: the time a mighty tank was swallowed by the infamous McNaughton Swamp, some 65 years ago.By Kerry Bloedorn

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Field Notes: Know your salamanders 5:05

1y ago5:05

5:05

Salamanders, newts and mudpuppies are amphibians, and they are all salamanders, but not all salamanders are newts or mudpuppies.By Susan Knight

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The Pelican Lake Giant 3:24

1y ago3:24

3:24

“Massive Human Bones and Indian Relics Unearthed near Pelican Lake” read a Rhinelander New North newspaper headline on July 28th , 1908. The sensationalist commentary that followed was all the “proof” the unidentified writer needed to confirm that giant people once lived and were buried in the vicinity of Pelican Lake, Wisconsin.…

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Field Notes: Wisconsin Crappies 5:17

1y ago5:17

5:17

In Wisconsin, opening fishing applies to certain species of fish such as walleye, trout, largemouth bass, and northern pike. However, this season opener does not apply to panfish, which are open year-round. Panfish include species such as bluegill, crappie, sunfish, and yellow perch.By Scott Bowe

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Northern Wisconsin: A Handbook for the Home Seeker 5:21

1y ago5:21

5:21

In the fall of 1895, a team from the University of Wisconsin school of agriculture, including Dean William A. Henry, Madison photographer Harvey J. Perkins, and others, traveled to every county north of a line drawn from Green Bay to Hudson. They compiled information and photographs from cutover lands, and already existing farms, in an attempt to s…

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Remembering Richard Roesler 5:30

1y ago5:30

5:30

Fifty-one years ago, the United States left Vietnam on March 29th, 1973, after 8 years of fighting. The conflict left a lasting impact on our country, including the Northwoods, where it forever changed the lives of the service members involved and their families. This is one of those stories.By Kerry Bloedorn

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Recording long term data 4:51

1+ y ago4:51

4:51

There are many kinds of record keeping that scientists use to recapture recent and ancient historyBy Susan Knight

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One of the oldest frame buildings in Rhinelander: The Martin Flat 2:41

1+ y ago2:41

2:41

Kids corner Pizza in Rhinelander is located in one of the oldest frame buildings in downtown Rhinelander. Kerry Bloedorn – Northwoods Historian, shares the history of that building, The Martin Flat, on this installment of A Northwoods Moment in History on WXPRBy Kerry Bloedorn

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The Amazing Apple Tree 5:38

1+ y ago5:38

5:38

Apple cultivars brought as seed from Europe were spread along Native American trade routes, as well as being cultivated on colonial farms. By the mid 1800s, United States apples nursery catalogues sold 350 of the "best" cultivars, showing the proliferation of new North American cultivars by the 19th century.…