Jan 10 2024 31 mins
Is Alaska stuck in the myth of the big strike?
On this week's bonus episode, we speak with Kathryn Morse, a professor at Middlebury College and author of The Nature of Gold: an Environmental History of the Klondike Gold Rush.
I loved speaking with Kathryn because she is both incredibly knowledgeable about the Klondike Gold Rush, and an astute observer of how gold rush era myths inform Alaska's identity and politics today.
We discuss the crisis in American identity that coincided with the Klondike Gold Rush, why gold's value was seen as "natural," and how myths from this era are still shaping Alaska's trajectory.
Note that there were technical issues with the recording of this episode that impacted the audio quality. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this conversation and I hope you do too!