Behind every court case, every treaty, and every lakebed is the same thing: history that never actually stopped happening. This blog traces those connections — pop culture and current events, viewed through a lens that stretches back well beyond the last 250 years: environmental history, and the many peoples who have called this land home over the millennia.

I’m starting here, in Minnesota — it’s timely, and it’s my backyard. Right now, just upstream from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a decade-long fight over a proposed copper-nickel mine is still unsettled, flipping with nearly every change in administration. It’s exactly the kind of story I want this blog to dig into: both sides heard fully, facts followed as far as they go, before I ever say where I land. (On this one, it’s preservation.) That fight — and the land itself, shaped by glaciers that retreated only 10,000 to 12,000 years ago — is where I’m starting. But my lens doesn’t stop at a state line. I want this blog to eventually range across the whole hemisphere, from the Arctic Circle down to the tip of Argentina.

Here’s where you’ll find that traced out, through four recurring pillars:

The Paper Trail — current events explained through the history underneath them.

Screen vs. Source — a pop culture fact-check; what’s on the screen vs. real history.

What the Land Remembers — environmental and land history tied to present-day issues.

Monthly Roundup — a recap tying it all together once a month.

New posts go up Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, each with a short-form video companion the next day. Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Want the fuller story of why I started this blog and what I’m hoping to build? Head to the Welcome page. Otherwise — glad you’re here. Let’s trace the threads together.