An Obsession with the Appalachian Trail
I’ve been obsessed with the Appalachian Trail since my first long-distance hike in 2003. I was 19 years old when I decided to hike the Northernmost 600 miles of this iconic trail during a summer break.
In 2013 my mom, Candy, joined me for another long backpacking trip, an end-to-end hike of Vermont’s Long Trail. My mom and I completed this hike as a way to grieve the loss of my father. But it also planted the seed for a longer, more ambitious trek. My mom and I began plotting a thru-hike of the entire Appalachian Trail.
In the spring of 2022, my mom and I set out from Springer Mountain, GA, hoping to walk 2,200 miles to Maine. This podcast/radio series documents our journey, while exploring the trail’s history, and examining modern issues affecting the trail and the people who walk it’s path.
-Matt Podolsky
Common Land is produced by the Wild Lens Collective, in partnership with New Hampshire Public Radio.
Support for the show comes from Big Agnes
Common Land’s Host and Producer:
Matthew Podolsky
Matthew is a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, long distance hiker, and a former wildlife biologist. He co-directed the Sundance award winning film, Sea of Shadows, along with the Emmy-nominated Bluebird Man. In addition to producing Common Land, Matthew is also a contributing producer for Earth to Humans, a bi-weekly interview series focused on environmental issues.
Our Season Two Team:
Hannah Mulvany
Hannah is an environmental and nature communications specialist, who works solely with non-profits. Having completed her Conservation Biology undergrad and finding a role in science communication, Hannah was thrilled to find that it was possible to pursue a career that allowed her to blend her scientific training with her love for being creative. She’s been happily doing exactly that ever since.
Hannah is the communications director and social media manager for Common Land.
Jason Milligan
Jason Milligan has a varied history in storytelling-based media traversing the realms of film, television, internet video, commercials, puppetry, and comic books.
For 12 years he co-managed and produced for a Los Angeles based production company he cofounded called Butcher Bird Studios. Since then, he has returned to his roots as a freelance designer and animator through his own company, Chinnykat Media.
A recreational outdoorsman, he maintains the brand “G.O. Get Outside,” a podcast and YouTube channel intent on promoting the stories and adventures of everyday people. When not working, he can often be found exploring the front country and back country of his new home of Spain.
Jason contributed his expertise in graphic design to Common Land, helping craft the series’ visual identity.
Our Season One Team:
Wayne Birt
Wayne is a hopeless radiophile, having been a station programmer at student-run KBSU in the 80s when he was a student at Boise State University, then working commercially at Boise station KIDO, before joining the Radio Boise effort in 2005. Besides his role with Radio Boise, Wayne has an MFA in Creative Writing from Eastern Washington University, has published a handful of short stories and is prone to unreasonably long backpacking and rock climbing trips. He calls it his long-range therapy for his longstanding pathology for community radio. Wayne is a producer for Common Land.
Steve Alsup
Steve is a raptor biologist and co-founder of the Birds of Prey NCA Partnership, a “friends” group associated with the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA. Steve was drawn to Southwest Idaho in 2003, when he was hired to help conduct raptor surveys down in the Snake River Canyon. This experience inspired him to pursue a career in raptor biology, and he began a graduate program at Boise State University a few years later - the only graduate program in the country in raptor biology. In 2015, when a coalition of partner groups came together to form the Birds of Prey NCA Partnership, Steve stepped up to take the lead in the establishment of this new organization focused on supporting the management and conservation of this unique NCA through science, education, outreach and partnerships. In addition to working with the Birds of Prey NCA Partnership, Steve is also a Research Associate with the Raptor Research Center at Boise State University. Steve is a producer for season one of Common Land.
Speedy Gray
Bobby “Speedy” Gray first hit the road at age 12 as a guitarist for The New Day Singers, traveling the South performing at colleges, churches, and a multitude of fairs etc. He later participating in the New South movement with other early Indie acts such as REM, The Dbs, Dexter Romwebber and The B52s. First recording experiments were performed on a 50s tube powered 1/4 tape machine, then an internship at The White Room in Charlotte, NC. He spent terms as FOH engineer at the World Famous Milestone plus many other live venues. Speedy is also the singer/songwriter/leader of the roots rock band Like A Rocket, who are currently recording their 4th album in Speedy’s recording studio, The Workshop, while leading the Live Engineering team for Radio Boise. Speedy wrote and performed original music for season one of Common Land both with his band, Like a Rocket, and as a solo artist under his pseudonym, Ragged Coyote. He also served as a story and sound design consultant.
Season Two Release Schedule:
Season Two of Common Land, focused on the Appalachian Trail, will begin broadcasting on New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) on Saturday, July 5th, 2025.
New episodes will air every Saturday on NHPR. Broadcasts on other public radio stations will be announced soon! Contact our team if you want the show to air on a public radio or NPR affiliate station near you!
What the future holds for the Common Land Podcast:
Our team is currently working to establish a broad network of partners from both land management agencies and the non-profit organizations that provide support for and conduct advocacy efforts on behalf of protected areas. We are also assembling a team of expert producers capable of the high level documentary style audio production and storytelling that we strive for. We hope to expand both the range of protected areas whose stories we are able to tell, as well as the diversity of voices responsible for conveying these stories.
Each future episode of Common Land will represent a unique partnership between land managers, community members, and the organizations working to protect and enhance the unique patches of common land that our modern society has decided to set aside for future generations.