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Exploring Washington State

Exploring Washington State

Explore Washington State -Scott Cowan 353 episodes Nov 11, 2026

Exploring Washington State is an interview podcast hosted by Scott Cowan that features unhurried conversations with artists, entrepreneurs, historians, and makers from across Washington State. Each roughly 60-minute episode is designed to feel like sitting down at a coffee shop with an interesting friend rather than a formal interview. The show has no scripts or strict time limits, emphasizing curiosity and natural conversation. With more than 340 episodes, it continues to highlight the people and stories that make the state distinctive.

Episodes

Brandy, Barrels and a Christmas Cookie Old Fashioned: Mastrogiannis Distillery in North Bend
Brandy, Barrels and a Christmas Cookie Old Fashioned: Mastrogiannis Distillery in North Bend Nov 11, 2026 53:50 Scott is back with Ilias Mastrogiannis of Mastrogiannis Distillery, four or five years after they first talked during COVID. Production is still in Lakewood, where the distillery makes grape based brandies, but there is something new: a tasting room in downtown North Bend, at the corner of North Bend Way and Bendigo Boulevard, in the Sunset Garage building with a view of Mount Si.They sta
Can I Float Down the Fish Tube? Inside Rocky Reach Dam with Chelan PUD
Can I Float Down the Fish Tube? Inside Rocky Reach Dam with Chelan PUD Nov 4, 2026 1:09:47 Scott sat down at Rocky Reach Dam after an hour and a half hard hat tour with James Webber, Chelan County PUD's Education and Outreach Specialist, and Kristin Lodge, who runs the Rocky Reach Discovery Center as Visitor Services Manager. Kristin grew up in Wenatchee and came over from the Wenatchee Valley Museum. James teaches kids across the valley about hydropower, and he gets asked one
Scott Griffith, Washington State Parks, on the Palouse to Cascades Trail
Scott Griffith, Washington State Parks, on the Palouse to Cascades Trail Oct 28, 2026 2:07:26 Scott Griffith started with Washington State Parks in 1981 as a park aide at Fort Ebey on Whidbey Island, and he is now the agency's statewide Interpretive Program Manager. He has walked parts of the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail since he was a Boy Scout, and he worked on the corridor as a student, when the state was still deciding what to do with it.The trail follows the old Chica
A Year in Auburn: Parades, Petpalooza and a Crow With Fries
A Year in Auburn: Parades, Petpalooza and a Crow With Fries Oct 21, 2026 55:32 Amanda Valdez is the special events coordinator for the City of Auburn's Parks, Arts and Recreation department. She grew up in Girl Scouts, found her calling running events during a year of AmeriCorps service, and spent about ten years running the Auburn Farmers Market before moving to the city's larger events.This episode works in any month, because Amanda walks through Auburn's whole ye
Voluntold: How Brian Alley Ended Up Running a Folk Festival in Winthrop
Voluntold: How Brian Alley Ended Up Running a Folk Festival in Winthrop Sep 30, 2026 1:19:07 Brian Alley spent years on the road with Never Come Down, a Portland band that played bluegrass instruments and anything from Gillian Welch to Ween. They played Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco and a hostel stage in Reykjavik during Iceland Airwaves. Then Brian settled in the Methow Valley, offered to help a small festival called Cidergrass with its booking, and by spring realiz
He Has One Roll of Film Left. John Shephard's Panoramic Washington
He Has One Roll of Film Left. John Shephard's Panoramic Washington Aug 26, 2026 1:22:28 John Shephard has spent three decades photographing Washington State on Fujichrome Velvia 50, using two cameras nobody makes anymore. One of them has a lens mounted on a rotating cylinder that takes two minutes and twenty seconds to complete a single exposure.It started at five in the morning in a Skagit Valley tulip field in 1999, when he met an Australian photographer named Ken Duncan a
Not a Bog, a Fen: Inside the $1.5 Million Save of Bonaparte Meadows
Not a Bog, a Fen: Inside the $1.5 Million Save of Bonaparte Meadows Aug 14, 2026 1:14:02 Kate Miller is the executive director of the Okanogan Land Trust, a nonprofit with two staff and an intern that protects working farms and ranches, wildlife habitat and water resources across Okanogan and western Ferry counties. Scott recorded this in their office in the town of Okanogan, in the county of Okanogan, a naming situation he admits gets him every time.Kate did not plan this ca
Greasy Fingerprints on a Beam: Inside Fort Flagler and Fort Worden
Greasy Fingerprints on a Beam: Inside Fort Flagler and Fort Worden Aug 12, 2026 1:06:23 Kelsey Lang looks after the museums at Fort Flagler and Fort Worden, and she lives at one of them.She grew up in central Florida, an hour north of Orlando. Her husband went looking for the rainiest place in the country that also had mountains, Washington came up, and after years of applying they made the move during COVID with a dog who could not fly and a U Haul driven by a hired strange
Remember Me? The Show's Back With a Coffee Crawl Through Everett
Remember Me? The Show's Back With a Coffee Crawl Through Everett Jul 1, 2026 59:10 Remember me? After six months off, the Exploring Washington State podcast is back, and we're kicking things off with a caffeinated twist. Scott dragged his buddy Brooks Smothers from RV Out West to four very different coffee shops in downtown Everett to drink too much coffee, talk even more, and finally figure out what a "one and one" actually is. Turns out you can drink coffee your whole
A Thousand Campers a Night: Inside Lake Chelan State Park
A Thousand Campers a Night: Inside Lake Chelan State Park Dec 17, 2025 1:13:42 During peak summer season, Lake Chelan State Park can host nearly a thousand campers every night. Behind the scenes, that responsibility falls on one park manager.In this episode of the Exploring Washington State Podcast, I sit down with Brian Frahm, the park manager at Lake Chelan State Park, to talk about what it actually takes to operate one of Washington’s busiest state parks. Brian o
Before They Wore Dodger Blue: Spokane’s Untold Role
Before They Wore Dodger Blue: Spokane’s Untold Role Dec 10, 2025 1:06:55 Spokane Built the Dodgers DynastyShow Notes:Author and researcher Eric Vickrey returns to the Exploring Washington State Podcast with a story most baseball fans have never heard — how Spokane helped build the future Dodgers dynasty.In his new book, Before They Wore Dodger Blue, Eric uncovers the overlooked role the Inland Northwest played in shaping the players, culture, and leadership th
Inside Wallace Falls: What Rangers See That Visitors Miss
Inside Wallace Falls: What Rangers See That Visitors Miss Nov 19, 2025 1:05:06 Ever wondered what really happens behind the scenes at one of Washington’s most visited state parks? In this episode, Park Ranger Kevin Leese shares what he sees every day at Wallace Falls that most visitors completely overlook.From seasonal crowd patterns and trail management to the unexpected challenges that come with keeping a high-traffic park running smoothly, Kevin sheds light on th

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