Land of Laura: the Podcast about Laura Ingalls Wilder

Sandra Hume + guests

Land of Laura is the irreverent yet scholarly podcast about all things Laura Ingalls Wilder. Were you crazy about the Ingalls family as a kid? Are the Little House books your Roman Empire? This podcast offers Little House and Laura Ingalls Wilder fans incredible, relevant insight from authors, historians, researchers, museum professionals, TV producers — anyone with something unique to contribute to the world of Laura Ingalls Wilder world. Heavy on Gen X, it's Little House for grownups.

  1. Trip and Rebecca Friendly: the New Little House on the Prairie on Netflix

    Jun 4

    Trip and Rebecca Friendly: the New Little House on the Prairie on Netflix

    In 1974, Ed Friendly created the Little House on the Prairie TV show with Michael Landon. Creative differences spurred Ed to leave the show early on, though he still produced it. This July, a new Little House on the Prairie comes to the small screen. It's executive produced by Friendly Family Productions, where Ed's son, Trip, is the CEO. Today Trip is our guest on Land of Laura, along with his daughter, Rebecca, COO of the company. They're both excited for the new Little House on the Prairie, and want to share how this new adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books came to be.

    53 min
  2. Land of Sandra: a Lifetime of Loving Laura

    May 28

    Land of Sandra: a Lifetime of Loving Laura

    Author Nancy McCabe listened to several episodes of Land of Laura and heard the guests share their origin stories. She thought: what about Sandra Hume's origin story? In this episode Nancy turns the tables on Sandra and asks what brought the podcast host into the world of Little House. Sandra shares her history with creating the Homesteader newsletter, co-founding the Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association and its LauraPalooza conference, publishing the Land of Laura travel guides to the Wilder homesites in the upper Midwest, starting the Land of Laura podcast, and writing her young-adult novel, No Shade on the Prairie, about a Little House road trip.

    36 min
  3. Little House on the Prairie: How It All Began in Independence, Kansas

    May 21

    Little House on the Prairie: How It All Began in Independence, Kansas

    Historian Michelle Marie Martin, PhD, was with the Little House on the Prairie Museum at Independence, Kansas from2008-2015, the last four years as executive director of the site. In this episode Dr. Martin shares the history of the site, the complicated history of the Osage land, how living history can be a tool for learning, and why the African American doctor who cared for the Ingalls family, George Tann, is so darn interesting. Every August the Little House on the Prairie Museum hosts Carrie Days in honor of the August 3rd birthday of Carrie Ingalls, who was born at the site. www.lhopmuseum.com

    46 min
  4. Erin Blakemore, Part 2: Listening to Audiobooks of Little House on the Prairie Hits Different

    May 14

    Erin Blakemore, Part 2: Listening to Audiobooks of Little House on the Prairie Hits Different

    Erin Blakemore is a journalist, historian, and author of the book The Heroine's Bookshelf. Here's part 2 of her interview where she details the magic of listening to the Little House books on audiobook for the first time. Erin shares several of her revelations, including how she feels Laura Ingalls Wilder used horses as a vehicle to communicate sensuality and sexuality when she didn't have the words to do it otherwise. Also, in the midst of narrator Cherry Jones' brilliance, the few things she got painfully wrong.

    37 min
  5. Erin Blakemore: Listening to Audiobooks of Little House on the Prairie Hits Different

    May 7

    Erin Blakemore: Listening to Audiobooks of Little House on the Prairie Hits Different

    Erin Blakemore is a journalist, historian, and author of the book The Heroine's Bookshelf. Recently after brain surgery she turned to the the comfort of her beloved Little House books in a way she never had before: by listening to them on audio. Erin's first time listening to Cherry Jones' masterful narration of the entire Little House series was transformative. In the first of two episodes, Erin shares that experience with Land of Laura's listeners and offers commentary of her own on the enduring impact of Laura Ingalls Wilder's stories on our collective cultural history. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-heroines-bookshelf-erin-blakemore?variant=44503652106274

    35 min
  6. De Smet, South Dakota: Talking to Executive Director Mary Jo Wertz

    Apr 30

    De Smet, South Dakota: Talking to Executive Director Mary Jo Wertz

    With fully half of the books taking place there, De Smet, Dakota Territory — South Dakota today — is the pinnacle of Little House homesites. By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, and These Happy Golden Years are all grounded in the tiny town of De Smet. From the Surveyors' House to the house Pa built on Third Street to a robust collection of Ingalls and Wilder artifacts, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society is responsible for overseeing and preserving the bulk of what visitors get to see in De Smet. This week's Land of Laura welcomes Mary Jo Wertz, Executive Director of De Smet's Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society. Learn how she came into the position, what it's like to head up the Society as a former pharmacist, and what visitors can expect in 2026 and beyond — including a few unexpected surprises. (Really!) www.discoverlaura.org

    42 min
  7. Eric Fairchild of De Smet B & B Prairie House Manor

    Apr 23

    Eric Fairchild of De Smet B & B Prairie House Manor

    What Laura Ingalls Wilder fan among us hasn't dreamed of living in De Smet, South Dakota? Eric Fairchild actually made that a reality when he and his partner took over Prairie House Manor Bed and Breakfast, a longtime staple of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Dakota Territory hometown. On this week's Land of Laura podcast, Eric tells us all about his career change from retail lifer to innkeeper, the experience of trading urban Colorado for South Dakota, and the joy of immersing himself fully in the history of his new hometown — where he arrived without having read a single Little House book. Prairie House Manor ⁠De Smet, South Dakota⁠ Plum Creek Park in Walnut Grove

    49 min
  8. "We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover": All the Rose Wilder Lane Research You Could Want

    Apr 16

    "We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover": All the Rose Wilder Lane Research You Could Want

    Have you ever looked at one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's manuscripts? Or dug into Rose Wilder Lane's journal entries? Or read the letters Rose exchanged with her beloved "Mama Bess"? The largest collection of Laura Ingalls Wilder/Rose Wilder Lane research materials is in West Branch, Iowa, at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. This week Land of Laura talks to Hoover archivist Spencer Howard as well as researcher Eddie Higgins. Tune in to hear all about how the Laura/Rose collection came to be, what's in it, and how you, too, can access this treasure trove of research materials — even if you can't get to Iowa. ========== https://hoover.archives.gov/research/manuscript-collections/lane

    51 min
See All (34)

4.8
out of 5
40 Ratings

About

Land of Laura is the irreverent yet scholarly podcast about all things Laura Ingalls Wilder. Were you crazy about the Ingalls family as a kid? Are the Little House books your Roman Empire? This podcast offers Little House and Laura Ingalls Wilder fans incredible, relevant insight from authors, historians, researchers, museum professionals, TV producers — anyone with something unique to contribute to the world of Laura Ingalls Wilder world. Heavy on Gen X, it's Little House for grownups.

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