The US Explained

In the heart of America, between the country’s two greatest rivers, stretches a vast expanse of flat farmland and picturesque rolling hills. This is a land of small towns and small cities, yet one key to feeding and fueling the United States. A humble, rural state, often overlooked, yet it picks presidents. Iowa is, in a sense, quintessential Middle America - to experience it is to understand what America imagines itself to be. So ...

Where the American South meets the American West, this is a land of cattle ranchers, cowboys, and oilmen, of Cajuns, of border towns where Spanish has been spoken long before this place was ever called Texas, of wide-open starlit skies and of skyscraper-studded cities where people have come from across the country and the world seeking the opportunity that it promises. An independent country that chose to join the United States, Te...

Florida - It's a land of swamps and islands, beautiful yet for much of its history remote, a backwater jutting into the Gulf of Mexico. Today though, it's the third most populous state in the country, a global tourist destination, a diverse meeting point of cultures from across the hemisphere, and a state that year after year, decade after decade, has been one of the fastest growing places in America, a place whose name is known th...

Here in Arkansas the swamps and bayous of the fertile Mississippi Delta meet the country’s largest cluster of mountains between the Rockies and Appalachians. A mostly rural state, it’s home to a number of small cities, some of which have become economically vibrant boomtowns. The Natural State is an all too often overlooked corner of the country, packing a beautiful landscape, important history, kind people, and some really fascina...

Missouri sits in the middle. For the last forty years, it’s been the average center of the country’s population, and today, more than any other, it can claim to be the state where the north meets the south, and the east meets the west. Roughly halfway between the Rockies and the Appalachians, the Canadian border and the Gulf of Mexico, home to flat expanses of farmland, the forested mountains, hills, and cliffs of the Ozarks, and t...

Maine - The state at the northeastern tip of the United States is an outlier. In the heavily urbanized East Coast, it’s predominantly rural. It takes up half of New England’s land area yet has one of the smallest populations in the country, much of it wilderness that’s far removed from any city or town. Thousands of moose roam wild in the forests that surround beautiful mountains and lakes, while the small fishing villages that lin...

The story of Alabama is in large part the story of America, one that has much to be proud of, with progress and innovation, kind people and a strong regional culture, yet at the same time one that has also been marked by violence, prejudice, poverty, and conflict. Above all it’s a story that is essential to understand. Home to forests and farmland, mountains and beaches, small towns and a number of different cities, this is Episode...

The river winds through a canyon, at times more than a thousand feet from top to bottom. But unlike the canyons of the west, its walls are made not of earth and rock, but of glass and steel, a man made wonder showcasing some of the most famous buildings in the world, the birthplace of the skyscraper itself. It’s a town that, sitting in one of the most strategically-placed locations in the country, rose from actual ashes to become a...

Famed author William Faulkner said of his home state, “to understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.” As I take you on this journey through every part of the United States, it would be a mistake to ignore the story of the Magnolia State. The challenges it deals with, such as high poverty, low development and quality of life, and an economy that’s struggled to diversify have brought severe economic dif...

It’s spanned by vast fields of corn and soybeans, making it one of the most agriculturally productive states in the country. Stunning sand dunes, one of the only national parks in the Midwest, stand hundreds of feet tall over the shore of Lake Michigan, and beautiful forests, hills, and river valleys cover much of the state’s southern half. A former industrial powerhouse, whose limestone and steel built some of the country’s most f...

Among the swamps and bayous, marshes and forests, that sit at the mouth of one of the largest river systems on earth, sits a state unlike any other. It’s a cultural melting pot, sitting in the Deep South, home to one of the largest Black populations in the country, and more culturally connected to and shaped by France than any other state in the US. Its culture, history, geography, and society is vastly different from anywhere else...

Ohio. It sits between the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley, where the Midwest, with its flat expanses of farmland meets Appalachia, home to rolling hills, forests, and valleys. One of the largest Amish populations in the country sits in a state famed for its industrial prowess, manufacturing, and business. Major cities sit not far from farms, forests, lakes, and islands. It's home to a huge population and has played an important rol...

Tennessee. There, black bears roam in the high peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains, paddle wheel steamboats chug up the wide, muddy, winding Mississippi, and in between sit small southern towns and a number of major cities, some growing incredibly quickly, that have had a major influence on American music. It's home to beautiful natural scenery, exciting cities, and played an important role in the country’s history. This is Episode ...

It’s part Appalachian, part Southern, and has Midwestern influences. Farms and pastures where some of the world’s top racehorses are trained sit in the same state as bustling port cities on the Ohio River and Appalachian coal mining towns that are among the most impoverished parts of the country. It’s the birthplace of bluegrass and bourbon, and stretches for hundreds of miles from the mountains to the Mississippi. This is Episode ...

It’s one of the most rural and least populated parts of the country. Covered in forests and mountains, filled with lakes and islands, Vermont is renowned for its scenery and splendor. It’s a land of small farms and towns, tucked into tiny valleys and along the shores of Lake Champlain, a place where covered bridges cross small creeks and rivers, and syrup is harvested from maple trees. Its history, politics, and culture stand out s...

If there’s one thing you know about Rhode Island, it’s probably that it is very, very small. In fact, 622 different counties, nearly one fifth of all the counties in the United States, take up more land than Rhode Island. The state at its length is 48 miles. That’s barely more than the average American commute to work. Despite this, the state packs a large punch. It’s the second most densely populated state in the country, has hund...

It’s hard to characterize North Carolina. It’s a southern state, home to regional barbecue sauces, a bluegrass and country blues tradition, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. At the same time, it contains vast regional differences, stretching from the mountains in the west to the swamps and islands in the east, with millions of people living in between. It’s home to beautiful scenery, a diverse population, and is a center of banking, edu...