Nordic on Tap - the podcast

Join us for a journey into Nordic crime fiction or noir with Dr. Jerry Holt as our guide. Fiction has the ability to transport us into worlds, cultures, geography, and the thoughts of heroes and villains that non-fiction just can't touch. And we are changed by those stories.  At a time when we are home-bound due to social distancing, catching up on your reading has never been better. In Norway, this is the time of påskekrim, that s...

An ocean-going ship has long been a metaphor for a journey, literal or spiritual, and model ships are still found in some Scandinavian Churches today. It was on a tall ship that immigrants from Scandinavia came to America, carrying their prized possessions in storage trunks, adorned with colorful flowers and vines - an art form called rosemaling.

In this episode (see website ) we trace the origins of rosemaling in Norway and the...

In 1959, twenty-year-old Doug Warne and Ron Olsen agreed to produce the Scandinavian Hour, in order to keep this cherished radio program going. Olsen chose the music and Doug handled the guest list and sold the advertising. Thus began this remarkable story lasting for 48 years, and when Olsen passed away in 2008, Warne continued on himself. But in 2017, he solicited additional cohosts to share responsibility for the program.  No on...

The Norwegian fjord horse or fjording is one of the oldest breeds of domesticated horses known from 4000 years ago. "Fjords" are masters the mountainous terrain on farms in Norway - surefooted, and pound for pound, the strongest breed of horse in the world. In this podcast, we meet Rory and Kristin Miller of Strawberry Hills Fjords in Chehalis, Washington, who train their horses in driving carriages or carts and in performing chall...

Have you ever looked out over a lake at night, wondering if that splash you heard was something to worry about?  Or the shriek and moan of the wind during a storm on the coast? Nordic folk have long had explanations for unexplainable things through folktales of strange and sometimes creepy supernatural creatures. In this podcast we look at the folktales that describe the mosekone and lygtemænd (bog woman and lantern men) of Danish ...

The Seattle Aquarium is expanding to include sharks from Indonesia. Is this for the entertainment value or is there an educational component as well? What is the role of aquariums regarding public education, anyway?  Is it to appreciate and have empathy for the fish, otters, seals, penguins, etc. or motivate conservation and sustainable behavior? At the same time, Seattle's sister city in Norway (Bergen) is planning to completely r...

The lur is one of the great folk instruments of Scandinavia and was traditionally used by women at mountain farms, or sæters, in the summertime to gather the herds of cows, sheep, or goats.  Less well known is the role of the lur in the story of Prillar Guri, who saved Norway from invaders at the Battle of Kringen in August of 1612. 

Join me as I interview the marvelous storyteller, musician, and player of the lur, Dr. Joan Haaland...

The celebrated hero who sailed the Kon-Tiki across the Pacific, wrote several best-selling books, who inspired a whole generation of archeologists is one of Norway's most celebrated heroes.  But Heyerdahl's ideas about Polynesian migration (among others) were not embraced by the scientific community and we set off to understand why. Was Heyerdahl a "fringe scientist"?  Join us as we interview Polynesian archeologist Dr. Matthew Spr...

Have you ever wondered what Norwegian folktales sound like in Norwegian, as they were written in the late 1800s by Asbjørnson and Moe? Join us for this telling of the classic De Tre Bukene Bruse or The Three Billy Boats Gruff and Småguttene Som Traff Trollene i Hedalskogen or The Boys Who Met the Trolls in Hedal Woods, in both Norwegian and English.  We also hear the well-known Scandinavian favorite (song), Pål Sine Høner, played b...

In 1923, a young Norwegian named Peter Sundness emigrated to the Seattle Area and, after several years, brought his wife and children over too. Pete’s daughter Ruthi Sundness Winter, later born in Seattle, fondly remembers playing Scandinavian music together with her family, a tradition that has continued after marrying Mike Winter, whose own family had a similar tradition. 

The result is the present day Winter Band that plays Scan...

Laura Loge, Nordic operatic soprano.

Edvard Grieg, Norway's greatest composer. 

Henrik Ibsen, Norway's greatest playwright. 

A trio that comes together through Ibsen's play, Peer Gynt, and Grieg's incidental music for that play.  Laura sings the role of Gynt's long and abiding love, Solveig. 

Join us as we learn how Laura first sang Solveig's song at the age of 14, and how this music followed her as she studied Norwegian, Italian, ...

Perhaps the most portable instrument in the world that can play almost any musical genre is the accordion. As a “free reed instrument” how does it really work? And there are many kinds including the concertina, torader, and piano accordion.

Join us as we meet Birgit and Phil Ages from the Seattle Area who explain how accordions work, show what a mazurka, hambo, and schottische sound like, and explain how they formed the Folk Voice...

Every year before the pandemic, the Bothell Sons of Norway lodge members marched in Seattle's 17th of May Parade, as well as Bothell's Fourth of July Parade.  In addition to a Viking ship float and a convertible sports car with the princess waving from the back, is a 7 foot tall, imposing, ugly, but goofy troll.  This elaborate costume was created by Mike Nelson and has delighted parade-goers, especially children, for  years. Then ...

Don "Jerry" Pugnetti Jr, a long-time journalist, has written a fictional account of a Norwegian man and his compatriots who join the Norwegian Resistance during World War II.  Jerry based the book on real stories he collected from his won relatives who were there in the early 1940s, and in the Resistance themselves. In this podcast we interview Jerry about his writing the book and learn about the true events that are mentioned in i...

Elizabeth Person from Everett, Washington designs and creates infographic illustrations that are right at home on your wall or in your hand, to identify the name of a berry bush, a Washington ferry, an apple variety, or a Washington lighthouse. Her sketches of her adopted town capture the beauty and detail in the commonplace.  Her maps of islands, nations, and mountain ranges go beyond the USA, but are especially focused on the Pac...

It is difficult to talk about the indigenous people of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Russian Kola Peninsula without talking about the Sami musician and activist, Mari Boine. Born into a strict religious family, where speaking Sami and expressing oneself by traditional singing or joiking was considered "wrong", Boine struggled with being assimilated as a Norwegian and being ashamed of her heritage. Fortunately, she later...

Join me for a tale of adventure with a very unlikely hero - a little tailor who dreams big but has trouble with the reality of dangerous situations. This Grimm Brothers folktale was collected in Denmark in the late 1800s and features hungry giants, a not so friendly unicorn, and a ferocious wild boar.  Why do the people he meets think he’s heroic material? How does our hero even survive, let alone succeed?  And how do you define su...

The hardanger fiddle (hardingfele) is the national folk instrument of Norway.  What makes this unique instrument different from a standard violin, in construction and sound?  Join me as Lynn Berg, one of the best hardanger fiddle luthiers (violin makers) in the USA, walks us through what it takes to make a fiddle and how he came to be a luthier. Then Rachel Nesvig, the talented and accomplished musician who plays a Berg fiddle,  te...

Who is that unseen elf that takes care of the animals on the farm?  Join me as I interview Dr. Lotta Gavel Adams to understand the origins of the Swedish tomte, learn about Viktor Rydberg's classic poem, and identify the major artists who have contributed to our picture of the tomte. We owe the concept of the jolly American Santa Claus to a Swedish illustrator too.  We conclude the show with a 2020 recording of the Gustavus Adolphu...