Via Podcast

Brie for breakfast? Yes, please! Nibble fromage from dawn to dusk on the West Coast’s Cheese Trail. We’ll cuddle baby goats, sample hand-stretched Oaxacan-style cheese, and unwrap Monterey Jack’s unscrupulous origins on the region’s tastiest route. 

Along the “whey,” the trail’s founder, Vivien Straus, will share her family’s deep dairy roots, the joys of cheese-fueled road trips, and why the West Coast churns out the country’s most creative curds. You’ll hear about old-school creameries in Northern California, an innovative “cowcohol” vodka made in Oregon, and Washington’s award-winning canned cheddar. Whether you’re a casual snacker or a hardcore curd nerd, this one’s worth savoring.

A sampling of the cheese spread ahead:

- Marin French Cheese Co., Petaluma, California: The oldest cheese company in the U.S.; famous for “breakfast cheese.”

- Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, Point Reyes Station, California: Makers of the state’s first blue cheese; offers tours, tastings, and spectacular views of Tomales Bay.

- Spenker Family Farm, Lodi, California: Try goat yoga, goat cuddling, and creamy farmstead cheeses here.

- TMK Creamery, Canby, Oregon: Family-run creamery offering cow-milking experiences, baby calf visits, and a vodka made from whey.

- Don Froylan Creamery, Salem, Oregon: Mexican American creamery known for Oaxacan-style string cheese, made fresh on site and braided by hand. 

- Washington State University Creamery, Pullman, Washington: Home of Cougar Gold, a cheddar-style cheese sold in cans and originally shipped to troops during WWII.

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

Hold on to your hats! From Beyoncé’s "Cowboy Carter" to rising rodeo stars, Black cowboy culture is having a major moment—and we’re saddling up for a closer look. Along the way, we’ll stop to line dance to Kendrick Lamar at L.A.’s star-studded Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, clown around at the lively Arizona Black Rodeo, and chill out at the Compton Cowboys' ranch.

Our guest, photographer Ivan McClellan, has spent nearly a decade documenting Black Western heritage and heart-pounding rodeo action. In this episode, he shares how a single rodeo changed his life, what spurred him to launch his own Eight Seconds Juneteenth Rodeo in Portland, Oregon, and why there’s no better place to celebrate community, resilience, and unbridled joy than in the arena.

Rodeos and ranches you’ll ride into in this episode:

- Eight Seconds Juneteenth Rodeo, Portland, Oregon 

- Roy Leblanc Okmulgee Invitational Rodeo, Okmulgee, Oklahoma

- Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, cities including Denver, Los Angeles, and Oakland, California

- Arizona Black Rodeo, Scottsdale, Arizona

- Stagecoach Country Music Festival, Indio, California

- Compton Cowboys ranch, Compton, California

- Wickenburg, Arizona, the country’s team roping capital

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

Get ready to drool: Dungeness crab rolls, sumac-spiced chicken, coconut bread pudding—and those are just the appetizers. In this episode, Chef Preeti Mistry, host of the James Beard Award–winning podcast Loading Dock Talks, dishes on what makes the San Francisco Bay Area the most exciting, flavor-packed, and deliciously diverse food scene in the country. 

Together, we dig into the Bay’s secret sauce: unparalleled produce, deep immigrant roots, and chefs who blend it all into unforgettable meals. Never one to mince words, Preeti also slices into so-called “California cuisine” and shares their behind-the-scenes take on Top Chef hosts Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio. Come for the food, stay for the juicy stories—just don’t forget to bring your appetite.

Bay Area bites you’ll crave after this episode:

- Truffle garlic noodles at Gigi’s

- Mac 'n' cheese and fried chicken at Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement

- Falafel and the Pali Cali (sumac-braised chicken) at Reem’s California

- Al pastor tacos at Taqueria Cancun

- Porcini truffle ravioli at Bi-Rite Market

- Dungeness crab rolls, Mission District burritos, and more

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

The truth is out West! We’re hopping on the ET Highway and venturing to the most notorious alien hot spots, including Roswell’s infamous crash site, Area 51’s eerie perimeter, and a mysterious desert watchtower. 

Join us as journalist Laura Krantz, host of the podcast Wild Thing, beams up to share stories from the front lines of UFO reporting—from strange sightings and quirky festivals to a mailbox where people leave letters to extraterrestrials. Maybe you’ll even decide for yourself: Is Earth a tourist stop for spaceships? 

UFO hot spots you’ll encounter in this episode:

- UFO Watchtower (near Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado)

- Roswell, New Mexico

- Area 51, Nevada

- Extraterrestrial Highway (aka State Route 375), Nevada

- Little A’Le’Inn, ET Highway, Nevada

- E.T. Fresh Jerky, ET Highway, Nevada

- Alien Research Center, ET Highway, Nevada

- The Black Mailbox, ET Highway, Nevada

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

A secret field that summons lightning. A massive spiral that disappears into a salt lake. A celestial observatory carved into a volcano. Meet the wild—and sometimes explosive—world of land art, where artists craft masterpieces with dynamite and bulldozers.

In our Season 2 premiere, guest Dylan Thuras, cofounder of Atlas Obscura, takes us off road and into the minds of the artists who literally reshaped parts of the Southwest. These works aren’t meant to be easy to reach—or to explain—but they just might change how you see the world.

Land art you’ll visit in this episode:
- Double Negative and City by Michael Heizer (Garden Valley, Nevada)
- Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson (Great Salt Lake, Utah)
- Sun Tunnels by Nancy Holt (Great Basin Desert, Utah)
- Lightning Field by Walter De Maria (Catron County, New Mexico)
- Roden Crater by James Turrell (Painted Desert, Arizona)

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

Surprise: The Via Podcast is back with one last episode for the season. Join hosts  Michelle Donati and Mitti Hicks as they reflect on what they discovered about the American West, from Mormon crickets on the Loneliest Road in America to foraging in their own backyards to a one-armed lawyer whose spirit may or may not be hanging around a ghost town to this day. 

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

On the season finale of the Via Podcast, hosts Michelle Donati and Mitti Hicks head into the high deserts of California and Nevada to visit ghost towns. They learn what it's like to actually live in one—where there may or may not be a resident spirit—and where to go to see the most preserved mining towns in the West.

Guest Brent Underwood, owner and resident of Cerro Gordo near Death Valley, California, shares what it's like to make a home in a former mining town, and why it's important to visit and maintain these snapshots of Western life.

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

Next up on the Via Podcast, hosts Michelle Donati and Mitti Hicks grab a sweater and head out into the forest for a leaf-peeping adventure. They discover a few great spots to view fall colors, and learn why immersing themselves in a forest is good for the soul.

Guest Lauren Oakes, a forest and climate scientist, shares her best-loved spots in the West to see the leaves change, and encourages us all to find a deeper connection with the forests around us.

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

On the latest episode of the Via Podcast, hosts Michelle Donati and Mitti Hicks hop on a train and discover why a slower pace of travel has big benefits, from sights not seen by car or air to the freedom to roam while the landscapes change around you.

Guest Laura Kiniry, a travel writer and train-riding expert, reveals her favorite rail adventures through the towering mountains of Glacier National Park, the stunning sights of the Pacific Northwest, and a long stretch of Coastal California.

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

The Via Podcast is back, and in this episode hosts Michelle Donati and Mitti Hicks discover where to find the freshest and tastiest local foods around the West, from crisp apples on Hood River's Fruit Loop to salty oysters from the Puget Sound.

Guest Giselle Kennedy Lord, co-author of The Ark of Taste, takes us on a culinary discovery of the West, and reveals the importance of eating local, supporting Indigenous cultures through food, and seeking out your "next best bite."

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

On this episode of the Via Podcast, hosts Michelle Donati and Mitti Hicks learn behind-the-scenes stories and insider scoop on Yosemite National Park, from the history of the creation of the park to where to uncover the entirety of the park's archives.

Guest Lillian Cunningham, host of the Washington Post podcast Field Trip, takes you behind the curtain and explores how the park was created and what continues to sustain it hundreds of years later.

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.

The Via Podcast returns with modern cowboy storyteller Will Grant, who reveals why hosts Michelle Donati and Mitti Hicks are “dudes” and so much more.

Listen as Grant uncovers the authentic West—and also defines what that even means—as we trot on horseback through Utah’s west desert amid wild horses and experience the Navajo Nation in Arizona with a Diné guide. Grant also tells us why Sheridan, Wyoming, is the ultimate “cow town” and what to expect if you vacation at a dude ranch.

Via Podcast is a production of AAA Mountain West Group.