Advertise on podcast: Off the Path

Rating

★★★★★

4.6

from

24 reviews

Description

For Davis Dunavin, being a journalist is a little bit like being a cross between a wandering storyteller and a detective. For nearly eight years, he's set sail to learn about pirate history, hiked the Appalachian Trail, spent the night in Lizzie Borden's house and browsed the books in Mark Twain's library, all in search of the hidden stories buried in everyday places across the Northeast.This season on Off The Path, he digs deep to explore the origins of things that are ubiquitous, Teddy Roosevelt, the tuxedo, the first video game, as well as those stories we think we already know, like the first airplane flight or stories that aren't as well-known, like the beginnings of the artist behind the Barack Obama “Hope” poster. But every single episode involves an element of surprise, an ironic twist or a fascinating connection you might not expect when the story begins.

Unlock Off the Path podcast Email contact info,
Listeners & Audience details

Email contact information

Direct podcast contact details

Listeners

Audience numbers & engagement insights

Audience details

Podcast Insights

Social media

Check Off the Path social media presence

Podcast episodes

Check latest episodes from Off the Path podcast

Brave Little State: The case of the missing Tinmouth apple

2026/01/19

Today, a mystery rooted in Vermont history: the case of the missing Tinmouth Apple. Once thought to be lost, the search for this rare apple reveals how one community worked to preserve a piece of its agricultural heritage. Thanks to our friends Sabine Poux, Josh Craneat, Vermont Public and their podcast Brave Little State for sharing this story with us. Here’s a link to the original episode.

The Twice-Lost City of Dura-Europos

2026/01/12

It’s believed that some of the oldest preserved depictions of Jesus Christ are from a town in Syria, abandoned nearly 2000 years ago. The paintings, on a rough stone wall, can be seen at the Yale Art Gallery in New Haven.

Vampires! On a Boat! In New York City!

2025/10/31

Every Halloween, WSHU’s Off the Path gets a little .... spooky. Visits to Lizzie Borden’s house, a haunted pirate cave, and Sleepy Hollow, to name a few. This year, reporter Davis Dunavin finds himself on a boat in the middle of New York Harbor — surrounded by creatures of the night — for New York City’s 5th annual vampire cruise. The Gothic Vampire Cruise on the Hudson is co-hosted and features music by The Sedona Effect

Looking for the Original "Podunk Town"... In Connecticut

2025/09/11

The origins of the word "podunk" are shrouded in history. In the Algonquin language, it most likely meant a boggy place, a swamp or a junction of streams and rivers. But we now use it to mean a small, unimportant, and isolated place. There was also a tribe called the Podunk, one of many who lived and fished on the Connecticut River.

Off the Path Revisited: Where the Appalachian Trail Began

2025/08/21

The Appalachian Trail stretches more than 2,000 miles from Maine to Georgia. It was the brainchild of an idealistic forester who drew inspiration from a mountain top in Vermont.

The Making of Theodore Roosevelt

2025/08/14

We like to picture Theodore Roosevelt as this vigorous, energetic, hyper-manly guy. And he was. But he didn’t start that way. He began as a bedridden, asthma-stricken boy in New York’s East Village. He went through a lot to become the guy who led the charge up San Juan Hill and served as our 36th president.

Andre the Giant Has A Posse

2025/07/24

Back in the summer of 1989, a lot of weird little stickers appeared on the streets of Providence, Rhode Island. They were on walls, trash cans and utility poles. You’d find them outside bars, record stores and skate shops. They were all the same, a grainy black-and-white picture of a bulky scowling man, with the words: “Andre the Giant has a Posse.”

A Trip to Tuxedo Park, the Cradle of American Etiquette

2025/07/03

It began with one of America's richest men jumping out of a moving train to trudge through the mud and scope out the property. It was the cultivating grounds for the 'queen of American etiquette,' Emily Post, as well as the most iconic men's suit in the modern world. This week, join us for a tour of Tuxedo Park, New York!

Did a German immigrant in CT fly before the Wright Brothers?

2025/06/24

Everyone knows the story of the first manned airplane flight, right? The Ohio-based Wright Brothers flew a biplane more than 850 feet across North Carolina’s Outer Banks in December of 1903. That historical event is featured on the license plates and on the state quarters of Ohio and North Carolina. But some people say someone else deserves the credit: a German immigrant named Gustave Whitehead. He supposedly flew his flying machine two years before the Wright Brothers in Fairfield, Connecticut. Additional mixing by Bella Fabbo.Historical voices by Carter Dewees and Bill Buchner.

Spacewar! Or, the Rise of the Computer Bums

2025/05/29

The first widely-played video game wasn’t Pong, or Donkey Kong, or Space Invaders. It wasn’t made by Nintendo or Atari. Instead, imagine a bunch of scruffy young nerds at MIT in 1962, given free rein over the latest computer technology. The result: Spacewar!

Trailer: Where It All Began

2025/05/22

This season on Off The Path, Davis Dunavin digs deep to explore the origins of things that are ubiquitous, Teddy Roosevelt, the tuxedo, the first video game, as well as those stories we think we already know, like the first airplane flight or stories that aren't as well-known, like the beginnings of the artist behind the Barack Obama “Hope” poster. But every single episode involves an element of surprise, an ironic twist or a fascinating connection you might not expect when the story begins.

The Ghost Pirate of Dungeon Rock (A Halloween Bonus Episode)

2024/10/31

In the mid-1800s, a father and son spent years digging a long, winding tunnel into solid rock on a hill in Lynn, Massachusetts. They said they were looking for lost treasure—with directions from a ghostly pirate.

Off the Plank: A National Special

2024/10/09

It's here! The hour-long Off the Plank special aired this fall on stations nationwide, distributed by American Public Media. Hear about sea shanties, pirates, lighthouses, white whales and more.

Off the Plank: The Great Gloucester Sea Serpent

2024/10/03

Over two centuries ago, a sea serpent showed up in Gloucester Harbor, swimming and playing and splashing in full view of the townsfolk. It’s one of the most well-documented sea serpent sightings in history. But what was the mysterious creature?

Off the Plank: Pirate City USA

2024/09/13

Pirates terrorized the Atlantic coast in colonial times during what was called the Golden Age of piracy. But there was one place where pirates were welcomed with open arms — for a while. That place was Newport, Rhode Island.