TV

Watch with PBS Passport

This episode is available to watch with PBS Passport.

Sign up

Already have an account? Sign in

mossbacks-northwest

Mt. Mazama Blast

The Palouse Cowboy who Invented John Wayne

The Palouse Cowboy who Invented John Wayne

A rodeo champion from Palouse, WA, became a Hollywood stuntman just as "action Westerns" took off at the box office. Yakima Canutt could leapfrog onto a horse, fall off it, stage a wagon wreck or a fight, and usually as the double for a star. John Wayne studied

Frank Waldron & the Jackson Street Jazz Scene

Frank Waldron & the Jackson Street Jazz Scene

Frank Waldron was a fixture of Seattle’s Jazz Age Jackson Street scene. He taught trumpet as his studio near Rainier and Boren where his students included many jazz greats and Quincy Jones. He composed original music being rediscovered today. And he was a featured on the first Black music

Around the World Flight

Around the World Flight

In 1924 a group of American flyers made a bold decision to be the first to fly around the Earth, a flight that would begin and end in Seattle with the whole world watching.  In primitive biplanes with open cockpits and only a few provisions these US Army airmen were

Grizzlies

Grizzlies

Grizzlies once roamed the American west, from Alaska to the Southwest. Today the bears are rarely seen in Washington state.  For years hundreds of grizzlies lived in the remote wilderness of the North Cascades but now, with sightings so rare, the U.S. government may reintroduce them to this isolated

Airships over the Klondike | Bites

Airships over the Klondike | Bites

Prospectors headed to the 1897 gold rush in Alaska had to bring tons of provisions with them. Some imagined the possibility of airships carrying freight and gold back and forth to the Klondike, and suddenly, airships were being "seen" all over the world.

Sir Thomas Beecham's Seattle "Dustbin" | Bites

Sir Thomas Beecham's Seattle "Dustbin" | Bites

Wealthy English aristocrat and musician Sir Thomas Beecham came to Seattle during WWII to be the Seattle Symphony's conductor for two years. Outspoken and fiery in temperament, he made a statement about Seattle's artistic life that stings citizens even today.

The Mighty Columbia River

The Mighty Columbia River

Host Knute Berger mines the Pacific Northwest’s historical and cultural nuggets. This season's Mossback Special reintroduces viewers to the history of our region-defining Columbia River. From gigantic floods to thousands of shipwrecks to the bucolic lake in the Canadian Rocky Mountains where the journey of the Columbia

Bouncing Back From Adversity

Bouncing Back From Adversity

Fifty years ago, Seattle was in the middle of a major economic crisis, the "Boeing Recession." Despite setbacks, the city made major progress in shaping the city we know today. We've faced tough times before the current pandemic and economic downturn and each time, the people

Embrace the Wet

Embrace the Wet

In this 30-minute Mossback’s Northwest special, celebrate the stories and myths of our waterways. Nothing helps define the coastal Pacific Northwest more than the wet. From rainforests to the Salish Sea, the Pacific to Puget Sound, we take a tour of watery episodes in our history.

Different Drummers of Our Past

Different Drummers of Our Past

The 2022 Mossback Special revisits the iconic and determined people of our history, the folks who did it when it “couldn't be done” — like the Smith family, who built the Smith Tower, and Bertha Knight, our first female mayor. The Pacific Northwest has always been a home for

The Very Best of Mossback's Northwest

The Very Best of Mossback's Northwest

Mossback himself, Knute Berger, hosts a two-hour celebration of the The Very Best of Mossback’s Northwest. Join Knute and series producer Stephen Hegg as they look back at some of the most memorable episodes from the first six seasons of the show. And get a sneak preview of the

Wild Times

Wild Times

Mossback's Northwest explores our region's wild past in new special, Northwest Wild Times. Many people consider the Northwest a natural refuge, a place we can escape to enjoy recreation and inspiration in the wilds. Yet while we love the outdoors, the wilds have their own history.