Wilder - Podcast Rankings and reviews

I was initially hesitant to listen, having loved the Little House books since they were read to me by my father nearly 50 years ago, Laura and her stories and her family have been my stories and my family in a very real way. Understanding the “racism” criticisms, but wanting so much to keep intact the best parts of my childhood, I was worried that the podcast would somehow change how I feel.
I have read multiple biographies on Laura and Rose, so had some inkling that not all was as written in the Little House books, but this podcast has not only expanded that knowledge, they did so without “ruining” Laura for me.
My feelings are complicated, but the memories still remain unmarred and if anything enhanced.
Thank you! Thank you!

I love going on this road trip with the host and producers. Her love of this series is as deep as mine was as a kid, and I remember how thrown I was the first time I read a biography of Wilder and realized that the books weren’t just pure factual memoir. I’ve visited some of these sites, too. I loved the book Prairie Fires and love that they interviewed that writer too. This is a great podcast that takes you along with their journey and I love all the conversations they have with people along the way. Highly recommend!

The podcast shares some fascinating information and offers interesting perspectives that make you think about history and consider how your own world views are shaped. But after about the fifth or sixth episode, it starts getting repetitive in its ideas and themes, and getting through it becomes about as laborious as the Ingalls family’s trek across the prairie. Also, listeners should play a drinking game and take a shot every time the host or her friends use the word “problematic.”

I did very much enjoy this podcast. I enjoyed hearing from so many experts on Laura and their take on her as an author, woman, and mother. I also found the information on racism interesting and eye opening. It’s obvious the authors of this podcast took care in how they presented the information to their listeners.
In the end, I was disappointed that in all the exploration of how the Ingalls family fits into the modern world nothing was ever mentioned about families and families staying together. We heard endless hours on racism and whether or not the books should be banned because of it. However, nothing was mentioned about how this family portrays staying together in spite of hardships. This conversation is just as applicable to today’s world, as is racism. Countless children grow up without in-tact families, absent parents, and Laura instills hope in millions of children by portraying a loving and healthy family. I think this was a missed opportunity within the conversation of Laura and her relevance to todays world.