Kaatscast: the Catskills Podcast

People Episodes

July 30, 2024

Unearthing the History of Catskills Trees with Dr. Michael Kudish

Michael Kudish is a Catskills legend and the authority on Catskills trees and forests. In 1971, Kudish earned his PhD with the thesis, "Vegetational History of the Catskill High Peaks." Five decades later, that research is on...

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June 18, 2024

A Life on the Mountain Top with Dede Terns-Thorpe and Ed Thorpe

Dede Terns-Thorpe is the historian for the Town of Hunter, referred to locally as "the mountain top," and comprising the villages of Hunter and Tannersville, and the hamlets of Edgewood, Elka Park, Lanesville, and Platte Clov...

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April 23, 2024

Preparing for a Hike ๐ŸŽ’ with Paul Misko

Paul Misko is an avid Catskills hiker, who โ€“โ€“ true to his Boy Scout roots โ€“โ€“ is always prepared. As spring rolls in and we pull out the hiking boots (maybe shaking out some nuts and nesting material from winter โ€ฆ

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Feb. 27, 2024

Ukraine Revisited ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Michael DiBenedetto at Hell's Kitchen

When we spoke with Michael DiBenedetto for our special Ukraine report in August, 2023 , he mentioned he'd consider returning in winter, when the volunteer pool was likely to thin. Well, Michael's a man of his word, and we cau...

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Feb. 13, 2024

Catskill Neighbors

Catskill Neighbors , whose mission it is to "help seniors wishing to remain safe and comfortable in their own homes," was born of necessity in the wake of 2011's Hurricane Irene. Founder, Reverend Ralph Darmstadt, died in Jan...

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Jan. 30, 2024

Telephone Tales with Switchboard Operator Lula Anderson

Before cell phones, before touch tone, before dial tone, even, if you wanted to make a phone call, you'd pick up the receiver and talk to an operator. If that call was placed in the Catskills in the late 1940s โ€ฆ

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Oct. 24, 2023

Bill Abranowicz Turns His Lens on the Catskills

Bill Abranowicz is a renowned photographer who started snapping pictures 50 years ago. Bill's career has taken him around the globe many times over, taking pictures for the likes of Condรฉ Nast Traveler , The New York Times Ma...

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Aug. 29, 2023

Special Report: Connecting with Ukraine ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ

Late last year, and 20 episodes ago , Michael DiBenedetto joined us in the studio and made a convincing case for copper bullets over lead, citing collateral damage to our Catskills bald eagles. On today's show, we reconnected...

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April 11, 2023

Remembering Hank Rope

Just two weeks before the start of trout season, the Catskills lost a paragon of angling. Henry "Hank" Rope, Jr. wore out a pair of wading shoes every year, fishing Catskills creeks and tributaries. Hank shared his love of th...

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