Anytown, USA

American media glamorizes the big city lifestyle, and holds up ‘making it’ in a fast-paced metropolis as the ultimate success. If there are movies or shows about the flyover states or suburbia, they’re usually shown as a place to escape from. The people who live there are trapped or never able to move on to somewhere bigger and better. At best, it’s a safe and boring setting for a safe and boring lifestyle.

But for most Americans, small-town life is the norm. And Ty and Courtney Bannerman are out to prove that anywhere can be interesting, if you know how to look.

The Bannermans are a married couple who host Anytown, USA, a podcast that explores the unique, local history of a different American small-town every week.

Ty discovered his love for local history while researching his own hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“I was bowled over by what I was finding. Not only were the stories fascinating, but they were unique,” said Bannerman. “And it occurred to me that, of course, this was the case in every city, town, county or state.”

At the beginning of every episode, Ty and Courtney chose a region at random from an atlas and spend time researching separately before coming back to share what they’ve learned. From Anderson, Indiana to Onida, South Dakota, the Bannermans are able to find something interesting in every town.

“Every place you go, a particular mix of influences have come together to create something that is totally unique and provides a unique angle from which to view ‘bigger’ events. So a story in May’s Lick, Tennessee is going to be completely different than one in Albuquerque, New Mexico,” said Bannerman. “That’s wonderful to me.”

Bannerman, a history buff, looks for the particular city’s creation and founding.

“I tend to gravitate toward the 19th century. I love poring through old newspapers and accounts from that time.”

While discovering the early history of a town, Bannerman can see how although the world was much different then, it provided the roots for life today that are still apparent.

Ty told us how his wife Courtney connects it to the modern day:

“Courtney is a public health scientist at heart, so she always digs up the contemporary statistics on the places we talk about. This can really help in understanding the modern identity of the county and anchors the episodes.”

For people who have lived in a culture that says,“Small-towns are boring; big cities are where things happen!” it can be hard to imagine a rich history in some of these unknown places. Is there really that much to say?

The Bannermans say yes.

“I just think it’s the nature of our media to focus on the big flashy cities, especially New York and Los Angeles, as though they’re the only important places,” said Bannerman.

“Without representation in these venues people can start to feel like their town or even state just doesn’t matter. Honestly, our mission is to combat that perception. There’s cool, interesting, tragic, monumental stuff going on, past, present, and future, everywhere.”  

In fact, the problem the Bannermans run into isn’t a lack of interesting stories, it’s difficulty in accessing them.

“Not everyone has a Wikipedia page! I guarantee you that no matter where you look, something interesting happened there at some point,” said Bannerman. “But if you’re relying on internet research and local libraries, you can’t always find it.”

But their persistence pays off with stories about a Murder Society in Texas or the strange existence of Bullfrog County, Nevada.

Anytown, USA exists to show people that anywhere can be interesting. All you have to do is be willing to do some digging.

“To me, it’s an affirmation that wonder is all around us, no matter where we are. It all comes down to looking closely enough to find the fascinating.”

Anytown, USA  is independently produced. Visit Anytown, USA on Podchaser to listen with your favorite app, and leave it a rating or review.

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