Word of Mouth

For generations, the little red house at the end of Via Tranquilla has been home to a legend. The kind that makes your heart pound and your hair raise. A ghost story... a murder mystery... a curse. On this episode, the keepers of this myth share the grisly story of Via Tranquilla. And then, the truth comes out. Also in this episode: A walk through Haunted Overload , Eric Lowther's haunted wood at DeMerrit Hill Farm. It features towering pumpkin-headed scarecrows, a deranged circus and a scale

For the better part of two decades, New Hampshire has been home to dozens of Indonesian families who immigrated to the United States fleeing religious persecution. Some of them were denied their applications for religious asylum, and they've spent years checking in with authorities and receiving temporary means to stay in the country. Now, under President Donald Trump, they've been told their time is up. This week on Word of Mouth, producer Ben Henry follows one family's journey from Indonesia

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas and Sy Montgomery's 30-plus year friendship began with a ferret bite. Since then, the pair of New Hampshire-based naturalists and science writers have traveled together from Costa Rica to Tanzania. Their new book is called Tamed and Untamed , a collection of essays from their long-time Boston Globe column of the same name. On this episode, Sy and Liz share scientific findings and personal viewpoints that argue the line between human and animal is blurrier than you might

In this episode, a look back at some of the best stories from our "Only In NH" series, where you ask the questions and we find the answers. We'll search for the last living inhabitants of a White Mountain ghost town, try and stay up as late as possible on the NH seacoast, and try and understand why the Old Man of the Mountain is still on everything from license plates to gift shop key chains, a full 14 years after collapsing into a pile of rubble. Plus, your feedback on what we got right (and

Joyce Maynard longed for a great romance. A passionate partner -- and one who wouldn't interfere with the fierce independence she'd cultivated over decades as a writer. She found that romance, later in life, but her marriage ended up teaching her the true meaning of partnership and self-sacrifice. Virginia Prescott speaks with Maynard about her newest book, "The Best of Us," where she chronicles her marriage to Jim Barringer, and their fight against the cancer that took his life. Virginia also

The Granite State is graying and has been for decades - so what does that mean for the state's younger population? Today, we're taking to the streets to investigate one listener's question: Why does Portsmouth shut down at 9:00pm? Then, we talk to Stay, Work, Play New Hampshire - whose goal is attracting more 20 and 30 somethings to the state, and we'll learn about the built-in advantages of living in a state the size of New Hampshire. And we'll hear from singer and cellist Ben Sollee ahead of

All over New Hampshire, towns are divided into even smaller communities; Barnstead contains Center Barnstead, Barnstead Parade, and South Barnstead. There’s Conway, North Conway and Center Conway. Chocorua, South Tamworth, Wonalancet, and Whittier - are all part of the town of Tamworth. This prompted a listener to our Only in New Hampshire series to write in and ask ,why are so many towns split up this way? NHPR’s Molly Donahue found the answer to that question with a visit to Grafton. Listen to

Every New Hampshire town has a past - though not always remembered with pride. This week on the show, we explore the stuff you might not see on a postcard. Like how unincorporated places function...no town government? No rules? Plus, we’ll talk to Howard Mansfield about opening our eyes to the extraordinary revelations that live side by side with ordinary village life. Join us as we dig into the habits, histories, hidden gems of small town life.

As part of our continuing series Only in NH , in which listeners ask questions about the state and their communities, we sometimes hear from people much closer to our newsroom. In this case, we got a question from NHPR's own Digital Director, Rebecca Lavoie. (And we should note, Rebecca's also a true crime author, so that may have influenced her curiosity!) She asked: What's up with unincorporated towns? Can you break the law there and not get into trouble? And who organizes things in these

For generations, the Old Man of the Mountain gazed out from Franconia Notch, but fourteen years after its collapse, a listener asks if maybe it's time to move on? On this week's show, we investigate all the ways the granite profile that was, is still deeply rooted in the state's identity. Plus we'll report on what you had to say when it comes to a possible replacement, should the fateful day ever come when the state decides to change its official emblem.

In our continuing Only in New Hampshire series, we answer your questions and explore your state. Today, producer Hannah McCarthy find an explanation for what may be the state's most perplexing intersection.

Have you ever come to a familiar stretch of road, only to find that it's been transformed into something...alien? Something few people seem to understand? And makes fools of drivers everywhere? Well, you're not the only one who's frustrated. This week on Word of Mouth, we're taking a spin around the intersection that people love to hate: roundabouts, which are replacing traffic lights and stop signs across the country. So, why are engineers so enamored of these things people love to hate? Or are

The white supremacist movement went public last week in Charlottesville--an ugly wake-up to a growing racist movement. On today’s show, we'll get a racial reality check from a teacher at one of the state's most exclusive private schools. Plus, calls to confront America’s racial legacy extend from coast-to-coast and above the Mason-Dixon line. We'll hear about the challenges of being a student of color at the University of New Hampshire--both past and present.

Diehard New Hampshire hikers tend to fixate on four-thousand footers, but as any peak bagger who's climbed Owl's Head or Mount Isolation knows, big mountains aren't always the best mountains. On today’s show, a day out with a heartwarming hiking group that's been shouldering packs since 1979: the Over the Hill Hikers. We continue with a seemingly simple listener question about the Wapack Range that sends our producer into a geological can of worms for this week's Only in New Hampshire segment.

As part of our continuing series Only in New Hampshire , we're answering questions posed by Granite Staters about their communities. Producer Molly Donahue tackled this one: "Is it true the NH Division of Historic Resources has a secret list of archaeological site locations to protect them from looting and development?" The short answer? Yes. (Sort of.)