This week's podcast features Toby Bloom, the National Program Manager for Travel, Tourism, and Interpretation at the USDA Forest Service. Toby shares her journey into this role, the significance of interpretation within a federal agency, and her collaborative efforts with international sites. NAI’s Paul Caputo and Song Stott join the conversation.…

Katie Shea, Member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation & NAI Board, is steadfast in her commitment to educating about the cultural and political sovereignty of Indigenous peoples. Katie’s passion for elevating voices through connection and community quickly revealed to her that promoting cultural understanding can be impactful through the art of inter…

Registration is open for the NAI Conference, December 3–6, St. Augustine, Florida! Join the NAI Conference Committee for this preview of NAI 2024. Amanda Thompson, Conference Chair Marthalynne Allen, Program Chair Jennifer Chapman, Community Outreach Chair Alaina Allen, Volunteer Chair Caroline Lochner, Local Arrangements/Field Trip Chair Learn mor…

For the 40th Anniversary Year of Voltron: Defender of the Universe, we decided to have at least one podcast this year where we review an episode from the original 1984 Lion Force Series. In this review, with special guest Shannon Muir, we are reviewing the 41st episode from Voltron: Defender of the Universe, There'll Be a Royal Wedding. While revie…

Marc Stern and Bob Powell have served as the editors of NAI's Journal of Interpretation Research for more than half a decade. In this episode, they discuss the value of research within the profession, and their own work as researchers. Marc J. Stern, PhD, is aprofessor in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservationat Virginia …

In this episode, we welcome Nadina Galle, Ecological Engineer, National Geographic Explorer & Author of "The Nature of Our Cities." Nadina shares her insights on urban ecology, discussing how environmental data and natural behaviors can bridge the gap between technology and nature, emphasizing the role interpretation can play in this process. She j…

Liz Morrell is the Strategic Planning & Historic, Cultural, and Community Resources Manager for the Parks and Recreation Department in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. She discusses the process of restoring Latta Place and highlights the involvement of community partners. Latta Place is reimagining its operations and interpretive experiences to …

Ryan Costello from Laughing Dragon Studios, the Social Media Manager for the Official Voltron Facebook and Instagram accounts, joins Marc and Greg for an interview. Then, Marc and Greg review Crossed Signals, the 22nd episode of Voltron Force. To see the video version of this podcast, go to our YouTube Channel HERE! As Always, Thanks for Watching a…

Colby Brokvist is an adventure guide, author, and trainer of interpretive guides around the world. Colby published a book on adventure guiding, The Professional Guide's Handbook, which includes a chapter summarizing thematic interpretation principles for guides. Colby joins Song Stott and Paul Caputo to discuss adventure guiding and interpretation.…

The "Interpreting Environmental Justice" online conference is back for a second year! This episode of "What's Up Interpreters?" features leaders from the two NAI sections that are putting on this event: Caroline Lochner of the NAI Sustainability Section and Richard Munoz of the NAI Justice, Equity, Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion Section. C…

James is a Conservation Interpreter at the Dallas Zoo and a Senior Guest Experience Associate at the Children's Aquarium Dallas. He has been working as an interpreter for over 7 years, yet his connection with interpretation extends far beyond that, spurred by his deep appreciation for communication and human bonds. His travels commenced in late 202…

Marc and Greg welcome Toy Designer Patrick Baran, one of the patent holders for the Panosh Place Voltron figure from 1984 that holds the action figures of the pilots in each lion. Patrick gives some insight as to the hectic schedule that toy designers had to follow to get the toys together for Toy Fair that year. Greg takes us through the Panosh Pl…

Heather Pressman and Danielle Schulz discuss their book Art of Access with NAI's Paul Caputo and Heather Manier this week. Heather Pressman has worked in museum education, development, and communications. She is a founding member of the organizing committee for the Art of Access Alliance in Denver, a consortium working to make Denver’s arts and cul…

This week on the podcast, we're celebrating baseball season! Guest Jef Lambdin created the mascot Wool E. Bull for the iconic minor league baseball team the Durham Bulls, made famous in the movie Bull Durham. On this episode, Jef joins hosts Song Stott and Paul Caputo to discuss the challenges and opportunities he faced communicating with audiences…

Timothy Roston and Kyle Bellair join Marc and Greg to introduce the Panosh Place 14-inch Vinyl Dieklops Robeast Figure, with 5 points of articulation. This figure can be pre-ordered for $60 through The Voltron Store at https://store.voltron.com This is the first EVER Robeast Figure that stands head-to-head with most of the large Voltron figures fan…

Jeff Trojan, VP of Marketing for Playmates Toys, joins Marc and Greg to announce Playmates Toys 40th Anniversary Voltron Release, coming in March! We had done our first review of this set when it was released for the first time in 2018. You can view that review here: https://youtu.be/B7oJ7eFP7w0 #voltron #toys #40thanniversary #playmatestoys #targe…

Lawana Holland-Moore is the Director of Fellowships and Interpretive Strategies at the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, National Trust for Historic Preservation. In this week's episode, she discusses the importance of the sites AACHF funds, big or small, and how they preserve stories throughout history. She is joined by NAI's Heather…

Liz Moore is the founder of Planning School, which provides education and training in contemporary strategic planning and change leadership, including courses designed for interpretive programs. She joins NAI's Paul Caputo and Song Stott on this episode.By National Association for Interpretation

Marc and Greg kick off the 2024 Season with a Review of the 21st episode of Voltron Force, "I, Voltron." We also talk about: Dieklops from Panosh Place, Funko Voltron Rewind from Hot Topic, and Voltron Fan Fridays on The Voltron Store. To be eligible for Voltron Fan Fridays, Email your Voltron story and pictures to: store@voltron.com Look for the D…

Mynesha Spencer worked in the National Park Service for 13 years and was a panelist on the "From Barriers to Bridges" keynote panel at the NAI National Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas. Mynesha is the Founder, CEO and Principal Inclusion Strategist at All of Us Together Co., a human relations firm that specializes in diversity, equity and inclus…

Carla Gull is the coordinator of the Master of Arts of Environmental Education program and associate professor at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College in northern Indiana. Dr. Gull helps educators incorporate more nature in the everyday early childhood setting and nature preschools. During this episode, she talks about the rela…

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) strives to promote, research, preserve, interpret and disseminate information about Black life, history and culture to the global community. On this episode, ASALH’s Aaisha N. Haykal and Ariel Roy join NAI’s Parker McMullen Bushman and Paul Caputo to talk about the work they…

As we close out 2023, "What's Up, Interpreters?" hosts Paul, Song, and Heather recap the year, share their New Years plans, and look forward to 2024. Also, there are NAI podcast T-shirts available on NAI's store!By National Association for Interpretation

The second part of our Let's Voltron: The Official Voltron Podcast 10th Anniversary Celebration was recorded at VoltCon 2023 and all the attendees in the room were our guests for this podcast, as well as the VoltCon Organizers, Kevin Clark and Patrick O'Connor, and the first co-host of the podcast, Jeremy Corray. The video version is available on o…

Christina is a longtime member of NAI"s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, is an associate editor for NAI's Legacy magazine, and will serve as the guest editor for an upcoming special issue of Legacy on "Women in Interpretation."By National Association for Interpretation

Marc and Greg are Joined by World Events Productions own Bob Koplar and Tiffany Ilardi to kick off the 2-part celebration of 10 years of Let's Voltron: The Official Voltron Podcast. Pay close attention to this podcast and to The Voltron Store on Facebook as there will be special posts the week preceding the release of Part 2 of this podcast on Dece…

Join seasoned experts in interpretive planning, Halley Fehner and Scott Vierick, as they unravel the intricacies and importance of this process. Halley and Scott highlight the essence of interpretive planning, discussing its role in reevaluating program goals, themes, and future strategies, often spanning several years. They also delve into the cha…

The 2023 NAI National Conference, "Building Bridges," took place in Little Rock, Arkansas, took place last week, November 7-11. This episode features a series of visits with conference participants who share their conference experience!By National Association for Interpretation

VoltCon Organizers Kevin Clark, Patrick O'Connor and Savannah O'Connor join Marc and Greg to celebrate the 5th year of VoltCon and review everything that happened on the weekend of October 13-15, 2023. You can see the video version of this podcast HERE. As Always, Thanks for Listening and Watching! Let's Voltron!!…

Ian Beard brings history to life at the Historic Arkansas Museum, where his passion for trades like smithing, printing, cooking, and brewing merge with his skills as an interpreter. If you're heading to Little Rock, Arkansas, for the NAI National Conference this month, you can meet Ian and hear his stories in person at the opening reception—or you …

Budd Wentz is a former creative consultant for the Mr. Wizard television show and a world traveler. He has degrees in mechanical engineering and law, and his childhood passion for building things led him to create the microscope company Wentzcope, a longtime NAI commercial member responsible for optical devices that have appeared in thousands of mu…

It's Oktoberfest on "What's Up, Interpreters"! NAI Board Member Ira Bletz, recently retired from East Bay Regional Park District, has made a name for himself as "Beer Guy" at NAI conferences for more than a decade. His special event, which tells the story of human civilization through the context of beer, is always a hit at the annual event. Ira jo…

Spirit Tawfiq is the closing keynote speaker at NAI 2023 in Little Rock. Spirit has an interpretive background and uses her skillset in now hosting anti-racism workshops in k-12 classrooms, colleges and organizations who are invested in learning, unlearning, and enacting antiracism policies and practices within their respective communities. She joi…

Marc, Greg and Shannon Muir review the Voltron Force episode, "Dradin, Baby, Dradin" and Marc and Shannon give a full review of SDCC 2023. To view the video version, go HERE. As Always, Thanks for Watching and Listening! Let's Voltron!!By Greg Tyler, Marc Morrell, Shannon Muir

There will be two solar eclipses visible from the contiguous United States and beyond in the next few years. Cris White’s job is to help interpreters prepare to interpret these unique astonomical events. She joins NAI’s Heather Manier and Amanda Berlinski to discuss her work.By National Association for Interpretation

VoltCon Organizers Kevin Clark and Patrick and Savannah O'Connor join Marc and Greg to give a full preview of VoltCon 2023. VoltCon 2023 is the 5th VoltCon, and is taking place at the Wyndham Indianapolis West in Indianapolis, Indiana on October 14th and 15th, 2023. Marc and Greg, as well as Shannon Muir, are guests of VoltCon once again, and are p…

Sam H. Ham is a professor emeritus of communication psychology and conservation social sciences at the University of Idaho. He became a household name for interpreters with his book Environmental Interpretation: A Practical Guide for People with Big Ideas and Small Budgets, which was published in four languages, and more recently, Interpretation: M…

Ronny Alexander Muñoz Blanco is a professional tour guide in Costa Rica, and served in that role for one particularly daunting audience: NAI's recent International Un-Conference. Ronny joins NAI's Paul Caputo and Song Stott to discuss that event, the challenges of interpreting in multiple settings for international visitors, and the Pura Vida lifes…

Ahmad Toure has worked for the National Park Service for more than a decade, striving to share important, and most importantly complete stories. On this episode, he discusses that work and his Tilden Award-nominated project with hosts Paul Caputo and Song Stott.By National Association for Interpretation

Angie joins Marc and Greg to help review Five Forged, the 19th episode of Voltron Force. In this episode, the Voltron Force returns to Planet Ariel and must survive challenges inside a series of dangerous mines that hold clues to the secret of Voltron's origin. Angie has more samples of her fan art for Voltron Force on Instagram: https://www.instag…

Larry Beck's scholarship has had an immense effect on the field of interpretation. He is the author or co-author of such notable titles as Interpretation of Cultural and Natural Resources, Interpretive Perspectives, and Gifts of Interpretation: Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture, as well as a now 26-part series in Legacy…

NAI's Young Professionals Council (YPC) was established to help represent the perspective of new interpreters. Katie Hemann and Grace Teofilo talk about the challenges and opportunities facing interpreters just getting started. This episode is hosted by NAI’s Heather Manier and Emily McCowan.By National Association for Interpretation

Longtime NAI member, former NAI Conference Chair, and new editor of Legacy Magazine joins hosts Paul Caputo and Song Stott to discuss the future of NAI's premier periodical.By National Association for Interpretation

Marc and Greg review the 18th Voltron Force episode: Gary. We also talk about a new Voltron licensed product that just recently debuted. The video version of this podcast is available on our YouTube Channel, HERE. As Always, Thanks for listening and watching! Let's Voltron!!By Marc Morrell, Greg Tyler

The debut episode of NAI's podcast welcomes association president Parker McMullen Bushman, who joins hosts Song Stott and Paul Caputo during NAI's International Un-Conference in Costa Rica. Parker shares her story, her perspective on interpretation, and her vision for her tenure as NAI President.By National Association for Interpretation

Big things are afoot at NAI, and we're bringing you this podcast to chat about them! We'll talk with movers and shakers and innovators and leaders in the field of interpretation and we'll ask them all, "What's Up, Interpreters?!"By National Association for Interpretation

The return of Sven in Ghost in the Lion (ep 117) was a special episode for many Voltron fans. And to review this episode on the podcast, we have two special guests. Jeremy Corray was Supervising Producer on Voltron Force, and for this episode, he was also the writer. And we also have Tara Scully, longtime Voltron superfan, VoltCon Trivia Host, and …

Marc and Greg have a special guest, Elizabeth Cox, to help review the 16th episode of Voltron Force - Brains. Elizabeth brings a unique perspective, having been a fan of the original series from 1984, however this is the only episode of Voltron Force she has seen. Elizabeth Cox is a huge Voltron Fan who has attended VoltCon twice and has many colle…

For episode 232, we interview Steve Sterling, Producer of the Voltron: Defender of the Universe series from 1984-1986. Steve is also Principal for imSterling International Media & Management. Steve Sterling had been interviewed by Let's Voltron Podcast co-host Greg Tyler at VoltCon 2022, but this a new extended interview, exclusive to Let's Voltron…

In this first podcast for 2023, Marc and Greg interview DDP Voltron Comics Artist, EJ SU! EJ talks about the DDP Comics for Voltron: Defender of the Universe, doing concept character design for the Voltron Force TV show on Nicktoons, and much more! EJ SU is a freelance comic artist and industrial designer who wrote a book, titled Mecha Force, which…