Fort Dilts, North Dakota — Video Dispatch
Friday, February 09 2024
Clay takes us to Fort Dilts, North Dakota, a hastily-made sod fort built in 1864 by a party of would-be gold miners to fend off attacks by the Lakota. However more perspectives to the story should be considered.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
On Oppenheimer — Video Dispatch
Monday, February 05 2024
Clay reads from an essay about Robert Oppenheimer by the author Richard Rhodes.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
The Glamorous Life of the On-Camera Talent
Monday, February 05 2024
Ken Burns once told me: You want to know the key to being in my documentaries, all other things being equal? Stick the landings.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Seeing America Through the Eyes of a Visitor
Saturday, January 20 2024
My daughter Catherine, now living in Great Britain, brought her boyfriend Simon to America for the holidays. He’s French-Swiss.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
A Visit to Bear Butte, South Dakota — Video Dispatch
Monday, January 15 2024
Clay reports from Bear Butte in South Dakota, a site sacred to the Lakota, Cheyenne and other Native American tribes. It’s near Sturgis, S.D., home of the famous annual motorcycle rally.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Snow Blowers, Walleye and Failing North Dakota 101
Monday, December 18 2023
It’s not easy being a North Dakotan ...
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Wounded Knee Creek — Video Dispatch
Tuesday, December 05 2023
Clay visits the site of the tragic Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota where nearly 300 Lakota were slaughtered by soldiers of the U.S. Army on December 29, 1890.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Rosalynn Carter
Sunday, December 03 2023
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter didn’t possess the glamour of the Kennedys, or the charisma and ambition of the Clintons, yet Rosalynn Carter stood out as one of the strongest first ladies in American history. Assertive and impactful, she rightfully takes her place alongside Eleanor Roosevelt.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
On the Anniversary of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
Wednesday, November 29 2023
On the 60th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, are we any closer to answers? And how might things be different in our country were it not for that fateful event?
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Listening to America as It Approaches its 250th Anniversary
Tuesday, November 14 2023
I’m taking this winter to plan details for my quest next spring to explore the country in the shadow of John Steinbeck’s classic book Travels With Charley in Search of America. I’ll write about our plans from time to time and would love to hear your thoughts about what we have in the works.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road