Baratunde Thurston

Stories

His new life takes him … well, everywhere

For his first 45 years, Baratunde Thurston (shown here) has managed a sort of mobile semi-fame.
He’s alternated between coasts, alternated between comedy and politics. He’s written books, done podcasts, been the digital guy for both The Onion and “The Daily Show.”
But now, in a strike-strewn time, he gets a new focus. Think of him as one of the first broadcast-network stars of the new season.
The big-time dramas and comedies are on the shelf for now, but PBS has its full line-up. Mysteries start Sept. 3; soon (8 p.m. Sept. 6), “America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston” opens its second season.
The show takes him to some less-visited spots. “We have oyster farmers, we have ranchers, we have wild-land firefighters, we have fire-restoration experts,” he said.”All that’s very important.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 28, 2023
Stories

A joyous journey through the back country

The world may be full of overblown names – “Riverview” apartments that can’t view a river, “Pleasant Valley” subdivisions with no valley and few pleasantries.
But Baratunde Thurston (shown here) – whose new “America Outdoors” is 9 p.m. Tuesdays on PBS — has seen the opposite, places far better than their names:
— Death Valley, in California. “That name is pretty unfortunate,” Thurston said in a Television Critics Association press conference. It was coined by “some colonists who fared badly” in the searing sun.
— The Great Dismal Swamp, in Virginia and North Carolina. The “name does not imply happiness,” but for some people, the swamp was a place to escape to. It “became a refuge for people freeing from slavery, for maroon communities …. I got to visit that swamp and feel the presence of my ancestors.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 2, 2022