Rest Areas

Episode notes

Alex Schmidt is joined by comedian/podcaster Billy Wayne Davis (‘Conan’, host of ‘Podcast Wayne Davis’) and comedy writer/podcaster Diana McCallum (FromSuperheroes.com, host of ‘Talk From Superheroes’) for a look at why rest areas are secretly incredibly fascinating.

Visit http://sifpod.fun/ for research sources, handy links, and this week’s bonus episode.

LINKS FOR THE GUESTS:

• Billy Wayne Davis’s stand-up tour dates
• Podcast Wayne Davis (Patreon)
• Billy Wayne Davis: Live At Third Man Records
• FromSuperheroes.com
• ‘Talk From Superheroes’ podcast

RESOURCES USED TO INFORM THE EPISODE’S LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

• native-land.ca
• U.S. Department Of Arts And Culture
• The True Native New Yorkers Can Never Truly Reclaim Their Homeland (Smithsonian)
• Mapping Manahatta: 10 Lenape sites in New York City (6sqft)

RESEARCH SOURCES:

• Above-the-road O’Hare Oasis — a unique slice of Illinois history — closes to make way for Tri-State widening (The Chicago Tribune) — this is a story about the 2018 closure and razing of Alex’s favorite rest area.
• History.com page for The Interstate Highway System
• Buc-ee’s in New Braunfels won’t be world’s largest after Tennessee store is built (KXAN Austin)
• 12 of America’s Most Unique and Scenic Rest Stops (Fodor’s Travel)
• The Secrets of America’s Best Rest Stop: Free Ice Water, Donuts, the Cutest Jackalopes in Town (Atlas Obscura)
• FEMA Mitigation Best Practices: “New Rest Areas Designed with Tornado Safety in Mind”
• 5 Terrible U.S. Road and Highway Designs: Lessons Learned (Popular Mechanics)
• Uredd Rest Area (Ureddplassen) — Gildeskål, Norway (Atlas Obscura)
• HZA adds wave-shaped toilet facility to scenic Norwegian lay-by (Dezeen)
• Old-Fashioned Rest Stops Disappearing in Some States (Pew Research Center)
• For Half Of Virginia Rest Areas, It’s No Go (NPR)
• Coping with roadside rest area shutdowns (Consumer Reports, archived page)
• Highway bathrooms to reopen. Here’s why they really closed. (The CT Mirror)
• Florida changed its COVID-19 data, creating an ‘artificial decline’ in recent deaths (The Miami Herald)
• Willie Nelson Statue, Austin (Texas Monthly)
• Opinion: New Jersey Renames Its Rest Stops As A Nation Rethinks Monuments (NPR)
• How did Howard Stern get SJ rest stop? (The South Jersey Courier Post)
• Stern Files Declassified: The Howard Stern Rest Stop