Nicole Blackstock is an emerging public historian focused on the American West, specifically the Great Plains before 1920. Growing up in a small rural town, shaped by the sound of wind sweeping across the fields, she learned early how deeply rooted a place can be in a person.
Through Rooted in the Plains, a podcast launched as her thesis capstone at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nicole translates archival research into narrative audio that brings the region's overlooked histories to life. Her work centers on the people, land, cultures, and environments that shaped the Plains, pushing back against the idea that this is simply flyover country. Her collaborations create culturally informed historical narratives that span a landscape of innovation, struggle, and resilience, shaping the American West. It deserves to be heard.
"Batman has a Gotham. I have the Great Plains."
The Rooted in the Plains Story
While digging through plat/land maps from around 1900, I found all four branches of my family were living within about fifty miles of each other in southeast Nebraska, some even earlier than that. My Great Plains roots run deep, and in many different directions from this spot.
I've always been drawn to this region's history, especially from the turn of the century and earlier. The stories that happened right here, in places most people drive through without stopping.
The idea for this podcast came to me on a walk around the lake a few years ago. I was listening to the tallgrass move in the wind, and if I’m lucky, a red-winged blackbird. Something about those sounds stay with me.
The summer before I was to graduate with my B.A. in History, I brought the idea to a professor: a narrative podcast exploring the history of the Great Plains before 1920, the voices, landscapes, and movements brought to life through storytelling and research. Eight episodes, with an Instagram account for the visuals. He suggested that I make it a thesis capstone project.
The podcast launched in August 2025. I enjoyed it so much that Season 2 started in January 2026.