Matt Kirouac

Matt Kirouac is a freelance travel writer and the co-host of Parklandia, a show about national parks and RV living, which he records with his husband, Brad. Follow him on Twitter here. Follow Parklandia on Twitter here. Follow Parklandia on Instagram here.

You record a podcast with your husband...has that helped your relationship? Is it super difficult? Or both?
Like most things, it definitely has its pros and cons, but the podcast has helped our relationship in a lot of ways. When we moved into an RV and started traveling the country full-time, it was overwhelming and nerve-racking (albeit exciting). The podcast validated this lifestyle change for us, and it's also just been super fun and rewarding. The difficulties come in the forms of our creative differences, which are minor. But little things like how long episodes should be, who should post on our @parklandiapod Instagram account, and stuff like that. We've never been "co-workers" before, so there have been growing pains, but it's been super beneficial to do this together. 

What's the difference between you and Brad...your podcasting styles? What do each of you bring to the show?
Brad tends to be very sweet and optimistic, and the kind of personality that everyone loves and connects to and appreciates. I tend to be more sarcastic and cynical, and even though we always keep things positive on the podcast, I'm not shy about voicing my discomfort or annoyances with different things we might talk about. We're a good yin and yang in that way. 

Why did you start with Cuyahoga Valley National Park? I'm curious because that's such a lesser known place and it's where I'm from. I love it there. I run there with my dad every time I go back to Ohio.
One of the main themes of Parklandia is that we want to highlight the vast diversity of parks and sites within the National Park Service, far beyond the larger-than-life places like Yellowstone, Everglades, and Yosemite. We figured there was no better way to do that then by starting our show with an underrated and lesser-known park, which is no less beautiful and inspiring. It shows that national parks aren't exclusively these far-away places for hardcore hikers and backpackers. There's a park for everyone, all across the country! 

What's your recording situation? Tell us about where you live.
We primarily record at the iHeartRadio studios in Atlanta, so it's a matter of syncing our travel schedule to make sure we can either drive the RV there and stay in an RV park outside of town, or we can leave the RV somewhere else in the country, wherever we may be, and fly to Atlanta. Typically, we spend at least a week there recording several episodes so that we can stockpile. We also have some recording equipment with us in our RV, but we tend to use that more as a last resort, like when we need to record an ad, or update some verbiage. 

If people want to get into your show, where should they start?
Ideally, people can find an episode that's about a park they have some connection to. Maybe it's near where they live, or they have fond memories of family vacations there. The best parks are always the ones with these emotional connections and nostalgia. And hopefully our experience that we share on the podcast can add to those memories. You don't need to listen to all the episodes in chronological order, by any means, so hopefully after you get hooked, you can binge as you please. Maybe one day you're in the mood for an unfamiliar park like Petrified Forest, or another day you want to shed new light on an icon like Olympic. 

If someone is like "gah, National Parks are boring," what would you tell them?
Classifying national parks as any one thing, like "boring," is like someone saying "I don't like sandwiches." There is so much endless variety that it's impossible to categorize them all as one singular thing. And even within individual parks, there's a wide array of activities, museums, animals, history, and culture. It sounds cliche, but there really is something for everyone, and most people don't realize the depth of opportunity within the National Park Service. If you like hiking, there's Rocky Mountain National Park (or any number of other options). If you like snorkeling, there's plenty to explore at Biscayne National Park. If you like jazz, there's New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park. If you like forts and American history, check out Fort Pulaski National Monument. 

Should Disney World be one of our National Parks?  
Disney World is the only place I love as much as national parks, so I would personally be thrilled to see my two worlds collide. I think it should remain its own separate thing, though, since it represents its own world of lore, food, fun, and activities. 

Your season two is different than season one. Can you talk about how and why that change came about? What's in store for season 3?
We really wanted to establish a foundation and tone with season one. For season two, we had more bandwidth to get creative and implement new ideas. The big ones were adding guests and interviews into some episodes, adding two bonus mini series ("Boondocking With Brad" and "Traveling Eats With Matt,") and delving further into ecology with new wildlife and ecology components for our episodes. It's been super fun to branch out and flex our creative muscles! For season three, we want to continue to feature an array of guests and cover an even wider cross-section of national park sites. 

Women podcasters are often criticized for their voices. Does this ever happen to you, too? What’s your relationship with yours?
Within the first couple weeks of Parklandia launching, a commenter on Apple podcasts said my voice sounded like a valley girl, and he deducted stars from his rating because of it. It was... annoying. But sadly not very surprising. I've never liked listening to my voice either, but it's gotten easier and better over time. I'm not as uncomfortable with it anymore. I don't read online reviews anymore, though!  

Care to shout out any listeners in particular?
The support from listeners has been incredible. It's hard to describe how meaningful it's been for us, and how inspiring it is. Christine Cikowski is the co-chef/owner of Honey Butter Fried Chicken in Chicago, and she's been so amazingly supportive and loyal and celebratory. Sandra Ramos, aka @nationalparkpatchlady on Insta, is someone Brad and I had the pleasure of interviewing for season two, and finally meeting in person (at a national park, naturally). We also met Mike Nowak, a listener from Texas, on our recent trip to El Paso—it was insanely fortuitous, we all just happened to be in the visitor center at Chamizal National Memorial at the same time! I love moments like that. 

What’s the most surprising podcast in your library?
Probably We Couldn't Help But Wonder. It's a delightful and hilarious podcast about Sex and the City, which I love. It's hosted by friends Mike Jensen and Elise Castle, and they discuss each episode of the show one by one. The hook is that Mike has seen the entire show numerous times, while this is Elise's very first experience with it. So they're each approaching it from different perspectives. I'm obsessed. And speaking of obsessed, I also love True Crime Obsessed. I like the true crime genre, but a lot of it is too gristly for me, but TCO is a refreshing quasi-comedy podcast hosted by Patrick Hinds and Gillian Pensavalle, and each episode is about a different true crime documentary they watch and discuss. And thankfully, it's not all murder-related. They cover lighter crime topics like jewel heists and flat-Earthers (lol). 

If you were going to start another podcast about anything you want (don't worry about the logistics or whether or not anyone will like it)...what would it be?
Definitely something Disney-related, though I'm not sure exactly what. And/or something about food and restaurants and bars. That's a topic I focus on with the "Traveling Eats" mini series, so it'd be fun to dive deeper into that. 

Thanks, Matt!