A Road Trip Podcast
- an American Journey and Everything In Between
Anders Forslund - the world's largest electric aircraft has Swedish roots
On August 13th, 2026 - after seven years in the making - the first flight of the world's largest electric aircraft was completed by Heart Aerospace at their test base in Plattsburgh, NY. A couple of weeks before this aviation milestone, I had the great honor of sitting down with Anders Forslund, the company's Swedish co-founder and CEO, to talk about his dedication and vision for the project.
Tessa Manning - the Colorado clog maker (making a real Swedish footprint)
Allow me to take you on another weekend throwback: When I passed through Colorado in May, earlier this year, I had the opportunity to sit down with Swedish-born Tessa Manning, owner and founder of "Tessa Clogs" - a clog shoe factory in Minturn, two hours west of Denver.
Matthew Olson - an American Swedophile finding his Swedish roots
Matthew Olson is all about Sweden; he's got a collection of Dala Horses, knows everything you need to know about a "Smörgåsbord", and he's visited more IKEA warehouses than anyone you can imagine - but it all starts with his Swedish heritage.
Felix Rosenqvist - the Swedish champion of the Indy 500
Felix Rosenqvist from Värnamo in Sweden is the reigning champion of the Indy 500, winning the 3-hour race with a 0,0233-second margin.
I steered this road trip to his home in Indianapolis to talk about the victory and to learn what led him to this place.
John Hedman - it takes a village to build a life (from Jämtland, Sweden, to Jemtland, Maine)
John Hedman's great-grandfather Per arrived with his family in New Sweden in 1871. Met by an unkept promise of cleared land from the state of Maine, he and his fellow Swedes took matters into their own hands and built a life in the wild forests north of Caribou.
Lukas Lagassé | The dream of a new Sweden
July 23, 1870, a small group of Swedes found their way to the northern parts of Maine, carrying a dream of building a new life. Guided from their homeland by a promise from the state of cabins and cleared land, they were instead met by a rough wilderness and wild forest.
Maria Stolt | What's so special about Swedish candy?
The concept of Swedish candy is on its way to becoming as iconic as Swedish cars, music, and design. If you ask Swedish-born Maria Stolt, founder of "Nantasket Sweets by Swedes", it is already there.
Oskar Stenmark | A Brooklyn Swede finding the New York Groove mixing jazz with Swedish traditionals
Steered the road trip to Brooklyn, New York, to talk to Swedish trumpet player Oskar Stenmark, about life as a Swedish musician in the world's biggest melting pot, and about finding your voice through your roots.
Thomas McIntyre Schultz | Road-tripping in a Volvo and the weirdness of a Swedish Pizza
I met with Thomas McIntyre Schultz, Communications at Volvo Cars USA, at their headquarters in Mahwah, New Jersey, to talk about Volvo's 70-year history in the United States, how it all started, and the footprints of the company's innovative spirit.
Kate Novak | From Stockholm, Paris, and Washington, D.C. - turning a footprint into a Swedish legacy
There's a building at 2900 K Street, Northwest, in Washington, DC, overlooking the Potomac River. It's designed by Swedish architects and built from materials reflecting Swedish roots and traditions, and in 2006, it was inaugurated by the King and Queen of Sweden as the home for the Embassy of Sweden - making it the official Swedish footprint in the United States. It is known as the "House of Sweden" - and it all started with Swedish-born Kate Novak.
Peter Borsos | From a world of phones to an invisible infrastructure - 150 years of Ericsson
Telling these stories from a road trip wouldn't be possible without the complex infrastructure of a mobile network, so I met with Peter Borsos, Head of Communications at Ericsson, in Washington, D.C., to talk about the company's 150-year history - 120 of those making a Swedish footprint in the United States (…)
Scott Segerstrom | From famine to fortune, a Swedish immigrant story with a golden twist
As this road trip passed through Boone, North Carolina, I was fortunate enough to sit down with Scott Segerstrom, who shared his family's story, starting with his great-great-grandfather, Anders Frederick Andersson, and his thirteen determined daughters, who all left a life in a cave outside Tybble, Sweden, to seek fortune in Mead, Nebraska.
Troy Campbell | The creator of House of Songs unravels the Swedish music miracle
The list of Swedish artists on the Billboard 100 is long. Ever since Blue Swede reached number 1 in 1974 with their version of "Hooked on a Feeling", Swedes have frequently appeared on this iconic chart in the American music industry - a Swedish footprint in popular culture that has become an industry standard.
Ron Michael | The story of Birger Sandzén, the Swedish Renaissance Man who changed the color palette of American Art
I drove the Volvo and Airstream to Lindsborg in Kansas - a town still proud of its Swedish heritage - to talk with Ron Michael, Director of the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery, about the Swedish artist who put Kansas high on the American art scene.
Sir Donald Glenn Peterson - from Värmland in Sweden and War in France, to a Swedish Knight in Colorado
Sir Donald Glenn Peterson's family history starts with his grandfather, Enoch, leaving Sweden at age 19 for a life in the United States, immediately signing up to fight with the US Army in France during WW1, only to return after the war to start a newspaper in Denver, Colorado, building a communication hub for Swedes and Americans alike that stood for three generations.
Lars Ronér | And the Ten Thousand Swedes of Utah (and how language defines home)
Between the 1850s and the early 1900s, approximately 10,000 Swedes left their homeland and emigrated to the United States to join the fast-growing movement of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) around Salt Lake City, Utah - Lars Ronér's family was one of those who came.
Hanna Jolinder | From Stockholm to Reno, ready to make a footprint in American Basketball
The search for Swedish footprints within the United States diverted my road trip to the University of Nevada in Reno, to speak to basketball player Hanna Jolinder, who recently arrived to take the position as Guard in the Nevada Wolf Pack after years in the highest basketball league in Sweden, including a position in the Swedish National Team.
Katarina Bonde | The Swedish winemaker who brought American wine to the Nobel Prize banquet
The all-American road trip led me to the many wineries of Sonoma Valley, where I met up with Swedish-born Katarina Bonde at West Wines, the vineyard she founded with her husband almost twenty years ago.
Richard 'Sven' Shelgren | The creative spirit, the death of Hollywood & the myth of the Swedish Blondes
Mr. Shelgren is a movie producer, writer, and director for the world-renowned Ojai Film Festival, north of Los Angeles, California. He is also 'Sven' to most people who've met him, a nickname he took in honor of his Swedish heritage.
Giddings vs. Wærn | The unexpected story of how Letters from America started
Gudrun Giddings had another plan and wasn't all up for questions about an industry that, in her mind, tends to be overexposed. Instead, she turned the tables - literally - and sat me in the guest seat to answer all her questions about the road trip tour.