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Episodes
Conversations with writers and authors, historians, and everyday voices about history, craft, resilience, and place
The Wandering Pen is an eclectic podcast about history, writing, resilience, and the places and stories that matter. Each week, Christine Musser speaks with writers and authors, historians, and everyday voices who share journeys of creativity, struggle, and discovery. Together, we explore how books, personal stories, and history shape the way we understand our world—and ourselves.
Episode examples:
Between Verses and Translations: Nancy Jean Ross on Crafting Literary Bridges
Writer and translator Nancy Jean Ross shares how poems cross borders—and what gets lost or found along the way. A practical talk on voice, revision, and choosing what to keep.
Description:
Nancy Jean Ross—writer, translator, and editor—walks through her approach to translation as creative writing: reading for music, carrying tone across languages, and shaping drafts for clarity without flattening meaning. We talk daily practice, revision tools, and how translators become co-authors in the best sense.
Suggested chapter markers:
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00:00 Why translation is writing
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08:40 Finding voice across languages
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20:10 Revision tools & workflow
The Peebles' Homestead: A Piece of Pennsylvania’s Past Worth Saving
A Pennsylvania homestead with stories in every beam. Why places like this matter—and how ordinary people can help save them.
Description:
We explore the history and preservation of the Peebles’ Homestead—architectural details, family records, and the community ties that make a site worth protecting. Practical steps for partnering with local historians, documenting a property, and telling a place’s story so others care, too.
Suggested chapter markers:
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00:00 The Peebles story & timeline
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10:15 What “worth saving” really means
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22:30 How to start a preservation effort
Walking It Off: Grief, Faith, and Self on the Camino de Santiago
A pilgrimage for a broken heart. What the Camino teaches about loss, endurance, and coming home to yourself.
Description:
A candid conversation about grief, resilience, and walking the Camino de Santiago—from blisters and solitude to small encounters that changed the journey. We talk journaling on the trail, the role of place in healing, and how storytelling turns pain into meaning.
Suggested chapter markers:
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00:00 Why the Camino, why now
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12:05 Journaling and memory on the move
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25:30 What healing looked like afterward
Episodes
Tuesday Mar 11, 2025
Tuesday Mar 11, 2025
Did you know the Appalachian Trail’s halfway point lies within Pennsylvania’s
South Mountain Region part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Range?
Julia & Katie
This ecologically and culturally rich area faces opportunities and challenges—from conservation successes and rare species preservation to increasing land development pressures.
In this episode, Katie Hess and Julia Chain from the South Mountain Partnership discuss key findings from their State of the Region Report, revealing insights on wildlife 
corridors, historic preservation, outdoor recreation, and sustainable land use. We’ll explore how changes in the region affect hikers, communities, and the iconic Appalachian Trail and what’s being done to ensure a balance between growth and preservation.
Tune in to discover what’s happening at the heart of the Appalachian Trail and how you can be part of shaping the future of this vital landscape.
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