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Reflections on Interpretation: Talking Story with Guides and InterpretersAuthor: timfmerriman
Tim Merriman talks story with heritage interpretation professionals from all over the world. In his 50 year career as a heritage interpreter, Tim has been a park ranger, nature center director, and national recreation area research manager. From 1995 to 2012, he was Executive Director of National Association for Interpretation, the professional organization for guides and interpreters in the United States. He has been a motivational speaker, trainer, and planner in 26 countries and all 50 states in the US, sharing his love for communicating with the public about valued places, people and stories in natural and cultural heritage settings. Language: en Genres: Nature, Places & Travel, Science, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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T. Lindsay Baker, Historian and Author, Talks Story with Tim Merriman and Bill Gwaltney on Reflections on Interpretation
Episode 86
Thursday, 6 November, 2025
Join Tim Merriman and Bill Gwaltney for a fascinating conversation with T. Lindsay Baker, a historian of the American West who doesn’t just write about the past, he’s lived it. Author of more than two dozen peer-reviewed histories and a lifelong interpreter, Baker brings academic rigor and interpretive insight together in ways few others do. Known for using first-person interpretive scenarios in his university classrooms and immersive living history to inform his writing, Lindsay once built and lived in a sod house on the Great Plains for 18 months, just to better understand frontier life. T. Lindsay shows how deep empathy and lived experience can change how we teach, write, and guide at the intersections of history, storytelling, and self-awareness. Whether you’re a museum educator, park interpreter, or heritage trainer, this episode will challenge and inspire you to think differently about how and why we interpret. He's also a Fulbright Scholar and Texas Tech alum who held curatorial and faculty roles at major institutions across Texas and beyond. But we think you’ll appreciate him most for his humility, humor, and the way he helps us see interpretation as a tool for deep connection. #timmerriman #InterpretationMatters #HEARTApproach #InterpretiveConnections #VoicesOfInterpretation #heritage interpretive guide




