Route 66 and the quest to connect America

Route 66 turns 100 this year. It's considered America’s most nostalgic road trip. With wide open road, sunsets that fill the whole sky, dirt-kissed Chevy trucks, and revving motorcycles. But Route 66 started out as a muddy road to nowhere. Today on the show, we’ll meet a league of gilded-age bicyclists, a ragtag gang of cross-country runners, and the very stubborn highway commissioner who turned it into the “Main Street of America.”

Guests:

Susan Croce Kelly, author of Father of Route 66 and Route 66: the Highway and its People

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this episode, we incorrectly said the government ran out of funding for a road improvement project in the 1940s. That happened in the 1840s.

Support shows like Throughline with NPR+. Sign up today at plus.npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy