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History Happy Hour

Episode 321: The Lost Cities of El Norte with author Peter Stark

Episode 316

Sunday, August 23, 2026

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This week on History Happy Hour: In 1540, an expedition of 2000 explorers headed north from the ruins of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan into the unknown. Led by Francisco Coronado, their journey took them across a great swath of the US from California to Kansas, while sparking violent cultural clashes and battles with Native American Pueblo populations.

We’ll talk about the impact of their epic journey with Peter Stark, author of The Lost Cities of El Norte.

 

Peter Stark is a historian and adventure writer. A 1976 graduate of Dartmouth College, he is the author of the New York Times bestseller Astoria, along with The Last Empty Spaces, Last Breath, and At the Mercy of the River. He is a correspondent for Outside magazine, has written for Smithsonian and The New Yorker, and is a National Magazine Award nominee. He lives in Montana with his wife and children.

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