KJZZ's Untold Arizona

On this podcast, we tell unusual stories about the state. Now, we’ve turned the storytelling over to you. We asked listeners to send their Arizona ghost stories to The Show during the month of October — and listeners have certainly delivered.

It’s a cross between shuffleboard and bowling — on ice! And, ever since the U.S. won Olympic gold in 2018, the sport of curling has been gaining in popularity. But long before that, curling has thrived from a devoted following right here in the desert. Plus, the story on the origins of the mascots of Arizona’s three public universities.

In 2017, Bisbee artist Gretchen Baer opened a small art center just steps from the border in Naco, Sonora. Now, every Tuesday the little studio bursts into life. Plus, learn the history of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Phoenix.

How can you live a frontier lifestyle long after the frontier has closed? Today, it involves solar panels, composting toilets and rainwater harvesting. Meet some off-gridders in Cochise County. Plus, travel to a spot U.S. bass anglers have been heading to for decades.

Many people in the Southwest claim they have seen La Llorona or the weeping woman. People have spotted her along the Rio de Flag in Flagstaff all the way down to the San Pedro River near Tucson. Plus, hear the tale of the Baron of Arizona.

Arizona’s mountains, cinder cones and lava fields attest to the state’s wild geological youth. But those with an ear to the ground know the state’s seismic days are far from over. Plus, visit the town of Guadalupe.

For the final episode of this season, we’re going way back with two stories about the ancient past of Arizona’s land and its people.

In the old mining town west of Tucson, an arts community is now taking up residence in the old Curley School — and it’s thriving. We’re dedicating this episode to the characters keeping the historic building alive.

In this episode, we venture into some untold tales about food, fiction and film — some of the little-known arts and culture stories of the Grand Canyon State. In Tucson, we enter the Worlds of Words. Then, we go to a small valley in southern Arizona that has seen the silver screen. Finally, a globetrotting pastry finds its way to Tempe.

The Untold Arizona podcast is back for season two with five new episodes! In this episode, we head to the state's southern border.

The Untold Arizona podcast is back for season two with five new episodes! In this episode, we’re hitting the Arizona road.

A story about a group of Boy Scouts who live in an unexpected place, trying to find a path to a better life. Plus, a tasty story about a little-known food grown in Arizona that’s making a culinary comeback.

We’re heading for Mexico. The first story is a mystery older than Arizona itself. For more than 50 years, historians have been uncertain whether the body of a famed explorer from the Spanish Crown was actually who everyone assumed it to be. And almost two centuries ago, the U.S. fought a gruesome war against Mexico and annexed a vast territory that includes Arizona. So, what does Arizona mean to Mexico nowadays, considering the past, but also the present and future?

We’re channeling Elivs Presley himself — exploring a piece of movie history that found its way to the middle of the Arizona desert. There's also a story about sweet a spot you’ve probably passed on Interstate 8. And in Cascabel, Arizona, a haven for parrots in need of a home.

For the first tale, we consider how the site of a violent murder turned into a destination of hope for many. Arizona’s past is riddled with conflicts — including a merciless war that started in the tiny village of Young. And while not as famous as Tombstone, it was just as bloody.

We’re getting back to the land. In the first story, we trace turquoise from its archaeological past to its uncertain future. Then from turquoise in Golden Valley to water in the Yuma Valley — the history of the very first dam on the Colorado River. To the northeast of the Laguna Dam is Skull Valley - a town originally settled for those moving West in search of metals. Now the mines are long gone, except one.