{"podcast":{"title":"The Backroads Bill Podcast","slug":"the-backroads-bill-podcast-6610086","podcast_index_feed_id":6610086,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/5953946/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.northbayecho.ca/podcast/backroads-bill/","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/085f740ac769593a44f65afbc07733ac.jpg","author":"North Bay Echo","episode_count":150,"summary":"It’s time to hit the backroads of Northern Ontario and beyond with Backroads Bill! Tune in every Wednesday to explore the history and beauty of Northern Ontario. Alongside host and producer Ben, Bill (who is the founder and the GM of the Canadian Ecology Centre) goes more in depth to the stories he has been sharing for years on CBC Radio and Village Media. Whether it’s a “day-trip” “overnight-trip” or “Sunday drive” you will discover your next great adventure! Follow Bill on Facebook & Instagram: @backroads_bill and on Twitter: @steertonorthONT For the video version of this episode or to explore more North Bay podcasts and to stay updated on local events and news go to NorthBayEcho.ca. For exclusive North Bay updates and insights, subscribe to our newsletter Echo Essentials. Stay connected with Echo on social media: @NorthBayEcho Production Credits: Host: Backroads Bill Producer: Ben Sargent Produced by Clark Communications","last_synced_at":"2026-07-24T02:20:20.014224+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-backroads-bill-podcast-6610086"},"episode":{"title":"The Wawa Runestone: Northern Ontario’s Newest Archaeological Mystery","slug":"the-wawa-runestone-northern-ontario-s-newest-archaeological-mystery","published_at":"2026-03-18T16:13:55+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-backroads-bill-podcast-6610086/the-wawa-runestone-northern-ontario-s-newest-archaeological-mystery","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-backroads-bill-podcast-6610086","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-wawa-runestone-northern-ontario-s-newest-archaeological-mystery--70627046","audio_url":"https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/70627046/brb_johanna_rowe_2_audio.mp3","summary":"On this episode of Backroads Bill, we head to Northwestern Ontario to explore one of the most intriguing archaeological discoveries in the region in recent years. Local historian Johanna Rowe joins the show to talk about the discovery of the Wawa Runestone, a rock carving hidden in the bush that contains more than 250 characters written in runic script. Johanna walks us through how the discovery first came to light, the process of bringing archaeologists and language experts into the investigation, and the years of careful research that followed. Find out more here: https://www.ocare.ca/ 0:00 – The Wawa Runestone Discovery 4:37 – First Seeing the Carvings 9:51 – Translating the Runic Message 17:02 – Who Might Have Carved It? 31:36 – Why the Discovery Matters","meta_description":"On this episode of Backroads Bill, we head to Northwestern Ontario to explore one of the most intriguing archaeological discoveries in the region in recen…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2333,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-backroads-bill-podcast-6610086/episodes/the-wawa-runestone-northern-ontario-s-newest-archaeological-mystery/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-backroads-bill-podcast-6610086/the-wawa-runestone-northern-ontario-s-newest-archaeological-mystery.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}