Episode 16

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Published on:

3rd Sep 2025

Diana Greenlee: Uncovering the Story of Poverty Point

More than 3,000 years ago, a Native American community in what is now Northeast Louisiana built monumental earthworks - such as mounds, ridges, and a vast plaza - at Poverty Point, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For nearly two decades, Dr. Diana Greenlee, station archaeologist at Poverty Point, has worked to uncover what life was like for the people who lived there so many years ago.

"Every time I do some work there I think, this is the first time in over 3,000 years that somebody has touched this. That's a pretty cool feeling."

Hear Diana talk about:

  • How the massive earthworks at Poverty Point were constructed
  • Evidence of art, craftsmanship, and daily life at the site
  • What we know about the mounds and ridges built by the people who lived there
  • How modern tools like ground-penetrating radar reveal insights without excavation
  • The moment she discovered a previously undocumented mound

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About the Podcast

Tell Me What It's Like
Everyday people, uncommon experiences
What’s it like to set a world record? To invent a new product? To survive an extremely rare illness?

On Tell Me What It’s Like, host Stacy Raine sits down with people who’ve lived through powerful and uncommon experiences. Each conversation explores how it happened, why it matters, and what it truly felt like to live through it.

About your host

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Stacy Raine

I was 16 when I conducted my first interview. I was a nervous high school kid assigned to interview a WWII veteran. It was an incredibly emotional conversation, and an experience I still think about to this day. I didn’t know it then, but that moment would shape everything that followed.

As a nonprofit communicator and podcast producer, I’ve spent my career thinking about the stories we all have to share. Tell Me What It’s Like unearths the backstory to the small and large moments that changed everything.

One of my biggest beliefs is that sharing stories connects us – as long as we're willing to listen.