Ole Edvart Rølvaag

In the 12th episode of 200 Norwegians, we follow Guri Endreson Rosseland, a Norwegian settler caught in the Dakota War of 1862. When Dakota visitors came to her Minnesota farm, the encounter turned violent—her husband was killed, her daughters taken, and her son gravely wounded. Hiding with her youngest, Guri emerged to nurse her boy back to life and lead her children through a burning, war-torn frontier. This episode explores her ordeal alongside the broader conflict—born of broken treaties, hunger, and land loss—that entangled both Dakota and Norwegian settlers. Guri’s story is one of survival and resilience, but also of complicity in a violent struggle that reshaped the American frontier.

7 Sep 35min

In the 11th episode of 200 Norwegians, you’ll meet one of Norway’s greatest athletes of all time: figure skater Sonja Henie. Not only did she dominate the sport with an unbeaten streak of three Olympic gold medals and ten world championships, she also reinvented herself as a Hollywood star and global diva with her lavish ice shows and musical skating comedies. How did she transform figure skating? How did she shape America’s idea of spectacle? And why did she remain such a controversial figure back home in Norway? In this episode, we trace a career that was not just larger than life—but, as sports historian Philip Harsh puts it, “larger than many lives.”

26 Aug 36min

In the ninth episode of 200 Norwegians, you’ll discover the legacy of a Norwegian abolitionist, Hans Christian Heg. Heg was only eleven when he boarded the ship that carried his family across the Atlantic. The Heg family were Haugeans, part of a Norwegian lay movement that defied the religious monopoly of the state church. In Muskego, Wisconsin, they carved out a new life as farmers, publishers, and political pioneers. Heg didn’t live to grow old, but his contributions to Norwegian America—and the country at large—were many. In this episode, you’ll follow his journey from gold miner in California to groundbreaking prison reformer and committed abolitionist. You’ll hear why he became a leading figure among Norwegian Americans when the Civil War erupted, and why his sacrifice on the battlefield mattered. And we’ll talk about the irony that, in the summer of 2020, his statue was toppled by protesters who likely never knew what he stood for.

4 Juli 30min

Episode 8 of 200 Norwegians is a special live recording from Norway House in Minneapolis, featuring renowned Norwegian-American historian and Professor Emeritus at St. Olaf College, Odd Lovoll. Lovoll has authored numerous books on Norwegian-American history and is widely regarded as one of the most influential voices in the field. In this conversation, we talk about his childhood in Norway during World War II, his immigration to the U.S. in the 1940s, the tragic loss of his older brother, and the journey that led him to become the foremost historian of the Norwegian-American experience.

20 Juni 1h

The seventh episode of 200 Norwegians tells the story of legendary football coach Knute Rockne. What made him so great? How did he achieve the highest winning percentage in college football history? What was the Rockne system? And why was he called the "Coach for a Nation"? We trace Rockne’s journey from the snow-covered village of Voss to the bustling streets of Chicago. Learn how the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair lured his inventor father—and eventually the entire Rockne family—across the Atlantic. Discover how Knute fell in love with football, excelled as an athlete, and later transformed the game itself. We explore how his creativity and forward-thinking helped turn football from a fringe blood sport into a national pastime. Featuring sports historian Jim Lefebvre, author of Coach for a Nation and executive director of Knute Rockne Memorial Society.

8 Juni 48min

In the sixth episode of 200 Norwegians, you’ll hear the story of Belle Gunness—the most dangerous Norwegian church lady in American history. Follow her journey from Selbu, Norway, to the outskirts of La Porte, Indiana, where she built a deadly empire of matrimonial ads, life insurance scams, and disappearing suitors. Discover how an immigrant woman became one of America’s most prolific serial killers—and how one suspicious brother helped bring her story to light. Was it greed that drove Belle to kill? Or something even darker? This episode follows the strange, violent arc of a woman who didn’t just change the lives of those around her—she may have changed how Americans saw Norwegian immigrants altogether.

26 Maj 33min

He never wanted his picture taken. He never accepted a higher salary than the average seaman. Andrew Furuseth was a humble, yet remarkably effective leader. That’s why he was—ironically—given the not-so-humble title: The Abraham Lincoln of the Sea. In this episode, we trace his roots—back to Norway’s golden age of sail. We’ll journey across the oceans, round the Cape, and land in the lawless boomtown of San Francisco.You’ll hear about the shanghaiers, the crimps, and the ruthless shipowners. And you’ll meet the relentless figure who stood up to them all— Andrew Furuseth. The man who famously said: "You can put me in jail. But you cannot give me narrower quarters than as a seaman I have always had. You cannot give me coarser food than I have always eaten. You cannot make me lonelier than I have always been."

10 Maj 53min