Ep. 01: When Gunfighters Stalked the Old West

Join author Bryan Burrough as he begins telling the epic story of the Gunfighter Era, the years between 1865 and 1901, when Old West figures such as Billy the Kid and Wyatt Earp became famous for something unusual in 19th century America: Shooting other Americans. From Wild Bill Hickok to Butch Cas…

Introducing: Gunfighters, with Bryan Burrough

Author Bryan Burrough exhumes the gritty history of Old West gunfighters. From Billy the Kid to Wyatt Earp to John Wesley Hardin and dozens more, this collection of stories proves how very violent America's nineteenth century frontier actually was, and traces the blood-soaked history of the trouble…

Ep. 42: Favorite Films About the West | The American West

Since the 1903 showing of The Great Train Robbery, film has steadily become our primary way to tell the stories of the American West to the larger world. More than a century’s worth of movies and television shows later, in this episode of The American West Dan, Randall, and guest Dr. Sara Dant reve…

Ep. 41: Favorite Books About the West | The American West

The 1538 distribution of Cabeza de Vaca’s Relacion about his shipwreck and trek across the Southwest marks the beginning of books that tell the stories of the American West to the larger world. Hundreds of thousands of books later, in this episode of The American West Dan, Randall, and guest Dr. Sa…

Ep. 40: Becoming Natives of Place in the American West | The American West

Two ideas about living in the modern West, bioregionalism and rewilding, emerged in the 1970s and early 2000s, and while neither has gone mainstream they have influenced how residents who prioritize nature have made decisions about a new western lifestyle. Subscribe now wherever you listen to podc…

Ep. 39: The River That Flowed From Nowhere, Part II | The American West

When the U.S. acquired the West with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, President Thomas Jefferson dispatched two scientific expeditions to explore it. Lewis & Clark became legendary. The historical fiction that follows indicates that with a different outcome, Freeman and Custis would have been famous…

Ep. 38: The River That Flowed From Nowhere, Part I | The American West

When the U.S. acquired the West with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, President Thomas Jefferson dispatched two scientific expeditions to explore it. Lewis & Clark became legendary. Like Apollo 13, Jefferson’s Red River Expedition into the West was a failure. This is how their story should have gone…

Ep. 37: The Wolf Returns to the West | The American West

One of the stories that will long define the American West in the modern era is the return of the wolf after a century of wholesale attempts to obliterate it. From New Mexico to Montana and west to the Pacific Coast, a five-million year-old native is on its way home again. Subscribe now wherever y…

Ep. 36: Down the West’s Grandest Canyon | The American West

With its many diverse, stupendous landscapes and public lands, the West has long been a region of bucket list adventures. A descent down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon has always been near the top of the list for almost everybody. Here’s what it’s like. Subscribe now wherever you list…

Ep. 35: How the Endangered Species Act Saved the West and America | The American West

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of America’s most famous laws and contributions to world culture, yet half-a-century after its passage it has become yet another political lightning rod. But if you value having Thoreau’s “entire Earth,” the ESA is one of America’s best ideas. Subscribe no…