Announcing: Blood Trails, Season Three

This season on Blood Trails, host Jordan Sillars follows eight brand-new cases: hunting trips gone horribly wrong, decades-old disappearances, suspicious deaths, and crimes hidden deep in the woods. Some cases are ice cold. Others have been solved—at least, according to the law. But every case in S…

Ep. 04: Bloody Texas

Where did all those gunfighters popping up the Old West actually come? Join best-selling author Bryan Burrough as he explores the extraordinarily violent place that gave birth to a whole lot of them: Texas.  Thank you to our sponsor, Tecovas. Follow now on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, and YouTube. Me…

Ep. 03: The First Gunfighters

Join author Bryan Burrough as he delves into the little-known stories of the first notable Old West gunfighters, from the Texans who popularized the first revolvers during the 1840s  to the outlaws of Gold Rush California and the first gunfighter to achieve literary acclaim — thanks to a young Mark…

Ep. 02: Wait, Gunfighters Came From Where?

Best-selling author Bryan Burrough explores the surprising origins of Old West gunfights in America’s deep involvement with the duel, a contest used by so many men during the early 1800s, including politicians from Andrew Jackson to Abraham Lincoln, chose to settle their disputes by drawing guns an…

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…