Podcast
The American Southwest
Hosted by Thomas Wayne Riley · EN
This is a podcast of the people, places, and things of the American West. Think cowboys and Indians, bison and cactus, national parks and ghost towns, Mormons and prospectors, nukes and aliens, Tombstone, the Anasazi, Route 66, and everything in between. I’ll dive deep into historical people and events and the cultures and policies that helped shape this area of the American frontier world that’s left so many of the rest of the planet in envy of the mythic American Southwest.
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Mexican War: Remember the Alamo
2w ago03:17:34Tap to summarizeThis is the first episode in a long series over the Mexican War from 1846 to 1848. I begin the series where it all started: The Louisiana Purchase. I talk about the filibusterers such as Nolan, Long, and others. I then tell the story of Austin and his Old Three Hundred before marching headlong into the beginning of the Texas Revolution with Sam Houston and William Barret Travis. I end the episode with the assault on the Alamo.
Transcribe →
The Earthen Dark with Author Brad Kelly
Apr 2400:59:35Tap to summarizeI am joined by Author Brad Kelly to discuss his incredible book The Earthen Dark. We also discuss archaeology, anthropology, Man Corn, Chaco Canyon, the Maya, all the fun stuff under the earth, and more.
Transcribe →
The Quest for Confederate Treasure: The South(west) Will Rise Again
Apr 1501:32:40Tap to summarizeAfter a few rewrites and edits, I have finally finished the third and final episode in the series over Confederate Treasure. Instead of telling the rest of the Rebel Gold story like I had planned, I decided to summarize a few parts without ruining it. I briefly talk about Bob’s adventures with the Wolf Map treasure of Oklahoma and the Lost Dutchman Mine in Arizona before imploring listeners to purchase Rebel Gold and reading it. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a ton of fun information and tantalizing clues, but after a discussion with author Warren Getler, I have decided not to ruin the book. I end the episode with two very recent finds in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The Ohio Treasure was probably buried by the not assassinated Jesse James. Both are probably KGC related.
Transcribe →
The Quest for Confederate Treasure: Jesse James & His Many Names
Apr 102:41:26Tap to summarizeThis is Part 2 of 3 in the series over buried Confederate Treasure. I open the episode with Bob Brewer’s adventures in Arkansas as he continues to uncover clues and even more treasures. I then tell the complete history of Jesse James before diving into the theory that he faked his death and lived a very long life while burying treasure throughout the nation for the KGC.
Transcribe →
The Quest for Confederate Treasure: Arkansas Secrets & The Knights of the Golden Circle
Mar 1802:23:36Tap to summarizeThis is the first of three episodes over the Quest for Confederate Treasure which follows Bob Brewer as he hunts for Rebel Gold. I open the episode with Bob Brewer and his upbringing in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas where he learns of his family’s ties to buried treasure. I then move to the complete history of the Knights of the Golden Circle from their beginning to the time they go underground after the Civil War. This episode takes place entirely in the East and South but by the third episode, we will be in the American Southwest as we follow Bob’s hunt for Confederate Treasure into the Superstition Mountains. The journey to those desert peaks is thrilling and almost unbelievable.
Transcribe →
The Imperial Adventure of Zebulon Montgomery Pike: Defend My Memory
Feb 1702:09:50Tap to summarizeThis episode opens with an outline of Aaron Burr and his Conspiracy to form a new Empire. I then continue the adventure of Zeb as he travels from Presidio Carrizal through the interior of New Spain (Mexico), through Texas, and finally back to the US. There are many adventures and intrigue along the way. I close the episode with the fate of the main cast: the men Pike was forced to leave behind, Wilkinson, Doc Robinson, and Pike. I also talk about the adventure’s lasting impact.
Transcribe →
The Imperial Adventure of Zebulon Montgomery Pike: The Handsomest Views In New Mexico
Feb 801:52:34Tap to summarizeThis is Part Three of a Four Part Series over the Explorer and Spy Zebulon Montgomery Pike. In this episode, Pike and his men get escorted from their stockade on the Conejo River down to Santa Fe where they meet the governor. Along the way they stop at many a pueblo and town which Pike describes in detail. From Santa Fe, the group rendezvous with Robinson before heading to Old Mexico. There’s intrigue, political discussions, Apaches, and more as they travel on the Royal Road.
Transcribe →
The Imperial Adventure of Zebulon Montgomery Pike: A Terrestrial Paradise
Jan 3001:51:31Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Pike and his men leave the Pawnee village and traipse through the Great Plains until they reach the Arkansas River where Lt. Wilkinson and a few other soldiers will take canoes down to Louisiana. Meanwhile, Pike will reach the Mexican (Rocky) Mountains where he will attempt to climb Pike’s Peak before finding the headwaters of the Arkansas and Platte Rivers. But as winter settles in and his men’s strength weakens, he fatefully decides to cross the Sangre de Cristos in an attempt to find the “Red River”. We know though, that he was headed for the the Rio del Norte (Rio Grande) the entire time in an effort to get captured by the Spanish and escorted through New Mexico and New Spain.
Transcribe →
The Imperial Adventure of Zebulon Montgomery Pike: Peace & Friendship
Jan 2101:57:18Tap to summarizeIn this episode I cover the rising tensions between the United States and Spain after Jefferson’s acquisition of the Louisiana Territory which nearly brought us to war with the Catholic Kingdom. Zebulon Montgomery Pike is selected by the Governor of Upper Louisiana Territory, US General, and Spanish spy James Wilkinson to explore the Great Plains & find the headwaters of the Arkansas River. This mission is a ruse though, and the real plan was for Zeb to get captured by the Spanish and be given a tour of the province of New Spain before being escorted back to Louisiana. This episode covers the first leg of this journey as Pike and his men escort Osage Indians from St. Louis to their lands in Kansas via various rivers. Pike will then head north towards the Pawnee where high tensions between the White and the Red man almost reach a deadly crescendo.
Transcribe →
Rumorosa with Author James Bandy
Jan 1701:31:27Tap to summarizeNew Interview Episode is out! Bandy and I talk about his awesome novella Rumorosa, a must read. We also discuss the American Southwest in writings and art. We talk about Apaches, California, the Vietnam War, Cormac McCarthy, King of Dogs, our glorious Public Lands and how we must protect them, the Civil War in the Southwest, and everyone’s favorite topic: Man Corn.
Transcribe →