🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 35: Ralph Doubleday and the Birth of Rodeo Photography 📢 Episode Summary: In this episode of This Week in The West, we take you back to the dusty arena of Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1910, where a single photograph would help define the visual legacy of rodeo in America. Behind the lens was Ralph Doubleday, a tenacious and inventive photographer whose work transformed rodeo into a national spectacle. Listeners will learn how Doubleday, raised far from the front...
Jun 30, 2025•5 min•Ep. 35
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 34: Bettina Steinke 📢 Episode Summary: This episode of This Week in The West celebrates the life and legacy of Bettina Steinke, one of the most influential women in the history of Western art. We take listeners back to 1938, when Steinke was sketching live performances of the NBC Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini at Studio 8H—now known as the home of Saturday Night Live. Her early work at NBC, including portraits of major radio stars, quickly earned her nation...
Jun 23, 2025•5 min•Ep. 34
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 33: Bert Geer Phillips, A Broken Wagon Wheel & Taos 📢 Episode Summary: In this episode of This Week in The West, we share the remarkable story of Bert Geer Phillips, whose broken wagon wheel in 1898 led not to a setback, but to the founding of a new American art movement. Alongside fellow artist Ernest Blumenschein, Phillips intended to journey to Mexico for inspiration but ended up staying in Taos, New Mexico—a decision that transformed the course of Wes...
Jun 16, 2025•6 min•Ep. 33
🤠 This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 32: John Wayne 📢 Episode Summary: This week’s episode of This Week in The West rides into history with the larger-than-life story of John Wayne and his special connection to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. We take listeners back to 1965, when "The Duke" led a grand opening parade through downtown Oklahoma City, drawing a crowd of more than 100,000. Riding atop a white horse, Wayne thrilled fans, embodying the spirit of the American West as...
Jun 09, 2025•6 min•Ep. 32
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️Episode 31: Audie Murphy 📢 Episode Summary: This week on This Week in The West, we saddle up with the extraordinary story of Audie Murphy—a humble Texas farm boy who became the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II and then a bona fide Hollywood cowboy. We share the gripping tale of Murphy’s Medal of Honor heroics on the battlefield, his unlikely rise to Western stardom, and how his legacy continues to resonate 80 years later. From standing alone atop...
Jun 02, 2025•5 min•Ep. 31
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️Episode 30: Robert Lougheed and Prix de West 📢 Episode Summary: In this episode of This Week in The West, we pay tribute to Western artist Robert Lougheed on the anniversary of his passing in 1982. Known for his authentic depictions of animals and landscapes, Lougheed’s legacy lives on through his contributions to both commercial illustration and fine art—most notably, his pivotal role in founding the Prix de West Art Invitational at the National Cowboy & Western ...
May 26, 2025•5 min•Ep. 30
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 29: J.R. Simplot 📢 Episode Summary: This week on This Week in The West, we go to high desert of southern Idaho to remember one of the American West’s most influential—and unlikely—business pioneers: J.R. Simplot, the self-taught farm boy who became the “Potato King.” On the anniversary of his death, we trace Simplot’s incredible rise from a 14-year-old school dropout experimenting with potato storage to a titan of agribusiness whose innovations helped define ...
May 19, 2025•5 min•Ep. 29
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 28: BOB WILLS 📢 Episode Summary: On this week’s episode of This Week in The West, we celebrate the life and legacy of Bob Wills, the King of Western Swing. Broadcasting from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, the show takes listeners deep into the roots of a musical style that shook up the 1930s and beyond. Wills and his Texas Playboys blended country, jazz, blues, Dixieland, and even polka to create a sound that was fresh, li...
May 12, 2025•6 min•Ep. 28
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 27: Myrtis Dightman 📢 Episode Summary: In this week’s episode of This Week in The West, we celebrate the 90th birthday of rodeo legend Myrtis Dightman, a man who broke barriers as the first Black cowboy to compete at the highest levels of bull riding. Known as the “Jackie Robinson of bull riding,” Dightman’s courage and talent paved the way for future generations of Black rodeo athletes, inspiring countless cowboys—including world champion Charlie Sampson—to ...
May 05, 2025•5 min•Ep. 27
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 26: Foghorn Clancy 📢 Episode Summary: In this episode of This Week in The West, we share the remarkable story of Frederick Melton "Foghorn" Clancy, a cowboy whose booming voice made him one of rodeo's most iconic announcers. Born in 1882 in Alabama and raised in Texas, Clancy began working ranch jobs young and initially dreamed of being a rodeo champion. After a short-lived bronc riding career, his powerful voice led him to a decades-long career as the premie...
Apr 28, 2025•6 min•Ep. 26
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 25: Willa Cather 📢 Episode Summary: In this episode of This Week in The West, we journey to the sweeping prairies of Nebraska to explore the life and legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willa Cather. Born in Virginia in 1873 and later raised in Red Cloud, Nebraska, Cather was profoundly shaped by the open landscapes and resilient immigrant communities of the Great Plains. Her formative years inspired novels like O Pioneers! and My Ántonia, which captured ...
Apr 21, 2025•5 min•Ep. 25
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 24: The Virginian, Owen Wister & Joel McCrea 📢 Episode Summary: On this week’s episode of This Week in the West, we tell the story of The Virginian, the groundbreaking Western novel that became a cultural touchstone, a movie classic, and a symbol of frontier justice. Seth Spillman takes us back to the turn of the 20th century, when Owen Wister—plagued by illness—traveled West for healing and inspiration. His resulting novel, The Virginian, published in 19...
Apr 14, 2025•5 min•Ep. 24
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 23: Frank “Pistol Pete” Eaton 📢 Episode Summary: This week on This Week in the West, we saddle up with the unforgettable tale of Frank “Pistol Pete” Eaton, the real-life cowboy behind one of college sports’ most iconic mascots. Known today for his likeness on the sidelines of Oklahoma State games, Eaton’s life was anything but a cartoon. Born into tragedy and raised with a mission of vengeance, Eaton’s early years were marked by loss, grit, and an unshakable ...
Apr 07, 2025•5 min•Ep. 23
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 22: J.K. Ralston 📢 Episode Summary: On this week's episode of This Week in the West, we spotlight the life and legacy of J.K. Ralston, a celebrated Western artist born March 31, 1896, in Montana. Raised on the frontier by a family that chased gold across the West before settling near Choteau, Ralston lived the cowboy life before ever picking up a paintbrush. Though he spent his early years riding the Montana range, his passion for art led him to enroll in the...
Mar 31, 2025•5 min•Ep. 22
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 21: SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR 📢 Episode Summary: This week on This Week in The West, we honor the life and legacy of Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Raised on a cattle ranch in Arizona, O’Connor’s Western upbringing instilled in her the resilience and determination that would define her groundbreaking legal career. From her early struggles finding work as a lawyer to becoming a key swing vote on the nation’s highest...
Mar 24, 2025•5 min•Ep. 21
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 20: Alice Greenough Orr 📢 Episode Summary: On this week’s episode of This Week in the West, we meet Alice Greenough Orr, a Montana ranch girl who became the First Lady of Rodeo. While performing in Spain, Alice found herself in a bullfighting arena where the matador had failed to finish the job. The restless crowd grew impatient—until Alice stepped forward, jumped onto the still-angry bull, and rode it, holding onto its ears until it threw her off. The matado...
Mar 17, 2025•5 min•Ep. 20
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 19: Mari Sandoz 📢 Episode Summary: This week’s episode of This Week in the West tells the story of Mari Sandoz, who was no stranger to hardship. Growing up on the harsh Nebraska prairie, she endured physical and emotional struggles that shaped her perspective and writing. Despite her father’s lifelong discouragement, a dying request from him set her on a path to become one of the most important chroniclers of the American West. Her 1935 book Old Jules, a star...
Mar 10, 2025•5 min•Ep. 19
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 18: Charles Goodnight 📢 Episode Summary: This episode of “This Week in the West” explores the life and legacy of Charles Goodnight, a legendary cattleman and trailblazer born on March 5, 1836. From his early years in Texas to his role in the Texas Rangers and the Goodnight-Loving Trail, Goodnight made a lasting impact on the American West. He was instrumental in the development of cattle drives, the invention of the Chuck Wagon, and the establishment of vast ...
Mar 03, 2025•5 min•Ep. 18
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 17: Salvatore “Sam” Lucchese 📢 Episode Summary: When Salvatore Lucchese and his family arrived in America in 1883, they had the knowledge of shoemaking, and not much else. More than a century later, “Sam” has a legacy - Lucchese Bootmaker, one of the most well-known and respected brands for cowboy boots. In our podcast this week, we tell the story of Sam’s journey to Texas from Italy and how being in the right place at the right time allowed Lucchese Bootmake...
Feb 24, 2025•5 min•Ep. 17
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 16: Edward Curtis 📢 Episode Summary: This episode of This Week in the West explores the life and legacy of Edward Curtis, a photographer whose work documented Native American cultures in the early 20th century. Curtis’ career took a defining turn when he photographed Princess Angeline, the daughter of Chief Seattle. This led to his lifelong mission of capturing images of Indigenous people before their traditions disappeared. Funded by J.P. Morgan, Curtis emba...
Feb 17, 2025•5 min•Ep. 16
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 15: Pawnee Bill 📢 Episode Summary: This episode of This Week in The West explores the life of Gordon William Lillie, better known as Pawnee Bill, a showman and entrepreneur who helped shape the mythology of the American West. Born in 1860, Lillie worked with the Pawnee tribe before joining Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show as an interpreter. He later created his own show, blending entertainment with historical reenactments, and became a key figure in the 188...
Feb 10, 2025•5 min•Ep. 15
🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 14: Edward Fitzgerald Beale 📢 Episode Summary: On this week’s episode of This Week in the West, we learn about Edward Fitzgerald Beale, a 19th-century adventurer, war hero and trailblazer whose exploits helped shape the American West. From serving as a spy for President James K. Polk during the Oregon boundary dispute to rallying reinforcements in the Mexican-American War alongside Kit Carson, Beale built a reputation for bravery and resourcefulness. He later...
Feb 03, 2025•5 min•Ep. 14
It’s lost to history when this dentist precisely decided his practice was too dull and that writing should be his life's pursuit. He may have been pulling a tooth or drilling a cavity, but as the 19th Century ended, Dr. Zane Grey knew he was bored and depressed with his current life. In the years that followed, despite publishers’ rejections and struggles with his mental health, Zane Grey became one of the most popular Western novelists in history. He was born this week, January 31, 1872....
Jan 27, 2025•5 min•Ep. 13
George McJunkin stood at the summit of the Capulin Volcano in northern New Mexico and looked over the valley below. He had long since left his boyhood in slavery; he had made his own way. He was a Cowboy. To his west were the Sangre de Christo Mountains and spreading out in the valley below the volcano was the land that had become his home: The Dry Cimarron. He called it his “Promised Land.” What he would discover in the earth beneath him would create a legacy for the cowboy and rewrite the hist...
Jan 20, 2025•5 min•Ep. 12
Freckles Brown had done a lot of living in his 46 years when he stepped into the arena in Oklahoma City in December of 1967. He was just a month shy of his birthday, which we remember this week. Brown was born January 18, 1921, so by the late 1960s he was a couple of decades older than some of his bullriding competitors. We don’t know if Brown’s life flashed before his eyes that night in ‘67, when he had his legendary ride of Tornado, but if he had, he would have remembered quite a few twists an...
Jan 13, 2025•6 min•Ep. 11
In the summer of 1884, Theodore Roosevelt left New York and settled into a low-slung, log ranch house near the Little Missouri River, 35 miles north of Medora, North Dakota. Living on the ranch would transform Roosevelt, who had been known as an elite, Gilded Age intellectual, into a proponent of The Strenuous Life. He would challenge himself physically, embrace nature and do hard things.
Jan 06, 2025•6 min•Ep. 10
Woodward Ritter had gone to the University of Texas to study the law. Yet here was, in his fourth year of college and his grades were a disaster. Ten law classes. Five F’s, three D’s and two C’s. All his time, including when he should have been studying, had been taken up by his time singing, crisscrossing the country as a performer and the president of the UT glee club. But the law would never enter the picture. Performing took Woodard on the road more and more. Eventually, he moved to New York...
Dec 30, 2024•5 min•Ep. 9
On this week's episode of our podcast This Week in The West: He was born in New York and died in Connecticut, but perhaps no one defined America’s imagination about the West more than Frederic Remington. Every day here at The Cowboy, we stroll past Remington’s remarkable works of art. Along with Charles Russell and a handful of others, Remington helped create the archetypes of the West. It is a story we’re proud to steward, along with our collection of original Remington art. Frederic Remington ...
Dec 23, 2024•5 min•Ep. 8
We start with two men who were among the country’s most skilled explorers, personally hand-picked by Thomas Jefferson, to add an expansive new chapter to the story of the United States. With them was a pregnant 16-year-old (but she could have been younger), accompanying a man who had purchased her to become his “wife” a few years earlier. Ahead of them lay 5,000 miles of the unknown country. That was in 1804. The men were Lewis and Clark. The girl was Sacagawea, who is thought to have died on th...
Dec 16, 2024•5 min•Ep. 7
Chester Reynolds was the visionary mind behind the creation of The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum almost 70 years ago, but tragically never stepped foot in the building. Find out more about his story in the latest episode of our podcast "This Week in The West." Each week we tell the stories of the people who shaped the American West - and are still shaping it today! Find us on your favorite podcast app or click on the link in our bio to visit our website. Much obliged for listenin...
Dec 09, 2024•6 min•Season 1Ep. 6
