Way Out West
by Chip Schweiger
Latest episode
Bringing Oliver Loving Home: Charles Goodnight’s Promise
Bringing Oliver Loving Home: Charles Goodnight’s Promise
About this podcast
Cowboy Stories and History of the American West.
A storytelling podcast exploring cowboy life, Western history, and the enduring values of the American West through conversation, reflection, and lived experience.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 118 episodes
- Bringing Oliver Loving Home: Charles Goodnight’s Promise · 11 min · Season 6 Episode 116Oliver Loving was going home. But he would never see Texas again. In 1867, a cattle drive became a fight for survival when Loving and “One-Armed” Bill Wilson were attacked near…
- The Ghosts of Fort Phantom Hill · 20 min · Season 6 Episode 115The bugle sounded across the empty Texas prairie. But no soldiers had been stationed at Fort Phantom Hill in more than thirty years. In this special Halloween episode of Way Out…
- The Night Luke Short Stepped Outside · 14 min · Season 6 Episode 114A few minutes after eight on February 8, 1887, Luke Short stepped outside Fort Worth’s White Elephant Saloon. Waiting for him was Jim “Longhair” Courtright, a former city marshal…
- Cowboys and Indians: How the West Became a Story · 15 min · Season 5 Episode 113Cowboys on one side. Indians on the other. It’s one of the most familiar pictures of the American West. But how did that picture become the story? In this episode of Way Out…
- Who Really Owned the Cattle on a Cattle Drive? · 10 min · Season 5 Episode 112A cowboy could spend months driving a herd to Kansas without owning a single animal in it. So whose cattle was he driving? In this episode of Way Out West, explore the business…
- The Cowboy Gunfight: What Hollywood Got Wrong · 13 min · Season 5 Episode 111Two men face each other on an empty street. The town falls silent. One reaches for his gun. It’s the defining scene of the Hollywood Western. But how often did it happen? In this…
- How Did Cowboys Find Their Way Across the Open Range? · 12 min · Season 5 Episode 110How did cowboys guide thousands of cattle across hundreds of miles without highways, road signs, or GPS? The answer wasn’t simply to point the herd north and follow the stars…
- What Did Cowboys Do With Their Money? · 13 min · Season 5 Episode 109A working cowboy in the Old West might earn $25 to $40 a month, but while he was working, the ranch generally supplied his food, horses, and a place to sleep. So where did his…
- Who Decided What Belongs in Chili? · 19 min · Season 5 Episode 108Few arguments in Texas are as dependable as whether beans belong in chili. But long before anyone started making rules about what belonged in the pot, chili con carne was already…
- Encore: What Cowboys Were Really Afraid Of · 13 min · Season 5 Episode 107This week on Way Out West, we're reaching back into the archives for an encore of one of our favorite episodes about the realities of cowboy life. Hollywood taught us to think…
- Why America Still Needs the Cowboy · 22 min · Season 5 Episode 106More than a century after the great cattle drives ended, the cowboy remains one of the most recognizable figures in American culture. But why does the idea of the cowboy still…
- Who Actually Wrote the Code of the West? · 22 min · Season 5 Episode 105We hear about the “Code of the West” all the time: keep your word, do your share, help someone in trouble, finish what you start, and take responsibility for yourself. But who…
- The Ordinary People Who Keep the West Alive · 15 min · Season 5 Episode 104The American West isn't preserved only in museums, old photographs, or classic Western films. It's kept alive every day by ordinary people who quietly choose to live its…
- What Cowboy Comments Reveal About the American West · 9 min · Season 5 Episode 103Every week, thousands of people share their memories, opinions, and family stories in the comments beneath Way Out West videos and articles. Some offer corrections. Some ask…
- Five Things Hollywood Actually Got Right About Cowboys · 18 min · Season 5 Episode 102Hollywood has shaped how the world imagines the American cowboy. It gave us unforgettable characters, sweeping landscapes, and stories that became part of American culture. But…
- American Mustang: Legend vs. Reality · 25 min · Season 5 Episode 101Few symbols are more closely tied to the American West than the mustang. But where did these horses really come from, and are they as "wild" as we often believe? In this episode…
- Who Built the American West? · 24 min · Season 5 Episode 100Who built the American West? The cowboy may be its most recognizable symbol, but the real story is far bigger than any single legend. In this episode of Way Out West, we widen…
- Why We Still Love Old Westerns · 12 min · Season 5 Episode 99Why do we still love old Westerns? In this episode of Way Out West, we step beyond the movies themselves to explore the timeless values that have made classic Westerns endure…
- How Hollywood Created the Cowboy We Know · 15 min · Season 5 Episode 98When you picture a cowboy, whose face do you see? For most of us, the answer probably comes from a movie or television show rather than a ranch. The cowboy may be the most…
- The Last Real Cowboy (According to Everybody) · 11 min · Season 5 Episode 97Every generation seems convinced they're watching the end of the authentic West. Today it's ATVs, smartphones, Yellowstone tourism, and newcomers moving to ranch country. A…
