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The American West

The American West

By: MeatEater
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In this new podcast, writer Dan Flores presents a big picture history of an American West you've never encountered. With the West's deep time, its grand natural world, and its wild animals as their focus, these episodes tell a fresh story of America's most fascinating region.

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Episodes
  • Ep. 24: Getting Over the Color Green and Learning to Love Badlands

    Ep. 24: Getting Over the Color Green and Learning to Love Badlands
    Mar 24 2026

    In the 20th century peculiar landforms dismissed earlier in western history with the denigrating term “badlands” became compelling locations for scientists and artists in the West. First passed over as economically worthless, these barren, colorful landscapes were translated by painters like Georgia O’Keeffe into iconic imagery. Now many are national parks and wilderness areas.

    Thank you to our sponsor Velvet Buck.

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    Check out more MeatEater's American History audio originals "The Long Hunters" and "Mountain Men"

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    42 mins
  • Ep. 23: Golden-Eyed Lightning Rod

    Ep. 23: Golden-Eyed Lightning Rod
    Mar 10 2026

    For the first 50 years of the 20th century a new federal agency did everything in its power to disappear all wolves from the West and America. What saved the wolf was its own intelligence in the face of eradication, and the emergence of the new science of ecology, whose practitioners revealed the real animal within the legend.

    Thank you to our sponsor Velvet Buck.

    Subscribe now wherever you listen to podcasts. YouTube, Spotify, Apple, iHeart, Pandora, Amazon.

    MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips

    Check out more MeatEater's American History audio originals "The Long Hunters" and "Mountain Men"

    Subscribe to The MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube

    Shop MeatEater Merch

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    Not Yet Known
  • Ep. 22: New West, Modern West, Public Lands West

    Ep. 22: New West, Modern West, Public Lands West
    Feb 24 2026

    The Frontier and the freedom it afforded was the shaping influence of the 19th century American West, but life in the Modern West has been formed just as powerfully by the presence of a public lands system American visionaries established a century ago. This is why they did it.

    Thank you to our sponsor Velvet Buck.

    Subscribe now wherever you listen to podcasts. YouTube, Spotify, Apple, iHeart, Pandora, Amazon.

    MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips

    Check out more MeatEater's American History audio originals "The Long Hunters" and "Mountain Men"

    Subscribe to The MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube

    Shop MeatEater Merch

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    1 hr and 1 min
All stars
Most relevant
There is something about listening to an expert speak on a subject that you can't really put into words. This type of work should be celebrated. Thank you, Professor Flores and thank you, Steve Rinella!

Refreshing

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I'm pretty frustrated that I've been able to listen to the first 22 episodes without using any credits, but now suddenly new episodes are locked. Seems awfully cheap and exploitative, when the episodes are already generating revenue through advertising, to then also charge subscribers for the remaining episodes. Go to Spotify.

I've been a fan of Professor Flores since first coming across his work in American Serengeti. He's able to deftly balance factual description with scientific and historical explanation/analysis, while infusing the totality with a sense of wonder, awe, and mystery. He captures the essence of the west more than any other writer I've read. In this podcast, he's at peak performance. In addition to the breadth of knowledge conveyed, Professor Flores is a master of the penetrating vignette to illuminate key points of analysis and understanding. I'm really enjoying the format of a prepared exposition followed by discussion with Steven and Randall, two intelligent and entertaining interlocutors. All in all, top notch. My favorite podcast of all time.

(Update) Dan Flores at the height of his powers!

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