Wise About Texas

Wise About Texas


Latest Episodes

Ep. 79: Dorie Miller–A Texas War Hero
February 16, 2020

On December 7, 1941, Mess Attendant Doris "Dorie" Miller was doing laundry, one of the few jobs available to African American sailors in the U.S. Navy at the time.  When his ship came under attack, Miller rushed to help his fellow sailors.

Ep. 78: The Lady in Blue
January 11, 2020

 In 1629 a group of Jumano Indians suddenly appeared at a New Mexico mission, eager to learn more about Christianity.  The excited and grateful Franciscan priests wondered what motivated this sudden interest.

Ep. 77: A bull branded MURDER
December 08, 2019

 In 1891, one cowboy murdered another over the ownership of a brindle bull.  Other cowboys branded the bull so that all would remember the crime.  Some say the bull wanders the trans-pecos to this day, appearing whenever a certain crime occurs.

BONUS EPISODE: More Writing Texas History-An Interview with Brian Kilmeade
November 06, 2019

Brian Kilmeade, best known as a host of Fox & Friends and the Brian Kilmeade show, is also a lover of history.  In his latest book, Sam Houston and the Alamo Avengers, Kilmeade takes on the story of Texas independence.  As a Texan,

Ep. 76: The Texas Cattle Queen
October 27, 2019

Right after the civil war, women weren't really expected (or even thought capable) to be in business.  But of course, Texas women proved them wrong.  Lizzie Johnson was a school teacher, but she was also a writer and discovered how lucrative the cattle...

Ep. 75: Writing Texas History- An Interview with Author Stephen Harrigan
October 06, 2019

Award-winning author Stephen Harrigan visits Wise About Texas to discuss his new book--a history of Texas titled Big Wonderful Thing. Mr. Harrigan talks about how, as a journalist and novelist, he approached the colossal task of writing an entire hist...

Ep. 74: The Vaudeville Mule
September 22, 2019

What could be better than a good vaudeville show? A runaway mule, of course! One day in Nacogdoches, it's said that a runaway mule changed the course of comedy history. Is it true? You bet your life…

EP. 73: Train Robbery at Baxter’s Curve
August 21, 2019

Ben Kilpatrick was an outlaw.  He rode with Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and the Wild Bunch into western infamy.  The law caught up with him and he went to prison where he met Ole Hobeck.  They two decided when they got out,

Ep. 72: Death of a Trailblazer, Oliver Loving
July 28, 2019

Oliver Loving was a trailblazer...literally.  He drove cattle to Illinois, Louisiana, and Colorado.  With Charles Goodnight he blazed a new western trail intended to avoid the Indian threat.  Impatient as he was brave,

EP. 71: The First Declaration of Independence
July 04, 2019

When Texans talk about the Declaration of Independence, they usually mean the one signed at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836. Occasionally, we refer to the Goliad declaration of 1835. But there was one before all of them. In 1813,