Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, and Butch and Sundance. Lakota, Comanche and Apache. Wars, gunfights and robberies. This show covers the toughest lawmen, the wildest outlaws, and the deadliest towns — all the people and events that shaped the American West.
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In 1808 or 1809, John Colter faces an extreme test of endurance and resilience when he is captured by Blackfoot warriors on one of the three forks of the Missouri River in present-day Montana. Afterward, he makes one final journey to the Three Forks region before he decides the risks are not worth the rewards. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons:…
John Colter’s extraordinary adventures in the West continue with a 500-mile winter trek across the Rocky Mountains, during which he becomes the first American to see the Teton Mountains and Jackson Hole. He witnesses marvelous geothermal wonders in the region that will eventually become Yellowstone National Park. And he performs another feat of endurance after he narrowly survives a battle against…
John Colter, a young Kentucky frontiersman, joins the Corps of Discovery to explore the continent with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Colter initially bristles at the military structure of the expedition but he soon becomes one of its most trusted members. The Corps of Discovery completes the journey of a lifetime by traveling to the Pacific Ocean and back, but John Colter decides to stay in…
Government often gets a bad rap. But each episode of the new podcast “Government That Doesn’t Suck,” hosted by Professors Greg Jackson and Lindsey Cormack, tells a surprising origin story of a feature of government important to the country, from the internet to the National Park Service to the roads that connect the nation. New episodes drop every other Monday. Use this link to follow on your…
After four years of fighting, the war in the northern colonies settles into a stalemate. It rages in the southern colonies, but the American southern army suffers the worst calamities of the war. An army of frontiersmen known as the Overmountain Men deliver a spark of hope for the American cause at the Battle of Kings Mountain. Then, an American column led by Brigadier General Daniel Morgan stuns…
After boosting American morale with successes at Trenton and Princeton, the American main army suffers seemingly disastrous losses outside Philadelphia in 1777. The British capture the American capital, but the accomplishment comes with unintended consequences. A campaign by the British northern army to take control of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers starts well but then falters. Near Albany, New…
During the American Revolutionary War, three pairs of battles were critical to the outcome. When the war begins in earnest in August of 1776 with the Battle of Brooklyn, it does not go well for General George Washington and the new Continental Army. The British army relentlessly pushes the American army out of New York. By Christmas, George Washington is desperate for a victory. He leads daring…
In the 1870s, Bill Longley adds his name to the list of infamous outlaws of the Old West. He roams his home state of Texas, adopting different names and robbing and killing. In the summer of 1876, while on the run after a murder in Uvalde County, Longley lands in a small-town love triangle which leads to his downfall. Thanks to our sponsor, Quince! Use this link for Free Shipping and 365-day…
In the closing days of the Old West era, Burt Alvord forms an outlaw gang to rob trains in southern Arizona Territory. As the constable of Willcox, Arizona he has the perfect cover story: he can plan the robbery and then make sure his fellow lawmen don’t catch the bandits. His idea works well the first time, but it hits a major roadblock the second time in the form of Wells Fargo express messenger…
Frank and John Reno become troublemakers at a young age in Jackson County, Indiana. After the Civil War, they form one of the earliest outlaw gangs of the Old West era. They rob post offices, stores, banks, and trains. The Pinkerton Detective Agency locates and arrests the outlaws, but the gang continually evades justice … until the Jackson County Vigilance Committee vows to deliver frontier…
Robert Clay Allison serves under Confederate cavalry commander Nathan Bedford Forrest in the Civil War and then drifts west to Texas. He works as a cowboy before starting his own ranch in Colfax County, New Mexico. There, he becomes a feared supporter of the settlers of Colfax County as they battle rich investors and the corrupt network known as the Santa Fe ring. After the so-called Colfax County…