
Ep. 25: Thinking About Big History in One Western Place | The American West
From Gunfighters by MeatEater
April 7, 2026 · 52 min · Season 1
About this episode
A road trip with Steven Rinella explores 13,000 years of change in the High Plains region.
A road trip with Steven Rinella across the High Plains to the Blackwater Draw Unesco Site on the border of Texas and New Mexico leads to an assessment of 13,000 years of change in one western environment, where people have practiced every kind of life way from hunting elephants to turning the plains into cotton fields and oil country. 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.
People in this episode
Guest: Steven Rinella
Topics covered
- history
- environment
- hunting
- agriculture
- cultural change
Keywords
- Big History
- Western environment
- hunting elephants
- cotton fields
- oil country
Mentioned in this episode
Places: High Plains, Blackwater Draw Unesco Site, Texas, New Mexico
More episodes of Gunfighters
- Introducing: Gunfighters, with Bryan Burrough · September 8, 2026 · 2 min
- Ep. 42: Favorite Films About the West | The American West · August 18, 2026 · 1h 6m
- Ep. 41: Favorite Books About the West | The American West · August 11, 2026 · 59 min
- Ep. 40: Becoming Natives of Place in the American West | The American West · August 4, 2026 · 55 min
- Ep. 39: The River That Flowed From Nowhere, Part II | The American West · July 28, 2026 · 1h 5m
- Ep. 38: The River That Flowed From Nowhere, Part I | The American West · July 21, 2026 · 58 min
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