
Ep. 31: Cabeza de Vaca’s Fantastic Journey | The American West
From Gunfighters by MeatEater
June 2, 2026 · 52 min · Season 1
About this episode
The episode discusses Cabeza de Vaca's journey and experiences in Native America 500 years ago.
Almost exactly 500 years ago, a shipwrecked Spaniard named Cabeza de Vaca and three companions made the first trans-continental journey in the history of the American West. Then he wrote down his account of eight years in Native America, one of the great First Contact stories of all time. 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
Host: MeatEater
Topics covered
- exploration
- history
- Native America
- shipwreck
- trans-continental journey
Keywords
- Cabeza de Vaca
- journey
- Native America
- shipwreck
- First Contact
- American West
Mentioned in this episode
Places: American West
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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