
Ep. 38: The River That Flowed From Nowhere, Part I
From Gunfighters by MeatEater
July 21, 2026 · 58 min · Season 1
About this episode
The episode discusses the failed Red River Expedition led by Thomas Jefferson in the context of the Louisiana Purchase.
When the U.S. acquired the West with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, President Thomas Jefferson dispatched two scientific expeditions to explore it. Lewis & Clark became legendary. Like Apollo 13, Jefferson’s Red River Expedition into the West was a failure. This is how their story should have gone. 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
- Louisiana Purchase
- exploration
- scientific expeditions
- American history
- failure of expeditions
Keywords
- Thomas Jefferson
- Lewis & Clark
- Red River Expedition
- Louisiana Purchase
- American West
More episodes of Gunfighters
- Announcing: Blood Trails, Paradise Prison · July 16, 2026 · 1 min
- Ep. 37: The Wolf Returns to the West · July 14, 2026 · 1h 1m
- Ep. 36: Down the West’s Grandest Canyon · July 7, 2026 · 57 min
- Ep. 35: How the Endangered Species Act Saved the West and America · June 30, 2026 · 56 min
- Ep. 34: Big Bend and the Deserts of the West · June 23, 2026 · 55 min
- Ep. 33: Time and Time Again: The Fascinating Evidence from Western Repeat Photography · June 16, 2026 · 56 min
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