Come and Take It

We love Texas. We love talking about Texas. After six and half years of exploring the history and culture of the Lone Star state, we three Texans are ready to take a break.

If you’re subscribed and caught up, Happy New Year! Today we reflect on some great Texas New Year questions as we look back on 2019 and look forward to 2020.

On December 23, 1927, a gang of men led by Santa Claus robbed a bank and set off one of the largest manhunts in the history of Texas. It is one of the most astonishing stories of infamy and ineptitude in the history of crime.

Texas if full of iconic imagery: The Lone Star Flag, the Alamo, cowboy hats, pickup trucks, and—perhaps most iconically—cowboy boots. Today we're talking about some of the people who put Texan footwear on the map.

It's easy to imagine that Texas sprang into being just in time for the Texas Revolution, but it was actually part of another revolution before that. For thirteen years, Texas was under the control of Mexico and the men in charge of the state were often as idealistic—and flawed—as the men who would run the Republic of Texas after them. Today is part two of the Mexican Governors of Texas.

It's easy to imagine that Texas sprang into being just in time for the Texas Revolution, but it was actually part of another revolution before that. For thirteen years, Texas was under the control of Mexico and the men in charge of the state were often as idealistic—and flawed—as the men who would run the Republic of Texas after them. Today is part one of the Mexican Governors of Texas.

He heard of Houston an' Austin so, to the Texas plains he jest had to go, Where freedom was fightin' another foe, an' they needed him at the Alamo. This week we talk about the legendary Disney movie 'Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier'.

This week revisit a holiday favorite. There were no turkeys, pumpkin pies, or Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving celebrated in Texas. In fact, it occurred over 20 years before any Englishman set foot on Plymouth Rock. This week we look at the remarkable story of America’s REAL first Thanksgiving!

He was the ultimate country music outlaw, who broke from the Nashville norm and forged his own path. This week we continue our discussion of the legendary Waylon Jennings.

He was the ultimate country music outlaw, and somehow it's taken us six years to record an episode on this Texas legend. This week we talk about the one and only Waylon Jennings.

How can you support Texas' state parks and historic sites in November 2019? By voting! This week we talk about Proposition 5 and Texas' parks and landmarks!

Willie Nelson is one of the all time great Texan musicians, but his struggles for success in Nashville before finding his sound are legendary. This week we compare and contrast some of the songs that others made famous in Willie's early days.

What do Terry Funk, Dusty Rhodes, and David Von Erich have in common? They are integral to the surprising connection between two great professional wrestling hotbeds. This week we are joined by special guest Barry Rose, as we look back on Texas and Florida wrasslin' memories.

Sometimes we run across a story that we can’t quite stretch into a full episode on its own. Today we thought we’d bring you some interesting stories we wanted to bring to you as kind of a potpourri of odds and ends

We're looking back at an episode about one of the historic music halls of Texas. For fifteen years, a former bowling hall was the greatest music venue in the Lone Star State. From Bob Wills to Johnny Cash to Tina Turner to Willie Nelson, some of the biggest music names in the world walked the famed stage of Fort Worth’s Panther Hall.

This week, CATI watches another movie about the United States' first Texan president, Lyndon Baines Johnson. This time it's LBJ starring Woody Harrelson, directed by Rob Reiner.

In the summer of 1969, tens of thousands of young Americans travelled across the country to experience an outdoor music festival like no other…in Texas! This week we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Texas International Pop Festival, Texas’ Woodstock.

Texan Englishmen, Bob Dylan clones, and freakout cowboys! Today we take a look at some of the obscurities of Texas music, 60s Garage bands and psychedelia.

The First Lady of Texas was no joke. A woman who cared about the cultural and mental well-being of her beloved home state and spent her life working for it, today we’re talking about Ima Hogg.

In the year after JFK's death, Texan Lyndon Baines Johnson became President and was faced with guiding the country through massive political change while simultaneously seeking re-election.This week we talk about the 2016 HBO movie (based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning play) about this fascinating period.