Show overview
The American West launched in 2025 and has put out 44 episodes, alongside 1 trailer or bonus episode in the time since. That works out to roughly 40 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a fortnightly cadence.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 52 min and 58 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-US-language History show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 1 weeks ago, with 25 episodes already out so far this year. Published by MeatEater.
From the publisher
In this new podcast, writer Dan Flores presents a big picture history of an American West you've never encountered. With the West's deep time, its grand natural world, and its wild animals as their focus, these episodes tell a fresh story of America's most fascinating region.
Latest Episodes
View all 44 episodesEp. 42: Favorite Films About the West
Ep. 41: Favorite Books About the West
Ep. 40: Becoming Natives of Place in the American West
Ep. 39: The River That Flowed From Nowhere, Part II
Ep. 38: The River That Flowed From Nowhere, Part I
Ep. 37: The Wolf Returns to the West
Ep. 36: Down the West’s Grandest Canyon
Ep. 35: How the Endangered Species Act Saved the West and America
Ep. 34: Big Bend and the Deserts of the West
Ep. 33: Time and Time Again: The Fascinating Evidence from Western Repeat Photography
Ep. 32: Loving the Plains, Hating the Plains, Rewilding the Plains
Ep. 31: Cabeza de Vaca’s Fantastic Journey
Ep. 30: Jesus and Animus Beneath the Bitterroots
Introducing: Future Wild
Ep. 29: What Were Charlie Russell and L.A. Huffman Trying to Tell Us?
Ep. 28: Understanding Nature in a Southwestern State
Ep. 27: Messages From the Past - The Rock Art of the American West
Ep. 26: Where the Primeval West Abides
Ep. 25: Thinking About Big History in One Western Place
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 MerchSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ep. 24: Getting Over the Color Green and Learning to Love Badlands
In the 20th century peculiar landforms dismissed earlier in western history with the denigrating term “badlands” became compelling locations for scientists and artists in the West. First passed over as economically worthless, these barren, colorful landscapes were translated by painters like Georgia O’Keeffe into iconic imagery. Now many are national parks and wilderness areas. Thank you to our sponsor Velvet Buck. 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 MerchSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.