D Magazine's EarBurner

EarBurner is a weekly conversation about North Texas issues (and a lot of other stuff). It is hosted by the editors of D Magazine, the city magazine of Dallas.

189: Sarah Saldaña, former director of ICE 06/17/2025

189: Sarah Saldaña, former director of ICE Sarah was the U.S. Attorney for the North District of Texas before Barack Obama appointed her head of ICE in 2014. She talks with Tim about why the agency shouldn't be abolished, despite President Trump's current campaign to use it as a tool of terror; about why Dallas hasn't yet seen the sorts of raids that have gone down in other large cities; about why the agency will never deport the number of people the president claims it will; and about why her family was ultimately wrong when they encouraged her to become the first Latina to lead ICE. Remember: print makes the podcast possible. Consider to D Magazine. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/37040935

188: How to Judge BBQ, Cake, and Fort Worth Women 05/29/2025

188: How to Judge BBQ, Cake, and Fort Worth Women It's a themed episode! Kathy tells us about a controversy she experienced while judging cakes for the State Fair of Texas. Brian covers the same ground, except with a halal barbecue contest. And then Tim takes us to the Colonial for some golf talk that involves way more fashion choices than it does golf. Remember: print makes the podcast possible. Consider to D Magazine. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/36765160

187: Bull Riding and Cooper Flagg 05/13/2025

187: Bull Riding and Cooper Flagg Our own Mike Piellucci talks about one of the world's best bull riders, John Crimber, who lives with a bunch of other badass Brazilian bull riders in or near Decatur, Texas. Kathy Wise reveals her secret nicknames and the difference between her marriage and that of Tim Rogers. Also: Cooper Flagg! Kathy gets a bit quiet during this portion of the podcast, as Tim and The Looch go deep on the Mavs' No. 1 overall pick. Stay tuned for maybe the dumbest question Tim has ever posed: "Do you believe in spaceships?" Remember: print makes the podcast possible. Consider to D Magazine. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/36556495

186: The Best Barbecue in Dallas 2025 04/22/2025

186: The Best Barbecue in Dallas 2025 We discuss meat and the proper smoking thereof. Plus what is "motorcycle paint" and who in the D Magazine office is most likely to assassinate whom? Oh! Also, we reveal a secret Thai menu at a restaurant in Allen. But that's all. Remember: print makes the podcast possible. Consider to D Magazine. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/36256585

185: The Best New Restaurants of 2024 12/05/2024

185: The Best New Restaurants of 2024 D Magazine’s dining critic, Brian Reinhart, joins Tim and Kathy to talk about the Dallas dining scene, the origin of Texas toast, how the Rice University mascot got its name, the best pancakes in town, and whether Kathy is insane for suggesting that diners should eat salad with their hands. Remember: print makes the podcast possible. Consider to D Magazine. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/34302215

184: Bobby Abtahi unpacks the raw deal on Fair Park 10/21/2024

184: Bobby Abtahi unpacks the raw deal on Fair Park If you listened to the previous episode of EarBurner (and you should), you know that Bobby Abtahi was sitting at the table at the Old Monk as Matt and Tim interviewed Mike Rawlings. When they finished the episode with the former mayor, Abtahi, a former president of the Dallas Park Board, having consumed a statistically significant number of beers, started talking about how the city got into the over the management of Fair Park—at which point Tim and Matt plugged the mics back in and recorded this episode. Abtahi was on the Park Board back in 2018, when it was decided that a nonprofit (Fair Park First) would oversee a new for-profit operator of Fair Park (Spectra, which eventually became the Oak View Group), which operator is now nearly $6 million in the red and asking for a handout. You know what? It's all very byzantine and boring, and we did a poor job of setting up on the podcast what's at stake and what happened. You should probably just skip this episode. Remember: print makes the podcast possible. Consider to D Magazine. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/33555052

183: Mike Rawlings on Props S, T, and U 10/15/2024

183: Mike Rawlings on Props S, T, and U On your November ballot, there will appear 18 proposed amendments to the Dallas city charter, which is quite something. Three of those props—S, T, and U—if they were to pass, would throw the city into chaos. The 59th mayor of Dallas joined Matt and Tim at the Old Monk to talk about why that's the case. While Rawlings (aka His Worship) refused to speculate on the motives of the people behind these props, Tim was not so reserved. (Also, with the , this episode served as a cohosting tryout for Matt. Give us a review, and let us know how he performed.) Remember: print makes the podcast possible. Consider to D Magazine. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/33475077

182: Barak Epstein previews the Oak Cliff Film Festival 06/18/2024

182: Barak Epstein previews the Oak Cliff Film Festival The runs this year from June 20–23. Barak is one of the smartest, funniest dudes in Dallas, so it's always a pleasure to have him on the pod to talk about the film festival he co-founded. Tim struggles with the buttons and levers to play sound from the movies' trailers. Zac and Barak demonstrate their pop-culture literacy. Oh, and we talk about why we haven't seen more assassinations in America. So there's that. You know why this podcast is free? Because D Magazine still makes money in print. Consider subscribing. . /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/31783732

181: Julia Heaberlin thrills us 05/31/2024

181: Julia Heaberlin thrills us In another lifetime, Julia was Tim's boss at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Now she's a with six novels to her credit. Her latest is . Zac gives it five stars. Tim confesses he hasn't yet read it, but that doesn't stop him from reading to Julia the worst review of the book he could find on Amazon. Other stuff you'll hear: how Julia approaches the writing process, why editing is better on paper than screens, and if a building can be shaped like a barn without actually being a barn. Also, the city of Decatur catches some shade. Consider to D Magazine. Print makes the podcast possible. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/31553392

180: Mark Melton fights illegal evictions 05/16/2024

180: Mark Melton fights illegal evictions In the May issue of D Magazine, Matt Goodman wrote a story titled "." That would be Mark. Sort of by accident, he started the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center, which now employs 18 people. On a per capita basis, A LOT of people get evicted in Dallas. That's because the justice of the peace courts where eviction hearings happen are a little wildass. So we talked about all that and about why you should care about people getting evicted. And we explored Mark's personal story, how he lost a job in Oklahoma and, without a college education or any real prospects, loaded up his family in a car and drove to Dallas. Why Dallas? It had a lot of highways so he figured it must have jobs. (He wound up as a bouncer at Cowboys in Arlington before eventually making partner at Holland & Knight.) to D Magazine. Print makes the podcast possible. Come on! It's like the price of three coffees! Or one coffee and one beer! Or a sandwich at Eatzi's! /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/31339372

179: James Faust loves movies more than you do 04/19/2024

179: James Faust loves movies more than you do James is the artistic director of the , which runs from April 25 through May 2. We talked about how many movies he had to watch to pick the 145 (so far) that will screen this year. We talked about how much he cries and why his back is giving him so much trouble and whether Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn get back together at the end of . But James also made us talk about this year's DIFF lineup, which features a bunch of world premieres, including a "30 for 30" documentary about—ugh—Dude Perfect. (Not to be confused with Dude, Sweet.) Get in here and get your ears all over it. Right now: rate and review the podcast. Then to D Magazine. Seriously. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/30904178

178: Megan Kimble on why highways kill cities 04/12/2024

178: Megan Kimble on why highways kill cities Megan spent four years researching and writing her new book, . Here's what said about it: "City Limits is a triumph. Megan Kimble echoes Robert Caro exposing how powerful groups like TxDOT are able to take away people’s homes, destroy their neighborhoods, and run roughshod over communities with virtually no accountability.” So yeah. We talked about highways and I-345. And about how Megan went on a fishing trip to the Eisenhower Library and discovered something amazing. Oh, also, we talked about her high school basketball career. Consider to D Magazine. Print makes the podcast possible. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/30798403

177: Mike Mooney's sex-trafficking podcast 04/10/2024

177: Mike Mooney's sex-trafficking podcast Mike used to work at D Magazine. Now he doesn't. But he's got a new podcast that dropped April 11 on Audible. It is titled . Over nine episodes, Mike and two other journalists ( and ) chronicle the rise and fall of Backpage.com, the Dallas-born classified ad site that a federal prosecutor "the world’s largest sex trafficking operation." Mike spent three days interviewing Mike Lacey, the founder of the New Times chain of alt weeklies and the man the feds say ran a criminal operation with Backpage.com. In addition to all that, we talked about why Mike escaped Oak Cliff for the suburbs. Consider to D Magazine. Print makes the podcast work. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/30765938

176: Greg Brownderville starts a literary festival 04/08/2024

176: Greg Brownderville starts a literary festival Greg is an who hails from Pumpkin Bend, Arkansas. He's also the lead singer for and the editor of the . It is under the auspices of the latter that he is launching a new literary festival. runs April 12 and 13 in three Oak Cliff venues (Wild Detectives, the Texas Theatre, and the Kessler Theater). So we talked with Greg about how you stage a lit fest that feels less like homework and more like a party. And we talked about one of the most amazing physical feats ever performed in the city of Arkadelphia (by him). If you have a minute, throw us some stars and write a review of the podcast. Then to D Magazine. Print makes the podcast possible. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/30730308

175: Joel Klatt on the new UFL 03/28/2024

175: Joel Klatt on the new UFL You probably know from his appearances on the Ticket and his Fox Sports work on college football. Along with Curt Menefee, he'll be calling the first-ever United Football League game, at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, March 30, at noon. We got the breakdown on the game, but we also talked with him about why specialization in youth sports is lousy and the fact that he's so cheap that he listens to Spotify with commercials. You should to D Magazine. At the very least, rate and review this podcast. Do it. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/30586193

174: Troy Aikman's many slights 03/20/2024

174: Troy Aikman's many slights Over the years, starting in 1992, D Magazine has unintentionally caused the man grief. In this episode, Tim and Zac run through the slights—but only to properly apologize. Also to give Zac a moment to humble-brag. For reference, here is what Eric Celeste's profile of Aikman looked like with the dumb "Troy Aikman Won't Dance" headline. Here's Aikman on our cover in , when Wick made up a cover blurb that suggested Troy had talked to us about his divorce. And, finally, here's the that made it look as if Tim and Troy were lovers. Again, we're sorry. to the magazine so we can keep telling you these silly stories. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/30450888

173: World Cup and Arlington mess 02/08/2024

173: World Cup and Arlington mess Right here you've got another chat recorded on the shady side of White Rock Lake, at Goodfriend. The boys tackle the goofiness of what one local official said about transportation to World Cup matches in Arlington. E.g.: "[W]e wish to have an aggressive travel demand management program to encourage our residents to participate in FIFA." Also they talked about tattoos. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/29852208

172: A giraffe death and the mayor's shoes 01/25/2024

172: A giraffe death and the mayor's shoes We're doing a thing. Sometimes we'll have a guest on the pod, sure. But sometimes (if we stick with it), Tim and Zac will simply go to a bar near their houses (Goodfriend) and chop it up as a duo, like Simon and Garfunkel. The hatred for each other will still be there, but they'll make beautiful music together. In this episode, the boys talk about a recent giraffe death at the Dallas Zoo (and whether there are animals smart enough to kill themselves), the proposed ban on horse-drawn carriages (Zac hates them, Tim is right), and Mayor Eric Johnson's footwear at the World Economic Forum in Davos (Allbirds ain't all that). The podcast is made possible by our print pub. Consider . And give this dang podcast a rating. And write a review. One sentence. You can do it! /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/29639123

171: Casey Gerald on Erykah Badu 01/06/2024

171: Casey Gerald on Erykah Badu Casey is one of the most committed magazine writers working today. When he profiled Leon Bridges for , he rented a house and bought a crazy-expensive shirt to establish a connection with the recording artist. For his that ran in the January issue of D Magazine, he hired a team of researchers to help him understand the icon. More than a podcast about magazine journalism, though, this one is about striving to become the best possible version of yourself. And South Oak Cliff football. Make this podcast (and all of Casey's dreams) possible by . /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/29364288

170: Tim DeLaughter Broke His Depression With a New Album 11/15/2023

170: Tim DeLaughter Broke His Depression With a New Album Tim is a Lakewood dad with four kids and a wife who runs a restaurant () to which he is sometimes summoned to do handyman work. He's also a rockstar, making his name first with and now serving as frontman for . The latter is dropping a new album, Salvage Enterprise, on November 17. We talked with Tim about how recording that album broke him out of a years-long depression and why kids today can't seem to listen to a song that lasts longer than a minute thirty. Also, we talked about whether Jesus ever rode a triceratops and the Dallas-based Institute for Creation Research. If you dig this podcast, consider to D Magazine. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/28647423

169: Joshua Ray Walker Almost Could Have Died 10/28/2023

169: Joshua Ray Walker Almost Could Have Died Start if you don't know who Joshua Ray Walker is. Short version: said of Josh: "country's most fascinating young songwriter is a baby-faced, 6XL guitar hero with a Dwight Yoakam voice and songs about suicide and boat-show models." We began our conversation at the Old Monk with Josh telling the story about how he wound up in the hospital, for the first time in his life, with a roommate named Dick who was a mob enforcer. We also talk about F1 and helicopters. And the best Tex-Mex in Dallas. And East Dallas dive bars! If you do dig this episode, consider . Cheers. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/28448384

168: A Spy Novel by a Former CIA Officer 10/10/2023

168: A Spy Novel by a Former CIA Officer David McCloskey used to work in the CIA. Now he's a novelist and does most of his writing in coffee shops on Greenville Avenue. Which ones? He wouldn't say. Even after Zac and Tim subjected him to extraordinary rendition, he wouldn't break. He also declined to read a sex scene from his new novel, , so Tim did the honors, which was gross. For more about David and his wife, Abby, check out of the couple in which we wondered if they might be the most interesting couple in Lakewood. (They are.) If you enjoy the podcast, consider . Cheers. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/28276214

167: A Drunken Conversation Over a Long Meal 09/13/2023

167: A Drunken Conversation Over a Long Meal This one is a bit of an experiment. When we learned that Catbird, a fancy "Best of Big D" award-winning joint in downtown Dallas' , was launching a 10-course tasting menu where each course was accompanied by a cocktail and that Catbird would let us preview the experience before the unwashed masses could get their unwashed mouths on it, we were like: "Yes." The idea was that four D Magazine staffers would journalistically investigate this important situation. Our Serious Food People (Brian Reinhart and Nataly Keomoungkhoun) would eat and take notes, while our Seriously Drunk People (Tim Rogers and Zac Crain) would record a podcast as the meal unfolded. A couple of points to bear in mind: Tim served as the (mostly) sober inquisitor and podcast recorder, and the meal wound up falling a bit short of 10 courses. Nonetheless, some strange stuff went down, not least of which was Tim's admission that his parents let him do a birthday shot starting at about age 8. If you enjoy the podcast, consider . Cheers. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/28023360

166: The Forest Theater and Sunny South Dallas 08/10/2023

166: The Forest Theater and Sunny South Dallas OK, first Zac and Tim talked a bit about how to pronounce Lionel Messi's name and whether (which Zac witnessed in person) is one of the top five sports moments in the history of North Texas. THEN the lads turned their attention to the wonderful Elizabeth Wattley, president and CEO of , the group working to save the historic Forest Theater in South Dallas and rejuvenate the ZIP code with the lowest life expectancy in all of Dallas County. Elizabeth's deep, intimate knowledge of the history of the neighborhood made for a fascinating conversation. As did Zac's deep, intimate knowledge of early ’90s Black fashion. Two notes: first, we were wrong about the etymology of the phrase "rule of thumb." has it right, if you're curious. Second, if you like the podcast, you should . /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/27714447

165: Life and Death and Basketball 06/27/2023

165: Life and Death and Basketball Michael Sorrell is the president of Paul Quinn, the oldest historically Black college west of the Mississippi. He died in 2008. True story. The man's heart stopped, and his girlfriend Natalie (now wife) performed CPR until medics could arrive and shock him back to life. So we talked about the fact that he's our first undead guest on EarBurner. And we talked about how the pandemic changed people and why those changes have made it harder to run an instution of higher learning. But the main reason we invited Michael onto the podcast was to talk about basketball. He played in college. And after law school at Duke, he played on the courts at the downtown Dallas T. Boone Pickens YMCA—which is about to be sold and torn down. If it weren't for those pickup games, Michael says, he wouldn't today be the president of Paul Quinn. How can Dallas be a great city without a downtown Y? Some links for you: The Morning News that the Y, after being downtown since 1885, plans to abandon the city's core. Zac Michael in 2021 for our sister publication D CEO. In 2017, Tim ran Kelly Oubre Jr. off the Y's courts when he interfered with the lunchtime pickup game. The Washington Post . And here's how you can to D Magazine and help keep the podcast going. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/27296889

164: Nick Badovinus, Dallas Restaurants, and Radio 05/26/2023

164: Nick Badovinus, Dallas Restaurants, and Radio Nick is in the pantheon of Dallas chefs. His new(ish) joint, the Brass Ram, in the East Quarter of downtown Dallas, occupies a space that once housed the broadcast studio for KLIF, one of the most important stations in the history of American radio. The space, called the Triangle Point Building, also once housed the Dallas Observer. So we bellied up to the Brass Ram bar with Nick and two former Observer staffers, Eric Celeste and our own Zac Crain, to talk about Gordon McLendon, the parrot he trained to say the station's call letters, Zac's previous life as an alt-weekly music editor, the supposed coup Eric orchestrated, and the time a certain editor thought the Observer had been the target of an anthrax attack. Oh! And we talk about restaurants and how Nick names them. We covered a lot of ground. You'll want to listen twice. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/26957166

163: Oak Cliff Film Festival 2023 05/21/2023

163: Oak Cliff Film Festival 2023 Barak Epstein from the historic joins us to preview the 2023 edition of the Oak Cliff Film Festival, which runs June 22–25. Movies discussed (some with confusing sound from their trailers!): Going Varsity in Mariachi, The Lost World, Quantum Cowboys, Walker, Stand By for Failure, Don't Fall in Love With Yourself, The Adults, and Earth Mama. Also, we talk about Barak's resurgent baseball career. REMEMBER: print makes the podcast possible. Consider to D Magazine. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/26904027

162: Dallas Noir Film Fest 05/12/2023

162: Dallas Noir Film Fest Once upon a time, Tim was a schoolmate at K.B. Polk Elementary with a guy named David Hale Smith. That fellow wound up becoming , even though DHS wouldn't tell us how much he earned last year. Be that as it may, DHS is part of a cabal responsible for the , which runs May 17–20 ("cabal" is a joke you'll get after listening to the podcast). We talked about books and movies and and why Dallas City Council three-time losing candidate Candy Evans blocked Tim on Twitter. to D Magazine. Do it now! /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/26817840

161: Abraham Alexander is the next big thing 04/26/2023

161: Abraham Alexander is the next big thing is buds with Leon Bridges, a connection that helped him get into the studio to record his debut album, SEA/SONS, which dropped April 14. Zac profiled Abraham for the June issue of D Magazine. In this episode, Zac and Tim talk about the profile-writing process, why more than a few musicians have wanted to punch Zac, and how much (or little) recording artists make from Spotify. Oh, also, we play a few songs from Abraham's new album and talk about them. Help us keep this podcast going by . Cheers. /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/26655975

160: The most expensive bed in Dallas 04/14/2023

160: The most expensive bed in Dallas Would you spend $500,000 on a bed? The Swedish company thinks some of you in town will. They just opened a new store in Dallas. Tim and Zac talk about that and about why Tim sleeps on his couch. BUT WAIT. You're more interested in the Stars' chances in the playoffs? editor Mike "The Looch" Piellucci joins us at 17:00 to talk hockey and get you ready for what might (maybe) be a special run. (If you dig this free podcast, consider to D Magazine. That's how we stay in business.) /episode/index/show/dmagazine/id/26539662

D Magazine's EarBurner

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