Where the West Commences podcast

Western authors and brothers Larry and Tom Richardson gather around the kitchen table to compare their nostalgic love for the rich legacy of the American West and the profound ways it shaped our culture. With a touch of humor and a dash of reverie, they pay homage to a time that once was and still calls to that cowboy in all of us.

What is a Western Movie? 08/12/2021

What is a Western Movie? In this episode the boys debate the essential elements that qualify a movie to be called "A Western." /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/20122001

The Life and Movies of Jimmy Stewart 07/06/2020

The Life and Movies of Jimmy Stewart This episode explores the life and movies of Jimmy Stewart, and the contribution he made to the film library of American Westerns. We visit Indiana, Pennsylvania, and tour the Jimmy Stewart Museum to delve into his military career and his film legacy. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/15080600

Tribute to The Rifleman 06/01/2020

Tribute to The Rifleman The boys pay tribute to The Rifleman TV Show. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/14525966

The Fate of the Ft.. Worth Five 05/18/2020

The Fate of the Ft.. Worth Five In a moment of impulsiveness, the five core members of the infamous "Hole in the Wall Gang" dressed up and posed for a group picture in a Ft. Worth photo studio. Once that picture was developed, it was posted and circulated to every law enforcement agency in the country, which spelled the doom of Butch Cassidy and his illusive gang. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/14409023

Tribute to Kirk Douglas 05/11/2020

Tribute to Kirk Douglas As a tribute to the legendary actor who filmed 18 westerns in his acting career, we celebrate the life and films of Kirk Douglas. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/14327690

The Women of the Wild West 05/04/2020

The Women of the Wild West Daring and gutsy men were not alone in leaving their mark on the wild west. A handful of audacious women carved their names in the western hall of fame. We will single out four of the many women who conquered the west in their own unique way. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/14238389

Remember the Alamo 04/27/2020

Remember the Alamo March 6, 2020 marked the 184th anniversary of the Battle of The Alamo. In honor of this crucial even in the history of the west, the boys pay tribute to the 13 days of glory at the siege of Alamo. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/14152106

The Pony Express 04/20/2020

The Pony Express This episode celebrates the short-lived cross-country mail delivery service known as The Pony Express, which ran from April 1860 to October 1861. Daring riders fulfilled the promise of delivering a letter from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California (a 1,900-mile stretch) in just ten days by horseback. Riders included such celebrates characters as Buffalo Bill Cody, who signed on at the tender age of 15. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/14040707

Keeping Time in the West 04/13/2020

Keeping Time in the West Once the railroads became popular with American travelers, the flaws inherent in relying on "Solar Tome" for railroad arrival and departures schedules required a remedy. In this episode we delve into the creation of the four standard time zones for the continental US. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/13946444

Coast to Coast 04/06/2020

Coast to Coast The Transcontinental Railroad joined our nation together in 1869, making it possible to travel from New York to San Francisco in less than five days - a mind-boggling improvement over the usual 6-month wagon train ordeal. We salute this amazing achievement and the leap forward it contributed to the settlement of the west. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/13752269

The Code of the West 03/30/2020

The Code of the West The hallowed traditional Cowboy "Code of the West" comes under careful scrutiny, with a point by point analysis of each of the ten behaviors expected of buckaroos in the old west. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/13667645

Civil War Medicine 03/23/2020

Civil War Medicine The quality of medical care rendered to wounded soldiers on the battlefield during the American Civil War is explored, as well as lessons learned that greatly improved all aspects of the medical profession for generations to come. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/13635305

Fan Favorites 03/09/2020

Fan Favorites Tom & Larry serve up clips from the 5 most popular episodes from their first 24 podcasts. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/13430897

The Stagecoach 03/02/2020

The Stagecoach In this episode we celebrate that essential mode of transportation in the glory days of the wild west - the stagecoach. Along with the railroad and covered wagons, it was synonymous with western travel in the 19th century. By today's standards it was cramped, crude, dusty, and bone-jarring, but in its say it was considered a luxury. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/13332212

The Future of the Western Genre 02/24/2020

The Future of the Western Genre There are rumblings in Hollywood that the traditional western as a movie genre is dead. We beg to differ. Tom and Larry offer their theories as to why western films have fallen into disfavor, and what needs to be done to fix it. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/13249505

The Great Romances of the West 02/17/2020

The Great Romances of the West The wild west wasn't all fist fights and shootouts. Some of our western heroes made time to connect with the ultimate love of their life. In this episode Tom and Larry share some of the epic love stories of the old west, where life was fragile and the future uncertain, making affairs of the heart even more urgent. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/13147067

The Great Train Robbery 02/10/2020

The Great Train Robbery Tom & Larry give a proper "Thank-You" to the western movie that started it all, and I mean all of it. It kick-started the entire film industry by showing everyone how to tell a story on film. It was made in 1903 and is credited with being the first actual movie. Despite its short 10-minute length, it drew crowds like no other film in the pre-nickelodeon era. And the name of the movie was "The Great Train Robbery". /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/12977318

The Fastest Gun Alive 02/03/2020

The Fastest Gun Alive The reputation as "the fastest gun alive" was a two-edged sword - you got respect, but you were the target of every hot head determined to claim your title for his own. It's no surprise that no one that wore that title ever lived to see the age of 40. Tom and Larry critique the top 5 deadliest pistoliers of the old west, as well as modern day competitors looking to win that same title in national quick draw contests. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/12937763

How the West Was Sold 01/27/2020

How the West Was Sold In the next episode we explore the world of advertising and reveal the many ways Madison Avenue co-ops the appeal of "The West" by attaching its cachet to a wide ranger of products and services, from food to cars, perfume, cell phone carriers, to car insurance and even catheters - yes, that's right - cowboy catheters. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/12736829

Levis vs. Wranglers 01/20/2020

Levis vs. Wranglers There is a battle raging in the cowboy world, and we're talking about which brand of jeans you choose to wear. In this episode of WTWC the boys earn their combat pay by stepping right into the middle of the war between Levis and Wranglers. So, button up your fly and join in the fray. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/12736475

Building a Frontier Fort for the Fun of It 01/13/2020

Building a Frontier Fort for the Fun of It The boys recall the summer of '73 & '74 when they built a fully functioning western frontier fort at a Michigan summer youth camp for the enjoyment of the campers. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/12704414

Hollywood Westerns: Fact or Fiction 12/30/2019

Hollywood Westerns: Fact or Fiction The boys delve into a wide range of historical and technical inaccuracies they've noticed in Hollywood westerns. Some of these errors are forgivable, but others are not. You can decide for yourself how much meticulous precision you demand for the sake of your viewing pleasure. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/12517055

I Need a Hero 12/23/2019

I Need a Hero What kind of western hero do you admire most? The solitary individual standing his ground against evildoers? The resolute lawman defending the rights of others? The gritty mountain man battling the element to survive? This week the boys explore the wide range of western heroes and share the ones they love the best. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/12459167

How We Co-Author Western Novels 12/16/2019

How We Co-Author Western Novels We pull back the curtain and invite you into our creative kitchen to learn our "secret sauce". We share how we come up with story ideas, how we blend our different writing styles and divide up writing chores to take a book from concept to completion. If you ever thought about writing a book of your own, you'll draw inspiration from hearing our journey through the writing jungle. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/12341345

The Wildest Towns of the Old West 12/09/2019

The Wildest Towns of the Old West Saddle up for a ride through four of the wildest, most lawless frontier towns of the old west - the ones that made the west famous. These havens of villains and debauchery were written about and romanticized all over the east coast in their heyday, tantalizing every young buck with wanderlust in his veins to jump right in the middle of all that excitement. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/12159380

The Art of the West 12/02/2019

The Art of the West The boys tip their hat to two of the most famous western painters and sculptors of all time - Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. Labeled by some as the "Norman Rockwell" of the American West, these two artists recorded the look of the west on canvas as a reference for all future generations. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/12053729

The Chuck Wagon 11/25/2019

The Chuck Wagon Tom and Larry delve into the world of cowboy grub out on the open range on a cattle drive. They praise the genius of the portable kitchen called the "chuck wagon", the importance of the cook to a successful drive, the typical cowboy menu, and the spoken and unspoken rules around the mealtime campfire. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/12053561

Bonanza 11/18/2019

Bonanza Tom and Larry pay tribute to the hugely popular western TV show BONANZA, which ran for 14 seasons and ranked among the highest rated network TV shows the entire decade of the 1960's. The boys share their memories of the famous Cartwright family and their adventures on the sprawling Ponderosa ranch, and offer up a few surprising trivia tidbits. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/11910491

All Things Duke 11/11/2019

All Things Duke We celebrate the life and acting career of John Wayne with a review of his many film roles that established him as the symbol of the American West and epitomized the virtues of courage, toughness, humor, and loyalty. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/11884742

The Music of the West 11/04/2019

The Music of the West Tom & Larry celebrate the talented composers, musicians, and singers that brought a unique musical sound to the western landscape. They review a sample of the best in western movie scores, symphony orchestras, Broadway shows, western balladeers, and musical bands that gave us those haunting tunes we will never forget. /episode/index/show/wherethewestcommences/id/11707454

Where the West Commences podcast

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