Season four opens with a road trip through the strange side of Texas—equal parts folklore, architecture, and outsized personality. We start where rumor meets headline.

If you love Texas history with edge, folklore with purpose, and characters who complicate the line between rumor and record, this one’s for you. Tap play, subscribe for part two of our Texas weird tour, and share your favorite legend or oddity with us—what story does your corner of Texas refuse to let go?

During the Feast of the Assumption on August 15, 1988, thousands gathered for an outdoor Mass in Lubbock where many reported seeing miraculous signs when the clouds parted and sunlight broke through. The apparition of the Virgin Mary drew 15,000 people to this West Texas church, yet it's a largely forgotten moment in Texas religious history.

In this episode, we discuss how the Catholic Church responds to claims of apparitions, establishing investigative commissions that examined the Lubbock event, and our conversation expands into why religious history matters for historians, "You can't understand American history if you don't understand Americans' religiosity."

Whether you're fascinated by religious phenomena, Texas cultural history, or the methods historians use to understand seemingly supernatural events, this episode offers a window into how faith and skepticism coexist in both religious institutions and historical inquiry.

The Battle of San Jacinto might be the most consequential 18 minutes in Texas history that hardly anyone talks about. While the Alamo casts a long shadow over Texas history, it's San Jacinto that actually secured Texas independence and set in motion events that would reshape North America forever.

Join Gene and Scott as they examine why this pivotal battle deserves to take its rightful place in our understanding of how modern Texas emerged from the battle we call "the first armed action of Manifest Destiny." The ripple effects of San Jacinto would ultimately help reshape the course of not just Texas, but American history itself.