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The American Southwest

The American Southwest

By: Thomas Wayne Riley
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This is a podcast of the people, places, and things of the American West. Think cowboys and Indians, bison and cactus, national parks and ghost towns, Mormons and prospectors, nukes and aliens, Tombstone, the Anasazi, Route 66, and everything in between. I’ll dive deep into historical people and events and the cultures and policies that helped shape this area of the American frontier world that’s left so many of the rest of the planet in envy of the mythic American Southwest.

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Episodes
  • The Ancient Ones: Mesoamericans, Man Corn, & Quetzalcoatl in the Heart of Chaco Canyon

    The Ancient Ones: Mesoamericans, Man Corn, & Quetzalcoatl in the Heart of Chaco Canyon
    May 26 2025
    After two and a half years of learning even more about the Anasazi through books, lectures, and by visiting even more sites, I have gained new insight into the people of the Four Corners that so fascinate the world. In this episode I offer extensive evidence for the direct influence of Mesoamericans in relation to the Chaco Canyon Anasazi. I cover Teotihuacan, the Toltecs, the Feathered Serpent Cult, the Maya, the Caddo, Cahokia, and of course, the Anasazi. I discuss the Great Houses, a new theory on kivas, the pole flying Voladores ceremony, fertilizer in Chaco Canyon, Macaws, turquoise, Human Sacrifice, the Feathered Serpent Quetzalcoatl, Our Lord the Flayed One Xipe Totec, and obviously, Man Corn. Aka, Cannibalism. But that just scratches the surface of this nearly five hour episode. I weave the tale from Mesoamerica, to the Four Corners, and then over to the Mississippi River Valley before bringing it all back to the American Southwest. Platform mounds, temples, the Toltec tecpatl heart carving knife, shields, chocolate, and more help connect the dots between the various North and Central American cultures. I present evidence of a lot of violence, a lot of connection, and a lot of theories as I paint the complete picture for y’all of the Chacoan Anasazi of the American Southwest.
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    4 hrs and 53 mins
  • Ballad of a Man Killer Lion with Chris Ryland Jr.

    Ballad of a Man Killer Lion with Chris Ryland Jr.
    May 14 2025
    Special Guest Chris Ryland Jr. talks about his song Ballad of a Man Killer Lion
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • The Apache: Things Sure Did Look Like War

    The Apache: Things Sure Did Look Like War
    Apr 1 2025
    In May of 1885, Geronimo and over 140 Chiricahua Apaches broke out of the San Carlos Reservation in a final gasp of the long lasting Apache Wars of the American Southwest. For the next 16 months the US Army under Crook and then General Miles will hunt the renegades down through mountains, canyons, and deserts. Countless innocents, soldiers, and Chiricahuas will perish as the Army and their Apache Scouts chase the hostiles through New Mexico, Arizona, Sonora, and Chihuahua. Tom Horn, Al Sieber, General Crook, Bourke, Chihuahua, Nana, Naiche, and Geronimo feature heavily in this episode. As well as new players like Lawton, Crawford, and Davis. This episode is a frustrating and sad saga but it brings about the official end to my Apache Series. This episode was originally a Subscriber only episode in my series over the Western legend Tom Horn but since he participated so heavily in ending the threat of Geronimo and his hostile renegades, I thought it would be a good final episode over the Apache Series for all listeners.
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    3 hrs and 3 mins

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