Mitch Wonders

We all know the names: John Basilone, Audie Murphy, Chesty Puller. Legends from wars that ended with clear victories and parades, whose stories the country told over and over. But it’s been twenty-five years since the towers fell, so where are today’s legends?

In this solo Veterans Day episode, Mitch looks at the men and women who raised their hands after 9/11:

• Why so many of them signed up, year after year
• How the mission kept changing
• What it felt like when the United States left Afghanistan and the Taliban took Kabul within weeks
• What they came home to: a country that had mostly moved on, a tough job market, COVID, and a housing market that left many behind

They kept going anyway. They’d never call themselves legends, so maybe it’s on the rest of us to do it for them.

Mitch Wonders is Texas porch talk about the stuff that makes you stop and wonder. Life, work, culture, whiskey, technology, bbq, getting older—and whatever else happens to wander onto the porch. Sometimes serious, sometimes not. Always curious.

Find every episode, recent guests, YouTube clips, BBQ and whiskey reviews, Mitch Merch and more at https://mitchwonders.com/ .

Got something to say? Good. Mitch wants to hear it. Send your thoughts, ideas or feedback here: https://tinyurl.com/kc2e4wu3 .

And hey, thanks for listening!

There's a 700-pound antelope from India running loose in South Texas. It's been there almost a hundred years.

And it's not even the strangest thing out there.

Black bears walked back from Mexico. Nobody trucked them in, nobody turned them loose. Now there are mother bears raising cubs in West Texas. So it's not an isolated spotting.

Then there's the African sheep Texas released on purpose in the 1950s, which now competes with the native bighorns the state worked for decades to bring back. A black panther that people across Texas swear they've seen, though none has ever been documented. And jaguars. They really used to live here.

This week, Mitch and his buddy Brian, who brings a hunter's perspective from Illinois, dig into what's running around Texas: what came back, what we brought in, what got loose, and what's gone for good. Is any of it dangerous? Can you hunt it? Is it good eating? And who's paying to put animals back?

If it can happen in Texas, what's to stop it happening where you live?

What crazy wildlife is quietly moving toward you?

🎧 More episodes at mitchwonders.com

Mitch Wonders is Texas porch talk about the stuff thatmakes you stop and wonder. Life, work, culture, whiskey, technology, bbq,getting older—and whatever else happens to wander onto the porch. Sometimes serious, sometimes not. Always curious.

Find every episode, recent guests, YouTube clips, BBQ andwhiskey reviews, Mitch Merch and more at https://mitchwonders.com/ .

Got something to say? Good. Mitch wants to hear it. Sendyour thoughts, ideas or feedback here: https://tinyurl.com/kc2e4wu3 .

And hey, thanks for listening!

I drove past a church sign the other day that said “Annual Trunk-or-Treat This Friday!” and I had to read it twice. Trunk. Or. Treat. Kids collecting candy out of the backs of cars in a parking lot. (Here in Texas we’ve even got Truck-or-Treat.)My first thought was: Why are we doing Halloween in a parking lot? And my immediate, silent reaction was "welp, this is it. Halloween is dead." But is it?In this episode I go back to 1970, when I was eight with two old boys from the same neighborhood. Back then it was a sweaty plastic Frankenstein mask, porch lights coming on, woodsmoke, dry leaves, and my own neighborhood turning into something a little less ordinary for one night. Then I try to work out what changed. Was it safety? Traffic? Busier families? Neighborhoods we don’t really know anymore?I also put myself in the parents’ shoes, because I’ve been there. And I ask whether today’s eight-year-old, holding a sack full of Reese’s, would look at me and say, “Dude. What’s your problem?”Maybe nobody killed Halloween. Maybe it just changed because we did. Or maybe, in making things safer and easier, we lost something without noticing it was worth keeping.Or maybe I’m completely full of it. That’s why I want to hear from you:🎃 Have you ever been to a Trunk-or-Treat?🎃 Did trick-or-treating ever feel dangerous when you were a kid?Tell me in the comments using the link below.🎧 More episodes at mitchwonders.comMitch Wonders is Texas porch talk about the stuff that makes you stop and wonder. Life, work, culture, whiskey, technology, getting older—and whatever else happens to wander onto the porch. Sometimes serious, sometimes not. Always curious.

Find every episode, recent guests, YouTube clips, BBQ and whiskey reviews, Mitch Merch and more at https://mitchwonders.com/ .

Got something to say? Good. Mitch wants to hear it. Send your thoughts, ideas or feedback here: https://tinyurl.com/kc2e4wu3 .

And hey, thanks for listening!

Before Jack the Ripper terrorized London in 1888, Austin, Texas, had a killer of its own: the Servant Girl Annihilator. In 1884 and 1885, a string of brutal murders shook the city.

So here's the question: could the same man have left Austin and turned up in London?

A while back, Mitch took a haunted tour of Austin with a couple of friends. It was creepy enough that he still remembers it, and good enough that he talked the tour guide, Ricky, into joining him on the podcast. Together they dig into Austin's darkest chapter and one of history's most famous unsolved mysteries.

Originally released in 2023 as a Halloween bonus, this encore is just as unsettling the second time around.

If you like what you hear, how about giving The Mitch Wonders Podcast five stars on Spotify and Apple Podcasts?

It only takes a few seconds, and it really does help other people find the show. And if you're already listening every week, appreciate you hanging around the ol' ranch!

Mitch Wonders is Texas porch talk about the stuff thatmakes you stop and wonder. Life, work, culture, whiskey, technology, getting older—and whatever else happens to wander onto the porch. Sometimes serious, sometimes not. Always curious.

Find every episode, recent guests, YouTube clips, BBQ and whiskey reviews, Mitch Merch and more at https://mitchwonders.com/ .

Got something to say? Good. Mitch wants to hear it. Send your thoughts, ideas or feedback here: https://tinyurl.com/kc2e4wu3 .

And hey, thanks again for listening!

You're only as old as you feel. These are the golden years. You only get one shot. There's somebody out there for everyone who's “the one.” Life is short.

We've heard this stuff forever. But is any of it actually true?

This week, Mitch and his old buddy Pete take apart some of the advice we've been handed about getting older—and a few of the assumptions that come along with it.

Because age isn't just a number. Sixty isn't the new forty. Retirement doesn't magically become “the golden years” just because the alarm clock goes away. And getting older certainly doesn't mean you're supposed to become less curious, less adventurous, or finished becoming something you haven't been before.

They talk retirement and what happens when work stops providing structure, purpose and problems to solve. They get into second chances, reinvention, roads not taken, “the one,” and whether the dream you had at 25 is still required to be the dream you have at 60.

And maybe that's the real question:

Getting older changes things. But how much are we willing to let the number decide?

Some of the old advice holds up.

Some of it needs another look.

And some of it may just be BS.

If you like what you hear, how about giving The Mitch Wonders Podcast five stars on Spotify and Apple Podcasts? It only takes a few seconds, and it really does help other people find the show. And if you're already listening every week, thanks! We love havin' ya' along!

Mitch Wonders is Texas porch talk about the stuff thatmakes you stop and wonder. Life, work, culture, whiskey, technology, getting older—and whatever else happens to wander onto the porch. Sometimes serious, sometimes not. Always curious.

Find every episode, recent guests, YouTube clips, BBQ andwhiskey reviews, Mitch Merch and more at mitchwonders.com.

Got something to say? Good. Mitch wants to hear it. Sendyour thoughts, ideas or feedback here: Talk to Mitch.

AI is coming for our jobs. But maybe the better questionis: which jobs are we actually willing to give it?

Artificial intelligence is already changing the way peoplework. Depending on who you ask, everything from customer service and data entry to writing and software development could be next.

Then somebody gave AI legs.

Yep. Robot dogs.

They're already being put to work in dangerous places, roughterrain and industrial environments. They're useful. They're impressive.They're also creepy as hell—and apparently, they've got some of their handlers worried, too. This is what has Mitch wondering.

From the back porch in Texas, Mitch wonders what happens when AI moves beyond the computer screen and further into the real world. Because in the real world, AI may not be able to wrap its noggin around running fence lines, roping cattle, or walking hot fields in the summer sun for minimum wage.

Some jobs are purely miserable and repetitive, and AI canhave 'em.

But work—even lousy work—sometimes gives us somethingbesides a paycheck.

So if AI can take the grind, fine.

What do we want it to leave behind?

Episode 218 of The Mitch Wonders Podcast:

AI, Take the Grind. Leave the Rest.

Mitch Wonders is Texas porch talk about the stuff that makes you stop and wonder. Life, work, culture, whiskey, technology, getting older—and whatever else happens to wander onto the porch. Sometimes serious, sometimes not. Always curious.

Find every episode, recent guests, YouTube clips, BBQ and whiskey reviews, Mitch Merch and more at mitchwonders.com.

Got something to say? Good. Mitch wants to hear it. Send your thoughts, ideas or feedback here: Talk to Mitch.

We all own things. But somewhere along the way, some of those things become something more.

We talk to our cars. We encourage machines. We thank technology. We get attached to things that remind us of home — and develop long-running grudges against printers, garage doors, and anything else that decides to betray us at exactly the wrong moment. (Don't bring up snowblowers!)

This week, Mitch is joined by longtime friends Brian and John for a completely unserious look at the very real relationships we develop with things that aren't alive.

Because when it works, it’s just a thing.

When it doesn’t? It gets personal.

Mitch Wonders is where Texas porch talk meets life’s big questions. Each episode, Mitch — a cranky but curious Texan — takes a plainspoken look at today’s world with humor, humility, and a shot of wisdom you can actually swallow.

Catch up on all episodes, see recent guests, YouTube clips, BBQ and whiskey reviews, subscribe, and visit the Mitch Merch Store at the Mitch Wonders newly updated and streamlined website:  ⁠https://mitchwonders.com/⁠.

Got feedback? Hit Mitch up at ⁠https://tinyurl.com/kc2e4wu3⁠ and...thank you!

In Episode 216, fan favorite Angie from Virginia returns to Mitch Wonders to talk about Ella Langley, the massive success of Choosin’ Texas, and why America seems to rediscover country music every few decades.

We go back to the Urban Cowboy explosion of 1980,when cowboy hats, boots and country music suddenly seemed to be everywhere, and discuss whether we're watching a new version of the same phenomenon today.

From Doja Cat having no idea who Ella Langley was, to Yellowstone and Lainey Wilson, to some borderline embarrassing stories from our own country-music past, Angie and I wonder why country keeps finding new audiences — and why some of those newcomers eventually stay.

Because Ella Langley was here before the headlines and the hype. Country music was here before Urban Cowboy made it cool.

And when the smoke clears, our bet is they'll both still be here.

Mitch Wonders is where Texas porch talk meets life’s big questions. Each episode, Mitch — a cranky but curious Texan — takes a plainspoken look at today’s world with humor, humility, and a shot of wisdom you can actually swallow.

Catch up on all episodes, see recent guests, YouTube clips, BBQ and whiskey reviews, subscribe, and visit the Mitch Merch Store at the Mitch Wonders newly updated and streamlined website:  ⁠https://mitchwonders.com/⁠

Got feedback? Hit Mitch up at ⁠https://tinyurl.com/kc2e4wu3⁠ and...thank you!

Do Texans really need to pick a side? Do any of us need to?

Lisa Singer, founder and editor-in-chief of Independent Times News, joins Mitch to explore the growing influence of independent voters—and what happens when the issue in front of us matters more than the party.

From close elections to the enormous growth of AI data centers in Texas, some of today's biggest questions don't fit neatly into a Republican or Democratic box. Can independent voters help bridge that divide and bring people together around the issues that matter?

Politics? Sort of. Texas? Absolutely.

This is Episode 215 of The Mitch Wonders Podcast: Do Texans Need to Pick a Side?

Mitch Wonders is where Texas porch talk meets life’s bigquestions. Each episode, Mitch — a cranky but curious Texan — takes a plainspoken look at today’s world with humor, humility, and a shot of wisdom you can actually swallow.

Catch up on all episodes, see recent guests, YouTubeclips, BBQ and whiskey reviews, subscribe, and visit the Mitch Merch Store at the Mitch Wonders newly updated and streamlined website:  ⁠https://mitchwonders.com/⁠

Got feedback? Hit Mitch up at ⁠https://tinyurl.com/kc2e4wu3⁠ and...thank you!

At 25, Simone Vitale left Sicily for a job opportunity in America. Twenty-six years later, he has spent more than half his life here, built a career and family, and become an American citizen.

In this episode, Simone shares what America looked like from Italy, what surprised him when he arrived, and why he believes the American Dream is still alive—but is often misunderstood. Opportunity, he says, isn't a gift. America gives you the freedom to pursue the life you want; what happens next is up to you.

We also talk about the American influence he experienced growing up in Sicily, the differences he found in American working culture, the day he and his wife became U.S. citizens, and a bit of Italian wisdom worth remembering: Tutto passa. Everything passes.

After 26 years, knowing everything he knows now, would Simone choose America again?

His answer: “Of course.”

And Mitch gets it.

Mitch Wonders is where Texas porch talk meets life’s bigquestions. Each episode, Mitch — a cranky but curious Texan — takes a plainspoken look at today’s world with humor, humility, and a shot of wisdom you can actually swallow.

Catch up on all episodes, see recent guests, YouTubeclips, BBQ and whiskey reviews, subscribe, and visit the Mitch Merch Store at the Mitch Wonders newly updated and streamlined website:  ⁠https://mitchwonders.com/⁠

Got feedback? Hit Mitch up at ⁠https://tinyurl.com/kc2e4wu3⁠ and...thank you!