Carolyn Neithammer has been writing ethnobotanies, cookbooks, and biographies about the Southwest for her entire career. Her most recent book, "A Desert Feast," explores how Tucson came to be honored as the first UNESCO City of Gastronomy in the U.S.. Caroline, Russell and Alan dig into the culinary heritage of the Sonoran Desert—and just what parts of the prickly pear cactus are edible.

Artist Thom Ross has had a lifelong love of American history, storytelling and painting. Not surprisingly, his art focuses on the "folk hero," like Billy the Kid, rather than on the mythical "folk hero," like Paul Bunyan. Thom chats with Russell and Alan from Due West, his studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

When he was sixteen years old, Mark Paul snuck into the Santa Ana racetrack and was smitten. Over decades, Paul traveled the world attending horse races and placing bets. But no bet was bigger and more dangerous than the one placed in Tijuana on the Derby. Paul joins Russell and Alan to share his Seabiscuit meets Narcos adventure.

The West endures in the archives of museums and libraries. It also endures in novels and movies. Historian Stuart Rosebrook chats with Alan and Russell about some of the great writers and film makers, as well as the real characters and events, that inform us about the West then and now.

They ride horses, rope calves, buck broncos, ride and fight bulls, and even wrestle steers. They are Black cowboys, and the legacies of their pursuits intersect with those of America's struggle for racial equality, human rights, and social justice. Journalist and author Keith Ryan Cartwright joins Russell and Alan to talk about his timely and fascinating upcoming book "Black Cowboys of Rodeo: Unsung Heroes from Harlem to Hollywood and the American West."

May is National Pet Month! And don't we love our pets. Russell and Alan share some of their favorite pet stories with guests at White Stallion Dude Ranch. A little hawk named Sylvester. Two javelinas named Sandra and Ann. And dogs, horses, and more. If you love animals (or just some great stories) join in!

And even if you are a cowboy poet yourself you will find this conversation with Stan Hustad, producer of The Cowboy UP Podcast and Rod Miller, noted western writer, poet, and storyteller to be something that will make you smile, perhaps stir your mind a bit, move your spirit and something will probably touch your heart. This is the last day of national poetry month and this is a wonderful day to take just a half hour to sit back and relax and listen to some poems and stories about life and the cowboy way of living life!

Doris Daley is a renowned cowboy poet, emcee and humorist—or as she prefers, a "western poet." Her 20-year performance career includes appearances with the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Saskatchewan Opera Company. Doris joins Russell and Alan from Alberta, Canada to share her wordsmithing and love of the West. It's a cowboy celebration of National Poetry Month.

Sometimes nothing lifts the heart and soul like a good western tune. Jim Jones has plenty of them—and plenty have won prestigious awards. He joins Russell and Alan to talk about his career as a solo musician and a member of the trio The Cowboy Way and as an author of western novels. He even has his guitar within reach. Give a listen!

Director and producer David Glossberg never anticipated making a documentary about wild mustangs and military vets. But when he learned about the high suicide rate of veterans and how wild mustangs have been helping that rate decrease, he felt called to action. The result: Mustang Saviors, an award-winning film that, as you'll discover in this episode, will lift your spirit and renew your hope.