The Lone Star Plate meets Factual America for the second time! We are wrapping up Season 3 of our show, and our sister podcast Factual America, which explores what makes America unique through the lens of documentary filmmaking, has just closed Season 2.    

Two fellow Texans, Matthew Sherwood and I, discuss the highlights of the last season, and what episodes, guests and topics left a particular impression on us. Each of us chose three episodes to talk about and to recommend to our audience to revisit.    

This is by no means a top list! We mention many episodes that we enjoyed during the last season, and we were surprised ourselves by the number of amazing people we met on our shows.   

At the end of the episode, you also get to meet our teams, the people who help all of this happen every week.   

And we’re announcing the launch of The Lone Star Plate Season 4 with a big live event in Austin on September 15th!    

This episode, I’m joined by Suzanne Santo, who has a new album ‘Yard Sale’ coming out this August.   

I was lucky enough to be able to listen to the album pre-release, and I’m telling you it’s ridiculously good. She wrote most of this album while on the road with Hozier, both opening the world tour and playing in his band.  

I didn’t know much about Suzanne before this podcast, but since listening to her album, I’ve already become a fan.   

We talked about what it’s been like for her moving to Austin, what makes it so special there, and where her favorite places to eat are.

This is one of those great conversations with another food lover that’s just full of fun and positive energy.  

This is our last interview for the season. While we are on the summer break, enjoy the whole Lone Star Plate catalogue of interviews with amazing people!    

“One of the best decisions I’ve ever made is moving to Texas.” - Suzanne Santo  

Our guest today is one of the most influential pitmasters and chefs in the US, Aaron Franklin, the co-owner of the famous Franklin BBQ in Austin and Loro Asian Smokehouse in Austin and Dallas.   

Coming from the food industry myself, Aaron Franklin is someone I have so much respect for. He was the first pitmaster who was nominated and who won James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef in 2015.   

If you go to Franklin BBQ in Austin, you will always see a long line of people waiting to get their fix of the one and only Franklin barbecue.     

Aaron Franklin has just opened a new Dallas location of Loro Asian Smokehouse, his first collaboration with another famous chef Tyson Cole, the co-owner of Uchi and Uchiko Restaurants in Austin.   

We talk about barbecue and Loro of course, but also about Aaron’s Masterclass, his appearance in the movie ‘Chef’, as well as other restaurants he likes to eat at.   

I admit I was a little nervous before the interview, but I had an amazing time talking to the Boss of barbecue, and I know you’ll enjoy it too!   

“Barbecue is an endless battle. You can never totally nail it.” - Aaaron Franklin

Today we have performance and music artist P1nkstar on the show, dubbed as Queer Pop Princess of Austin.

An incredibly creative person, P1nkstar talks about her project “Girls Like Us,” a music video performance that champions Austin’s trans artists. We also talked about her growing up in Mexico and moving to Texas, rave parties, as well as her favourite places to eat in Austin. 

The conversation just flew by, and left me curious about a venue in Austin on a secret address, where P1nkstar is going to perform live on August 6.    

“The beauty of pop music is that it’s shiny, it’s glossy, and it calls attention.” - P1nkstar

This episode, we’ve got James McMurtry back for his second time on the Lone Star Plate.  

His first interview is one of our top episodes, and we had such a good time that I had to bring him back on.  

James has a new album called ‘The Horses and the Hounds’ coming out for the first time in 6 years, and he plays a song for us, which has left me absolutely speechless.  

James is a very talented musician, amazing songwriter and lyricist, but he’s also very opinionated and articulated in his attitudes, and never afraid to say what he thinks.  

Enjoy our conversation and the wonderful performance of ‘Jackie.’  

“We idolize our artists but we don’t want our kids to pursue art, because it means poverty for most.” - James McMurtry  

This episode, we’re joined by Performance Improvement Manager and ex-Vogue model, Adaire Byerly. She is our second-time guest, and she is the founder and CEO of Entertainment Mindframe, a company enhancing the business of fame through brain and behavioral science.

Adaire Byerly has spent years studying the cognitive science behind creativity and show business, and has learnt plenty of things along the way. 

We talk about the business side of mental health and creativity, and how they influence each other. Although business comes up a lot in our conversation, we mostly talk about the different types of creativity and why each one is so important. 

Creativity is a fascinating topic to discuss, and has left me with a lot to think about how I can best utilise my own creativity. 

“Creativity is something that makes the world go round.” - Adaire Byerly  

Today, I’m joined by Dallas Burrow, a talented singer songwriter from Texas. Dallas gives us an awesome musical performance from his forthcoming self-titled album coming out on July 23rd.  

He explains what a ‘listening room’ is, and the kinds of artists he works with there. We also talk about the community of musicians in Dallas, what it’s been like working with Bruce Robison, and our favorite places to eat in Dallas.   

Enjoy our conversation!   

“The most professional people are oftentimes the most humble dudes.” - Dallas Burrow  

This is Part 2 of our epic interview with Dale Hansen, where we talk about corruption, scandal, deception, and much more.

Dale is retiring from WFAA Channel 8 after working there for 38 years.

He’s made an awesome career for himself, and it sure is going to be a different world without seeing Dale up there each day.

He has received national attention for some of the stories he’s broken in his time and has gained a lot of exposure.

An all-around amazing person who stands for a lot of things that I stand for, I’m excited to see what Dale goes onto next.  

“If you’re willing to work to raise your family, you’re welcome in my country.”  - Dale Hansen 

Today, we’re bringing Dale Hansen back on the show, and we have such an epic conversation we’re turning it into a 2-parter!  

Dale retires in September after decades of sportscasting, and comes on the show to chat about his career, life, and much more.  

We get so engaged in conversation that I barely have time to ask my planned questions! We could have talked all day, and the conversation only really ended because Dale’s iPad died.  

Dale speaks his mind fearlessly. He is not afraid to step on toes, and is brutally honest with his point of view and opinions about contentious matters, which I deeply respect.    

So sit back, grab a drink, and enjoy this epic two-part Dale Hansen interview!   

“The absolute best moments of my professional career started when I was 64.” - Dale Hansen

Today, I’m joined by a great group of guys who have been working on a fantastic project called Crowdmouth.

Crowdmouth is a social media plug-in that any creator can use to harness their engagement and reward their fans for spreading the word about them.

They’ve created a system that allows you to get points for sharing an artist’s content, and you can build those points up and use them to get free merch.

The founders are Bob Schnieder’s manager Aston Teague, the lead singer of Jamestown Revival Jonathan Clay, and the tech genius Donnie Gerault.

This podcast is about fan interaction, what this has looked like in the past, and how it’s being innovated today.

We talk about the app, how it works, where it’s going, and how you can use it to get a bunch of cool stuff from the artists you love.

“Crowdmouth is not another social media platform. We’ve built it as an augmentation, as a plug-in for all of you social media.” - Jonathan Clay