On this West Texas Talk, we sit down with Roger Allen Polson, who co-authored the book Miles and Miles of Texas: 100 Years of the Texas Highway Department with Carol Dawson. The book takes us through the history of the Texas Highway Department, and through that, the history of Texas. As Polson says, Texas is full of characters, and the highway department is no exception. In fact, the story of the highway department is filled with drama and stories. Polson talks history, his favorite highway and more. Hosted by Zoe Kurland for KRTS

This coming weekend in Terlingua is Slim Fest Two and just as it sounds, this is the second iteration of the festival celebrating the music of iconic Texas Jazz Grass musician Slim Richey.

Performing at this year’s festival are a full gamut of great musicians including the Jitterbug Vipers (One of Slim’s former groups), Jo Buck Johnson, Bill Kirchen, as well as Laurie Lewis, a Grammy winning Bluegrass Musician among many other things

On this edition of West Texas Talk, Laurie  joined Jackson Wisdorf on the phone from her home in Berkeley, California, to talk about her recently nominated album The Hazel and Alice Sessions, performing at Slim Fest, as well as her roots and ins... Hosted by Jackson Wisdorf for KRTS

On This West Texas Talk, Elise Pepple has a conversation with Evan Smith about the importance of bringing politics to small communities. The talk is in anticipation of  the station's partnership with The Texas Tribune in Odessa for their event, "A Conversation with Senator Kel Seliger and Representative Brooks Landgraf." This event will take place at 11:30 AM on Friday, February 17 at the Zant Community Room located in the Saulsbury Campus Center at Odessa College.

The conversation will be also livestreamed at texastribune.org/livestream, and the video will be available for viewing afterward. Hosted by Elise Pepple for KRTS

We're about two weeks into the presidency of Donald Trump. And like President Obama before him, President Trump used the first days of his presidency to sign several directives -- some of them were Executive Orders, others were Presidential Memoranda.

A few of those directives could have especially big implications along the Texas-Mexico border -- specifically those related to border wall construction, a potential increase in Border Patrol Agents, and pipeline construction.

Joining us today to talk about some of those implications is John Ferguson. Ferguson's the Mayor of Presidio, Texas -- a town of about 4,000 on the Texas-Mexico border. Hosted by Travis Lux for KRTS

Today on West Texas Talk, Casey Zmich joins us in the studio to talk about cycling across America, couch surfing, an unexpected romance, and what made him start his adventure in the first place. An ex-truck driver, Zmich is no stranger to long drives, but he says that bicycling is different; now when he rides, he's not just another truck on the road, but a cyclist with a story to tell, and people are drawn to that. He has more conversations, more meaningful interactions, and sees so much of the beauty he was missing out on before. At a time when the nation feels divided, sometimes the best thing can be to just see America, see the land, the people, and the magic of it all. Hosted by Elise Pepple for KRTS

Eighty years ago, two young African-American men, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, were lynched in the town center of Marion, Ind. The night before, on Aug. 6, 1930, they had been arrested and charged with the armed robbery and murder of a white factory worker, Claude Deeter, and the rape of his companion, Mary Ball.

That evening, local police were unable to stop a mob of thousands from breaking into the jail with sledgehammers and crowbars to pull the young men out of their cells and lynch them.

News of the lynching spread across the world. Local photographer Lawrence Beitler took what would become the most iconic photograph of lynching in America. The photograph shows two bodies hanging... Hosted by Radio Diaries for KRTS

Aphasia is a communication disorder caused by damage to the parts of the brain that deal with language. It's most often caused by a stroke, but can be caused by a number of traumatic brain injuries, too.  Statistically speaking, more people suffer from Aphasia than  Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease, for example -- but many people simply haven't heard of it.

Tonight on West Texas Talk our guest is Kitty Binek. She's the Executive Director of the Aphasia Center of West Texas in Midland, and she joins us to talk about Aphasia, what her organization does, and about an upcoming fundraiser called Chocolate Decadence. Hosted by Travis Lux for KRTS

Work is a such a big part of life — for many of us, it’s where we spend much of our day. So all this week we’re talking your neighbors about their lives and the the work that they do out here in West Texas.

Our guest tonight is Gracie Lara -- a cashier from Marfa. We talked about managing stress on the job, working in a town where everyone knows everyone, and the things she thinks Marfa lacks.

Hosted by Travis Lux for KRTS

Work is a such a big part of life -- for many of us, it’s where we spend much of our day. So all this week we’ve been talking your neighbors about their lives and the the work that they do out here in west texas. It’s a mini-series called West Texas Work.

So far this week we’ve heard from a self-employed bookkeeper, a geologist, and a border patrol agent. Tonight, for the last episode of this series, we’re talking with Gracie Lara -- she’s a cashier at a Marfa convenience store. We talked about managing stress on the job, working in a town where everyone knows everyone, and the things she thinks Marfa lacks.

Hosted by Travis Lux for KRTS

Work is a such a big part of life — for many of us, it’s where we spend much of our day. So all this week we’re talking your neighbors about their lives and the the work that they do out here in West Texas.

Carry’s originally from Odessa -- but his job with the has taken him all over west texas. Alpine, Lubbock, Marfa, and for the last few years -- El Paso.

We talk about how he got into the Border Patrol, managing friction and dealing with public perception, and what success means to him. Hosted by Travis Lux for KRTS