Episodes

  • Custer's Last Stand: Hero or Fool?

    Custer's Last Stand: Hero or Fool?
    Jun 25 2026
    The Battle of the Little Bighorn is one of the most famous and most misunderstood events in American history. On June 25, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and roughly 210 men of his immediate command were wiped out along a ridge in southeastern Montana by a massive village of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho fighting under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. But how did Custer really die? Did he go down fighting, was he killed trying to reach the river, or did he take his own life to avoid capture? And did the warriors who killed him even know who he was? Also discussed is the entire chain of events that led to Custer's Last Stand, from the Lakota claim to the sacred Black Hills and the broken Fort Laramie treaties, through Sand Creek, Red Cloud's War, and the Black Hills gold rush, to the three-column campaign of 1876. 00:00:00 Introduction
 00:00:39 The Lakota and the Black Hills
 00:03:51 Sand Creek and Red Cloud's War
 00:06:25 The Black Hills Gold Rush
 00:09:56 The 1876 Campaign Begins
 00:22:34 The Battle Begins: Reno's Charge
 00:28:30 Custer's Last Stand
 00:36:25 How Did Custer Really Die? Check out the website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/ Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/ Buy Me A Coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwest Join Patreon for ad-free bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra Merch! https://wildwestextramerch.com/ Wooden Leg Part 1 - https://www.wildwestextra.com/wooden-leg-the-battle-of-little-bighorn/ Wooden Leg Part 2 - https://open.spotify.com/episode/1yiQvAJE0q7ODJN3cBl8GU? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    51 mins
  • Billy the Kid, Brushy Bill, & the NYPD

    Billy the Kid, Brushy Bill, & the NYPD
    Jun 4 2026
    Did the NYPD prove that Brushy Bill Roberts was Billy the Kid using forensic technology? Short answer: no. Not the NYPD, not the FBI, not the CIA, and not Interpol. No official agency has ever conducted a forensic photo comparison or any kind of investigation into whether Brushy Bill Roberts was Billy the Kid. So where does the claim come from? Most of the time, it traces back to the documentary "Billy the Kid: The Silver City Photo," produced by Dan Edwards, and featuring an NYPD detective named Michael Furia. That’s what we’ll be discussing today, taking a look at what Detective Furia actually did, what he did not do, and why a confident opinion about an old photograph is not the same thing as a forensic identification. Along the way, we get into why facial recognition software doesn’t work on 19th-century tintypes, what the NYPD's own policy says about photo matches (spoiler: a match is only an investigative lead), and how a tool like Civil War Photo Sleuth really operates. We also identify one of the six photographs for who it actually is, a Rough Rider named William Dibrell Wood, a real and well-documented man who was most definitely NOT Brushy Bill Roberts. Wild West Quiz - https://wildwestquiz.com/ Check out the website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/ Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/ Buy Me A Coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwest Join Patreon for ad-free bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra Merch! https://wildwestextramerch.com/ Silver City Photo Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4A1OMB238s&t=1398s Detective Furia Billy the Kid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-m-AJ5G0Tg Forever West YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ForeverWestPodcast Corey Recko: http://www.coreyrecko.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    23 mins
  • We Hang Horse Thieves: The Truth About Frontier Justice

    We Hang Horse Thieves: The Truth About Frontier Justice
    May 28 2026
    How many people were legally hanged for stealing horses in the Old West? Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? Join me today as we bust one of the most enduring myths of the American frontier. Despite what Hollywood and dime novels would have you believe, there was never a time in the Old West when stealing horses was legally punishable by death. Not in Texas, not in Arizona, not anywhere west of the Mississippi. We'll dig into the Espy File (the gold standard for documenting legal executions in American history), the brutal English Bloody Code inherited by American colonies, the concept of "pious perjury," and why Western juries, much like their English counterparts, flat out refused to convict when they felt the punishment didn't fit the crime. We'll also discuss why the famous Arizona law making train robbery a capital offense only resulted in a single execution, how the cattle barons of the Johnson County War weaponized lynch mobs against innocent homesteaders like Ella Watson, and why guys like Doc Middleton, arguably the most prolific horse thief of all time, walked away with only a few years behind bars. Wild West Quiz - https://wildwestquiz.com/ Check out the website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/ Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/ Buy Me A Coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwest Join Patreon for ad-free bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra Merch! https://wildwestextramerch.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    18 mins
  • Print Olive: Man Burner

    Print Olive: Man Burner
    May 21 2026
    Imagine being wrapped alive in a freshly butchered cowhide, tied to a tree, and left to bake in the Texas sun. The old timers called it the death of skins, and according to legend, it's exactly what Texas cattleman Print Olive did to a pair of rustlers in 1876. But that's nothing compared to his actions a few years later, which earned him the nickname Man Burner. Print Olive was a man of many hats: Confederate. Cattle baron. Vigilante. Convicted murderer. One of the largest ranchers in all of Nebraska. He also may have inspired Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove. Also discussed are Doc Middleton, King Ranch, Kansas quarantine laws, and a little-known cow town called Trail City. Wild West Quiz - https://wildwestquiz.com/ Check out the website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/ Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/ Buy Me A Coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwest Join Patreon for ad-free bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra Merch! https://wildwestextramerch.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    27 mins
  • Richard "Two Gun" Hart (ENCORE)

    Richard "Two Gun" Hart (ENCORE)
    May 14 2026
    Enjoy this encore presentation of Richard "Two Gun" Hart. New episodes continue next week! By the mid-1920s, Al Capone was the undisputed kingpin of Chicago and was feverishly working to expand his empire. The only thing standing in the way of his ambitions was an overzealous Nebraska lawman known as Richard “Two Gun” Hart. The mysterious Hart claimed to be half Native American and appeared like something straight out of a Hollywood Western. Still, he was said to be both fearless and incorruptible, going down in history as one of the most effective Prohibition Agents of all time. But Richard Hart harbored a dark secret that even his wife and children were unaware of. It turns out that the straight-shooting lawman and the notorious gangster were connected in more ways than one. Check out the website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/ Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/ Buy Me A Coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwest Join Patreon for ad-free bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra Merch! https://wildwestextramerch.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    53 mins
  • The Outlaw Burt Alvord: From Arizona to the Amazon

    The Outlaw Burt Alvord: From Arizona to the Amazon
    Apr 30 2026
    In September of 1899, Constable Burt Alvord deputized a group of his closest friends and rode out in pursuit of a gang of train robbers. The only problem is that the men he deputized were the same ones who pulled off the robbery. Not only that, but the mastermind behind the entire affair was none other than Constable Alvord himself. But that's just the beginning. Once apprehended, Alvord escaped jail over Tombstone not once but twice. He’d go on to assist Arizona Ranger Burt Mossman in capturing the notorious bandit Augustine Chacon, rob a gold mine deep in the heart of Sonora, allegedly attempt to fake his own death, and then disappear into the Amazon. Also discussed are Cochise County Sheriff John Slaughter, legendary lawman Jeff Milton, and an outlaw known as Three-Fingered Jack Dunlap. Check out the website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/ Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/ Buy Me A Coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwest Join Patreon for ad-free bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra Merch! https://wildwestextramerch.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    23 mins
  • Henry Newton Brown: The Lawman Who Robbed a Bank

    Henry Newton Brown: The Lawman Who Robbed a Bank
    Apr 23 2026
    Henry Newton Brown was an orphan from Missouri who rode with Billy the Kid during one of the bloodiest range wars in American history. He helped ambush Sheriff William Brady, fought Buckshot Roberts at Blazers Mill, survived the Battle of Lincoln, and fled New Mexico as a wanted fugitive. And then, against all odds, he became one of the most respected lawmen in all of Kansas. As city marshal of Caldwell, Brown cleaned up a town that had already buried three marshals before him. The grateful citizens even presented him with a fancy Winchester as a token of appreciation. But barely a month after marrying his wife, Brown rode west to Medicine Lodge and attempted to rob the bank. Two men were killed, not so much as a single dollar was taken, and by later on that same evening, Brown was running for his very life from a mob of several hundred. Also discussed are the Lincoln County War, Billy the Kid, and Old West detective Charlie Siringo. Buy Me A Coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwest Check out the website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/ Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/ Join Patreon for ad-free bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra Billy the Kid Series! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3yBXIa7ZuQ&t=5623s Merch! https://wildwestextramerch.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    29 mins
  • Outlaws, Lawmen, & Forgotten Killers of the Old West (ENCORE)

    Outlaws, Lawmen, & Forgotten Killers of the Old West (ENCORE)
    Apr 16 2026
    Join me as we examine five of the most dangerous and overlooked figures in Old West history. First up is Jesse Evans, the New Mexico outlaw who rode with Billy the Kid, helped spark the Lincoln County War, and then vanished without a trace. Next is Nate Champion, the cowboy who stood alone against fifty hired killers during Wyoming's Johnson County War. After that, we cover Billy Brooks, the buffalo hunter turned lawman turned horse thief who killed or wounded at least fifteen men across Kansas before meeting his end at the hands of vigilantes. Then we discuss Barney Riggs, the convicted murderer who earned a pardon from Yuma Territorial Prison, only to get into even more trouble back in Texas. And finally, we close things out with Old Man Clanton, the patriarch of the Clanton family, one of the key figures behind the Cochise County Cowboys in Tombstone, and the man whose crimes along the Mexican border made him one of the most feared men in all of Arizona Territory. This compilation is for all of you OTR truckers, shift workers, and insomniacs. Check out the website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/ Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/ Buy me a coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwest Join Patreon for ad-free and bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 52 mins