Come And Take It

In the Summer of 1860, drought, political strife, and paranoia led to a wave of violence and political uprising that stoked the fires of secession in Texas.

He was a bold and daring submarine commander who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Second World War. This week we talk about another great Texas military hero.

To a Texan from the Gulf coast, Hurricanes represent a very real and dangerous threat that stretches back to the origins of Texas history. Today we're recording this on the evening of August 30th, 2017 and we’d like to take some time to talk about the latest hurricane to come to Texas.

In 1963, just a month after the tragic death of President Kennedy, the first major diplomatic summit of the Johnson presidency was held in the heart of Texas, at LBJ Ranch. This week we talk about the amazing story of the Sparerib Summit!

A legend in football. A legend in Texas. The man who turned the Dallas Cowboys into America’s Team.

He was an accomplished academic and believed to be the first African-American in Texas to receive a Ph.D. His son was a famous debater who became a founding pioneer of non-violent civil rights protest. Today we are talking about the James Farmers; Senior and Junior.

The 1970s closed out with a great season for the Houston Astros in 1979. They finished only one-and-a-half games behind the pennant-winning Reds, and ended the decade on the brink of greatness. Would the Astros finally get over that hump and become the dominant team they’d come close to becoming since the 1960s? Let’s find out.

He was a visionary rock n roller from West Texas, the self-style King of El Paso Rock, who rocketed to the top of the charts in 1966. But his tragic and mysterious death prevented him from living up to his full potential. This week we look at the mysterious death of Texas rock legend Bobby Fuller.

When our minds turn to summer in Texas, we think of hot days, cold drinks, and a refreshing place to dunk your head and enjoy the wonderful waterways and swimming holes of the Lone Star State. One of our favorite places is the beautiful—and hard-working— Lake Travis.

He was a west Texas school teacher who moved to Hollywood and became the beloved co-star of one of the longest running TV Westerns of all time. This week we talk about Bonanza’s Hoss Cartwright, Dan Blocker.

She was the Amelia Earhart of Texas and a pioneer in aviation history! Today we discuss the life and times of Aviatrix Katherine Stinson.

This week is our 200th episode, and to celebrate we’re going to talk around the campfire about some odds and ends and things we love about Texas, and some of our favorite things about this show. Sit back and enjoy a Come and Take It Bicentennial!

She was the known as La Alondra de la Frontera and La Gloria de Texas, the first superstar who paved the way for generations of Tejano musicians and fans. This week we look at the remarkable life and music of Lydia Mendoza.

El Camino Royale, the King’s Road, the Old Spanish Trail, or the Old San Antonio Road. While it has many names, this classic road has a glorious history into the past of Texas. Today we’re talking about the OSR.

Jim Jones. Curly Bill. Cy Tolliver. Iconic roles for an iconic actor. Today we’re looking back on the life and career of beloved native Texan actor Powers Boothe.

Pioneering journalist Peggy Hull came to Texas in 1916 to break the glass ceiling and become America?s first female war correspondent.

Some runaway mules, a distracted crowd, and an irritated vaudeville musical act. How did America’s most famous family of comedians get their start in the oldest town in Texas? This well we talk about Nacogdoches and the birth of the Marx Brothers!

We’ve discussed in the past the hit-or-miss nature of accurately representing Texas in film and television. Every once in awhile, a film comes along that’s so dead on—so perfectly Texan—that we can’t help but get excited about it. Against a backdrop of struggling farms and oil boomtowns in West Texas, Hell or High Water weaves a familiar tale of the little guy striking back against the system that has done him and his family wrong. Layered over that simple plot is a wonderful cast of Texan characters which ring very, very true.

Frontier justice, a wizard with a whip, a scandalous apparition, and a bull tied to murder. This week we take another journey into history with more Tales of Texas Past

Davy Crockett, William Barrett Travis, Jim Bowie… These are the best-known heroes of the Alamo, and their sacrifice along with their compatriots at that old mission would set the stage for the final, decisive Texan victory at San Jacinto. Without the vision and actions of one man, the Alamo might never have been in Texas hands at all.