Riding to the Badlands with Teddy Roosevelt | Ed O'Keefe

Mike and Grubes kick off December with a lightning strike, a World Series flashback, and the age-old question: are we even gonna make it to (and through) Christmas? Then they welcome a very different kind of guest into the YDC mothership: Ed O’Keefe, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. Ed takes the guys from Grand Forks to the Badlands, explaining why Teddy Roosevelt’s story is so insane it would get rejected as fiction: a sickly bookworm who becomes a cowboy, Rough Rider, president, and the original “media-savvy” politician. They dig into the brutal day his wife and mother died in the same house, how the North Dakota Badlands literally saved his life, and why his ranch became the “cradle of conservation.” Along the way, Ed talks about inventing modern social video at NowThis, working with Anthony Bourdain, and how TR used newspapers the way modern politicians use social media. They get into Rough Riders lore, Teddy’s ties to Texas, trust-busting showdowns with J.P. Morgan, cocaine as a legit medical treatment back then (to the delight of Grubes), and why the new presidential library will feature an AI Teddy, a horse hitch, a living roof, and virtual campfires in the Badlands. If you like presidents with actual side quests, history that weirdly mirrors right now, or the idea of riding a horse to a presidential library, this one’s your episode. Chapters 00:00 - Lightning Strike & Cold Open Chaos 01:08 - Will We Even Make (and Clear) Christmas? 01:38 - Meet Ed O’Keefe & the TR Library 03:01 - Fast Eddie, Ed, or Edward? 03:53 - Growing Up in North Dakota (a.k.a. Almost Canada) 06:13 - Fargo, the Movie Curse & The Accent Question 07:13 - What Even Is a Presidential Library? 08:20 - Turning a Library into an Experience (Horses Welcome) 09:11 - From ABC News to NowThis to CNN 11:26 - Working with Anthony Bourdain 14:05 - Why Teddy Roosevelt’s Life Sounds Made Up 17:15 - The Day His Wife and Mother Died 18:37 - “The Light Has Gone Out of My Life” 21:43 - Badlands 101: Hell with the Fires Out 23:30 - Cradle of Conservation: Elkhorn Ranch 25:29 - Why TR’s America Feels a Lot Like Today 27:00 - Teddy Roosevelt Comes to Texas 28:44 - Who Were the Rough Riders, Really? 30:18 - From Assistant Navy Secretary to President in Three Years 31:48 - Was He Actually Popular? (Short Answer: Yes) 32:16 - Mastering the Media of His Time 35:22 - Tech Shifts, Immigration Waves & Familiar Fights 36:12 - Mid-Show: CBD House of Healing 38:49 - Mid-Show: GivingMas at the Barley House 41:00 - “Speak Softly” & Modern Political Communicators 43:45 - Party Chaos, Third Parties & 1912 Mayhem 46:07 - JP Morgan vs. Teddy: Trust Busting & Respect 48:36 - Weekends, Worker Safety & Cocaine as Medicine 50:54 - Opening Date & How to Get in the Arena 51:50 - AI Teddy, Virtual Campfires & the TR Triangle 53:30 - YDC Road Trip to Medora 53:45 - Outro, Shoutouts & “Drop Us In Anywhere”   Follow Your Dark Companion on Patreon for every episode:  patreon.com/YourDarkCompanion IG: https://www.instagram.com/yourdarkcompanion/ X: https://x.com/YDC_Dfw TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yourdarkcompanion FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559876685445 The Old Grey Wolf:  X: https://x.com/TheOldGreyWolf IG: https://www.instagram.com/theoldgreywolf16/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mikerhyner579 To reach out email us at: [email protected] Thanks to our monthly supporters Matthew Kamper W hammons B Smith Robert Stoolfire Thaddeus D. Matula Rachel W Scott Lewis cody SIMS John Gilbert Robert Saunders Kiffer Sidney Long Pattie Rhyner Davidson David Ashlea Bullington James Corona Gordy John C Caffey Joe Lindsey Cam Jillian Wright David Moore Becca Moore Mike Rhyner Your Dark Companion ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★