Boomtown
by Imperative Entertainment and Texas Monthly
In a rugged corner of West Texas, billionaire wildcatters and roughnecks are fueling an oil boom so big it’s reshaping our climate, our economy, and our geopolitics. This modern-day gold rush has sent both big oil companies and scrappy start-ups scrambling to secure a piece of the action. Texas Monthly’s Christian Wallace follows characters along every rung of the oil field ladder, from the executive cutting billion-dollar deals to the itinerant pipeline worker risking life and limb, and from the traveling exotic dancer following the trail of money to those who worry that our planet is on a path to destruction. Meet the people cashing in and those just trying to get by as the world around them is turned upside down. "A beautiful ride filled with levity, even as it delivers troubling forecasts for the future" - The Atlantic 2021 Webby Award Honoree, Podcast Documentary
Episodes
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Wondery Presents: Frozen Head
Hosted by Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart from the hit show Morbid. When 90-year-old Laurence Pilgeram drops dead on the sidewalk outside his condo, you might think that’s the end of his story. But, really, it’s just the beginning. Because Laurence and others like him have signed up to be frozen…
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Special Preview Episode: Elizabeth the First. The Early Years
Here’s your special preview episode of the new series Elizabeth the First – about the remarkable life of Elizabeth Taylor. In this preview, we learn how Elizabeth’s ambitious spirit was unmistakable early in life. The relationship with her parents and the push into the glamour and prestige of...
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Imperative Presents: Standoff, the Story of the 1974 Huntsville, TX Prison Siege
A new series on the 1974 Huntsville, TX prison siege, one of the most infamous hostage crises in American history that played out in dramatic fashion over 11 days – all in front of a terrified national audience. 100 hours of newly uncovered audio containing the actual hostage negotiations and the...
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New Series: The Comeback
Sylvester Stallone brings you The Comeback: an immersive, cinematic documentary series about meteoric success, devastating falls and inspirational comebacks - all told by the people who lived them. Listen Now: https://link.chtbl.com/comeback
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New Series: America's Girls
The original Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders squad burst onto the field back in 1972—the same year Title IX passed, the same year Deep Throat came out, and a year before Roe v. Wade. Sarah Hepola digs into the untold stories behind the global pop culture phenomenon, from the stripper who allegedly...
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New Series: The World Beneath
The first-ever series that defines and exposes the true nature of the underworld: a second economy of dirty money, born from the intersection of organized crime and intelligence operations. They are twin heads of this realm, and they have never been separated. This is the world of MOBSTERS & SPIES.
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Introducing: State of Mind
There’s something different about Texas. But how do you define it without resorting to cliches about cowboys and oilmen? At Texas Monthly, we think the answer is through stories — stories like the ones we’ve been telling for almost 50 years. On State of Mind, you’ll hear those stories from our...
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Series Sneak-Peek: The Modern West
From our friends at Wyoming Public Media comes a preview episode, ‘Ghost Town(ing)’, from The Modern West podcast, where the team goes looking for the ghosts of an old silver mining community called Teller City to see if they have any lessons for how the nearby town of Walden, Colorado can keep...
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Introducing: American Coyote
From the team behind the hit podcast American Skyjacker comes a new series about the true adventure of a legendary criminal and unlikely hero. Between 1987 and 2001, Elden Kidd crossed over 1000 immigrants from Mexico into the United States, utilizing wild, harrowing, and sometimes comical…
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Introducing: Tom Brown's Body
In 2016, a popular high school senior mysteriously disappeared on the night before Thanksgiving. His remains were found two years later. What happened to Tom Brown in the small town of Canadian, Texas that night? It seems everyone in town’s become a suspect, including Tom’s family, friends, the...
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Introducing: American Skyjacker
Between the years of 1967 and 1972 over 300 commercial airplanes were hijacked worldwide, with over 130 of those happening in the United States alone. This period would become known as "The Golden Age of Hijacking." American Skyjacker is the tale of a small-time crook named Martin 'Mac' McNally,...
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Boomtown Follow-up: The One-Two Punch | Chapter 12
Christian Wallace talks to some familiar faces from the Boomtown series in an attempt to understand what happened on April 20, 2020—when oil prices went negative for the first time in history.
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Introducing: The Immaculate Deception
Fertility doctor Jan Karbaat was renowned for getting amazing results. Women who were desperate for children would visit him at his Rotterdam clinic and always leave pregnant. But when the clinic closed, rumors began about the methods Karbaat used to achieve his success. The children conceived at...
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The Last Frontier | Chapter 11
Record-breaking oil production in the Permian Basin has brought the boom to the doorstep of the Big Bend for the first time. Is it too late to save this pristine landscape? Upstart: Find out how low your rate is at upstart.com/boomtown.
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The Mitchell Paradox | Chapter 10
No oil and gas baron since John D. Rockefeller has made more of an impact on society than George P. Mitchell. But this son of poor Greek immigrants who died a billionaire wanted to leave a legacy beyond oil and gas. Upstart: Find out how low your rate is at upstart.com/boomtown.
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A Dark Horizon | Chapter 9
Christian talks with renowned business writer Bethany McLean about how the finances of fracking aren't what they're cracked up to be. Upstart: Find out how low your rate is at upstart.com/boomtown.
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Wild West Texas | Chapter 8
The uneasy alliance between ranchers and the oil industry goes all the way back to the early wildcatting days in West Texas. But today, that relationship is more fraught than ever. SimpliSafe: Get free shipping plus a 60-day money-back guarantee at SimpliSafe.com/boomtown.
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Mojo Magic | Chapter 7
The Permian Basin is the birthplace of Friday Night Lights. But the historic oil boom threatens beloved high school football traditions.
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A Thin Line | Chapter 6
During booms, the Permian Basin sees a rise in prostitution charges. But misperceptions and stereotypes about sex work have led to policies that may actually harm the women involved. SimpliSafe: Get free shipping plus a 60-day money-back guarantee at SimpliSafe.com/boomtown
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Boobtown | Chapter 5
We explore a different kind of boom in the Permian Basin. Meet the women working at a lingerie coffee shop, a “breastaurant,” and two area strip clubs. Upstart: Find out how low your rate is at Upstart.com/boomtown.
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Life and Death on the Rig | Chapter 4
In the Permian Basin, the rewards of roughnecking come with incredible risk. For one Andrews family, that danger became a true nightmare.
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Dust to Dust | Chapter 3
A devastating bust transforms the Permian from a promised land into a wasteland. Then, thanks to a quiet, unassuming Texas oilman named George Mitchell, the region comes roaring back.
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Rise of the Permian | Chapter 2
We go back to 1923, and the Santa Rita No. 1, the well that put West Texas oil on the map. We recount the beginnings of rowdy boomtowns and the swaggering wildcatters whose influence would eventually lead all the way to the White House.
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Highway To Hell | Chapter 1
Host Christian Wallace takes us back to his hometown in the Permian Basin, which is nearly unrecognizable to him today. We meet a few of the people whose lives have been upended by the biggest oil boom in U.S. history. Upstart: Find out how low your Upstart rate is at Upstart.com/Boomtown.
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Trailer: Boomtown
In a rugged corner of West Texas, billionaire wildcatters and roughnecks are fueling an oil boom so big it’s reshaping our climate, our economy, and our geopolitics. Boomtown is a 10-part podcast series, with new episodes publishing every Tuesday starting December 10, 2019.
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About this show
In a rugged corner of West Texas, billionaire wildcatters and roughnecks are fueling an oil boom so big it’s reshaping our climate, our economy, and our geopolitics. This modern-day gold rush has sent both big oil companies and scrappy start-ups scrambling to secure a piece of the action. Texas Monthly’s Christian Wallace follows characters along every rung of the oil field ladder, from the executive cutting billion-dollar deals to the itinerant pipeline worker risking life and limb, and from the traveling exotic dancer following the trail of money to those who worry that our planet is on a path to destruction. Meet the people cashing in and those just trying to get by as the world around them is turned upside down.
"A beautiful ride filled with levity, even as it delivers troubling forecasts for the future" - The Atlantic
2021 Webby Award Honoree, Podcast Documentary
Hosted by
Imperative Entertainment and Texas Monthly
Categories