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This Week in the West

This Week in the West

Written by: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
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 Broadcasting from The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, This Week in the West brings you the stories of the people and events that shaped the history of the American West.Copyright 2024 All rights reserved. World
Episodes
  • This Week in the West: The Monumental Effort to Create the Transcontinental Railroad

    This Week in the West: The Monumental Effort to Create the Transcontinental Railroad
    May 4 2026
    🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 79: The Monumental Effort to Create the Transcontinental Railroad 📢 Episode Summary: This episode of This Week in The West commemorates the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The story opens at Promontory Summit in Utah Territory, where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads met in a historic moment symbolized by the driving of the golden spike. What had once seemed impossible—a rail connection spanning the continent—became a reality, marking a turning point in American history. The episode explores the immense challenges behind the railroad’s construction. From the granite walls of the Sierra Nevada to the vast and unforgiving Great Plains, thousands of laborers—many of them Chinese immigrants, Irish workers, Civil War veterans and formerly enslaved men—endured brutal conditions to complete the line. The project was driven forward by the Pacific Railway Act signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, but it came at a cost, including the disruption of Native American lands and the near destruction of the American bison. Finally, the episode examines the profound impact of the railroad on the nation. Travel time across the country shrank from months to about a week, transforming commerce, communication and daily life. The railroad helped establish time zones, fueled economic growth and shaped settlement patterns across the West. Its influence reached into industries like cattle ranching and inspired artists such as Albert Bierstadt, whose work captured a landscape in transition. The legacy of the transcontinental railroad remains deeply woven into the story of the American West and the themes explored at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. 🔍 What You’ll Learn: How the transcontinental railroad was planned, funded and ultimately completed at Promontory Summit in 1869The human story behind the railroad, including the diverse workforce and the कठिन and dangerous conditions they enduredThe lasting impact of the railroad on American life, from economic growth and time zones to Western expansion and cultural change 👥 Behind the Scenes Host: Seth Spillman Producer: Chase Spivey Writer: Mike Koehler 🔗 Further research: PBS’ American Experience documentary on the Transcontinental Railroad: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/tcrr/The Transcontinental Railroad and the Asian-American Experience: https://postalmuseum.si.edu/the-transcontinental-railroad-and-the-asian-american-storyHow the Transcontinental Railroad changed America forever: https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0n4kjvh/watch 📬 Connect With Us: 🌐 Website: www.thecowboy.org 📖 Read Our Blog: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/ 📩 Email: podcast@thecowboy.org 📲Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ncwhm/ 📷Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationalcowboymuseum ❎X/Twitter: https://x.com/ncwhm 💼LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-cowboy-&-western-heritage-museum 🗺️ Visit Us: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73111. See us on the map 🎟️: You can now buy tickets to The Cowboy online, go to https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/tickets/ 💡 Support Us:🏅Become A Member of the Museum: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/support/memberships/ 🛒Shop at Persimmon Hill, our Museum store: https://persimmonhillstore.com/ 🎧 Listen & Subscribe: 🔹 Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-the-west/id1776228708 🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2KYmd2BumVtQVH1ez1Cr2U 🔹YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFoE2kU21JpX9T6W9NonXuD9UapS1TsmN 🔹Podbean: https://thisweekinthewest.podbean.com/ ⭐ If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate & review!
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    6 mins
  • This Week in the West: The Wild Western Life of Artist Olaf Wieghorst

    This Week in the West: The Wild Western Life of Artist Olaf Wieghorst
    Apr 27 2026
    🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 78: The Wild Western Life of Artist Olaf Wieghorst 📢 Episode Summary: This episode of This Week in the West explores the remarkable life of Western artist Olaf Wieghorst, a man whose story reads like the very scenes he would later paint. Born in Denmark in 1899, Wieghorst developed an early fascination with horses while performing as a child acrobat and circus rider. Drawn by stories of the American West, he immigrated to the United States in 1918, famously jumping ship in New York with little more than a dollar and a dream. His journey west began through enlistment in the U.S. Cavalry, where he gained firsthand experience with the landscapes, people, and horses that would define his artistic legacy. After his military service, Wieghorst lived and worked as a cowboy in the Southwest, sketching scenes of everyday Western life before eventually settling in New York City. There, he joined the NYPD Mounted Division, continuing his work with horses while quietly building a side career as an artist. Despite restrictions on outside work, his drawings began gaining recognition through magazines and exhibitions, reflecting an authenticity that came from lived experience rather than imagination. In 1944, Wieghorst retired from the police force and moved permanently to California, dedicating himself fully to painting. His work—often centered on horses and quiet, reflective moments of Western life—earned him national acclaim and comparisons to legends like Frederic Remington and Charles Russell. Honored during his lifetime and beyond, including induction into the Hall of Great Westerners, Wieghorst left behind a legacy rooted in authenticity. As he once said, he painted what he knew—knowledge earned through hardship, experience, and a life fully lived in the West. 🔍 What You’ll Learn: How Olaf Wieghorst’s real-life experiences as a cavalryman, cowboy, and horseman shaped the authenticity of his Western artThe unlikely path from Danish circus performer and immigrant to one of America’s most respected Western paintersWhy firsthand experience—not formal training—became the foundation of Wieghorst’s artistic philosophy and lasting legacy 👥 Behind the Scenes Host: Seth Spillman Producer: Chase Spivey Writer: Mike Koehler 🔗 Further research: The Olaf Wieghorst Museum: https://wieghorstmuseum.org/Audio of Olaf Wieghorst on the Merv Griffin Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idFc80uuQu8Wieghorst at The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum for an art show: https://images.nationalcowboymuseum.org/Documents/Detail/olaf-wieghorst/103336 📬 Connect With Us: 🌐 Website: www.thecowboy.org 📖 Read Our Blog: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/ 📩 Email: podcast@thecowboy.org 📲Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ncwhm/ 📷Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationalcowboymuseum ❎X/Twitter: https://x.com/ncwhm 💼LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-cowboy-&-western-heritage-museum 🗺️ Visit Us: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73111. See us on the map 🎟️: You can now buy tickets to The Cowboy online, go to https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/tickets/ 💡 Support Us:🏅Become A Member of the Museum: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/support/memberships/ 🛒Shop at Persimmon Hill, our Museum store: https://persimmonhillstore.com/ 🎧 Listen & Subscribe: 🔹 Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-the-west/id1776228708 🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2KYmd2BumVtQVH1ez1Cr2U 🔹YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFoE2kU21JpX9T6W9NonXuD9UapS1TsmN 🔹Podbean: https://thisweekinthewest.podbean.com/ ⭐ If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate & review!
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    6 mins
  • This Week in the West, Episode 77: Naturalist John Muir's Vision of Preserving the West

    This Week in the West, Episode 77: Naturalist John Muir's Vision of Preserving the West
    Apr 20 2026
    🤠This Week in the West 🎙️Episode 77: Naturalist John Muir's Vision of Preserving the West 📢 Episode Summary: This episode tells the remarkable story of John Muir, whose life changed forever after a factory accident in 1867 temporarily blinded him. When his vision returned, Muir saw it as a second chance and chose to leave behind industrial life to pursue a deeper connection with the natural world. That decision led him on a thousand-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico and eventually west to California, where he discovered the awe-inspiring beauty of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. In the mountains, Muir immersed himself in observation and study, blending poetic writing with careful scientific inquiry. He challenged prevailing ideas about how Yosemite Valley was formed, arguing that glaciers shaped its landscape—an idea later proven correct. Through his essays and books, Muir invited Americans to see the wilderness not just as scenery, but as something sacred and worthy of understanding and protection. As the West changed rapidly in the late nineteenth century, Muir became a leading voice for conservation. He helped establish Yosemite National Park, founded the Sierra Club, and influenced President Theodore Roosevelt during a famous 1903 camping trip. Though he suffered a major defeat in the fight to save Hetch Hetchy Valley, his legacy endured through the national parks movement. Today, Muir is remembered not only as a naturalist, but as a force who helped define how Americans value and preserve their wild places. 🔍 What You’ll Learn: How a life-altering injury led John Muir to abandon industry and become a pioneer of wilderness explorationWhy Muir’s scientific observations helped reshape our understanding of Yosemite and the natural worldHow his advocacy influenced the creation of national parks and helped launch the American conservation movement 👥 Behind the Scenes Host: Seth Spillman Producer: Chase Spivey Writer: Mike Koehler 🔗 Further research: The Sierra Club’s Biography Page of John Muir: https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/life/muir_biography.aspxPBS’ American Masters Documentary of Muir: https://www.pbs.org/video/american-masters-john-muir-in-the-new-world-1/John Muir National Historical Site: https://www.nps.gov/jomu/learn/index.htm 📬 Connect With Us: 🌐 Website: www.thecowboy.org 📖 Read Our Blog: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/ 📩 Email: podcast@thecowboy.org 📲Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ncwhm/ 📷Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationalcowboymuseum ❎X/Twitter: https://x.com/ncwhm 💼LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-cowboy-&-western-heritage-museum 🗺️ Visit Us: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73111. See us on the map 🎟️: You can now buy tickets to The Cowboy online, go to https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/tickets/ 💡 Support Us:🏅Become A Member of the Museum: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/support/memberships/ 🛒Shop at Persimmon Hill, our Museum store: https://persimmonhillstore.com/ 🎧 Listen & Subscribe: 🔹 Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-the-west/id1776228708 🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2KYmd2BumVtQVH1ez1Cr2U 🔹YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFoE2kU21JpX9T6W9NonXuD9UapS1TsmN 🔹Podbean: https://thisweekinthewest.podbean.com/ ⭐ If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate & review!
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    7 mins
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