Boomtown

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. 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

Trailer: Boomtown

December 2, 2019 • 4 mins
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Highway To Hell | Chapter 1

December 10, 2019 • 48 mins
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. Native: Get 20% off your first purchase at NativeDeodorant.com, using promo code BOOMTOWN at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
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Rise of the Permian | Chapter 2

December 17, 2019 • 40 mins
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Dust to Dust | Chapter 3

December 24, 2019 • 42 mins
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Life and Death on the Rig | Chapter 4

December 31, 2019 • 34 mins
In the Permian Basin, the rewards of roughnecking come with incredible risk. For one Andrews family, that danger became a true nightmare. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Boobtown | Chapter 5

January 7, 2020 • 37 mins
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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A Thin Line | Chapter 6

January 14, 2020 • 34 mins
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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Mojo Magic | Chapter 7

January 21, 2020 • 44 mins
The Permian Basin is the birthplace of Friday Night Lights. But the historic oil boom threatens beloved high school football traditions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Wild West Texas | Chapter 8

January 28, 2020 • 58 mins
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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A Dark Horizon | Chapter 9

February 4, 2020 • 40 mins
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Mitchell Paradox | Chapter 10

February 11, 2020 • 48 mins
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Last Frontier | Chapter 11

February 18, 2020 • 56 mins
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Boomtown Follow-up: The One-Two Punch | Chapter 12

April 30, 2020 • 43 mins
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Special Preview Episode: Elizabeth the First. The Early Years

November 30, 2022 • 33 mins
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 Hollywood collided with the reality of a male-dominated business – one that was more interested in making Taylor a product, than the person ...
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Wondery Presents: Frozen Head

January 23, 2023 • 5 mins
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 and brought back to life in the future. And that belief will pull multiple generations of the Pilgeram family into a cryonics soap opera f...
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