West Texas Talk
West Texas Talk — Marfa Public Radio's flagship program — made its debut when the station launched and is now a repository of hundreds of local profiles.
The program features discussions about regional issues and topics with residents and experts. Whether looking at immigration on the border, delving into West Texas history, or having conversations about the Big Bend’s changing towns — we hope to explore the topics that matter most to residents.
The show also celebrates the creative spirit of Far West Texas and features conversations with writers, musicians, filmmakers, and artists who both live here and pass through the region.
The show's theme music was composed by Andy Stack.
Latest Episodes
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Diana Nguyen speaks to Marfa Public Radio’s Sally Beauvais and Christopher Collins, a reporter for the Texas Observer. They discuss the healthcare crisis in rural Texas. Later on the show, Rachel Monroe speaks with poet Martha Collins. They discuss Collins’ works in which she examines parts of her family history as a lens into racism in America. -
This week, we’re delving deeper into Respect Big Bend. Diana Nguyen talks to Marilu Hastings of the Mitchell Foundation and Dr. Michael Young with the Bureau of Economic Geology at UT Austin. They talk about how the Respect Big Bend initiative got started and discuss potential impacts renewable energy production could have on Far West Texas. Later, Nguyen talks Brendan Byrne — the space reporter for member station WMFE in Orlando. They discuss Blue Origin’s mysterious operations in West Texas.
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Diana Nguyen talks to Billy Tarrant of Borderlands Research Institute. They talk about the projections of expanded renewable energy production in the region and the goals of the coalition.Later in the show, Elise Pepple talks to Rachel Neel, the Senior Supervising Producer of Ask Me Another — a live show from NPR and WNYC that blends brainteasers, pub trivia, comedy and music. They talk about the show and about Neel’s former life as an employee at Marfa Public Radio.
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Elise Pepple talks to Rachel Monroe and Gaby Carballo about a topic on a lot of residents’ minds… the difficulty of dating in rural America. They go over the complications, the highs, and the lows of finding love in West Texas. Later in the show, a conversation Carlos Morales had with journalists Alfredo Corchado and Angela Kocherga about their observations and experiences in covering the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Diana Nguyen talks to Rainer Judd, the daughter of the late artist Donald Judd and the president of the Judd Foundation. Later, Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans talk about the YACHT album “Chain Tripping.” They used artificial intelligence to write the songs that were eventually recorded in Marfa.
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For the next few weeks, we’re re-broadcasting some of our favorite interviews from the past year.Diana Nguyen talks to Mark Scott and Katy Rose Elsasser of Convenience West. Earlier this year, they made Texas Monthly’s cut for Top 25 New Barbeque Joints in Texas. Later, Rachel Monroe talks about her book "Savage Appetites." It’s an investigation of our cultural fascination with crime and looks at four true stories of women driven by obsession.
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Elise Pepple talks to Sam Sanders, a correspondent and host of of the NPR talk show "It’s Been A Minute with Sam Sanders." Sanders talks to journalists, actors, musicians, and listeners to make sense of the world through conversation. Later in the show, Diana Nguyen talks to choreographer Kim Brandt, a Chinati artist in residence. Brandt’s work involves the development of movement scores that explore physical, spatial, and temporal relationships to place and the symbiotic relationship between bodies and the environments within which they move.
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Diana Nguyen speaks Michael Stangl — a graduate student who's been studying the mountain lions of West Texas with the Borderlands Research Institute. They talk about the takeaways from their research on the mysterious creatures.Later on the show, poet Sally Wen Mao discusses “Oculus,” a collection of poetry that re-imagines the flattened narratives of women of color. Mao looks at the roles and representations that Asian women endure in a society that continually objectifies them.
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We air a portion of the town hall Marfa Public Radio held a week ago in collaboration with The Big Bend Sentinel. On November 21, about a hundred people packed into The Sentinel space to talk about access to resources and healthcare for seniors in the Big Bend.In addition to hearing questions and comments from participants, Diana Nguyen talks to Marfa Public Radio reporter Sally Beauvais about big takeaways from the town hall.
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Diana Nguyen and Station Manager Elise Pepple update you on everything that’s been happening at Marfa Public Radio. Their conversation includes talk about projects on the horizon, and some BIG announcements. Later in the show, Nguyen talks to Lannan writer-in-residence poet James Arthur. They talk about the importance of ambiguity in poetry, and his newest collection, The Suicide’s Son.