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The ancient Egyptians lived in an arid land, but they marshaled the Nile River's floodwaters to build a farming society. Now, researchers have learned something similar unfolded in our region's deep past.

Big Bend is defined by geological diversity, which has been shaped by diverse tectonic forces. And scientists are now taking a closer look at one of those forces — known as the Laramie Ororgeny.

Órale, the feature of this episode is the word fileriar. There’s no comparable word in modern Spanish, only the close Latin root of filo, which means true or straight. In Spanish, the filo of anything is the sharp edge of it, and to afilar is to sharpen. In Caló, the conjugation of this term goes further and names the sharpened object itself, filero, which means a sharpened shank or knife. Caló also turns this noun into a verb, fileriar. Some English speakers may note the close resemblance to the term fillet, as in to slice and splay a fish.

The national parks at Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns are helping scientists understand an unseen but consequential phenomena — the emissions of methane from the Permian Basin oilfield.

As enthralling as it is, prehistoric rock art has long resisted scientific analysis. But one archaeologist is now changing that.

Órale, the feature this week is the word curar. In modern Spanish it means to cure, as in from an injury or illness. In Caló, curar means to gawk, as in to take inappropriate pleasure in looking at somebody. It is said that somebody is curandose if they’re looking at somebody who’s unknowingly exposed or in distress. Curar can also be used in situations where the cura is somebody getting their comeuppance or eating crow.

If you're a West Texas hiker, you've likely interacted with javelinas, or collared peccaries. Anthropologist Adam Johnson is studying these interactions and relations, and he's discovering a complex “multi-species politics” among people and peccaries.

Órale, the feature this week is the word trinquetear. It’s a verb that means to cheat or steal by tricking or scamming somebody. In modern Spanish, a trinquete is the cross beam on the main mast of a sailing ship. But if used as an analogy, it refers to the constriction that occurs if you wind the cross beam like a tourniquet. In Caló, there’s triqueteada, not trinquete, and it means the scam the victim is woven into. The person doing it is the trinquetero(a), always a skilled and creative person. If you know a trinquetero(a), you can’t help but appreciate their art.

Órale, this episode features a word contributed by one of our listeners. The vato’s from Marfa, and he contributed several words. Thanks, carnal. We’re gonna use them all. The word is clecha. There’s no root for it in either Spanish or English, but it intersects a little with another word we’ve used in the past, trucha, which means “watch out.” Clecha refers to the skill or learned behavior of watching out. You say somebody’s clecha if they’re street smart or, if they’re in the pinta, you use it to mean they’re prison smart. Good advice when somebody’s been torcido is, “you better get clecha fast in here, ese.”

Thanks to Hollywood, the Jurassic Period— with its dinosaurs and other charismatic reptiles — holds a special place in the popular imagination. But the Jurassic in Texas has long been a blank. Now that's changed.