Whether you grew up watching the movies of John Wayne, cut your teeth on Clint Eastwood's 'Man with No Name' trilogy, or consider Kevin Costner to be the screen's quintessential cowboy star, HOW THE WEST WAS 'CAST is just the podcast you've been waiting for. Join screenwriter and journalist Matthew Chernov and film historian Andrew Patrick Nelson as they discuss the beloved masterpieces, forgotten treasures, and curious cult movies that make up the Western film genre. From the timeless classics of the 1940s and '50s, to the bold and bloody titles of the 1960s and '70s, to the prestige Westerns of today, HOW THE WEST WAS 'CAST explores one of cinema's most fascinating and enduring genres. more

Hopalong Cassidy rode the radio air waves from 1950 to 1952. His popularity grew and grew, every time his show was heard. These radio shows, together with his movies and television shows helped make him one of the all-time most popular heroes of western fiction and cinema. His popularity continues to grow each year, as generations new and old delight in the classic tales of this American hero. more

A man, a dog, and a horse. The call of the wild geese. A very smart doctor from the east who finds there is a lot to learn from these desert people. A woman loved by three men. A gunslinger who has a debt to settle. Max Brand brings them all together in another one of his over three hundred exciting western tales. Brand is not your typical western writer. (Summary by rkilmer)The Dan Barry series:The UntamedThe Night HorsemanThe Seventh ManDan Barry's Daughter more

This western featured movie star Guy Madison as the lead, ably assisted by media veteran Andy Devine as his sidekick Jingles. Wild Bill Hickok was a figure in the American Old West, his skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized. more

The Seventh Man by Max Brand, tells part of the story of the larger-than-life western character, Dan Barry, known as 'Whistling Dan,' and his alter-ego companions, Black Bart, the wolf-dog, and Satan, the indomitable black stallion. It's also the story of Kate Cumberland and the incredible five-year-old daughter of Kate and Dan, Joan. We first see Dan as a gentle, caring man with a deep sense of fairness. But then, after six years of a peaceful life in their mountain cabin Dan, more feral than human, sets out to revenge an injustice by killing seven men. Ultimately, it is his devotion to his daughter and Kate's love for the child that brings about the climax of the tale.Warning: don't look for a typical cowboy story here it's far deeper and stronger than that. (Summary by Robert Keiper)The Dan Barry series:The UntamedThe Night HorsemanThe Seventh ManDan Barry's Daughter more

The Great West, prior to the century's turn, abounded in legend. Stories were told of fabled gunmen whose bullets always magically found their mark, of mighty stallions whose tireless gallop rivaled the speed of the wind, of glorious women whose beauty stunned mind and heart. But nowhere in the vast spread of the mountain-desert country was there a greater legend told than the story of Red Pierre and the phantom gunfighter, McGurk.These two men of the wilderness, so unalike, of widely-differing backgrounds, had in common a single trait: each was unbeatable. Fate brought them clashing together, thunder to thunder, lightning to lightning. They were destined to meet at the crossroads of a long, long trail ... a trail which began in the northern wastes of Canada and led, finally, to a deadly confrontation in the mountains of the Far West. (Summary by Max Brand) more

The Wild West in Modern and Contemporary Literature and CultureGet in touch at oldwestnow@gmail.com