13 episodes
Boomtown Imperative Entertainment
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- Documentary
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4.7 • 3K Ratings
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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.
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Boomtown Follow-up: The One-Two Punch | Chapter 12
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.
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The Last Frontier | Chapter 11
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?
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The Mitchell Paradox | Chapter 10
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.
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A Dark Horizon | Chapter 9
Christian talks with renowned business writer Bethany McLean about how the finances of fracking aren't what they're cracked up to be.
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Wild West Texas | Chapter 8
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.
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Mojo Magic | Chapter 7
The Permian Basin is the birthplace of Friday Night Lights. But the historic oil boom threatens beloved high school football traditions.
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Customer Reviews
Fascinating
I didn’t know anything about west texas or oil and this podcast was extremely well done. I loved it and I have zero interest in any of it. Great work.
Thieves
Criminals
Entertaining but shallow analysis
Was it entertaining? Yes. Did I want more depth? Yes. Is Chris Wallace an amazing voice to listen to? Yes. For me, the series was a shallow look that at the oil industry and its tendrils that only gestures at deeper topics. I wish there had been a more complex analysis of relationship between the degradation of land and the degradation of human bodies, the complexity of sex work (by far the best episodes), the environment and politics of oil. Ultimately, I felt like the series didn’t grapple enough with exploitation.
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