In this episode of Writing the West, Sean Sherman — chef, educator, and founder of The Sioux Chef and NATIFS — shares how a childhood on Pine Ridge Reservation shaped his understanding of food, identity, and access. From government commodity rations to award-winning Indigenous cuisine, Sherman traces the journey that led him to strip away colonial ingredients and rebuild regional food systems rooted in Native knowledge. His new book, Turtle Island, is more than a cookbook—it’s a reclamation of history, a celebration of biodiversity, and a blueprint for a healthier, more intentional future grounded in the original flavors of North America.

Few writers capture the layered complexity of the modern West quite like Jamie Harrison. Best known for her Jules Clement mystery series, Harrison has spent decades drawing inspiration from Montana’s small towns, evolving landscapes, and deeply human stories. In this episode of Writing the West, Harrison reflects on how the West became more than a backdrop while also discussing her unconventional path into fiction, including forging her own literary voice as the daughter of acclaimed author Jim Harrison, and why reinvention remains at the heart of Western storytelling.

In this episode of Writing the West, historian and author John Boessenecker joins the podcast to discuss his latest book, Bring Me the Head of Joaquin Murrieta, a deeply researched examination of the man behind one of the most enduring legends of the American West. Often linked — loosely and inaccurately — to the creation of Zorro, Murrieta has long been portrayed as a folk hero and symbol of resistance. In this wide-ranging interview, Boessenecker draws on 19th-century primary sources to unpack the myths, trace the real history of Murrieta and his gang during the California Gold Rush, and explore how popular culture transformed violence, racism, and outlawry into legend.

In this episode of Writing the West, we’re joined by bestselling author C.J. Box to talk about The Crossroads — the 26th Joe Pickett novel, and one of the boldest turns the series has taken yet. Box shares what inspired a new “book of threes” structure, why he wanted the Pickett daughters driving the action, and how real-world pressures reshaping the modern Mountain West continue to fuel his fiction. Plus, don’t miss our print exclusive: Cowboys & Indians’ February/March 2026 issue features an exclusive excerpt of Chapter One of The Crossroads — a first look readers can only get in the magazine before the full book release.

Cattle rustling isn’t a relic of the Old West — it’s a growing modern crime affecting ranchers across the American West, and it’s the driving force behind Thieves Highway, the new action-thriller starring Aaron Eckhart. In this episode of Writing the West, Eckhart joins director Jesse V. Johnson and writer Travis Mills to discuss the real-world inspiration behind the film, the enduring code of the western, and the responsibility of portraying a way of life still lived by working ranchers today.

Long before Hollywood perfected the outlaw antihero, Henry Starr was writing his own script across the banks and backroads of Indian Territory and Oklahoma. A Cherokee bank robber who famously vowed that no one would die in his heists, Starr was sentenced to hang twice, won a commutation from President Theodore Roosevelt, and ultimately stepped in front of the camera as a silent “movie Starr,” dramatizing his own life for audiences across the West. In his new book and ongoing film and theater projects, writer and filmmaker Mark Archuleta traces Starr’s remarkable trajectory from “gentleman bandit” to matinee idol, peeling back the layers of myth, racism, and dime-novel sensationalism to reveal the complex man behind the legend.

For fans of Louis L’Amour, the Lost Treasures series has opened a rare window into the legendary author’s creative process — the drafts, the letters, the abandoned openings, and the stories-behind-the-stories that shaped his iconic body of work. In this episode, Beau L’Amour returns to Writing the West to discuss the newest release in the series, Rivers West, a novel with a fascinating editorial history and an equally compelling restoration process. From early 19th-century political intrigue to the challenges of expanding the western genre, Beau reflects on his father’s far-reaching vision, his remarkable discipline, and the behind-the-scenes discoveries that continue to illuminate Louis L’Amour’s legacy for a new generation of readers.

Few relationships in American frontier history are as mythic — or as misunderstood — as the bond between Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. In his new book, Brothers of the Gun, acclaimed historian and author Mark Lee Gardner brings their story together in a way no one has quite done before: as a dual biography rooted in original research, newly surfaced primary sources, and on-the-ground archival work. We spoke with Gardner about why these two larger-than-life figures remain inseparable in both legend and legacy, what drew him to revisit one of the West’s most retold sagas, and how friendship — fierce, flawed, and deeply human — stands at the heart of their story.