The original Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders squad burst onto the field back in 1972—the same year Title IX passed, the same year Deep Throat came out, and a year before Roe v. Wade. Sarah Hepola digs into the untold stories behind the global pop culture phenomenon, from the stripper who allegedly inspired the squad’s creation, to a scandalous Playboy cover shoot that was partly a battle over fair wages, to the ongoing debate about sexuality and women’s bodies in a post-#MeToo world. The result is a vibrant mix of history, cultural criticism, and storytelling, featuring interviews with New Yorker writer Jia Tolentino, award-winning novelist Ben Fountain, Oscar-nominated director Dana Adam Shapiro, local television sports legend Dale Hansen, folk-writing hero Joe Nick Patoski, and a whole bunch of cheerleaders whose names you don’t know yet—but should.
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#123 Paul Begala Wrote the Book on Defeating Donald Trump
The legendary Democratic strategist on whether Texas is swingable and what it’ll take for Joe Biden to win.
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#122 Dr. Rebecca Fischer: "With Students Returning this Fall, Contact Tracing is Key"
Texas A&M epidemiologist on the critical systems being put in place to maximize safety in an uncertain time.
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#121 Dr. Peter J. Hotez on How the Federal Government Failed Texas
The pioneering vaccine scientist explains why he believes the White House has put Texas in grave danger.
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#120 Tavel Bristol-Joseph Wants the Culinary World to Have a Hard Conversation about Racism
On a special edition of the National Podcast of Texas, one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs on systemic racism and re-opening in a pandemic.