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A New History of Old Texas
Explore the history of early Texas as you’ve never heard it before. The most recent season ("Lipan Apocalypse") unveils the legacy of the Lipan Apaches on modern Texas. Season 6 recounts the outsized impact of José Francisco Ruíz on the state's history. Season 5 traces the roots of Texans' unique psychology - their "Texanity" - to the technological innovations that shaped its people. Season 4 relates the largely unknown story of the Republic of the Rio Grande. Season 3 tells the remarkable tale of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and his journey across the North American continent. Season 2 covers the Battle of Medina, the largest, bloodiest battle in Texas history...and the narrowing search for the battlefield itself! And Season 1 traces the identity of modern-day Texas to the first 160 years or so of San Antonio's history. -- As seen and heard on Texas Standard, KSAT12, Texas Public Radio, the San Antonio Express-News, the San Antonio Report, the Austin Chronicle, and more! --
A New History of Old Texas
Making Texas Cool
Episode 8 of Brandon Seale's podcast on the Engines of Texas History.
Texas's first true industrial "cluster" might have been ice-making. In the twentieth century, Texans lead the way in applying the science of refrigeration to human comfort and notched many significant firsts in the history of air conditioning. Most Texans' first experience with air conditioning was in movie theaters, and the movie industry repaid their patronage with an entire genre of films (the "Western") that helped make Texas "cool" in a way that it never had been before. The homogenizing effects of cinema worsened the marginalization of some Texas communities, however, even as it drove a massive wave of immigration from other U.S. states.
Photo courtesy of Friedrich Air Conditioning.
Sources:
Arsenault, Raymond. “The End of the Long, Hot Summer: The Air Conditioner and Southern Culture.” The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 50, No. 4 (Nov 1984): 597-628.
Cooper, Gail. Air Conditioning America: Engineers and Controlled Environment, 1900-1960 (1998).
Swanson, Philip. “Remember the Alamo? Mexicans, Texans, and Americans in 1960’s Hollywood.” Iberoamericana, Año 11, No. 44 (Dic 2011): 85-100.
Woolrich, W.R. The Men Who Created Cold. New York, NY: Exposition Press, 1967.
www.BrandonSeale.com