Wild About Texas: Mustangs, Mountain Lions, and Texas Rivers with Ben Masters

Apple Podcast | Spotify | Spreaker | iHeart | Podchaser | Podcast App | ListenNotes

Ryan comes in fresh off a flight from Bentonville, and the guys compare notes on Arkansas bike trails, celebrate the opening of The Loop trail near Victory Park, and give a shout-out to Grand Prairie’s new Walmart Neighborhood Market. Shawn also walks through the Dallas public safety bond, from a 74-year-old evidence room to police recruits training shoulder to shoulder in a leased building.

This episode’s guest, wildlife filmmaker Ben Masters. Ben grew up in Amarillo, studied wildlife biology at Texas A&M, and rode adopted wild mustangs 3,000 miles from Mexico to Canada (twice). He talks about how that trip turned into the film Unbranded, launched Fin & Fur Films, and taught him how simple living can be. He opens up about crying in the back row at the Dallas premiere of Deep in the Heart 2: Texas Rivers while the Dallas Chamber Symphony played the score live, shares his vision for turning the Trinity River corridor between Dallas and Fort Worth into a native park, and explains how Texans for Mountain Lions got ranchers and conservationists to agree on the state’s first protections for the big cats. The guys wrap with State Fair highlights, including a breakdancing kid, a brisket star, and a funnel cake worth the trip.

In This Episode (0:03) Back From Bentonville (2:37) The Loop Opens & a Busy Week for the Team (4:06) Grand Prairie Gets a New Walmart Neighborhood Market (4:32) The Dallas Public Safety Bond (9:35) Meet Ben Masters (11:08) Mexico to Canada, Twice (14:18) How Fin & Fur Films Got Started (16:31) Texans Love Texas (19:37) A Live Symphony Premiere in Dallas (21:16) From One Week at the Angelika to a Rivers Sequel (22:48) Snapping Turtles & the Trinity’s Potential (24:17) Where to Watch (24:31) Texans for Mountain Lions (26:47) Kindness, Respect & a Phone Call (27:22) What Gives Ben Hope (32:33) State Fair Wrap-Up