It’s hard to do research during chaotic times, but I can still listen to podcasts without overloading my brain too much.

Today I listened to NPR‘s Fresh Air podcast, an episode called “The Brutal History of the Texas Rangers”. Click here to listen to the interview with Doug J. Swanson, the author of Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers, which will be available tomorrow.

We moved out of Texas when I was in the middle of third grade, and I don’t remember learning much about the Texas Rangers in any of the other schools I attended. Most of what I know if from novels, TV, and movies. It’s always difficult to know how much of that is true, but I was never interested enough to research.

I figure right now is either the exactly right time to read this book, or the exactly wrong time. I haven’t decided yet for myself, but you may want to give it some thought.

One last thing. One of the photos discussed in the interview is copyrighted so I can’t include it here. It’s an amazing snapshot of the time, with Jay Banks in the foreground and the school in the background. If you click here, it should show up as the first photo.