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Community & Social Impact Episodes

Stories of grassroots movements, nonprofits, and initiatives making the city more equitable and sustainable.
Jan. 25, 2025

93. The Last Word - The Gulf of Neighbors

This week’s Last Word commentary reflects on the enduring connections between Texas and Mexico through the Gulf of Mexico—a shared space of culture, trade, and history. As the relationship between these neighbors faces new challenges in the next...

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Jan. 24, 2025

92. Meet San Antonio’s New Family-Friendly Art Residency: Parts & Lab…

This week’s episode of bigcitysmalltown spotlights something new in San Antonio’s arts community: a residency program tailored to support artists who are also caregivers. We’re joined by Liz Stehl Kleberg & Meaghan Mitts, the founders...

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Jan. 3, 2025

87. VIA's Jeff Arndt Rides Off

This week’s guest is Jeff Arndt, who has served for 13 years as president and CEO of VIA Metropolitan Transit, San Antonio and Bexar County’s public bus system. Listen as Arndt discusses his career at VIA ahead of his retirement, the challenges...

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Dec. 13, 2024

84. Craig Garnett: Uvalde’s Newspaper Publisher

This week’s guest is Craig Garnett, the longtime publisher and owner of the Uvalde Leader-News, the daily newspaper in Uvalde, a South Texas town of 15,000 that became national news on May 24, 2022, when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos opened fire in...

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Nov. 29, 2024

82. San Antonio Artist Oscar Alvarado Always Thinks Big

This week’s guest is San Antonio artist Oscar Alvarado. There is no mistaking his distinctive sculptures, many larger than life, covered with thousands of mosaic pieces of glass and tile that are seemingly everywhere in the city: murals, sculptures,...

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Nov. 22, 2024

81. Ronald Davis: Slavery in Texas

This week’s guest is Ronald Davis, curator of American History at the Witte Museum, a position he has held since January 2023. Davis is the co-curator of Black Cowboys: An American Story currently at the Witte Museum and running through February...

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Nov. 8, 2024

79. Meredith Walker and the Texas Business Hall of Fame

This week’s guest is Meredith Walker, executive director of the Texas Business Hall of Fame, a position she has held for nearly seven years. The TBHF was founded in 1982 to celebrate the state’s most successful and community-minded business...

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Oct. 25, 2024

77. JC Clapsaddle: An American in the Ukraine

This week’s guest is JC Clapsaddle, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and medical administration officer with a background in Pentagon assignments involving human rights and humanitarian efforts. Listen as JC discusses his multiple missions to aid...

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Oct. 18, 2024

76. Jessica Conrad on San Antonio's Housing Market

This week’s guest is Jessica Conrad, a San Antonio realtor, Air Force veteran, and now, the emcee of the semi-annual PechaKucha creative presentations, the latest edition of which was recently staged at the Carver Cultural Center. Listen as Jessica...

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Feb. 12, 2024

43. Humberto G. Garcia and the 'Mustang Miracle'

This week’s guest is Humberto G. Garcia, a San Antonio attorney, avid golfer, and author of "Mustang Miracle," a book chronicling the inspiring small-town Texas story of five Mexican-American caddies in segregated Del Rio who overcame seemingly...

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