💌 Don’t miss Bob Rivard’s Monday Musings — sharp takes on San Antonio’s politics, culture, and news. Subscribe now →
bigcitysmalltown with Bob Rivard

Episodes

Oct. 24, 2025

143. Holly Thaggard: The San Antonio Founder Behind Supergoop!’s Glob…

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we turn our attention to one of San Antonio’s most significant entrepreneurial success stories: Supergoop! and its founder, Holly Thaggard. From its origins here in Texas, Supergoop! has grown i...

Listen to the Episode
Oct. 17, 2025

142. Judge Peter Sakai on How Prop A & B Could Revitalize San Antonio…

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we examine the critical decisions facing Bexar County voters and their impact on the future of San Antonio’s east side, the Spurs, and the Stock Show & Rodeo. Bob Rivard sits down with Bexar Cou...

Listen to the Episode
Oct. 10, 2025

141. Why San Antonio Isn’t Running Out of Water — A Conversation with…

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we examine the present and future of San Antonio’s water supply—a topic at the center of new rate increase discussions and long-term regional planning. San Antonio has quietly become a national ...

Listen to the Episode
Oct. 3, 2025

140. The Food Bank is Harvesting Solutions to San Antonio’s Hunger

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we examine the role of food sustainability and local agriculture at the San Antonio Food Bank—an organization best known for feeding more than 100,000 people each week, but less recognized as on...

Listen to the Episode
Sept. 26, 2025

139. How San Antonio is Turning Construction Waste to Community Wealth

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we examine San Antonio’s evolving approach to urban growth and resource management through the lens of the city’s deconstruction and circular economy initiatives. San Antonio stands out as the l...

Listen to the Episode
Sept. 19, 2025

138. Alamo Angels: The Future of South Texas Startups

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we examine the evolving landscape of angel investing and startup growth in San Antonio and South Texas. As the city’s early-stage innovation ecosystem matures, a new generation of founders and i...

Listen to the Episode
Sept. 12, 2025

137. Rediscovering San Antonio’s Forgotten Battle

This week on bigcitysmalltown, host Bob Rivard speaks with Brandon Seale, a San Antonio-based energy entrepreneur and historian, about one of Texas’s most consequential yet least understood events: the 1813 Battle of Medina. ...

Listen to the Episode
Sept. 5, 2025

136. San Antonio’s Aerospace Past Is Powering Its Future

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we revisit a pivotal chapter in San Antonio’s history: the closure of Kelly Air Force Base and its transformation into Port San Antonio, as the city prepares for the upcoming San Antonio Aviatio...

Listen to the Episode
Aug. 29, 2025

135. Planting Change in San Antonio through Community Gardens

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we examine the work of Gardopia Gardens, a San Antonio nonprofit at the intersection of public health, food access, and neighborhood safety. Founded by Stephen Lucke, Gardopia uses urban gardeni...

Listen to the Episode
Aug. 22, 2025

134. The San Antonio Nonprofit Bringing Black Youth Back to Nature

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we focus on the intersection of community, identity, and the outdoors through the work of Black Outside, Inc. Founded and led by Alex Bailey, the San Antonio-based nonprofit is dedicated to reco...

Listen to the Episode
Aug. 15, 2025

133. How the Spurs Arena Could Change the San Antonio Rodeo

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we examine the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo’s pivotal role in the city’s cultural and economic landscape and explore what may be its biggest transition yet. As plans for a new arena and sign...

Listen to the Episode
Aug. 8, 2025

132. San Antonio's Youngest Councilmember on the Future of the City

This week on bigcitysmalltown, newly elected District 6 Councilman Ric Galvan joins host Cory Ames for an extended conversation about the close race that made him the youngest member of San Antonio’s City Council—and the imme...

Listen to the Episode
Aug. 1, 2025

131. Too Much, Too Fast: San Antonio’s Floods and the Fight to Adapt

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we examine San Antonio’s historic summer of flooding and the urgent questions facing the city and region. In June and July 2025, San Antonio and surrounding areas experienced two of the deadlies...

Listen to the Episode
July 25, 2025

130. San Antonio Teen Bridges Global Healthcare Gaps Through Access t…

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we meet Ariana Chaudhary, a San Antonio high school student and founder of Access to Specialist Knowledge (ASK), a nonprofit connecting frontline doctors in underserved regions around the world ...

Listen to the Episode
July 18, 2025

129. Inside Launch SA — San Antonio’s One-Stop Resource for Small Bus…

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we examine the changing landscape of small business support in San Antonio through the lens of Launch SA—a city-backed resource center for entrepreneurs and business owners. Now operating under ...

Listen to the Episode
June 27, 2025

128. San Antonio FC Is Reaching for the World Stage

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we look at the evolving landscape of professional soccer in San Antonio, focusing on San Antonio FC and their role in building international connections through sport. Host Bob Rivard and Co-Hos...

Listen to the Episode
June 20, 2025

127. What If We Replaced Every Lawn in San Antonio?

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we examine how San Antonio residents are rethinking their relationship with nature—starting in their own front yards. Guest host Cory Ames interviews Monika Maeckle, author, naturalist, and foun...

Listen to the Episode
June 13, 2025

126. Mayor Ron Nirenberg on 8 Years of Progress—and What Comes Next f…

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we sit down with Mayor Ron Nirenberg as he prepares to leave office after serving eight years as mayor and a total of twelve years in San Antonio’s city government. Bob and Mayor Nirenberg revie...

Listen to the Episode
June 6, 2025

125. The Man Behind Brooks: How Leo Gomez Reimagined the Southside

This week on bigcitysmalltown , we examine the transformation underway at Brooks—formerly Brooks City Base—on San Antonio’s Southeast Side. Over the past decade, Brooks has shifted from a dormant military installation to a gr...

Listen to the Episode
May 24, 2025

124. Runoff Edition: Rolando Pablos Makes His Case

This weekend on bigcitysmalltown, we turn our attention to San Antonio’s mayoral runoff as Bob Rivard sits down with candidate Rolando Pablos for a focused conversation on city governance, economic growth, and the future of S...

Listen to the Episode
May 23, 2025

123. San Antonio’s Legal Lifeline: How SALSA Fights for Access to Jus…

This week on bigcitysmalltown, host Bob Rivard sits down with Sarah Dingivan, outgoing CEO of the San Antonio Legal Services Association (SALSA), and Gregory Zlotnick, board member for SALSA and faculty at St. Mary’s Universi...

Listen to the Episode
May 16, 2025

122. The Scientist Who Transformed Texas Biomed—and San Antonio’s Sci…

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we examine the role of the Texas Biomedical Research Institute—better known as Texas Biomed—in San Antonio’s scientific community, the rapidly changing landscape of research funding, and the cha...

Listen to the Episode
May 9, 2025

121. The Case for Thinking Differently About San Antonio (with Rory S…

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we bring you a special live-recorded conversation with world-renowned behavioral economist and ad executive Rory Sutherland, hosted at the Geekdom Event Center in downtown San Antonio. Known for his provocative ideas on creativity, design, and human behavior, Rory joi…

Listen to the Episode
May 2, 2025

120. Why San Antonio’s Future Starts with Early Childhood Education

This week on bigcitysmalltown, we examine San Antonio’s fourteen-year effort to build a more equitable early childhood education system—an undertaking rooted in the city’s fight against generational poverty. Host Bob Rivard traces the origins of Pre-K 4 SA, from its formation by a blue-ribbon task …

Listen to the Episode