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 and the continuing challenges, even amid significant improvements, to San Antonio's public transportation system.
This week’s guests are Jeffrey Moore, an analyst with the city’s Office of Emergency Management and the founderof the SATX Social Ride held every Tuesday in the city’s urban core, routinely attracting hundreds of local cyclists for an evening ride and social gathering; and Mitchell Keogh, an avid cyclist who leads a community of riders who track their rides and performance on the Strava app. Listen as we discuss the cycling community in San Antonio.
This week’s guest is David Marquez, executive director of Economic and Community Development for Bexar County, a longtime leader in economic development and advanced manufacturing, including cross-border auto manufacturing, for the county. Marquez oversaw the building and funding of the AT&T Arena, now renamed as the Frost Bank Center. Listen as Marquez discusses his role with the county and his own journey from machinist at Kelly Airforce Base to a leading voice in the direction of Bexar county.
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 Robb Elementary School, killing 19 young children and two of their teachers, and injuring 17 others. Garnett and the Leader-News should serve as the model publisher and newspaper for how to show responsible leadership in the wake of such tragedy. Last month Garnett was the subject of a profile in the New York Times that extolled his role in the community before and after the Robb Elementary School shooting changed Uvalde forever.
This week’s guest is Chris Cullum, the chef-owner of Cullum’s Attaboy, the small but heavy hitting Tobin Hill restaurant founded by the James Beard finalist a stone’s throw from Cullum’s Attagirl, the tiny fried chicken shack he’s run for more than eight years. Cullum was a 2024 finalist for Best Chef: Texas from the James Beard Foundation. Cullum, however, is all about his team and the people he feeds, not industry awards that nonetheless can make a career. Listen as Cullum discusses his unique San Antonio upbringing and the ways that it has influenced the food he serves.
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, benches, bollards, columns, walls and floors with mosaics in Alvarado’s signature style. Listen to the story behind these huge installations and how they are fabricated.
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 2025, after which it will go on a national tour including the famed Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles. In tandem with the exhibit, the Witte will host a first-of-its kind conference on December 5th & 6th called "Ode to Juneteenth: Slavery in Texas." Tickets are available on their website.
This week’s guest is UTSA’s Dr. Bryan Gervais. He is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science & Geography, and he's in the studio because he is the inaugural director of the UTSA Center for Public Opinion Research (CPOR), the new poll launched in advance of the national elections. His areas of specialization are political communication and political psychology. Listen as Dr. Gervais discusses how accurate their polling proved in the recent national election, and what CPOR is learning about our local electorate.
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 leaders. Bottom line success is not enough for someone to gain entry. Philanthropy, giving back, and community engagement are essential factors in each year’s class of inductees. On November 13th, and the Admiral, NBA Hall of Famer and legendary San Antonio Spur David Robinnson will be among the small group of inductees honored at the annual induction dinner in Dallas.
In this very special episode of bigcitysmalltown, we share a panel recorded live in front of an audience at Texas Public Radio for CityFest San Antonio 2024. Host Bob Rivard moderated a panel of city leaders discussing how San Antonio's downtown has navigated the past decade and what's ahead. The panel included Veronica Salazar of UTSA, David Robinson, Jr. of Weston Urban, Trish DeBerry of Centro San Antonio, Andres Andujar of Hemisfair, and San Antonio City Manager Erik Walsh.
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 Ukraine in its defense against Valdimir Putin and Russia, whose forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, eight years after that country’s invasion and occupation of the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine.
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 discusses how she works to help first-time home buyers and others find their dream homes in San Antonio.
This week’s guest is Grant Pinkerton, the man, the chef, the impresario behind Pinkerton’s BBQ, located right in the heart of downtown San Antonio on Legacy Park across from Frost Tower. Listen as Grant discusses his choice to expand to San Antonio instead of Austin, how he got started in BBQ, and more.
This week’s guest is Dr. Lisa Campos, the Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics and Athletic Director, at the University of Texas at San Antonio, a position she has held since Nov. 17, 2017. Listen as she discusses the extraordinary growth of UTSA Athletics since 2017 and looks forward to what's ahead.
This week’s guests are part of the bigcitysmalltown family. First, Monika Maeckle, founder of the San Antonio Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Festival, and the author of the newly released book, “The Monarch Butterfly Migration, Its Rise and Fall,” published in August by the University of Oklahoma Press; and Ashley Bird, who now serves as the festival’s director in its 9th year and also is the founder of Blooming with Birdie, which connects children to nature by creating empathy-driven, immersive educational experiences, events, and digital content that is inspired by Ashley’s experience as a Montessori teacher. Listen in to hear about the upcoming Monarch Butterfly & Pollinator Festival on October 5th from 9am-1pm.
This week’s guest is Ray Cantu, founder of a company called SIMMIE that until recently was known as ColdCALR. By either name Cantu, the consummate salesman, says his company is revolutionizing the world of sales with what he describes as an “AI-powered platform designed to train sales professionals faster, smarter, and more effectively.”
This week we welcome a returning guest: Trish DeBerry, CEO and president of Centro San Antonio, the nonprofit organization dedicated to building and maintaining a better downtown for locals, businesses and visitors. Trish was a bigcitysmalltown guest last December, and in this episode she offers an update on exciting projects on the drawing board, including the relocation of the San Antonio Missions and the San Antonio Spurs to new downtown venues. She also talks about closing Houston Street to vehicle traffic on Friday, September 20th for the annual Park(ing) Day event. Come on down for a cool evening of art, walkability and pop-ups!
Have you heard of NukuDo, the cybersecurity training program located at Geekdom? Today’s guest is Michael Blair, an entrepreneur and NukuDo’s Managing Director. NukuDo pays its enrolled students $4,000 a month during their half year or so of training. Blair is joined by Jose Herrera, a member of NukuDo's first cohort. Listen as we discuss how NukuDo came to be, and how their training program is sourcing exciting new talent to enter the cybersecurity workforce in San Antonio and beyond.
This week’s guests are Vicki Yuan, an architect with Lake/Flato, and Libby Morris, a leader in San Antonio’s design community and the principal of Morris Design. Vicki and Libby are with us to talk about their roles as leading organizers of PechaKucha San Antonio, the local chapter of a global entertainment and education stage production that was started by two Tokyo-based architects in 2003. The word "PechaKucha" is Japanese for "chit-chat" or "the sound of conversation". The next installment will take place at the Carver Community Cultural Center on September 4th.
This week’s guest is Dawn White-Fosdick, the longtime president and CEO of Christian Assistance Ministry, widely known as CAM, which serves both the city's homeless as well as families who have housing but are experiencing crisis in their lives. For the month of August, the Wade Richmond Foundation is matching every dollar raised up to $100,000, so now is a great time to learn how you can help support the 70K members of our community served annually by CAM or learn how to access their services yourself.