Stories from the Four Corners region that don't make it into the travel brochures. Uncommon histories from an iconic part of the American Southwest through the lens of race and class.
Fort Lewis is a former federal Indian boarding school, making the appointment of President Heather Shotton significant because she is a descendant of boarding school survivors. This story was originally produced for KDUR Durango and Rocky Mountain Community Radio. Jamie Wanzek is an employee of Fort Lewis College
4/17/26 • 04:01
"This anthology is a portal," says Kinsale Drake. "Art, poetry, songs, stories - those things are both ancient and alive right now, and those are our superpowers." In this episode of The Magic City, co-host Kirbie Bennett speaks with Kinsale Drake and Darcie Little Badger, co-editors of a book titled Beyond the Glittering World: An Anthology of Indigenous Feminisms and Futurisms. Throughout the interview, they discuss the importance of highlighting underrepresented Indigenous voices, as well as anti-DEI backlash they've encountered while promoting the collection. Written and produced by Kirbie Bennett. Music provided by Alex Kehm. © Magic Southwest LLC
4/14/26 • 36:17
Today, Durango Fiesta Days is popular for its late-summer rodeos. When the event started in 1935, it was called the Spanish Trails Fiesta. On this episode of the Magic City, Kirbie travels back to the 1950s and explores what the fiesta looked like, including stories about Indigenous people camping along the Animas River. What was the Spanish Trails Fiesta like for them? Written and produced by Kirbie Bennett. Music provided by River Foxcroft
4/7/26 • 13:05
Print newspapers are becoming increasingly hard to keep alive. But for Maggie McGurie, print media isn't going anywhere in Southeastern Utah. This story was produced for the Transom Traveling Workshop in Moab. Special thanks to KZMU Moab Community Radio, KDUR Durango, KikiBouba Press, The Moab Sun News, and Transom. Music:Martin LandströmAnna Ash
3/30/26 • 07:50
As a prologue for a new season, Kirbie shares his land acknowledgement poem. Some notes: The 1890 census is a direct quote from the timeline section compiled by Native Voices, a division of the National Library of Medicine. Sound design was provided by Epidemic Sound. An earlier version of this poem was previously published in the Winter 2025 issue of Chapter House Journal.
3/23/26 • 03:54
In 1881, an artist from New York visited Southwest Colorado when he created a print called "The Magic City of the Southwest." To the artist, 'magic' referred to industry, gold, and the illusion of the western frontier. On season 2 of The Magic City, we redefine 'magic'. We tell stories of the past, present, and future of this place. We'll see you soon for more stories from The Magic City of the Southwest. Written by Kirbie Bennett and Jamie Wanzek Produced by Kirbie Bennett Music: Under The Dark Sky by Johan Glössner The Poppy Garden Red by OTE © The Magic Southwest, LLC
3/7/26 • 03:50
In the 1950's residents living along the Piedra and San Juan Rivers in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico learned that their communities would be condemned and indundated by reservoir water, because a federal water reclamation project would move forward. This episode tells the story of what happened to Raymond Gallegos' family when they were forced to relocate, and the lives they left behind. Reporting, production, and musical scoring by Adam Burke for Magic City Studios. © Magic City Studios, llc
1/1/26 • 17:53
Today, you can find just a few remnant apple orchards in southwest Colorado. But in the early 1900s, one man envision that Montezuma County, Colorado would become an apple Mecca. Was Jasper Hall's dream for this arid landscape an historic footnote, or was he a visionary ahead of his time. This episode tells the story of a man who some people called the Fruit Wizard of Montezuma County. Reporting, production, and musical scoring by Adam Burke for Magic City Studios. © Magic City Studios, llc
1/1/26 • 16:38
In the 1980's Janice Sanders was one of the few women who worked underground at the Sunnyside Mine, northeast of Silverton, Colorado. She enjoyed her career as a geologist, and she loved working underground. but she had to endure sexism and hateful treatment by some of her male co-workers. The episode tells the story of one woman's experience working underground in the sunset years of hardrock mining in Colorado. Reporting, production, and musical scoring by Adam Burke for Magic City Studios. © Magic City Studios, llc
1/1/26 • 36:12
History is under our feet and all around us. Old buildings, streets, statues and signs. We drive by remnants of the past every day, without giving them a second thought. In this episode, the story of one man’s close encounter with a forgotten piece of history. **** Written and produced by Adam Burke and Jamie Wanzek. Host: Jamie Wanzek Sound design and musical score: Adam Burke Additional musical scoring: First Light, Arend Moss, by Philip Anderson Color and Scent, by Mum Child © 2025, Magic City Studios, llc
7/3/25 • 08:52
For more than 50 years, Ed Singer has used oil paints on canvas to depict life in the Navajo Nation. His style mixes realism and expressionism, and he employs techniques drawn from European oil painting masters. Singer is part of a generation of Indigenous artists from the 1960s and 1970s who asserted a visual sovereignty in their paintings, to confront Native American stereotypes, and depict Native American life in a modern context. In this episode, we meet 73-year-old Ed Singer in his studio in Cortez, CO, and learn a bit about his journey as an artist. Written and produced by Adam Burke and Kirbie Bennett. Host: Kirbie Bennett Musical score: Adam Burke Additional musical scoring: Lawn Games © 2025, Magic City Studios, llc
6/20/25 • 07:08
In the 1970's, a group of counter-culture denizens in Durango, Colorado, started a festival aimed at curing the winter doldrums. The end of January was a slow, sleepy time of the year back then. 45 years later, Snowdown is an annual event that brings together city boosters, businesses along Main Street, locals, and tourists for a week of costumes, quirky fun and events. Each Snowdown has a theme, and over the years, festival organizers have encouraged participants to get decked out as pirates, disco dancers and ancient Romans. 1992 stands out as maybe the weirdest, edgiest year on record--at least for a small fraction of the people who happened to be in Durango between January 29th and Feburary 2nd of that year. In this episode of the Magic City of the Southwest, we revisit Clown Around Snowdown. ___________________ Produced by Magic City Studios llc Written by Kirbie Bennett and Adam Burke Original Musical Score by Adam Burke Hosted by Kirbie Bennett Graphic design by Jamie Wanzek
2/1/24 • 08:33
Durango loves to promote its western frontier town image. It's easy to envision the bustling boardwalks in the late 1800s and imagine an incorporated town sprouting from the strength and will of those early settlers. This episode of The Magic City of the Southwest is the real story behind the facade. _____________ Thanks to historians Robert McDaniel and Thomas Andrews for their help and guidance on this story. Produced by Magic City Studios llc. Writing and production by Adam Burke, Kirbie Bennett and Jamie Wanzek. Hosted by Kirbie Bennett and Adam Burke.
10/15/23 • 36:27
In 2022, mobile home park residents in Durango, Colorado, fought to keep their community from being purchased by an out-of-state corporate owner. The Westside Mobile Home Park had been Alejandra Chavez's home since she arrived from Mexico at 12 years old. In the fight to help her community, Chavez was caught between an instinct to keep a low profile and the need for her leadership. In this episode of The Magic City of the Southwest, we tell the story of one immigrant neighborhood's struggle to belong in a city with diminishing housing options for working-class people. Along the way, we go down the rabbit hole of mobile home park investment and explore the psychic landscape of manufactured housing. Hosted by Kirbie Bennett & Jamie Wanzek Produced by Magic City Studios (Adam Burke, Kirbie Bennett & Jamie Wanzek) Original score by Adam Burke Additional Music: Chrome and Wax by Ray Catcher Selena Leica by Sugartree Wisteria by The Contessa Tumblehome by Resolute
9/11/23 • 58:57
Like many towns in the US, Durango has made a business of nourishing the old West stereotypes, like the narrow gauge railroad, the Native American archeology, the old hard rock mines. Even those of us who live in Durango reinforce this history. But what if we told you that the parks and bike paths along the river were once thriving neighborhoods full of working-class Hispanic and Native American people?
6/22/23 • 03:40
