bigcitysmalltown with Bob Rivard

Episodes

Jan. 17, 2025

90. Taking Off: What’s Next for San Antonio’s International Airport

This week’s episode of bigcitysmalltown takes you behind the scenes of one of San Antonio’s most critical infrastructure hubs: the San Antonio International Airport (SAT). We’re joined by Jesus Saenz, Director of Airports for the San Antonio...

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Jan. 11, 2025

89. The Last Word - 2025: A Big News Year for San Antonio and Texas

Welcome to the first Last Word in its new standalone format. Every Saturday, Bob delivers his sharp, insightful commentary on life and politics in San Antonio, Texas, and beyond. In this inaugural episode, he dives into what 2025 has in...

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Jan. 10, 2025

88. What’s Ahead for bigcitysmalltown: Telling San Antonio’s Story in…

This week’s episode is a special one as we introduce Cory Ames, the new producer of bigcitysmalltown. Cory is also the founder of Ensemble Texas, a media platform focused on San Antonio’s environment, economy, and culture. Listen as we discuss...

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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, …

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Dec. 27, 2024

86. The State of Cycling in San Antonio

TThis 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 …

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Dec. 20, 2024

85. Bexar County's Year with David Marquez

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...

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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 …

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Dec. 6, 2024

83. Chris Cullum and San Antonio's Culinary Legacy

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...

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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 …

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Nov. 15, 2024

80. Dr. Bryan Gervais and UTSA’s New Center for Policy Studies

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 …

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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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Nov. 1, 2024

78. Live from CityFest: The Future of Downtown

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 …

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Oct. 25, 2024

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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Oct. 11, 2024

75. Grant Pinkerton Talks BBQ

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 …

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Oct. 4, 2024

74. Lisa Campos: Leading UTSA Sports

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 …

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Sept. 27, 2024

73. Monika Maeckle + Ashley Bird: 9th Annual Monarch Butterfly & Poll…

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...

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Sept. 20, 2024

72. Ray Cantu: AI-Simulated Training at SIMMIE

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 …

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Sept. 13, 2024

71. Trish DeBerry: The Future of Downtown San Antonio and Park(ing) D…

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...

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Sept. 6, 2024

70. Michael Blair + Jose Herrera: NukuDo's Paid Cybersecurity Training

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...

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Aug. 23, 2024

69. PechaKucha San Antonio with Vicki Yuan and Libby Morris

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 …

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Aug. 9, 2024

68. Dawn White-Fosdick: Christian Assistance Ministry's Walk-In Suppo…

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...

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Aug. 2, 2024

67. Krissy Salinas on Let's Go Texas

This week’s guest is Krissy Salinas, the director of Let’s Go Texas, a nonprofit that helps people with disabilities in South Texas and the San Antonio metro area find gainful employment. Let’s Go Texas partners with the Texas Workforce...

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