Mitch Wonders

I drove past a church sign the other day that said “Annual Trunk-or-Treat This Friday!” and I had to read it twice. Trunk. Or. Treat. Kids collecting candy out of the backs of cars in a parking lot. (Here in Texas we’ve even got Truck-or-Treat.)My first thought was: Why are we doing Halloween in a parking lot? And my immediate, silent reaction was "welp, this is it. Halloween is dead." B...

Before Jack the Ripper terrorized London in 1888, Austin, Texas, had a killer of its own: the Servant Girl Annihilator. In 1884 and 1885, a string of brutal murders shook the city. So here's the question: could the same man have left Austin and turned up in London? A while back, Mitch took a haunted tour of Austin with a couple of friends. It was creepy enough that he still remembers it, and g...

You're only as old as you feel. These are the golden years. You only get one shot. There's somebody out there for everyone who's “the one.” Life is short. We've heard this stuff forever. But is any of it actually true? This week, Mitch and his old buddy Pete take apart some of the advice we've been handed about getting older—and a few of the assumptions that come along with it....

AI is coming for our jobs. But maybe the better questionis: which jobs are we actually willing to give it? Artificial intelligence is already changing the way peoplework. Depending on who you ask, everything from customer service and data entry to writing and software development could be next. Then somebody gave AI legs. Yep. Robot dogs. They're already being put to work in dangerous places,...

We all own things. But somewhere along the way, some of those things become something more. We talk to our cars. We encourage machines. We thank technology. We get attached to things that remind us of home — and develop long-running grudges against printers, garage doors, and anything else that decides to betray us at exactly the wrong moment. (Don't bring up snowblowers!) This week, Mitch is...

In Episode 216, fan favorite Angie from Virginia returns to Mitch Wonders to talk about Ella Langley, the massive success of Choosin’ Texas , and why America seems to rediscover country music every few decades. We go back to the Urban Cowboy explosion of 1980,when cowboy hats, boots and country music suddenly seemed to be everywhere, and discuss whether we're watching a new version of the same...

Do Texans really need to pick a side? Do any of us need to? Lisa Singer, founder and editor-in-chief of Independent Times News, joins Mitch to explore the growing influence of independent voters—and what happens when the issue in front of us matters more than the party. From close elections to the enormous growth of AI data centers in Texas, some of today's biggest questions don't fit neat...

At 25, Simone Vitale left Sicily for a job opportunity in America. Twenty-six years later, he has spent more than half his life here, built a career and family, and become an American citizen. In this episode, Simone shares what America looked like from Italy, what surprised him when he arrived, and why he believes the American Dream is still alive—but is often misunderstood. Opportunity, he says,...

Technology makes life easier. That's the pitch. Until, maybe, it starts making a few too many decisions for us. Mitch's good pal from Australia , Gavin, returns to Mitch Wonders for a conversation about smart homes, AI assistants, convenience creep, and the little habits we've adopted without ever really deciding to. We're not rejecting technology—we love plenty of it. The question...

It's football season, and 'Ol Mitch cant' help but wondering. We celebrate the touchdown. We cheer the quarterback. But what about the people doing the dirty work that makes everything else possible? What about dem dogs?! From football fields to factory floors, from parents to grandparents, and from friends to teachers, coaches, and mentors. Mitch and good buddy Vincent explore the peo...

Were you really a Baby Boomer—or did you grow up in a generation of your own? In this solo episode, Mitch goes solo to explore the often-overlooked "Generation Jones"—those born between the Baby Boomers and Generation X. From riding bikes until dark and fixing what broke to growing up through Watergate, inflation, and the dawn of the digital age, this episode looks at the unique experien...

This week, Mitch welcomes The Professor back to the porch to ask a simple question: Why did commercial aviation stop getting faster? From the rise and fall of Concorde to the new Boom Supersonic's attempt to cut flight times in half, we explore whether technology, economics, or regulation has been holding us back. Innovation versus optimization, the role of capitalism in bringing breakthrough...

Six months ago, in Episode #184, DT and Mitch began a three-part series exploring testosterone—what it is, who might benefit from it, and what it can and can't do. Three months later, they revisited the conversation in Episode #197 to share their early experiences and observations. Now, in the conclusion of the series, they compare where those two very different journeys have led them. DT discusse...

In this episode of The Mitch Wonders Podcast , Mitch takes a hard look at the gap between what we say we want and what we actually spend our lives pursuing. From presence and meaningful friendships to simplifying life, finding purpose, and reclaiming our time, this conversation asks one uncomfortable question: Seriously... what the fk do you want? Because if we're honest, most of us aren't chasing...

Today we're doing something a little different. My son and I just got back from Scotland, but this isn't a vacation recap. It's about craftsmanship, curiosity, and a handful of moments we never saw coming. We've each got three mystery drams in front of us. Every one tells part of the story. And I can’t help but wonder if we’ll inspire you to get up and go find your Scotland. Let's see where they t...

Hot damn I love summer and we've reached one of my favorite points on the sports calendar—the Major League Baseball All-Star Break. It's the halfway mark, the standings are starting to mean something, and every fan has an opinion about where the game is headed. And that's exactly what we're talking about this week. It's not about online gambling or fantasy baseball. It's ab...

A comment from Bill Maher and a counterpoint from Neil de Grasse Tyson sent me down an interesting rabbit hole. Maher often points to old footage of the Apollo 11 crowds and notes how lean and healthy people appeared compared to today. Tyson, on the other hand, reminds us that modern medicine has dramatically increased life expectancy, reduced infant mortality, and turned many injuries, illnesses,...

I've lived in Illinois, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Washington, and now nearly 10 years in Texas, and no matter where I've gone, every town seems to have a story. Every city seems to have that place. Maybe it's a stretch of road people avoid at night. Maybe it's a building everyone swears is haunted. Why, after thousands of years of human history, do we keep creating ghost stories? Thi...

Artificial intelligence is everywhere, but the giant datacenters being built across Texas finally got Mitch's attention. What began as a simple question—what exactly is a datacenter?—quickly turned into something much bigger. Why are companies spending billions of dollars building AI infrastructure in places like Abilene, Texas? Why do these facilities require so much land, power, and investme...

This week is Mitch's Summer Vacation: A Week Without Wonder. I gathered DT, Holly, Mook, and The Professor because I figured for one week we'd stop wondering about things and just enjoy summer. Unfortunately, after thinking about it for about six minutes, I realized that's complete BS. You can't have a Week Without Wonder. Not on this show. Not with this crew. So there is work to b...

Suppose I told you that for more than a century, people have been searching the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas for a source of gold that nobody has ever been able to relocate. One man found it, but perished before being able to return or direct others. Another man came upon it, but dogged if he could find his way back in the unforgiving canyons of the Guadalupe Mountains. And what if I told you...

Sitting on the porch watching the Texas Hill Country settle down for the evening, with mesquite and wood smoke hanging in the air, Mitch finds himself thinking about responsibility. Not the kind we should avoid—the kind we've quietly carried for so long we barely notice it anymore. A reflection on work, reliability, adulthood, and the possibility that there may be something in your life you ca...

People celebrate the milestones — marriage, careers, children, retirement — but almost nobody talks honestly about what comes after. In Episode 199, Mitch and good friend Michelle talk about the reality behind major life changes: shifting identity, pressure from every direction, the mental load, exhaustion, sacrifice, and the quiet realization that adulthood rarely looks the way you imagined it wo...

Okay, Major League Baseball finally did it. They've got AI calling balls and strikes now. Yep - the pursuit of accuracy. On paper that sounds like progress. But not everything that CAN be fixed, SHOULD be fixed. Sometimes the flaw is the feature. Everything's right, no reactions, no coach/player/umpire arguments or contested calls. Nothing happens, we just move on. But if nothing happens,...

Testosterone’s everywhere right now. Everywhere you look—someone’s telling you your levels are low, your energy’s off, your edge is gone… and they’ve got the fix. Three months ago, we thought we'd make up our own minds, so we launched a three phased test. Not because anything was broken. Not because we were chasing some magic number. We wanted to learn for ourselves. Mitch Wonders is where Tex...