A Fight Over Buc-ee’s and for the Soul of the American West

The podcast "The Journal" discusses the conflict surrounding Buc-ee's, a Texas-based gas station chain, and its westward expansion into a rural Colorado town. The town of Palmer Lake is divided over the potential annexation of land for a new Buc-ee's location, with town officials drawn to the promise of increased tax revenue, while many residents fear the impact on the town's rural character and night skies. The conflict escalates, involving a local resistance group, a texting scandal leading to the mayor's resignation, and the intervention of billionaire landowner John Malone, who opposes the development and offers to buy the land. The podcast explores the broader themes of land development and the clash between preserving the American West's traditional landscape and the pressures of economic growth and urbanization.