Bear Grease

MeatEater

The Bear Grease Podcast with host Clay Newcomb delivers compelling storytelling through documentary-style episodes exploring the culture, traditions, and history of rural America. He’ll dive in deep with hunters, biologists, anthropologists, and hillbillies to learn about human nature and our ancient connection to the land. Bear Grease explores unique people, topics, and stories that reveal the incredible value of life lived close to the land. Part of the MeatEater Podcast Network.

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492 episodes
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Episodes492

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Dec 15, 2023 · 22 min
Ep. 171: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Ducks, Trees, and Danger
After a multi-year break from the duck blind, Brent's back with a renewed passion for water fowling. He's gonna tell us how his lifelong journey in pursuit of waterfowl started, the story of his first duck, and how his love for hunting in the timber almost came crashing down on top of him. Gather round and someone hush that dog up! It's time for MeatEater's "This Country Life" podcast. Connect with Brent and MeatEater MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 13, 2023 · 58 min
Ep. 170: Bear Grease Classics: The Myth of the Southern Mountain Lion
Bear Grease has been a surprising and rewarding journey of almost three years. Today we’re going back to the beginning with Episode 1: The Myth of the Southern Mountain Lion, with a peek into the genesis of Bear Grease. There are two types of people in the South—those who’ve seen mountain lions and those who haven’t. Supposedly extirpated from the South, the native lion species has lived on through backwoods lore and many believe they’ve never left. But have they? Clay Newcomb explores the touchy topic, interviewing biologists, investigating two eye-witness sightings, and talking with a psychologist about how people can see things that aren’t real. This is a lesson in biology and human nature and a great story revealing the truth about South mountain lions. Connect with Clay and MeatEater Clay on Instagram MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 8, 2023 · 20 min
Ep. 169: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Old School (Part 2)
Brent's back with a continued line of thoughts and observations on the value of instilling some old school ways into today's modern way of thinking. From recognizing the value of a good rope to tying a knot that's lasted 48 years, we think there's plenty in here to think about and enjoy. Gather up the family, it's time for Old School Part 2 on MeatEater's This Country Life Podcast. Connect with Brent and MeatEater MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 6, 2023 · 1 hr 26 min
Ep. 168: BEAR GREASE [RENDER] - Plott Hounds, Bucking Horses, and Long Hunters
On this week’s episode of the Bear Grease Render, your host Clay Newcomb is joined by Isaac Neale, Gary “Believer” Newcomb, Brent Reaves of “This Country Life,” Josh “Land Bridge” Spielmaker, and Dr. Misty Newcomb. Topics discussed include: an update on Brent’s horse Ken’s Reward, a great mountain buck that Josh had the opportunity to take, a poll on the Origin Story of the Plotts, as well as a full breakdown of the previous Bear Grease episode focusing on Plot Hound Royalty, Berry Tarlton. We really doubt you’re going to want to miss this one… Preorder MeatEater's new Audio Original "MeatEater's American History: The Long Hunters (1761-1775)" today. Connect with Clay and MeatEater Clay on Instagram MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 1, 2023 · 20 min
Ep. 167: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Old School (Part 1)
Brent's going old school this week. We know, big shocker, right? He's a walking example of "old school", but he's got some interesting takes on his definition and some stories that we think you'll enjoy hearing. Stoke the fire and sit a spell, it's time for MeatEater's "This Country Life" podcast. Connect with Brent and MeatEater MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 29, 2023 · 1 hr 2 min
Ep. 166: Pure Americana - Plott Hound Royalty, Berry Tarlton (Part 2)
This week on Bear Grease, your host Clay Newcomb, brings you this second part in our series on Plott Hounds and how they’ve been interwoven into the lives of the Appalachian people. Developed in isolation deep in the Great Smoky Mountains, the Plott breed was tailor made for the rugged landscape, its people, its bears. The folks who’ve dedicated big blocks of their life to this bear hound are called Plott Men and Women. If you cut them they bleed brindle and in the very niche hound world, some rise to the top as Plott Royalty - and one such man is the late Berry Tarlton of Greenville, Tennessee. His life will give us a much bigger vista than just dogs, but a rare, authentic peak into Appalachia, its culture, its people, and ways. It will be told to us both first person through an archival interview of Berry and also through the collective voices of his grandson and great-grandson, Tracey and Ben Jones. Berry started the Houston Valley strain of Plotts, he’s in the Plott Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Bear Hunters Hall of fame. He was also a legendary lawman who took up a badge and gun in the name of family honor and spent decades chasing down and busting moonshiners in East Tennessee. The stories are as wild as these mountains themselves including car bombing, shoot outs, and being bushwhacked with a Tommy gun. You’re about to see that Plott Hounds are just part of the plot. We really doubt you’re going to want to miss this one… Connect with Clay and MeatEater Clay on Instagram MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 24, 2023 · 21 min
Ep. 165: BEST OF: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Freight Trains and Hurricanes
Welcome to episode one of This Country Life! Today, we meet your host Brent Reaves: a family man and life long outdoorsman whose familial roots in rural Arkansas can be traced back over 150 years. As a way of introduction, Brent shares two of his favorite stories, taking us from schoolyard hi-jinx to riding out a lightning storm in a washed-out muskrat burrow. You're not gonna want to miss this addition to the Bear Grease lineup. Connect with Brent and MeatEater MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 22, 2023 · 1 hr 31 min
Ep. 164: BEAR GREASE [RENDER] - Plott Hound Analysis & Ken’s Reward
On this week’s episode of the Bear Grease Render, your host Clay Newcomb is joined by Isaac Neale, Gary “Believer” Newcomb, Brent Reaves of “This Country Life,” Michael Rosmond of Sunspot Lights, and Chris Powell of Houndsman XP. Topics discussed include Brent’s horse “Ken’s Reward,” sunspot lights and the superiority of Coon Hunting lights, the Colorado ballot initiative to ban Mountain Lion, Bobcat, and Lynx with hounds, as well as the previous Bear Grease episode “Pure Americana: The Plott Hound, Origin Story.” We really doubt you’re going to want to miss this one. Connect with Clay and MeatEater Clay on Instagram MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 17, 2023 · 24 min
Ep. 163: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - What’s in a Name?
We never know where Brent’s going with these episodes and we’re not fully convinced he does either. This week he’s talking about everything from bucking horses to naming his kids. He’s like a metal man in a shooting gallery just running all over the place so, just jump in and hang on. “What’s in a Name” on MeatEater’s This Country Life podcast. Connect with Brent and MeatEater MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch https://gootf.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 15, 2023 · 59 min
Ep. 162: Pure Americana - The Plott Hound, Origin Story (Part 1)
On this week’s episode of Bear Grease, your host, Clay Newcomb, is bringing you the saga of the American Plott Hound - a story not without drama. Plotts are a breed of big game hound specializing in bear hunting. They were originally bred deep in the mountains of Southern Appalachia, specifically Haywood County, North Carolina. The breed, which carries the family name of Plott, was kept in isolation for nearly 150 years while being refined by the frontier mountaineers of Appalachia. The Plott Hound is anything but mainstream, but in his extensive travels to meet Plott Hound men and women, Clay has met some of the finest, salt-of-the-earth people in America. This is a fascinating story of true Americana and we really doubt you’re going to want to miss this one… Connect with Clay and MeatEater Clay on Instagram MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 10, 2023 · 19 min
Ep. 161: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Trapping and TNT
Add beaver dam demolition to the list of off the wall things Brent has done so far in his tenure as a human. Seems only natural that someone who’s lived a life of adrenaline-filled danger would enjoy blowing up stuff. There’s something wrong with this guy. We’re fighting otters and dodging falling debris on this week’s This Country Life podcast. Connect with Brent and MeatEater MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch https://gootf.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 8, 2023 · 1 hr 1 min
Ep. 160: BEAR GREASE [RENDER] - Songs & Bucks
This week on the Bear Grease Render, Clay Newcomb is joined by Ben Lagrone, Dr. Misty Newcomb, Gary "Believer" Newcomb, and "This Country Life's" Brent Reaves. The crew plays a song featuring banjo, guitar, shaker egg, and a set of spoons. They then turn their attention to discussing: Accidental discharges - shooting a mobile home and and a foot with a bow and arrow. Brent chasing a school bus with his dad's truck. Ben's biggest buck and Clay's issue with dog tracking for whitetail deer. And the crew's favorite stories from "Deer Stories: Passion and Lies." We really doubt you’re gonna want to miss this one… Connect with Clay and MeatEater Clay on Instagram MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 3, 2023 · 21 min
Ep. 159: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Three Stories That Just Didn’t Fit
This week Brent’s holding court with three random stories he’s been wanting to share for quite some time. The only problem was they just didn’t fit any of his narratives. So, what does a storyteller do when confronted with adversity, they just tell a story. In this case it’s three stories. “Three Stories That Just Didn’t Fit” in Meateater’s This Country Life podcast. Connect with Brent and MeatEater MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch https://gootf.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 1, 2023 · 56 min
Ep. 158: Deer Stories - Passion and Lies (Part 3)
This is our third and final Deer stories episode of 2023. On this episode of Bear Grease your host Clay Newcomb will share some wild whitetail stories: a Tennessee Buck, some decoyed bucks, some deer-dogged bucks, Clay’s first big buck, a 200-plus inch buck, and one straight up deer hunting lie. These stories range from Kansas to Tennessee and a few places in between. We’ll hear from 80-year old Henry Susong, K.C. Smith of The Element, Aaron and Andy Stanphill, and Hooch McDonald. Stories carry our culture, our values, and our future - they’re important. What a privilege it is to be a whitetail hunter and we’re living in its heyday! We really doubt you're going to want to miss this last one.... Connect with Clay and MeatEater Clay on Instagram MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 27, 2023 · 23 min
Ep. 157: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Hogs, Cows, and Elephants
In this episode, Brent talks about the eclectic chores and jobs he had as a kid growing up in rural southern Arkansas. Buckle up! We're hearing stories of Brent's childhood on this week's episode of MeatEater's "This Country Life" podcast. Connect with Brent and MeatEater MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch https://gootf.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 25, 2023 · 1 hr 35 min
Ep. 156: BEAR GREASE [RENDER] - The Element Guys
This week on the Bear Grease Render, Clay Newcomb is joined by Tyler Jones and K.C. Smith of The Element Wild. Topics discussed include all things whitetail deer and specifically: the joy Clay gets from watching K.C. eat chips and salsa, the importance of tracking your receipts, capitalizing on first-time sits and the value of moving your set for hunting whitetails, practical jokes and undercover agents, the finer points of scent control and the benefits of getting high in the tree, hunting media and its impact on hunting in general, that ground meat is most likely leading to the downfall of western civilization, the most recent Bear Grease episode “Deer Stories - Gruntin’, Missin’, Buckin’ & Tradbow Bucks (Part 2)“ and the Buck Truck series, how to stay up to date with the Element wild guys through YouTube and their podcast. We really doubt you’re gonna want to miss this one… Connect with Clay and MeatEater Clay on Instagram MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 20, 2023 · 25 min
Ep. 155: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - 32 Years and 7 Months
After 32 years Brent's hanging up his badge and retiring. In this episode, he talks about some events that happened that have had a lasting effect on his life. Probably not gonna be a lot of these police story episodes so if you want to hear them, here's your chance. Regulators, mount up! We're fighting crime this week on MeatEater's "This Country Life" podcast. Connect with Brent and MeatEater MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch https://gootf.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 18, 2023 · 58 min
Ep. 154: Deer Stories - Gruntin’, Missin’, Buckin’ & Tradbow Bucks (Part 2)
This week on Bear Grease, Clay Newcomb again hears from several whitetail deer hunters as hardcore as they are diverse in their methods. Gary "Believer" Newcomb tells about the one who got away when he left his decoy at home. Andy Brown tells about calling in deer, sealing the deal, and missing by a mile. John Harrison tells the story of a buck with questionable ownership and how the answer came out in the frying pan. Tony Peterson tells the story of a hunt where the adrenaline got the best of him and he got the best of the best buck of his career. Dale Craig and Travis Ross tell a story of a perfect deer hunt on horseback…until it wasn’t. Stoney Edwards discusses running dogs on whitetails and Louie Dale Edwards' last good buck. David Albright tells about killing a great buck with his traditional bow over white oak acorns. We hope you get out into the wild this week, chase a deer and remember, we’re living in the heyday of whitetail deer hunting. We really doubt you’re gonna wanna miss this one… Connect with Clay and MeatEater Clay on Instagram MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 13, 2023 · 22 min
Ep. 153: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Dog Stories
We all like to hear a good dog story and Brent has some good ones for you this week regarding our favorite four legged hunting buddies. We’re chasing coyotes, ducks, and even talking about a turkey dog too. Throw a stick of stove-wood on the fire, sit back, and tune your ears to MeatEater’s This Country Life podcast. Connect with Brent and MeatEater MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch https://gootf.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 11, 2023 · 1 hr 25 min
Ep. 152: BEAR GREASE [RENDER] - Deer, Dogs, & Old Friends
This week on the Render, Clay Newcomb is joined by Gary “Believer” Newcomb, Brent Reaves of “This Country Life”, Andy Stanphill, Aaron Stanphill, and Luke Alston. Topics discussed include: How Clay knows the Stanphill Brothers through Scott Brown, and how they met Luke. High country archery fall from grace - probably because they bought an airplane. Pulling back a 70 pound bow in the 90’s. Running dogs & Charley and Louie Dale Edwards. The dividing line of July Men and Walker Men. How running deer with dogs got banned from the Ozarks. When seeing a deer was worth interrupting the Sunday Church Service to go run deer dogs. The crew’s favorite stories from Deer Stories - The Unexpected (Part 1). What we do with our deer racks and how that’s evolved through time. Lum and Abner and the Dick Huddleston store in Pine Ridge, AR. Does anything other than a black panther drag its kill into a tree? We really doubt you’re gonna want to miss this one… Connect with Clay and MeatEater Clay on Instagram MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease Merch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.