The Texas Rangers are celebrating their 200th year, and are widely known as a rugged and upright law enforcement agency that symbolizes Texas. However, the book "Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers" presents a more ruthless, racist, and barbarous history of the organization, and highlights their close ties to moneyed groups and powerful politicians. This book challenges the widely held view of the Texas Rangers and prompts important conversations about their role in law enforcement.

The guest today is Doug J. Swanson. Doug is a veteran investigative reporter and editor. He has written five novels and two non-fiction books. His most recent book is Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers, published in 2020 by Viking. Doug was for many years an investigative reporter and editor at The Dallas Morning News and was twice named the newspaper reporter of the year in Texas. 

He is currently a research associate professor in the English Department writing program at the University of Pittsburgh. Before joining Pitt in 2016, he taught journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of North Texas.

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