When Stephen Dubner learned that Dallas–Fort Worth will soon overtake Chicago as the third-biggest metro area in the U.S., he got on a plane to find out why. Despite getting stood up by the mayor, nearly drowning on a highway, and eating way too much barbecue, he came away impressed. (Part 1 of 2 — because even podcasts are bigger in Texas.)
Oh.
Oh, my gosh.
My son is texting me.
Enjoy.
Sonny Bryant.
He has access to my Uber account.
That's pretty good.
He's just absolutely foreign.
Does this normally happen in Dallas?
The word?
Yeah, no, this is, you know, like, waiting for you guys, you know?
Yeah.
Thanks a lot.
Yeah.
So great.
That was me and our producer Ryan Kelly and an Uber driver in Dallas, Texas.
Late one night, in the middle of what felt like a monsoon, we were creeping along a waterlogged highway heading toward a barbecue place called Sunny Brian's smokehouse.
Why?
Okay, let's back up a few weeks.
I had read an article in City Journal called Big D is a big deal.