Barry and Sandra Nash have called Oak Cliff home for more than 40 years. They join us to talk about what Oak Cliff was like when they first moved here in 1980, the changes they’ve watched unfold over the decades, and the people and places that shaped the neighborhood along the way. We talk about the evolution of Bishop Arts, raising a family in Oak Cliff, Barry’s unexpected career coaching some of television’s biggest names, Sandra’s career in medical aesthetics, and what makes Oak Cliff’s diversity and sense of community so special.

Haley Leavitt joins us to share how she found her place in Oak Cliff’s creative community and how an experiment involving salvaged church pews grew into the Oak Cliff Art Walk. What began with 35 artists inside the then-vacant Oak Cliff Assembly drew nearly 1,000 people and has since become an annual platform for artists, residents, and community organizations across the neighborhood. We also talk about Haley’s work in business and community development at Proxy Properties, the transformation of historic spaces like the Oak Cliff Assembly and East Dock Oak Cliff, and the relationship between art and real estate development. Haley reflects on restoring old buildings without erasing their stories, inviting artists into the process, and creating places where Oak Cliff’s existing community can remain visible and connected.

In 1990, Oak Cliff came remarkably close to asking Dallas for a divorce. About 2,000 people packed a public meeting to discuss creating a new city of roughly 310,000 residents, complete with its own government, budget, police and fire departments, libraries, and public works. What began with long-standing complaints about neglected streets, drainage, libraries, code enforcement, and political representation quickly became a serious municipal question—one that drew national media attention and forced Dallas to prepare for the possibility of losing a huge piece of itself.

In this episode, we dig into the original maps, budgets, legal memos, service plans, and meeting records to find out why Oak Cliff wanted out, whether it could actually have become its own city, and why the movement ultimately failed. Along the way, we explore the deeper fight over race, representation, money, and what it means to belong to a city that doesn't always feel like it belongs to you. Oak Cliff never seceded - but for one extraordinary season, Dallas had to ask what it would take to make Oak Cliff stay.

For nearly 16 years, Nova has served as a second living room for Oak Cliff, a place where neighbors gather over great food, familiar drinks, and plenty of local characters. In this episode, JD Reid joins the podcast to share how he and his partners transformed a former Dairy Queen on West Davis into one of the neighborhood’s most enduring restaurants, opening with just a handful of menu items and around $1,200 left in the bank.

JD reflects on immigrating from Scotland, leaving the corporate world for the restaurant business, and what it takes to keep an independent neighborhood spot going. He also talks about Nova’s chef-driven menu, its relationship with the Kessler Theater, and the responsibility that comes with creating a place where employees and neighbors have put down roots.

Stevens Park is one of Oak Cliff’s most familiar landscapes, but its history stretches far beyond the golf course. What began with Annie Stevens’s 1923 gift of 40 acres in memory of her parents grew into a public park, an 18-hole municipal course, and a neighborhood shaped by the creeks, bluffs, and rolling hills of Oak Cliff.

In this episode, we trace the course from its early sand greens to its reputation as “Little Augusta,” exploring the civic ambition, complicated history, and generations of golfers behind it. It is a story of stubborn land, public space, and the many people who imagined what these hills above the Trinity could become.

Carlos De La Fuente has been part of Oak Cliff since 1974, and few people know the neighborhood's history quite like he does. In this episode, Carlos shares the story of immigrating to Dallas as a child, growing up in Oak Cliff, working at the Dallas Farmers Market, and leaving a stable aviation career to pursue his dream of entrepreneurship.

We talk about the early days of ABC Party, the mentors who believed in him, the risks he took to build a business from the ground up, and the partnership with his wife that helped turn a small produce stand into one of Oak Cliff’s most beloved institutions. Along the way, Carlos reflects on leadership, community, work ethic, and why staying rooted on Davis Street has always mattered more than chasing the next opportunity.