Krista Nightengale has spent her career reimagining what neighborhoods can be. As Executive Director of Better Block, she’s helped communities across the globe transform empty streets into vibrant, people-first spaces. In this Texas Talk, recorded live at Wax Space in June 2024, Krista shares stories of small changes that sparked big shifts, the lessons learned from listening to neighbors, and why temporary experiments can lead to lasting impact.

Wax Space hosts Texas Talks, a live lecture series featuring creative thinkers, entrepreneurs, and community voices from across the state. We bring a selection of these conversations to the Hidden City podcast so you can hear them, too.

For more than eight decades, Brother Bill’s Helping Hand has quietly served West Dallas and Oak Cliff with food, healthcare, and education. CEO Wes Keyes shares how the nonprofit’s unlikely roots trace back to a drinking partner of Bonnie and Clyde, why their “say yes” mantra drives everything from job training to free medical clinics, and how he’s seen the neighborhood rally behind neighbors in need. We get into Wes’s path from small-town Mississippi to Oak Cliff, the beer-brewing Sunday school class that first connected him to the community, and what it looks like to lead with humility in your neighborhood.

Claudia Vega is a lifelong educator turned community builder, bookstore owner, and literary advocate. In this episode, she shares how growing up in Oak Cliff with educator parents instilled a love of books—and how that love became action. Claudia and her husband John co-founded Whose Books, a neighborhood bookstore committed to access, representation, and joy, and ARCO, a nonprofit that builds reading culture through book gifting, programming, and removing barriers to reading. We talk about the obstacles she faced launching a bookstore in a “book desert,” the community’s response, and why cultivating a culture of reading is about equity, not just literacy. Along the way, Claudia reflects on browsing as a lost art, the power of story time, and what it really takes to start something from scratch in the place you call home.

Vincent Holland is the co-founder of Oak Cliff Run Crew and the Say Less Project. In this episode, he shares how a need for connection after the pandemic sparked a Thursday night ritual that now draws hundreds to the bridge at Founders Park. We talk about building community from the ground up, staying rooted in consistency, and creating a space where everyone—from first-time walkers to seasoned marathoners—feels like they belong. Vincent also opens up about his personal journey with grief, the loss of his father, and how that led to the Say Less Project, a powerful mental health awareness run from Dallas to Austin. Through it all, Vincent reflects on what it means to run with purpose and lead with authenticity.We talk about journalism as a public service, the rise of nonprofit newsrooms, and the balancing act of writing for both the archives and the algorithm. Along the way, we dig into her coverage of the Belmont Hotel, navigating conspiracy brain, and why there's joy in hyperlocal journalism—even when you're writing about Southwest Airlines' baggage policy.