Observer Radio Episode 69: How an Alpine Smoke Shop Became a National Civil Liberties Cause

Tom Cochran
Aug 1, 2014, 1:50 pm CST

Purple Zone merchandise on the shelves.
Merchandise on display at the Purple Zone in Alpine, TX.  Tom Cochran

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In this episode of Observer Radio, staff writer Patrick Michels tells the tale of a controversial Alpine smoke shop swept up by the federal government’s zeal to snuff out synthetic drugs.

Former Observer managing editor Chris Tomlinson joins us via phone to discuss his first book, Tomlinson Hill. In it, he tells the story of two families—one white, one black—that trace their roots back to a Texas slave plantation.

Observer Radio appears on KEOS in College Station on Sundays at 6:30 p.m., on KOOP in Austin on Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m. and on Wimberley Valley Radio on Sunday mornings and afternoons. Subscribe to Observer Radio on iTunes and never miss an episode.

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