"There are two types of articles you encounter when you read about Westerns," film historian Andrew Patrick Nelson tells me. "One is 'The Western is Dead.' The other is 'The Western is Back.' Sometimes they're out at the same time."

Nelson sheds new light on one of these supposedly "dead" periods in his book "Still in the Saddle: The Hollywood Western, 1969–1980," revealing the genre's persistence and adaptability.

Nelson, chair of the University of Utah's film and media arts department, frequently discusses Westerns on outlets ranging from NPR to Fox News (evidence that these foundational American myths transcend political divisions).

Nelson was kind enough to take a break from work as a teacher, curator, and podcaster (he cohosts "How the West Was 'Cast") to talk to me about the movies we both love:

Why Millennials & Zoomers Should Watch Westerns | Andrew Patrick Nelson | Alignwww.youtube.com