A New Angle: Recent Episodes

Justin Angle

A New Angle is an educational, business, and popular culture podcast celebrating cool people doing awesome things in and around Montana. We live in the College of Business at the University of Montana.

New episodes drop every Thursday. Recent and upcoming guests include Eric Sprunk (UM Alum and Nike, Inc. COO), US Senator Jon Tester, US Representative Greg Gianforte, Cheryl Strayed (best-selling author of Wild), NYT Columnist Maureen Dowd, and many others.

Will Cockrell is the author of the book Everest, Inc.: The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World, a fascinating history of the guiding industry on the world’s highest peak.

In this episode, Justin and Will discuss how his book challenges misconceptions about Everest, the evolving role of Sherpas, and why this mountain holds such a firm grip on our psyche.

Transcript available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zt-grVJHMMEnOSebKku9le5ZAyNhTE1-1sWwkGHD6UQ/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

Its pledge week on Montana Public Radio, so we wanted to explore the news gathering and reporting process at MTPR with News Director Corin Cates-Carney.

In conversation with Justin and economist Bryce Ward, Corin describes public radio’s approach to delivering informative, accurate and place-based news that serves the interests of MTPR’s listeners.

Transcript available here.

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

Priya is an interdisciplinary ecologist and artist with an extensive background in multimedia storytelling and a passion for connecting with the natural world through art.

In this week’s episode, Justin and Priya cover environmental justice, the writing process, and the need to sit with both hope and despair. Priya also shares one of their poems, Untitled Poem About Fire.

Full transcript available here.

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

Ezra Graham is the purveyor of News Nerds, a podcast on which he’s interviewed the likes of Glenn Close, David Cross, Alberto Gonzalez and many others. Ezra started News Nerds in 2020 at the age of 11. Now in high school, he’s published over 100 episodes.

Ezra and Justin discuss the origins of Ezra’s curiosity about journalism, how his high-profile guests respond to hard-hitting questions from a teenager, and the values of fair and civil discourse that underlie his future ambitions.

Transcript available here.

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

In this week's special crossover episode, we speak with Austin Amestoy, Morning Edition host at Montana Public Radio and host of The Big Why, an MTPR podcast that answers listener questions about anything Montana, big or small.

Austin tells us about his entry into public radio and The Big Why, and we bring you some of the show's magic in action as we answer three listener questions about meteorology, motoring and metalworking.

Transcript available here.

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week, our Incentives & Instincts series with economist and friend Bryce Ward continues, with another episode discussing the rise of zero sum thinking and the need for chaos.

Justin and Bryce discuss the roots of these phenomena, the amplifying power of social media, and how capitalism begins to fail when society's needs no longer overlap with its wants.

Transcript available here.

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guest is D'Vaughn Hayes, commercial sales manager for Montana at TDS Communications and a prolific community leader in Billings. D’Vaughn is the director and lead organizer for TEDx Billings, in addition to multiple other professional and service oriented pursuits.

In the episode, Justin speaks with D'Vaughn about his professional journey in sales, his devotion to mentoring kids, and his enthusiasm for emerging technologies like cryptocurrency and AI.

Transcript available here.

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

We’re off this week due to the State of the Union Address, so in place of our regular programming, we’re bringing you the first episode of a new program we’ve developed in collaboration with Montana Public Radio: The Climate Angle.

Enjoy! And if you have any suggestions for climate stories, please let us know.

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's episode is our February edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society.

In this episode, Justin and Bryce discuss the emerging ideological divide between Gen Z men and women, the rise of zero sum thinking, and the potential implications for this polarization in American society.

Full transcript available here.

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guest is Dr. Judith Weisenfeld, professor of religion at Princeton University. Dr. Weisenfeld is an expert on African American religion and recently visited the University of Montana as part of the President's Lecture Series and Martin Luther King Day celebrations.

In this episode, Justin speaks with Dr. Weisenfeld about her academic path to focusing on religion, her research into the history of looking at African American religious traditions through a racialized lens, and her take on the public scrutiny that elite institutions of higher education are currently facing.

A transcript of the conversation is available here.

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guests are Victoria, Remy, Josie, and Anders—four students from Park High School in Livingston, Montana. These students are part of a school group called The Green Initiative, which has successfully raised funds for a solar installation at their school, organized a youth climate summit for high schoolers across Montana, and engaged in the climate crisis with a unique blend of innovation and passion.

In this episode, Justin speaks with Victoria, Remy, Josie, and Anders about what it's like to be a young person confronting our challenging climate realities, the inspiration they've taken from the Held v. Montana court case, and their outraged optimism for the future.

Transcript available here.

Learn more about The Green Initiative.

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guests are Peri Sasnett and Kyle Langley of Glacier National Park. These two are part of the team that makes Headwaters, a podcast about the history and critical issues facing Glacier National Park. Headwaters is an amazing resource made possible by the Glacier National Park Conservancy.

In this episode Justin asks Peri and Kyle about how the podcast came to be, why it's important to tell these stories about Glacier National Park, and how increased visitation has changed the way information is conveyed to visitors. Justin asks Peri & Kyle about their favorite park stories.

Transcript available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10oq9GoBGnvc6CUVzA5ZA27pepegEyoORUt5st9zF0OI/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guest is Maritsa Georgiou, award winning journalist and national correspondent for Scripps News. Maritsa's reporting on the planned removal of the 2020 election ballot collection boxes earned her a Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Journalism. After many years on air for NBC Montana, Maritsa moved to Scripps in 2021 and this year will begin hosting her very own live broadcast from Missoula weekday evenings.

In this episode Justin and Maritsa talk about her family ties to TV reporting in Montana, her experience covering the pandemic and the Scripps News business model. Justin asks Maritsa what her thoughts are on the state of journalism.

Transcript available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1maGNDvgYq3BA9z-DmUPghCLY60gO1KZFUGZ9HuW5Oj0/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's episode is the January edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society.

Justin and Bryce take a look back at their 2023 predictions and offer some new predictions for 2024 and beyond. They discuss the economy, politics and culture. Justin asks Bryce what the odds are that in three years neither Trump or Biden is president.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JR926-P7fdcK8bUGGixxSu0_RHjzqWRLHT5HdVarRb8/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guest is John Adams, executive director at Montana Free Press. In the second installment of this two-part conversation Justin and John talk about the Montana Free Press model, the state of journalism in general, and its future here in Montana.

They delve into the importance of funding transparency for non-profit news organization and the implications of A.I. for print journalism. Justin asks John about how Montana Free Press covers polarizing topics.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Kq98HEHHSJIkGlwwTrIPFOO6IzM0VS1DTum8vRbUpF0/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guest is John Adams, executive director at Montana Free Press. With Adams as its founder, Montana Free Press launched in 2016 as an independent nonprofit.In this episode Justin and John talk about the Montana Free Press model, the state of journalism in general, and its future here in Montana.

Justin asks John how the rise of Facebook and Google changed the business model for online newspapers. Stay tuned for part two of their conversation next week.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KWQkKNw2tQI_7y596hVCR3mIIfyH6RyFjHSpqgCX-MA/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guest is Lance Neirby, CEO of Montana Silversmiths, the makers of fine trophy buckles and Western jewelry. Montana Silversmiths is celebrating 50 years in business, and their buckles feature prominently on the hugely popular Yellowstone series.

In this episode Justin and Lance discuss the distinction between art and craft, securing fruitful partnerships and the history of Montana Silversmiths. Justin asks Lance about the future of manufacturing in Montana.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RJbhDJa9tNLYlg3GKFRQvrYiF-XQQQ_CRUDC0EAKt1E/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's episode is the December edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society.

Justin and Bryce discuss solutions to the crisis in the political labor market including ranked choice voting, reestablishing community, changing election funding and more. Justin asks Bryce if there is a method to use compensation to hold our elected officials accountable.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JrUXyhn0Q2NaN51TullSbAtKxn_z4swzQWPdiZT_ZSE/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guest is Marietta Rodriguez president and CEO of NeighborWorks America, a national nonpartisan community development organization. Marietta was recently named one of the most influential nonprofit leaders in the country by The Nonprofit Times. Last month, she visited the University of Montana College of Business, and Justin was fortunate enough to get her on the show.

In this episode Justin and Marietta talk about the difference between affordable and workforce housing, how to address the housing crisis and the connection between climate and housing. Justin asks Marietta if she had a magic wand to implement one policy change, what would it be? Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pzPzP6b1Yl46vmry6dE38mQC6C6akEyVSiV8WqUK3EI/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guests are Lori and Robert Byron, two physicians from Hardin, Montana, and lead authors of the Climate Change and Human Health in Montana report. The report details what we know about how climate change is affecting the health of Montanans.

In this episode Justin asks the Byrons about the sources and methods they used to craft the report, how the negative health effects of climate change are distributed and how our health systems can address these effects.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ctOBKZRLPOFIuX8AbBF2VBntFcylHUmFvyBSNKc2fGc/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guest is Andrew Schulz, the community manager for C2M Beta. C2M Beta is an open innovation lab supported by Blackfoot Communications. C2M Beta offers a curriculum and a collection of resources designed to help entrepreneurs in Montana bring their ideas to life.

In this episode Justin and Andrew discuss how C2M Beta came to be and the program's 12 week curriculum that helps entrepreneurs develop and refine their ideas. Justin asks Andrew about the role of technology in entrepreneurship and how equity plays out in C2M Beta's cohort selection.

Transcript available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jV_nw34iJKsJM2RWNTVDNv3G0VjkOY5-C4MP_DMxqK8/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's episode is the November edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society.

Justin and Bryce discuss the crisis in the political labor market, where fewer people seem interested in running for office, and those who are elected have less experience in government. The pair talk about why this crisis is occurring, including the role of media, money and a shrinking labor supply.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14XLNNCxeGEJNt2Q9GnppNZsNb_ePbrQRnc-U9t-99IM/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guests are Dylan Cherrulo and Wendy Owens. Dylan is an economics student at the University of Montana and a program assistant at the Blackstone Luanchpad. Wendy is the founder and CEO of Hexas Biomass, and she's also Dylan's mom.

In this episode Dylan and Wendy discuss their paths into entrepreneurship and what about this choice of career path is so appealing to them both. Justin asks Wendy and Dylan about why the notion of doing good by people and the planet is important in the work that they do, and they discuss Hexas, Wendy's most recent entrepreneurial venture.

Transcript available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y55VLHoXJVDtdeK4UoILvJk2lqgggnsTbJha2hXfOts/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guest is Josh Olsen, co-founder and program director of the Montana Wilderness School, a Bozeman based organization that offers expeditionary wilderness courses for youth that foster personal growth and a conservation ethic.

In this episode Justin asks Josh about his motivation for starting MWS and why the school focuses specifically on Montana kids. Josh talks about the power of kids from diverse backgrounds coming together on immersive backcountry experiences and the importance of trusting and communicating with each other.

Transcript available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wcZDXdX9c5eniagQ9jZR5qXYUMQSqDR0ee3nSmqZYFc/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week is the October edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society. This week, Justin and Bryce continue discussing A.I. and creativity with Justin's colleague at the College of Business, Professor Erik Guzik. Erik is an expert on creativity and entrepreneurship and recently published a study finding that generative A.I. can score in the top percentile of creative thinking.

In this episode Justin asks Bryce and Erik how we as a society should manage A.I. and how happy accidents play a role in creativity. Bryce asks Justin and Erik to talk about how they are using A.I. in their roles as educators at the university.

Transcript available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18ecd_c_WV39tVAtyYMMjx6xNy0xfC4OWer7MbNfOaQY/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guest is Ken Stern, director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate. He's also an award winning author, scholar and attorney. Ken has argued before the Supreme Court and testified in front of Congress. Ken will be visiting the University of Montana community on November 6th as part of the President's lecture series. This conversation was recorded prior to the recent eruption and violence between Hamas and Israel.

In this episode Justin asks Ken to define hate and whether anti-Semitism operates differently than other forms of hate. They briefly discuss the Israel-Palestine debate and how universities should approach exposing students to a variety of viewpoints and ideas.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Crbsdvky8dxCvXiLGOJKvwsIY06FUeIa6A1bD0nq8Vk/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guest is Shaun Radley, purveyor of all things at MTCX and master of bike race organizing in western Montana. There is something special happening right now with the sport of cycling in Montana, and Shaun is a big reason why.

In this episode Justin and Shaun talk about the upcoming 2023 and 2024 Pan American Cyclocross Championships, which Missoula has been selected to host in large part due to Shaun's efforts and connections. Justin asks Shaun about the application process to host that event and why bikes and biking are so special to so many people in this part of the state.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Oag-gX2YeVWaQhmJeZFLNfkJdVDSvSetfgH1kKH_Fwo/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

After some thoughtful listener questions, Justin reached back out to Nic de Castro, founder of LandTrust — a new venture seeking to connect landowners and recreationalists — to ask a few more questions, particularly about how LandTrust works with the state’s block management program.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11FLTb07QVU7hAkqH5DCKlTdSKhGEFAbFkuZTXp8RfZg/edit

Check out part one here: https://soundcloud.com/anewangle/91423-decastro-sc-final

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guest is Molly Kruckenberg, director of the Montana Historical Society, an organization charged with protecting and sharing Montana's past. The Historical Society is in the midst of building the Montana Heritage Center and Molly and Justin discuss the project in this episode.

Molly describes the role the Historical Society plays in the state of Montana, how exhibit space in the new Heritage Center will be thoughtfully curated, and how she and her team highlight multiple perspectives to tell a story with as much accuracy as possible. Justin asks Molly about how the Historical Society is engaging with young people throughout the state.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZUP7HFnZHZ_C0r0wsOkklERt19xvB1i9TrTZOSDTyj4/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guests are Latisha Buck Elk Thunder and Dacia Red Thunder Griego, founders of Indigenous Made Missoula, a platform created to empower and propel Indigenous artists.

In this episode, Justin asks about the inspiration behind Indigenous Made Missoula, the importance of representation and Indigenous spaces, as well as how non-Indigenous consumers can be more thoughtful and intentional in the way they engage with Indigenous art and artists.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13Rru-vHQCBH4xb-C1-5H3JyPvpd7vvfImBLB0o9Oxa0/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week is the September edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society. This week Justin and Bryce are joined by Justin's colleague at the College of Business, Professor Erik Guzik. Erik is an expert on creativity and entrepreneurship and recently published a study finding that generative A.I. can score in the top percentile of creative thinking.

Erik talks about his definition of creativity and shares the method he and his fellow researchers used to conduct their study. The trio discuss what these findings mean for society and the future implications of a disruptive technology like generative A.I.. Stay tuned for part two of this conversation in next month's Incentives & Instincts episode.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ln8SkRLks1xW6pvtnsElnPRN8u7NQR7ihKZZC0ePDLI/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guest is Peter Stark, bestselling author of Astoria, Young Washington, and now the newly released Gallop Toward the Sun: Tecumseh and William Henry Harrison's Struggle for the Destiny of a Nation. Peter's new book explores a critical period of early U.S. history overlooked and not well understood.

In this episode Justin asks Peter about his career transition from adventure journalism to history books, Peter describes a forgotten, yet formative part of American history, and ruminates on his approach to telling the nuanced, messy, complicated stories of our nation's history.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C5JHzl3t1PFWqitTwWdHZpUJWywSaSKO8__NSXPlULQ/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week's guest is Nic de Castro, founder of LandTrust, a new venture seeking to connect landowners and recreationalists. LandTrust creates new revenue streams for landowners and enables access to lands previously difficult or impossible for the public to access.

In this episode, Justin and Nic discuss the pressure on private lands, particularly working lands in the American West, how LandTrust incentivizes conservation, and the challenges the company has faced as an innovative tech platform launching in the state of Montana.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o4V9hHmHfib99Rz6bjAMcznbixrncLzcWBcJOwaZUPc/edit?usp=sharing

Get full access to A New Angle at www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

This week is the August edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society. This week, Bryce takes on the role of host to talk with Justin and Nick Mott about their brand new book, This is Wildfire: How to Protect Yourself, Your Home, and Your Community in the Age of Heat.

Justin and Nick share their earliest experiences with wildfire and how their perceptions and understanding have changed since then. Bryce asks what the co-authors want the individual reader to take away from the book and also what our broader responsibility is to engage with policy makers on the subject of wildfire.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OzrVUhEGaaeIzXgGku8kTgMEoDmNlog9LsstYfQfhBs/edit?usp=sharing

This week's guest is Colin Hickey, senior vice-president of operations at VidCon - a conference that brings together up to 75,000 online creators each year. Colin is a Montana entrepreneur and community leader and has grown the VidCon program across the globe.

In this episode, Colin tells the story of how he got involved with VidCon and its rapid growth over the course of a few short years. Justin asks Colin a series of lightening round questions about streaming media, regulation in big tech, content abundance and more.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V8_fK8lOcOULnoZrOVJhmZnmWN-5v69PBn8sUsA3Yb8/edit?usp=sharing

This week's guest is Jeff Batton, a principal at HomeStake, a fund that pursues a variety of business models, all designed around connecting more local investors with more local companies.

In this episode, Justin and Jeff talk about the trend towards consolidation in business and some solutions HomeStake is pursuing to avoid the problems created by continuous consolidation, how investors can rethink how they invest in order to support the biodiversity of their local business ecosystem, and how you can contribute to a healthy local economy even as an everyday consumer.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JimYxknJ-1I8NGKed-hnKmTAztcaQqjH1nKOqOYEFiw/edit?usp=sharing

This week's guest is Dr. Pardis Mahdavi, an Iranian-American professor, administrator, outgoing provost at the University of Montana, and the newly named president of the University of La Verne. Pardis is the author of multiple books and served in leadership roles in several prominent universities.

In this episode Justin asks Pardis about her path into academia, what changes to the University of Montana and higher ed more broadly she would like to see and her goals for the new role as president of the University of La Verne.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WXbFyw5yg9sg_R4VSGkiiIzlUCNT2oY_xIyGWXp1t5U/edit?usp=sharing

This week's guest is Dr. Jay Erickson, a family medicine doctor in the Flathead Valley and assistant clinical dean of the University of Washington's WWAMI Program, a residency track for doctors to practice in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.

In this episode Justin and Dr. Erickson discuss the challenges and opportunities in rural health care, how the WWAMI program provides access to publicly funded medical education for the residents of Montana and how to recruit more young people into the practice of rural medicine.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YgovokKr6-U5tMM3m5x_M7ofBuQZdbVrlSAE4X83z-k/edit?usp=sharing

This week's guest is journalist Sally Mauk, senior news analyst and news director emerita at Montana Public Radio. Sally has covered Montana politics and other topics for over 30 years and is the host of MTPR's Capitol Talk.

In this episode Sally talks about the factors that brought her to journalism, her perspective on the 2023 Montana Legislative session and the future of political coverage in Montana. Justin asks Sally about friend and colleague Chuck Johnson, and about her current objectives now that she has semi-retired.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HRVBLQ1smR9DBJCgeXqKEyuFzJ6y_g0Uz6P_yUJOKqg/edit?usp=sharing

This week is the July edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society. This week the two discuss some of the more encouraging signals in the economy.

They cover declines in violent crime, inflation and increases in labor force participation rates over the last year or so. Justin and Bryce also dig into a recent study which found people across the world tend to believe things used to be better in the past and discuss why this might be and why that idea isn't actually accurate.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KeXOkMce66kq4VSpa_fl8XQIQ8WNKWlTAjh1mV06Mdg/edit?usp=sharing

This week Justin returns to his conversation with Emmy Award winning production designer and art director John Shaffner about his career designing some of the most iconic sets in television, including Friends and Two and a Half Men.

In part two of this two-part episode, they discuss the transition from network television to today's streaming services, the inner-workings of license deals and why the number of sitcoms produced each year continues to decline. Justin asks John about his connection to the University of Montana and continued dedication to the college.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Lf61TK02ugiUAY1TUf0pRJHU2lwtwrLstWVJKm-Nisg/edit?usp=sharing

This week Justin talks with Emmy Award winning production designer and art director John Shaffner about his career designing some of the most iconic sets in television, including Friends and Two and a Half Men.

In part one this two-part episode, they discuss Shaffner's path into production design, how screen technology has evolved to shape the industry and most importantly, how did the cast of Friends afford to live in such a big apartment in New York City? Stay tuned for part two of this conversation next week.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Um2Op_Xmgp0Jm0ZkgbMO7oLLEhHNn4WQjhCBtIZqGyg/edit?usp=sharing

This week's guests are legendary Missoula-based musicians, Jeff Ament and John Wicks, who have collaborated to form the band Deaf Charlie. Their first full length album, Catastrophic Metamorphic, recently released on June 30th.

In this episode they talk with Justin about the Deaf Charlie origin story and how the two musicians have yet to play together in a studio. They cover the challenges and opportunities of fostering creativity and collaboration with the only rule is, there are no rules. Justin asks about their upcoming show at the Ohana Festival and the decision to produce the album on vinyl.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h9ZoXhanDu7m-rgl3MiF_ZqhawJgUDHifm5k_jsnNnI/edit?usp=sharing

This week A New Angle hosts four guests doing amazing work to help us understand the role of exercise in treating cancer. These folks will headline the upcoming Exercise in Lifestyle Medicine and Oncology Care Conference at the University of Montana, July 12th and 13th.

In this episode, Justin speaks with one guest who was part of the largest study of weight training in breast cancer survivors and learns why the University of Montana, as an R1 research university, is a great place to study the effects of exercise on cancer. Justin speaks with a breast cancer survivor about how important exercise, specifically dragon boat rowing, was to her recovery, and asks the guests what it’s been like trying to get people to embrace healthier lifestyles.

Learn more about the conference here: https://silverliningmt.org/events/exercise-and-lifestyle-medicine-in-oncology-care-a-medical-and-survivorship-conference-in-western-montana/

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1otoZKZ08TtV-h0rd6AOflNzYsGf5j0yV45-iDkgKUk4/edit

This week is the June edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society. This month Bryce and Justin respond to a listener inquiry about parking. As it turns out, parking policies have driven much of how American cities look and feel.

In this episode they explore studies on parking and congestion, the way American cities were built to accommodate ample parking and the potentials of a technological fix for our parking woes.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lsXKhreqYO7-8oNXODdWMJxD4GAIW3nrywKGUZBoFis/edit

This week’s guest is Jeffrey Funk, a blacksmith from Bigfork, Montana, who’s been crafting public sculpture and architectural metalwork for over 30 years. Jeffrey is the director of the New Agrarian School, an organization that teaches blacksmithing and other traditional rural crafts.

In this episode, Jeffrey talks about how being interested in everything led to his blacksmithing career and provides some history of the profession. He also brings up how he deals with certain contradictions in his work — like the fact that the backbones of blacksmithing are destructive to the Earth. Justin asks how blacksmithing fits into the context of other themes of local economy, like CSAs or farmers’ markets, and how Jeffrey brings diversity into the New Agrarian School.

Learn more about the New Agrarian School here: https://www.newagrarianschool.org/

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lNyP7ROE_ZL_xLAtlxtFz7-UcAuZjPlVzW4lv5FP2Ck/edit

This week’s guests are Sherry and Andy Chidwick, two recently retired schoolteachers from Stevensville, Montana who are about to launch their next chapter of life as overland adventures. The Chidwicks are in the final stages of selling all of their stuff and building out their adventure vehicle.

In this episode, Andy explains that he and Sherry didn’t want to wait for the traditional American retirement age to start traveling. The Chidwick’s motto is "less stuff, more stories," and that carries them through their midlife plans. Justin asks whether they have to have a perfect marriage to make this work, and learns their rig is not hashtag van life.

Follow the Chidwick’s journey here: https://www.nomadicmidlife.com/blog

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H9cILlM8YgRDbHDxgrhE0Q02xTXynE2ev2oERcCZDfQ/edit

This week’s guest is Curt Olds, internationally renowned singer, opera and musical theater director and entrepreneur. Curt has performed on Broadway, at the Lincoln Center and at Carnegie Hall. He is a Butte native and a graduate of the University of Montana with a degree in vocal performance, and the most recent recipient of the Odyssey of the Stars.

In this episode, Curt talks about how much of a spring board Missoula was for his career, and the importance of viewing performance arts as a business, but not a democracy. Justin asks Curt about some of his work with agencies, and how changing societal standards have affected his approach to the industry.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v3g1ZowZjaoPLD4EsoID9C9xI6GtB3JpIBfXhL9XUYc/edit

This week is the May edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society. Last month, Justin and Bryce explored why America seems to be so deadly, and this time they’re talking about Bryce’s “deaths of abundance” concept.To do this, the two dive into a Plato allegory and look at the problems that come with creating abundance. Justin and Bryce talk about the tools people have for regulating emotions and desires, but the lack of infrastructure to support that, and the question of how to regulate ourselves as humans so that when we do make mistakes, we don’t beat ourselves up over it.Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14OCHvlNBOrBtZ7SRIMsvG4cbHYGgd1wd4w9FlnQNsf0/edit

This week’s guest is Cole Mannix, founder of the Old Salt Co-Op, a collection of entrepreneurs and ranchers seeking to produce nourishing food while preserving the ecological health of the Montana landscape.In this episode, Cole talks about his studies in biology and theology, and the different approach Old Salt is taking to Montana meat. Justin asks what part of the meat production system is broken, and what role the consumer plays in fixing it. Cole brings up a festival Old Salt is putting on, and listeners can learn more and get tickets at https://www.oldsaltco-op.com/pages/festivalTranscript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mIbwMwv5RM0aLcrOO5zDcO5M4U95MZjlJC9OfBEw-w0/edit

This week’s guests are Celinda Lake and Ed Goeas, award winning political pollsters and strategists who came together to write A Question of Respect: Bringing Us Together in a Deeply Divided Nation. The book is an exploration of how America grew so divided and how we might come back together.In this episode, Justin asks Celinda and Ed what they think of the state of our democracy now, and why this was the right time to write their book. Celinda and Ed talk about three key parts of the book — social media, super PACs and cable news — and Justin asks both what they see as solutions in a difficult political time.Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LP7U7gRdjoktrZDtUadzT35OM5Hlf6IPRqh_dYruQiw/edit

This week’s guest is Ken Fichtler, founder and CEO of Gaize, a Montana based startup that recently launched a cannabis impairment detection product. Ken served as chief business development officer for four years during the Bullock administration and is a seasoned vet of the Montana entrepreneurship scene.Before they dive into Gaize, Justin asks Ken about his shift from entrepreneurship to public service and what he sees as the macro-level trends of employment. Ken talks about a question that lead him to Gaize — the fact that he wasn’t aware of any system that existed to detect cannabis impairment — and how now he’s created the world’s largest dataset of cannabis impaired eye movement.Learn more about Gaize here: https://www.gaize.ai/Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sXDdjD3MPJMronSQksCaxfhrDYLNjn3B26F6rLLvCAw/edit

This week is the April edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society. Today, the two dig into the perplexing and inconvenient reality that Americans appear to be dying much younger than our counterparts in other advanced economies.Bryce brings up one article that shows Americans are dying more frequently at younger ages. Justin asks what some of the reasons behind that phenomenon are, and the two go through several of those possibilities. Tune in next month for part two of this conversation.Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14XbK4obBoy1qtTUXdvJPXl4yAojgoWXDqrlVe1_sdLc/edit

This week’s guests are Nate Bellinger and Grace Gibson Snyder. Nate is an attorney with Our Children’s Trust, which is suing the state of Montana on behalf of 16 youth climate activists, including Grace, a graduate of Hellgate High School in Missoula.In this episode, Grace talks about the things she noticed changing in Montana, like wildfire smoke and melting glaciers, that inspired her to get involved with the court case. Grace also brings up the mental health impacts of living in a changing climate. Nate explains the case and what the goal is, along with outlining the national implications it could have. The case goes to trial in Helena on June 12.Learn more about Our Children’s Trust here: https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15ScBsxFODxUqrhvUjW0s9x7Ni9SaGu-6cDEpr8yEo0Y/edit

This week’s guest is Wendy Weaver, executive director of Montana Freshwater Partners, an organization dedicated to restoring, enhancing and preserving Montana’s freshwater ecosystems. This team of five women based in Livingston includes a broad array of skills and capabilities, all focused on protecting Montana’s aquatic resources.In this episode, Justin asks Wendy what the current state of play is with Montana’s freshwater, and Wendy gives an example of one of Montana Freshwater Partners' success stories. Justin considers the perspective of the river and how it benefits from conservation, and Wendy discusses the impact of tourism on Montana’s natural resources.Learn more about Montana Freshwater Partners here: https://freshwaterpartners.org/who-we-are/Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wzxfggpQDPv5sc5JVEvJsTECH7-LTfjMycZKvctNlr8/edit

This week’s guest is Rowena He, associate professor of history at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and currently a fellow at the National Humanities Center. She’s an expert on contemporary Chinese history and the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Professor He’s writing and commentary appear regularly in the popular press, and she will be joining the University of Montana community on April 13 as part of the President’s lecture series.In this episode, Professor He talks about how the Tiananmen Square massacre changed her life, and the lives of many in her generation. Justin asks about the risks Professor He has had to take, and she talks about the trend of radicalization across the world.Get tickets to the lecture series here: https://www.umt.edu/president/events/lectures/2022-2023/rowena-he.phpTranscript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VSRjFztCoDxgN9Ga6cCIRiqf_nMQngsOyNlukKvDfoc/edit

It is pledge week here at Montana Public Radio. So, this week’s episode is a special edition of Incentives & Instincts with economist and friend Bryce Ward. Bryce and Justin talk about why our trust in media is so low when the quality and performance of media has arguably been improving.Justin asks Bryce how our trust in media has declined, and Bryce uses diet as an analogy for abundance of information and what that can do to our tastes. Bryce talks about how people are shopping more for information that engages them, not informs them, and Justin asks what we can do to improve the media environment.Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C19sORPrDxHev9f20J_VaFTxqnGzpOSbfkcYbEa4NBA/edit

This week’s guest is Michelle Uberuaga, executive director of the Park County Environmental Council. PCEC does important work to protect the land, water, wildlife and people throughout the northern gateway to Yellowstone National Park.In this episode, Justin asks Michelle about the community PCEC represents and what the values of the community are that need to be represented. Michelle talks about the Yellowstone River floods and how PCEC was an organizing force in the community during that event and gives listeners an idea on how they can get involved in some of the issues that PCEC advocates for.Learn more about PCEC here: https://www.pcecmt.org/Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tF8z3Hhej1n9lZRNWBmXvxsje2tn7R4s_RpZdMagmSc/edit

This week we bring you a special cross-over episode with MTPR’s The Write Question, hosted by Lauren Korn. Lauren and Justin interview University of Montana philosophy professor, Christopher Preston, about his wonderful new book, Tenacious Beast: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think About Animals.In this episode, Christopher explains how Europeans are learning to live with wolves — in fact, the European Union requires every country to find a place for wolves on the landscape. He mentions that the purpose of his book is to remind people that when an animal returns to the landscape, people get a second chance to learn about it, and explains his decision to try to use his book to reach a broader audience.Learn more about Christopher’s book here: https://christopherjpreston.com/hope-in-a-wildlife-apocalypse-book/Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GQXk7y6qWdvv7H2u96nx8wzBIcJowJUbLugX-Ks1qgI/edit

This week we bring you an encore episode of our conversation with the Dean of Montana political journalism, Chuck Johnson. Johnson passed away unexpectedly on March 4. During his 45 year career, Johnson covered 22 legislative sessions, eight governors, nine U.S. senators, and 12 U.S. representatives. He will be missed dearly by the state as a whole.Tributes to Chuck: 1.https://montanafreepress.org/2023/03/06/chuck-johnson-dean-of-montana-political-journalists-dies/2.https://helenair.com/news/local/montana-has-lost-a-legend-chuck-johnson-longtime-mo[…]rnalist-dies/article_254ba310-e03c-5e9b-9f78-de50624abc53.html3.https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2023-03-06/chuck-johnson-dean-of-montana-journalism-diesTranscript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MYKJvi5rTSTxIMULmU2o82TFSJbzNMvOyTapmnISFcs/edit

This week’s guests are Alex Few and Jared Beaver, the creators and hosts of Working Wild University, a new podcast about the interaction of science and culture playing out on working lands across the American West.In this conversation, Justin wonders why starting Working Wild U with wolves in Season One was so compelling and asks both Alex and Jared how they describe the problem surrounding wolves in the West. Alex defines what conflict means in a Working Wild U context, and Alex and Jared talk about what surprised them most working on the podcast. Jared hints that a Season Two may be on the way.Checking Working Wild U out here: https://workingwild.us/Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p4uPfQKcdUD6ADE5wx9Trm5o2u24QBHzqWW_Z_lfZJc/edit

This week is the February edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader issues facing our society. Justin and Bryce talk about changes in Montana’s demographics and culture and the effects on the Montana economy and community cohesion, and to best do that, are joined by executive director of the Missoula Economic Partnership, Grant Kier.Bryce talks about the decline of volunteerism and Grant talks about his work bringing communities together. Both chat about the different ways we can reach out to new faces in Montana and talk to them about what it’s like living here, and Justin asks for advice from Grant and Bryce on where people should start when wanting to get involved in their communities.Learn more about the Missoula Economic Partnership here: https://www.missoulapartnership.com/Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qgAmE45586xfA1kVjN1hNOajJiRMsvwr6ztuaz-Jqfc/edit

This week’s guest is Mariah Gladstone. Mariah grew up in northwest Montana and is Blackfeet and Cherokee. In 2016, she launched in IndigiKitchen, an online platform dedicated to re-indigenizing diets and food systems. IndigiKitchen reaches a wide audience with a food based message of education, empowerment and activism.In this episode, Justin asks Mariah what her relationship with food was growing up. Mariah talks about how in New York City, she couldn’t find bison meat and gives a brief history of Indigenous food systems. Justin asks Mariah how she got her website off the ground, and wonders how she shares her knowledge around the country.Learn more about IndigiKitchen here: https://www.indigikitchen.com/about/Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12punskp_6xy8n8SQjyMT1czWFprWzlDhRagEoTbRN48/edit

This week is a conversation Justin moderated for City Club, featuring Bryce Ward and the director of UM’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Pat Barkey. City Club aims to bring Montanans together to inform and inspire citizens on issues facing the community.In this episode, Justin asks Pat how Montana's economy has changed over the past decade and if this is a good time to be an entrepreneur. A question and answer segment is provided at the end of the episode, too, where City Club attendees ask interesting questions to the panel.City Club holds forums on the second Monday of every month. Learn more at https://cityclubmissoula.com/Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17WQCuc0kiv742Lc5fyO3xvkl65uSG-1ANQGJwSFGgXI/edit

This week’s guest is Marcel Huijser. Marcel is a road ecologist with the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University. He studies the interaction between wildlife and transportation infrastructure, something anyone who’s spent time on Montana’s roads has likely thought about.In this conversation, Justin asks Marcel about the impacts of transportation on wild ecosystems and how big a problem some of those impacts actually are. Justin ponders what the best places are to put traffic mitigation implements, and Marcel gives some examples of great works of mitigation.Check out some of Marcel’s wildlife photography here: https://www.marcelhuijserphotography.com/Transcription here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Cok6cI-Em3b42zHqMdAfopiv3Pfb0BjQftlh1JdQpCk/edit

This week is the January edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader issues facing our society. Today, Justin and Bryce look back on the predictions they made for last year and make a few for 2023.In this episode, Justin and Bryce recap on their predictions about Covid, remote work, the economy, college athletics and politics. Bryce says he feels optimistic about where the economy is right now, and gives his prediction for what the economy might be like this year, and what might be in store for Montana.Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-YsO9_0UKQsAmm2OXBktgOG0_Ow3QY1shH-J6ze-RiU/edit

This week’s guest is Adam Peterman. This year, Adam put together one of the finest seasons the trail running world has ever seen, including a win in his debut 100 miler, the hallowed Western States. In November, Adam won the World Mountain and Trail running championship. At only 27 years old, his future looks bright.In this episode Justin asks Adam about his formative years as a runner, what made him take a crack at 100 miles and what his thought process is like through a 100 mile day. Adam brings up the benefit of having some blind faith in yourself and what it feels like to have running as his job. Justin asks Adam about a day in his life, and Adam gives some projections on the next steps in his running career.Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jNpw2kfNrFjLRgmUP8hgnPvKtoL5h4NGPeZr9ThEBIY/edit

This week’s guest is Dr. Lerone Martin, associate professor of religious studies and director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. Dr. Martin will be visiting the University of Montana on January 26th as part of the President’s Lecture Series. And since this event is a key part of the university’s Martin Luther King Day celebrations, Justin is also joined by the University of Montana’s director of African-American studies and history professor, Dr. Tobin Miller Shearer.Justin asks Dr. Martin why we’re still studying Martin Luther King Jr., and Dr. Martin brings up some downsides of the MLK Day holiday. Justin wonders how King’s legacy informs our culture today, and Dr. Martin advocates for thinking of King as a conversation partner.Dr. Martin’s talk will be on January 26 at 7:30 p.m. For more information and to register, visit umt.edu/presidentTranscript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1avPz4mkXXd-m6wbPfpYMmr4m73c5Rwt4qzDX076mkOc/edit

This week’s guests are Kris Boyd and Shawna Kelsey, the founders of Pink Bench Distilling in Troy, Montana. This story is one of community investment, engagement and revitalization.Justin asks Kris and Shawna how they came together around grizzly bears and apples, what is actually needed to make booze and what apple brandy even is. Kris offers that the forest nearby has between 35-40 botanicals that can be used in distilling spirits, and both women share that their goal is to make Pink Bench a family-friendly place, offering mocktails as well. At the end, Justin asks what insight Kris and Shawna would give to people getting into business with friends.Visit Pink Bench’s Crowdfund link here: https://crowdfundmontana.com/campaigns/41t8oubgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/pinkbenchdistilling/?show_switched_toast=0&show_invite_to_fo[…]w_community_rollback=0&show_follower_visibility_disclosure=0Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pinkbenchdistilling/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=ed4610c7-9e[…]f4a-9604d4ad45bf&ig_mid=4461D382-9C7D-4C14-BACD-13E3D9D81E52Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vUPZOIlxahZygn6JGoUnZhP8ZBphvIkCA3BlEHWEijQ/edit

This week’s guest is Michael Dubin, founder and former CEO of Dollar Shave Club, a business that revolutionized direct to consumer marketing and created ripple effects throughout the global economy.Michael tells Justin the key insight that led to the creation of Dollar Shave Club and gives insight into what it was like being CEO. Justin asks about Michael’s priorities for making an impact outside of work. One of those priorities fits into Montana pretty well — a nonprofit to raise awareness about fuel mitigation and forest management. Michael talks about what he sees as the unique parts of entrepreneurialism in Montana and shares his advice regarding the business world today.Check out Michael’s wildfire nonprofit here: https://safewoods.com/Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X0OfDLMdcj5YnaWL-z_XsE-4H2t4KxVr3tdQM0rRVUQ/edit

This week is the December edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend, Bryce Ward, about some of the broader challenges facing our society. To close out the year, Justin and Bryce talk about some of the good things that have happened this year.Making it on that list include a relatively seamless midterm election season, a decline in the poverty rate, a stock correction, Medicaid expansion and a less extreme wildfire season. Justin and Bryce acknowledge that often in I&I they press pause on technological advancement, but note the bonuses of having more resources available more widely to solve problems.Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fbwe0B_JFJ2GwRn7AD2zCM1t867eljtJ3xd3YeTXoFA/edit

This week’s guest is Eric Dietrich, deputy editor at Montana Free Press, where he leads the Long Streets Project, an initiative that conducts in depth reporting on Montana’s economy. Eric’s recent reporting has focused on housing, and in particular, Governor Greg Gianforte’s Housing Task Force.In this conversation, Justin asks Eric about the state of play of housing in Montana and what the key battlegrounds are on both sides of the debate on how to make more housing. Eric describes how the Housing Task Force came to be and gives a summary of its recommendations to Montana Governor Greg Gianforte. Eric talks about Airbnbs and how they erode the line between housing for residents and tourists and explains what he’s going to watch for in the upcoming legislative session.Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SF96WYg0A8w_1XTMyOwyoxswXvLkCN6xYZWxegm0Htw/edit

This week’s guest is Lesli Allison, founding member and executive director of Western Landowners Alliance. WLA seeks to advance policies and practices that sustain working lands in the West. Many of the most contentious and consequential issues here in Montana are right in the wheelhouse of this important organization.In this conversation Lesli says that if farms and ranches go out of business, we all lose. She points out that a big economic question we have to ask is whether landowners are going to be helped or hurt by outdoor recreation. Justin asks how WLA has addressed issues like housing policy or concerns about new people moving into Montana, and Lesli says the best thing to do is to build meaningful relationships and not take adversarial positions.Learn more about WLA here: https://westernlandowners.org/Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uemIGBgzJQ-NruHwQIcI7uNyRRkcoewqfGdX1QkHk2o/edit

It's the most wonderful time of year here in Montana. And to chat all about it, Justin is joined by Michael Legg, executive director of the Montana Repertory Theater, and Stephanie Nolan from Missoula's Poverello Center. These two great organizations have partnered in the production of Hearth: A Yuletide Tale, a story about homelessness and community.In this episode, Stephanie gives a run down of all the services the Poverello Center in Missoula provides. Justin asks Michael why going to the theater makes you think about things in a way you may never have otherwise. Justin ponders how the housing affordability crisis in Montana has affected the people that come through the Poverello Center’s doors, and asks Stephanie why the terms regarding homelessness are changing.Tickets to Hearth are available at a pay-what-you-can basis at montanarep.com. Showings Dec. 2-3 and 8-10 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 4 and 11 at 2 p.m at the Masquer Theater at the University of Montana.Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qT40uUfS2hllzr1B4wWVdEfj-AbSq6fgU7c1Xtlc0x4/edit

This week’s episode is the November edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which I speak with economist and friend, Bryce Ward, about some of the broader issues facing our society. This episode is about the youth sports industrial complex and joining Justin and Bryce is University of Montana head men’s basketball coach, Travis DeCuire.Justin starts the episode asking Travis and Bryce what the goals of youth sports should be, and what some of the failure points are. Travis talks about how kids don’t play on the playground as much anymore, and the loss of social skills that comes with that change. Travis reflects on how he has taught basketball players the value of not being the best on the court, and gives his advice to parents and young people trying to navigate the system.Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fPd1Iq1iqcnx-T6YHlzaBTiD3wzielns7gjt1Rys7rc/edit

This week is part two of Justin’s conversation with Jeff Shapiro, a professional adventure athlete whose many pursuits include climbing, hang gliding, paragliding, and wingsuit base jumping. Justin and Jeff discuss risk, uncertainty, the seasons of life and many other matters of consequence.In this episode, Justin and Jeff go deep. Jeff talks about how what he’s learned from flying translates to his relationships with people he cares about, and how he balances expectations of success with uncertainty. Justin asks how Jeff’s approach to risky activities has changed since becoming a father, and how he decides to allocate his time. Jeff closes with some advice: Pursue things that are authentically interesting.Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WkPDpN51gnB1L1VNdpAL8NxwRjAEZYlhb8FH5xKxLLw/edit

This week’s guest is Jeff Shapiro, professional adventure athlete whose many pursuits include climbing, hang gliding, paragliding, and wingsuit base jumping. Jeff and his family lived in Montana for many years and recently relocated to the Oregon coast.In this episode, Jeff talks about the difference between passion and obsession and gives listeners a run down on the various ways he flies. Justin asks about the mental state needed to engage in an activity that has a high level of consequence, and Jeff says it’s a mindset that anyone can relate to.Tune into part two next week.Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fNozB8SBSeHOkmGRTby9bfWKcsX9ZePdMHRgtVe0VOg/edit

This week’s episode is the October edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend, Bryce Ward, about some of the broader problems facing our society.It is election season here in Montana and across the country. To navigate some big questions, Justin asks Bryce and guest Rob Saldin, University of Montana political science professor, if our democracy is really at risk. After Rob says yes, Justin goes on to ask how we can solve our problems, what the importance of civics education is and how to get more people to participate in democracy.Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mqms1elZkIzzLQIgtq655ilTj4E_O1U9YfpUbQQG6YA/edit

This week’s guest is Ami Vitale, an award-winning National Geographic Photographer and Nikon Ambassador. Ami has visited over 100 countries, documenting the horrors of war and the good work being done to protect endangered species.In this conversation, Ami attributes her curiosity as a child to getting her out in the world as a photographer. She tells Justin about her early experience in journalism where she had to navigate a male dominated industry that couldn’t see her in the field. Overcoming that, she learned the importance of spending time in the communities she photographed, not just parachuting in and out. Ami talks about her work with the Nature Conservancy and her new nonprofit, Vital Impacts.Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fI70sWqwdpUXHI0KqT1SIIzDu_pGBGc3XuGqBJH-Ezc/editLearn more about Vital Impacts here: https://vitalimpacts.org/

Justin and Montana Public Radio's Lauren Korn from The Write Question talk about MTPR’s pledge week and the importance of public radio.Donate to MTPR during Pledge Week here: https://www.mtpr.org/tags/pledge-weekTranscript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y9bg4FIfh1uv1rNISKO9prVGlovW5001oD8DKw682kw/edit

This week’s guest is Nick Mott. Nick is an award winning journalist and podcast producer based in Livingston, and the editor of this podcast. Over the last several months he’s published a series of articles with High Country News documenting the catastrophic Yellowstone floods that occurred in June 2022.In this episode Justin and Nick talk about the varying devastation of the floods, the politics of floodplains and the pressure the floods brought to bear on an already stressed housing system. Nick talks being evacuated and how he came to report on an event with such personal ties. Justin and Nick also explore the ecological benefits of flooding, and balancing the needs of safety and resilience.Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gQStyaZ3HKrLrR4IZ5-OHAnT8UKASr4d72uLSwXn480/editRead Nick's HCN series here: https://www.hcn.org/author_search?getAuthor=Nick%20Mott%20&sort_on=PublicationDate&sort_order=descending

This week is the September edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend, Bryce Ward, about some of the broader challenges facing our society.

In this episode, Justin and Bryce focus on our public school system. Bryce opens the conversation looking at the big picture and explains that public school is in a pretty good place. Justin and Bryce talk about the importance of success in improving both test scores and social-emotional well-being as indicators of healthy schools, and consider the effects of exposure to classmates with different backgrounds. Justin closes the interview asking Bryce what effect school closures during the pandemic will have on public school progress, and offers gratitude to the people in the school system working hard each day to make it work.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10N_LdrDgVUZKVZpPKH5b-DDFT5z9PHL79kq3uMgn-Zs/edit

This week’s guest is Jeff Immelt, former CEO of General Electric and current venture partner at New Enterprise Associates. Jeff will be speaking at the University of Montana on September 27th as part of the Baucus Center’s Stockman Bank Speaker Series. He was kind enough to join Justin for a conversation in advance of his visit.

Justin and Jeff speak about shocks and crises and a course at Stanford Jeff teaches called Systems Leadership. As a teacher, Jeff reflects on the importance of mental health in student populations and how he’s noticed students today are more place restrictive when they look at their careers. Justin asks Jeff his thoughts on the popular perception that people just don’t want to work anymore, and what he advises young people when they say they want to make a difference.

Tune into Jeff’s talk with Max Baucus at the University of Montana on Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at umt.edu/law.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PMmJSXW5nvGxUke66zLLC_EDe7sMGzUoYiwQyjWLD-4/edit

This week is part two of Justin’s conversation with acclaimed journalist and writer Hal Herring. Hal is a contributing editor at Field & Stream where he writes the Conservation blog. He’s interested in complex topics central to life in the American West, and is currently working on a deep exploration of public lands.

In part two of this conversation, Justin and Hal talk about the conflicts that strengthened the public lands system. Justin asks Hal how he addresses the tribal history of public land, and they talk about the issue of access to public lands for diverse and minority communities. Justin asks Hal about a new extractive industry — tourism — and Hal expresses concern about a future without public lands.

To get more of Hal and history on public lands before his book comes out (he’s anticipating a year) visit:

Field & Stream — https://www.fieldandstream.com/authors/hal-herring/ Backcountry Hunters and Anglers’ podcast — https://www.backcountryhunters.org/bha_podcast Patagonia’s short film, Public Trust — https://www.patagonia.com/films/public-trust/

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1azZE3npz6MJKOLuUpjGEzLphzYh5qDIx84vwVD1OEU8/edit

This week’s guest is acclaimed journalist and writer Hal Herring. Hal is a contributing editor at Field & Stream where he writes the Conservationist blog. He’s interested in complex topics central to life in the American West, and is currently working on a deep exploration of public lands. Since this topic is so big, we’re bringing you this conversation in two parts.

In part one, we hear about Hal’s beginning in Montana as a HoeDad tree planter. Hal takes us back to Rome with the genesis of the idea of public lands and navigates through the political history of a movement trying to get public lands out of federal management. Hal explains the importance of the Taylor Grazing Act and Federal Land Policy Management Act in relation to lands in the West, and both the conflicts and successes that stem from years of figuring out how to manage public lands. Tune in to part two next week.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10v7IK61B5Ncs4NPad2kBhsjhhwHBsfuorygI_L_v3Co/edit

This week Justin is joined by DeAnna Bublitz, founder of DEER Camp. DEER Camp is trying to build a more diverse community of hunters by attracting underrepresented groups to the activity. DeAnna grew up in Minnesota and studied infectious diseases, a path that ultimately led her to labs with professors at the University of Montana.

In this episode, we learn about DeAnna’s journey to hunting and the experiences she’s had as a solo woman hunter. DeAnna talks about how it feels to hunt with different types of people and the way her level of involvement changes depending on who she’s with. She brings up the various barriers to entry, including cost and connections, and offers advice for first-time hunters, including befriending the local area biologist.

Learn more about DEER Camp on Instagram or through its website. https://www.instagram.com/deercamp_mt/?hl=en https://www.deercampmt.org/

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OxGrJnHbQJsLc3z8A-u25TEJDnB0iV9ckE5p2x6xUCw/edit

This week is the August edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend, Bryce Ward, about some of the broader challenges facing our society.

In this episode, Justin and Bryce are joined by Bryce’s wife, Maggie, who works in conflict resolution. The trio talk about how much less time people are spending with their friends and the atrophy of our social muscles. In light of the coronavirus pandemic and new collaborative environments, Bryce and Maggie talk about how social media can lead us to creating assumptions about people and building the wrong type of social muscles. Justin, Bryce and Maggie end the episode by giving their recommendations on allocating time more effectively.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dHncZQX1NBGCJLen6yokzlkBltRm9pq1d9B0EIN5a44/edit

This week’s guest is Craig Cowie, Professor at the University of Montana’s Blewitt School of Law. Craig helps guide us through three of the most significant decisions in this recently concluded term of the US Supreme Court.

The first case is Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v Wade in June. Craig explains the five possible ways this could change abortion access in Montana. The next case is Oklahoma v Castro-Huerta, and Craig dives into the flip in reasoning stemming from a 200-year history of Indian Law. Lastly, we hear about West Virginia v EPA and Craig’s thoughts on the place of historical analysis in Supreme Court decisions.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15qHMdPv3AzhGY3KPTtlmIkXVd8Sis0By20d8F6Iivkw/edit

This week’s guest is Heather McDowell, Vice President for Legal, Environmental and Government Affairs for the US region at Sibanye-Stillwater, the owner and operator of the Stillwater and East Boulder Mines. Heather works at the intersection of many issues critical to Montana’s future - environmental regulation and sustainability, workers’ rights, diversity, equity and inclusion and many others. And if those topics weren’t challenging enough, Heather has been helping her colleagues recover from the massive flooding earlier this summer that shut down operations.

In this episode, we get a definition of responsible mining and hear Heather’s take on the benefits of government regulation on mining. Heather talks about climate change and Sibanye-Stillwater’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative.

Learn more about Sibanye-Stillwater here: https://www.sibanyestillwater.com/

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BTbRLAPjQOoTbbtmMMAljfNGq-Q7dlkaFfz9WYA1wao/edit

This week’s guest is Tim Gordon, master appraiser of art and antiques. Tim has been a leading authority in the appraisal business for over 25 years, working on projects like Princess Diana’s gown collection, the Jim Morrison estate, the Al Capone Family collection, and the collections of Yellowstone National Park.

Tim tells us how his beginnings in the appraisal industry stemmed from his mother’s piano playing and painting. He describes what it feels like to be the person who sees things for the first time, like an empty whisky bottle of Al Capone’s. We learn about how Tim places value on a piece of art, and how much value can be taken from what a piece means to its beholders. Tim talks about how his Montanan values play into his work, and what he thinks about NFTs and cryptocurrency.

Tim’s website can be found here: https://www.gappraisals.com/

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KOXCFAEdr30gF5_XvqyQwxQnC5Mz7FHj7DMjT-RIyUo/edit

This week’s guest is Shannon Hughes, strategic communications manager at RMI, an international organization working to transform global energy production with market-based solutions. Shannon’s purview is supply chain, a significant source of carbon emissions. As a communications expert she is focused on making this complex topic more digestible to a broader audience. Given the pandemic-induced salience of the supply chain in all of our lives, Shannon and her RMI colleagues have a great opportunity to raise awareness of the climate implications of how we move stuff all over the globe.

In this conversation we hear about the importance of communication skills when dealing with a data intense topic, a branch of RMI and its goal of decarbonizing the cryptocurrency world and Shannon’s biggest takeaway from her time at RMI thus far – that data has to be relatable.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LkuGKA5xrIJUIKbpjOC2DVCNpXbKE5eO-aHaTGfjiAk/edit

This week is the July edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend, Bryce Ward, about some of the broader challenges facing our society. This month is the last in a three-part mini-series on social media, with a focus on solutions.

In this conversation Justin and Bryce consider the three R’s of transforming the social media landscape, Bryce uses his metaphor of pollution to describe the effects of social media and we hear about the benefits these changes could have on society.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wbR-5pIkWI5unF9EKD4mzu0H-yDACzSC4TAacwUONk4/edit

This week’s guest is Tyler Hamilton. For many years, Tyler raced at the very highest level of professional cycling and was a key figure in the Lance Armstrong doping saga. His story is well documented, told best in Tyler’s powerful book, The Secret Race. Tyler now lives in Missoula, runs a coaching business, works for Black Swift Investment advisors and is a new father. Today we talk about how he transformed his life after racing and found happiness and balance.

In this conversation Justin and Tyler talk about fatherhood and we hear about Tyler’s continued work with MS Global. Tyler talks about his acceptance of past mistakes, the role meditation now plays in his life and the terms he currently keeps with professional cycling.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H65P_SAeb5nFxzQ8MBcn_ZKmejb0ljcrsQej3p7dKE8/edit

This week’s guest is Sarah Aswell. Sarah is a writer of many stripes and a stand up comedian. She is a Senior Editor at Scary Mommy and has published her writing in prominent outlets like The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Forbes, MAD Magazine and many others. She lives in Missoula and performs around the country.

In this conversation we learn about Sarah’s journey from biology to comedy, the open mic night that rekindled her creativity, comedy’s #1 rule and the importance of encouraging underrepresented voices in comedy.

Follow Sarah on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/seaswell/?hl=en

Check out the Revival Comedy group on Facebook and join them on the first Tuesday of every month at the Roxy in Missoula at 6:30 p.m. https://www.theroxytheater.org/show/revival-comedy-open-mic/

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gllBI7B4aOSBzn2OPeBlfli9kqMgu7SLsymz0P9MaGQ/edit

This week’s guest is John Twiggs, host of the award winning Montana PBS program Backroads of Montana. This is John’s 35th year in television journalism and he’s been with Montana PBS for over 25 years. Last year, John was inducted into the Silver Circle of the Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

In this conversation we learn about John’s journey to visual storytelling (yes, it was him in Metric Marmalade), what makes a great Backroads story and what John’s advice is for future broadcast journalists.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ts1Ddb_1yC6Q_HgaKKwHVFW99VuwQuXO0mJwgC_2RpM/edit

This week is the June edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend, Bryce Ward, about some of the broader challenges facing our society. This month we continue our social media discussion, with a focus on what social media is doing to our democracy.

In this conversation we talk about some of the benefits of social media in politics, the tradeoffs that come with using social media and the effect of constant engagement on our media environment.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l_XHX06tfnNr0TFfphnY_gUPXsZ9wTHDTwxe-ovqlw8/edit

This week’s guests are panelists from The Faces of Trade panel discussion held at the Montana World Trade Center’s Investment Day Conference. The panel included Heather McDowell, VP of Legal, Environmental and Government Affairs for Sibayne-Stillwater, the South-African owned operator of the Stillwater and East Boulder Mines; Patrick Flanagan, Chief Commercial Officer at Administrate, a software firm based in Scotland; Cassidy Marn, Executive Vice President of the Montana Wheat & Barley Committee; and Michelle Huie, the founder and CEO of Vim&Vigr.

In this discussion we hear about the global forces that affect production worldwide, hear from panelists on the challenges within their industries and learn what excites panelists looking toward the future.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AjcrwW4nCY9ShOhPF1HaV0d-Gb-Bqh6ZkAUKHvJlPP8/edit

This week’s guests are Dakota Jones and Nate Bender. Dakota is the founder and Executive Director of Footprints Running Camp and Nate is Footprints’ Marketing Director. These two accomplished mountain athletes are working to empower the activist spirit in folks who enjoy spending time in wild places. Footprints not only takes campers on amazing adventures, but connects them with resources and skills to bring their passion for climate action to life.

In this conversation we hear about Dakota and Nate’s strategy of using the trail running community to inspire collective action on climate change, get a glimpse into one camper’s Footprints project and look at how Footprints’ model could be used as an incubator for other outdoor activities responding to climate change.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/170v9TWmnYUcTCudEtTVEPOLbz9ieACJ8e3_y7JJ0ylg/edit

This week’s guest is Stephanie Wittles-Wachs, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Lemonada Media. Stephanie is host of the powerful podcast Last Day. Last Day investigates what’s killing us, and the just released Season 3 takes a hard look at gun violence and suicide in Montana.

We discuss America’s complex relationship with guns, the role fear plays on all sides of the gun debate and the need to focus policy on harm reduction.

Transcript here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1285YlMoNqUBpa8p7UwsVB19iGX6DMurM/edit

This week is our May edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which I speak with economist and friend Bryce Ward, about some of the broader challenges facing our society. This month we talk about social media: What is it doing to us? Can we — and our democracy — survive it?

In this conversation, we discuss emerging science from experts on media addiction, new research that links social media use to the teen mental health crisis, and steps we can all take to assess our relationships with social media.

Transcript here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K7aHjs9AortP6O-BTeS65hoalc6GR7ohNAN5vTx_cUs/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s guest is Stef Sample, serial entrepreneur and founder of Fundid; an exciting new venture dedicated to getting capital to the nearly 96% of American business generating less than $1 million per year. And most of those small businesses are women-owned.

In this conversation, we cover how Stef’s Montana roots has served her well in business, the structural barriers to loans for small businesses Fundid aims to address, and how financial technology groups are changing revenue outcomes for small businesses across the country.

This week’s guest is Mike Morelli, the newly minted Executive Director at Missoula Children’s Theater and Missoula Community Theater.

In this conversation, we cover how Mike found his way to the stage, how Missoula Children’s Theater has weathered the pandemic, and how MCT continues to play out its mission in not only making the arts accessible but giving young people a platform and place in their community.

Today we bring you a story of a man trying to escape from Afghanistan and the amazing people here in Montana trying to help. This is a live situation and this man and his family currently face grave risk. As a result, we don’t reveal his identity and I spoke with him on an encrypted channel from an undisclosed location. Following our conversation, I speak with Lisa Davey, a colleague of our friend who brought his story to us, Marcia Seymore, who has agreed to open up her home to this man and his family when and if they make it to Missoula, and Mary Poole, executive director of Soft Landing Missoula, an organization that welcomes and supports refugees.

This week is our April edition of Incentives and Instincts, a monthly series in which I speak with economist and friend, Bryce Ward, about some of the broader issues facing our society.

In this conversation we cover cryptocurrency: what is it and what do you need to know about it? To help answer these questions, we are joined by Gian Volpicelli, senior writer at WIRED and author of Cryptocurrency: How Digital Money Could Transform Finance.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ASHyxspY4S5A4peW_9QPsx-2mWJdPh7x_-ZmjLjApE8/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s guest is Heidi Beck-Heser, manager and Candy Chef at Phillipsburg's legendary Sweet Palace. Heidi is a stalwart advocate for the Phillipsburg community and she and her family have been at the center of the town's transformation following the closure of mines and sawmills.

In this conversation, we cover Heidi’s path to running the family business, the unique challenges Phillipsburg faced in the wake of the pandemic, and the creative solutions Heidi and her community are visioning for the beloved town’s future.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QFC2FGgayB3gCKC4c5ZKFKlqU7Jq0gs-sUVDz3brRtk/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s guests are all here to speak with us about an upcoming Montana event: the International Wildlife Film Festival. IWFF’s mission is to promote awareness, knowledge, and understanding of wildlife, habitat, people, and nature through excellence in film.

To talk about the 45th edition of the festival, I’m joined today by Carrie Richer, artistic director, Rosh Patel, a Final Juror this year and an award-winning filmmaker himself, and Andrea Odezynska, a Ukrainian-American independent filmmaker whose wonderful film “Return Sasyk to the Sea” is showing at this years festival.

In this conversation, we discuss the importance of this beloved community event, the impact the film festival has had on their respective careers, and the power that visual storytelling can play in sharing narratives across our world.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O-U_gDek4M8X2SCy7Z16ov_JEKCmGRSNrakcQGgo8cc/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s guests are Stephanie Land, author of the NYTimes best-selling memoir Maid; Steph Goble: Executive Director of Mountain Home; and Jill Hope, a young mother working her way through the challenges of creating a stable and secure environment in which to raise her son.

In this conversation, we talk about the hard work and deep experiences of these women and discuss how Mountain Home and other organizations are trying to create systems of care for mothers in need.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13zZh18mfcNi0FDrix_tdLrtrQIuQYN8SwTpmcRpKWJY/edit?usp=sharing

This week is our March edition of Incentives and Instincts, a monthly series in which I speak with economist and friend, Bryce Ward, about some of the broader issues facing our society.

It's pledge week here at Montana Public Radio, we're going to talk today about the value of public media to a democratic society: the place it holds in society past and present, how it supports political discourse, and why we should support our local public media.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b8S_43Kgx1AIYG5Q-GXkQyfSDmJ-IcQ3_YRDWDMswE0/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s guest is Mara Silvers of Montana Free Press. Mara and her colleagues have teamed up with Montana Public Radio and Yellowstone Public Radio to produce a second season of the amazing Shared State, a podcast about the strange political moment we're living through.

Season one went deep on the meaning of Montana values in the lead up to the 2020 election. Season two, which just released, explores some of Montana's messiest political quagmires and the people trying to find their way through. In this conversation, we cover Mara’s path to this project, and dive into episode topics from political fires in fly shops to the sovereignty of Badger-Two Medicine.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14eVT2tEX91tPsGbLQ9MHsao-z8quaVCvyXnE_kX47mE/edit?usp=sharing

This week we speak with Sarah Vowell and Brad Tyer. Sarah is a bestselling author, journalist and doer of many awesome things. Brad is an editor at Montana Free Press and manager of the newsroom. These two have teamed up to produce some special content to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Montana State Constitution and explore some of the amazing stories behind its creation. On March 22, the day of the actual signing by the delegates, Sarah and Brad’s Montana Free Press colleague, John Adams, will moderate a panel event at Montana State University commemorating the anniversary.

For more information visit: https://www.montana.edu/mt50/

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B9X1YSjHlLZnbYT8EGVz4MoCO66L_ufZbcZ09Too9mY/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s guest is novelist, journalist and podcaster, Chad Dundas. Chad earned his undergraduate and MFA degrees from the University of Montana and has published two acclaimed novels - champion of the world and the blaze. He’s covered sports for prominent outlets such as ESPN, The Athletic, and the Associated Press.

In 2020, Chad and his brother Zack teamed up with another sibling pair Erika and Leif Fredrickson to produce Death in the West, a true crime podcast. In this conversation, we cover Chad’s path to writing for podcasts, the inception of Death in the West’s first season and it’s coverage on union organizer, Frank Little, and their newly-released second season, featuring a broad look at the D.B. Cooper’s infamous skyjacking of 1972.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d561yGEWGKLYOfTnvMVaJ6f__beScZFz2_yertChm3g/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s guest is retired Brigadier General Colleen McGuire. Missoula-born and UM educated, General McGuire retired from the US Army in 2012 after an illustrious 32-year career, one in which she accomplished many firsts; the first woman to head the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command and become the Provost Marshal General.

Following her critical work in addressing sexual assault and mental health in the military, Colleen now spends her days outside around her home in Kalispel and ranch in Eastern Oregon. In this conversation, we cover Colleen’s path through the ranks and the historic changes in how mental health is treated in the military today.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X-8ABLtMZIzpFrz5owlNnLyvmhv3wfusntpiVUcV1RE/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s guest is Ross Douthat, opinion columnist for the New York Times and author of several books on various topics including religion, American Decadence, and his experience with chronic Lyme Disease.

In this conversation, we cover the change of conservatism and economic interests over the past few decades, and how Trumpism affected the interests of bi-partisan politics. Ross will be joining the University of Montana community as a President’s Lecture Series speaker on march 2. He talk is titled “How Reaganism Became Trumpism” and we’re exited today to get a preview of that talk and explore some of Ross’s other areas of expertise and interest.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eJXyMifFqFuQSSFokoP1-qJGQOsKINnVK7f5CO2RkgA/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s episode is our February 2022 edition of incentives and instincts...a recurring series in which I speak with economist and friend, Bryce Ward, about some of the broader issues facing our society.

In this episode we are joined by medical ethicist and University of Montana philosophy professor, Mark Hanson, to discuss the transition to a more normal coexistence with COVID-19 and how we should treat one another during this latest phase of the pandemic.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wPVbS7J0WAaGo9hW5_kykHye7TQUp3B8v9Hfhc0VW6k/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s guest is Andrew Connor, Director of the Center for Community Ownership, and organization that provides legal, financial and strategic help to communities that want to start and save essential local businesses. Andrew also helped launch CrowdFund Montana, a web-based resource that connects Montana businesses and organizations with Montanans who want to make local investments.

In this conversation, we cover the purpose of investment crowdfunding, how its framework operates for both the entrepreneur and their backers, and the potential investment crowdfunding has to foster development by and for a community.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LcAgR2nRD9SYMAePd58hTOy8Vn-1Y4-0kIaH9_cdAOk/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s guest is Dr. Naomi Oreskes, the Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. Naomi is an internationally renowned earth scientist, historian, and author on the history of earth and environmental science, including most recently, Why Trust Science? and Science on a Mission: How Military Funding Shaped What We Do and Don’t Know about the Ocean. Dr. Oreskes will be engaging with the University of Montana community on February 17th as part of the Presidential Lecture Series.

In this conversation, Naomi leads us into the history of science, the role of political ideology in addressing COVID-19, and both the intrinsic uncertainty and unwavering hope that has made science’s role critical in human society.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n8D-pEbjhtfy_BzFgcYi3X9IAgphlz3_em3usNc2tyU/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s guest is Dayna Swanson, System Director of Governance at Bozeman Health. Dayna is relatively new to this role after serving as Director of Government Relations for Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and State Director for US Senator Jon Tester. Dayna is passionate about public service and has come home to Montana to work in healthcare during an especially challenging time.

In this conversation, we discuss Dayna’s experiences growing up in Anaconda, her transition to healthcare at the forefront of the pandemic, and the home-grown sense of purpose she finds in being a public servant.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15AJKK3R6kMSbQOVHUXWcMd5-qSh6OGTnyLEAia4uPa0/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s episode is our January 2022 edition of incentives and instincts...a recurring series in which I speak with economist and friend, Bryce Ward, about some of the broader issues facing our society.

To kick off the new year, we’re bringing you our first annual prediction show. In this conversation, we cover our 2022 predictions for education, the economy, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as trends we are keeping an eye on.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-AOe7-QAx6KK8YSJ-pvZ5yfNNRY69D4PvgIF5yfOE8A/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s guest is Dustin Lind, Director of Hitting and the Assistant Hitting Coach for the San Francisco Giants. Dustin is a graduate of UM’s school of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, and we’re grateful to chat with him in the off season during a visit to his home state of Montana.

In this conversation, we cover how the intersection of his passion, ability, and the market- by way of biomechanics, baseball and coaching- led to the creation of Dustin’s role in Major League Baseball.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1izX3WFNcxDAB8489H13xocuIXMckUzHbkQklLe4Gzc0/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s guest is Ryan Busse, former senior executive in the firearms industry. Ryan's new book, Gunfight, is an intimate and revealing account of his experience in that industry, his growing disillusionment with it and his ultimate exit.

In this conversation, we talk about rural household gun culture, the symbolism assault rifles take on in political division, and the rights and responsibilities of gun ownership in our country.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i-Af4GCIEFc4H_h5tgsjQqLQGniqi8iX2BiyQNV603A/edit?usp=sharing

Today’s guest is Tailyr Irvine, a Salish and Kootenai photo journalist from the Flathead Indian Reservation. She is a National Geographic Explorer and her work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, ESPN, CNN and the Smithsonian, among other prominent outlets.

Tailyr is especially interested in representing the diversity within Native America and complex issues facing tribal communities. In our conversation, we frame up just a few of the many incredible projects and series in her portfolio. From co-founding Indigenous Photograph, to her Blood Quantum project and participation in We, Women, Tailyr documents essential stories that help us all better understand Montana and our country at large.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SNEGrMJ0q57DCgy-ciGLpoTH4bdAMhDAlYXmQXV5qws/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s guest is the one and only J.K. Simmons, Academy Award winning actor and 1978 graduate of the University Montana. J.K. was recently in Missoula to film The Woods, a thriller he stars in, co-written and produced by his wife, Michelle Schumacher.

J.K.’s reel of film and television credits is long and distinguished and he currently has two films in theaters: Being the Ricardos and National Champions. In our conversation, we dig into his experiences with Montana by way of family, education, and vocation that continue to root him in the Treasure State.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12-eoYr24mF-etUC2IL9PE4Q5G0wL6kRIyQrQQ1ONkho/edit

This week’s guest is Katie Deuel, Executive Director of Home ReSource, a non-profit community sustainability center in Missoula, Montana. Home Resource offers reused building materials, job training, education and zero waste programs.

In this conversation, we frame up some ideas around closed loop systems, material supply chain disruption, and the links between community support and climate; all of which Home Resource aims to address and affect many across Montana.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HvRjsxhWtJX7QXmLFfchc0fYqlMqu4cHhNYn7Jxs3Ks/edit

This week’s guest is Rick Ridgeway, legendary alpinist, adventurer, activist and writer. Rick’s new book Life Lived Wild is a fantastic collection of adventure essays that trek through the deep relationships he forged with the outdoors and friends across shared objectives and profound experiences.

In our conversation, we follow the cairns of Rick’s journey from the hills of the Los Angeles basin, to the remote peaks of eastern Tibet, to his current work as Vice President of Environmental Initiatives at Patagonia. Rick will be speaking more on Life Lived Wild with fellow friend of the pod, Conrad Anker, in Bozeman on December 16th at the Emerson Center.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qyh1JZRGzbTcuiM4Id_A0ZTdz6yxgxkl2Fyh1IwvoLM/edit?usp=sharing

Incentives & Instincts is a monthly series on A New Angle in which host Justin Angle speaks with economist Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society.

For the month of December, Bryce and Justin are joined by our dear friend Dr. Sara Rinfret, professor of Public Policy and Administration, and Acting Dean of University of the Montana's Blewett School of Law. Together, we break down the culture wars: what are they, how they affect our institutions, and ideas about what we could broker to move forward together.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/171Ayh5H1RVLjpELwMWwIz5cdy83ZU-yc1Iq2fm_AX4w/edit?usp=sharing

This week’s guest is Doug Chabot, Director of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center. Doug is a prototypical man of the mountains - he’s put up new climbing routes all over the world, been arrested by border guards in Tajikistan, rescued countless stranded mountain travelers, and built an incredible team and invaluable community resource at the Avalanche Center.

With winter fast approaching, we talk with Doug about his approach to decision making in mountains and how anyone interested in traveling on the snow can do so more responsibly.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-2RQcixu7OMAxvC8sic84Ej5jGBhQ5uUJxMPBeexuw8/edit?usp=sharing

Justin recently did an interview with Ashby Kinch, Associate Dean of the University of Montana Graduate School, for the Confluence Podcast.

Check it out...and check out Confluence for more interviews with interesting folks at UM.

https://www.umt.edu/grad/telling-our-story/confluence-podcast/default.php

This week’s guest is Elliott Woods, multimedia journalist based in Livingston, Montana. Elliott is a veteran and his work has been published in Outside Magazine, the New Republic, and the Wall Street Journal among other prominent outlets.

In our conversation, we discuss Elliott’s recently released podcast, Third Squad: a powerful and sobering account of the war in Afghanistan and its enduring effects. The series chronicles his journey to reconnect with a group of Marines Elliott embedded with in 2011.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s5CU_HeZwpTDlMBpVDVFq6GMb9z5YinOYTJpDFLfzwk/edit

This week’s guest is Abe Streep, author of Brothers On Three, a chronicle of the Arlee Warriors boys basketball team’s amazing run of state championships and their role in promoting suicide prevention.

In our conversation, we discuss the style of immersive journalism Abe pursued this story with, the systemic hurdles and technical fouls that the team and community faced, as well as the unique combination of people and circumstance that led the Warriors to historic success.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dE2qMSTezvzxAMl5w9bcx_jw6bPfWef-meDOl_lTewQ/edit?usp=sharing

Incentives & Instincts is a monthly series on A New Angle in which host Justin Angle speaks with economist Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society.

This month, we discuss how the COVID-19 Pandemic has affected childhood education: from enrollment to social & emotional learning and the ripple effects yet to come.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s-Wi_BikZvnY1h_fQFcYTNtmjzQIuLGTDC1DOd_JxWg/edit?usp=sharing

Brenda Solorzano is CEO of the Headwaters Foundation, an organization dedicated to a Montana in which all people, especially those most vulnerable, are healthy and thriving.

Headwaters is a relatively young foundation and Brenda is a relatively new Montanan. But in a sort time, Headwaters has made incredible impact, not only though funding many organizations in need, but also doing so through new paradigms, including a deep commitment to trust-based philanthropy.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1--X0nQeW8dwUPksFw7W732dCM2MgoDPY/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100149461125760293417&rtpof=true&sd=true

This week’s guest is Craig Hurlbert, co-founder and co-CEO of Local Bounti, an AgTech start up headquartered in Hamilton, Montana. The company’s ambitious mission is to scale production and distribution of high quality produce grown indoors, using 90% less water and land than traditional farming. Craig is a seasoned entrepreneur with deep experience in the energy sector and private equity. In our conversation, we delve into the agricultural challenges Local Bounti hopes to address, what being a special purpose acquisition company means, and the changing economies that effect how consumers get food to the table.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EEXSJeXz8jka21FtzzK7WIfgE_pcGes8uZtp0rLMoN4/edit?usp=sharing

Today’s guest is Marty Mornhinweg, University of Montana Hall of Fame quarterback and a long time coach in the NFL. During Marty’s career, he coached five different pro-bowl quarterbacks, including Brett Farve, Steve Young and Donovan McNabb, won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers in 1997 and served as the head coach of the Detroit Lions in 2001 and 2002.

Marty recently launched the Camp Marty Quarterback School Podcast where he speaks with some of the most innovative offensive minds in football. Our conversation some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of football: from the game’s captivating nature, to the hitches and Hail Marys of coaching, and broader challenges facing the sport.

https://www.anewanglepodcast.com/

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K-p6v5YDLTfYooP7jfW7A8Y907LrPjvIBhVGvzd2_T0/edit?usp=sharing

This week at MTPR we’re celebrating music and stories from 1971 to commemorate 50 years of National Public Radio. To celebrate this history, we’re joined today by UM College of Arts and Media professor Jeff Brandt.

Perhaps best known for teaching UM’s most popular class, The History of Rock and Roll, Jeff lays down why 1971 was a pivotal year for the music industry and its reverb felt throughout America’s cultural & political spheres.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xqwy85Y-CShRQ-QZXTvQ0F_R4HE6eP7Fel7eHkysLZA/edit?usp=sharing

Incentives & Instincts is a monthly series on A New Angle in which host Justin Angle speaks with economist Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society.

This month the two consider income and wealth inequality. Is it a problem? And if so, what can we do about it?

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17Fz5UDX4XAmrMVxezqD1eoOgven9rg7Rkj2Gb6AbTL4/edit?usp=sharing

Today's guest is Amanda Eggert of Montana Free Press. Amanda covers environmental issues and has written a series of deeply reported articles about the complex and confusing access and ownership issues in Montana’s Crazy Mountains. The Crazies are a magnificent, wild, sacred and mysterious island range in central Montana.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uu7zSyiM-gVWtx2SooQSYFF4dlTajhL4Db1B7QjLApo/edit?usp=sharing

Today's guest is Brendan Leonard, the man behind SEMI-RAD and other creative pursuits. I started following Brendan’s SEMI-RAD feed on Instagram several years ago. It has a playful sensibility and an uncanny knack for making you consider the ordinary or obvious from a different perspective. Brendan is also the author of several books, including my personal favorite "Bears Don't Care About Your Problems."

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K9mQKcWEayMXIk5fwRtIrBLNOwZn74EoV3FeqaFtbp4/edit?usp=sharing

Today's guests are Dr. Cathy Whitlock, Regents Professor of Paleoecology at Montana State University, and Dr. Steven Hostetler, Hydrologist at the Northern Rocky Mountains Science Center of the US Geological Survey.

These two are the lead authors of the recently published Greater Yellowstone Area Climate Assessment. The front matter of the assessment perhaps says it best: "The Greater Yellowstone Climate Assessment draws on the best-available science to provide a basis for understanding the consequences of climate change in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). Compared to both distant and recent past, temperatures are increasing, snowfall is decreasing, and peak stream flow is occurring earlier. These climate trends are projected to continue and accelerate in the future."

Transcript here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F6T5SO_Uf_9cCTSoF4cwGW_rxQ6xWqH3im0EuaOEHSg/edit?usp=sharing

Incentives & Instincts is a monthly series on A New Angle in which Justin Angle, marketing professor at the University of Montana College of Business, chats with prominent economist Bryce Ward about some of the broader issues facing our society.

This month, we tackle the increasing frustration folks are feeling about the rapid changes happening in Montana.

Transcript available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fBDbKu8cr2iH0mra-4hgvG6IPxsRMMaXbKXVOGaPw0A/edit?usp=sharing

Today's guest is Dr. Kimiko Barrett of Headwaters Economics. Kimi is the Lead Wildfire and Natural Hazard Researcher at Headwaters where she also leads their Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire Program. She grew up in Bozeman, attended Montana State University and earned her Ph.D. in Forestry from the University of Montana.

Transcript available here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iPZtd5or9Yp4FZ-Yryj_9NrKNILvJJdSark1yl-sl_8/edit?usp=sharing

Today's guest is Robert Rowe, CEO of Northwestern Energy, provider of electricity and natural gas to over 700,000 residential and business customers in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Bob has been CEO since 2008 and prior to that served as chair of the Montana Public Service Commission for 11 years. He’s also served in leadership roles for various organizations committed to improving the efficiency and stability of our energy systems.

Transcript available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XzaO7Y1dv10826BMC8pLsBgl3tdJMhFHRiPUc0BoBwg/edit?usp=sharing

Today's guest is Dierdre Wolownick. What first captures many people’s attention is the fact that Dierdre is mother to world-renowned climber, Alex Honnold, but that just scratches the surface of this woman’s story. She’s a mother to two athletic and activist children, a teacher, a writer, an artist, a conductor, a runner and a climber, to name but a few of her many identities. Dierdre’s book, The Sharp End of Life, is a wonderful account of a life lived being lived to its fullest, and perhaps accelerating in vigor with age.

Transcript available here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1aBrah3WarunOWVzDtOWACqverE_Gdv9n

Incentives & Instincts is a monthly series on A New Angle in which Justin Angle, marketing professor at the University of Montana College of Business, chats with prominent economist Bryce Ward about some of the broader issues facing our society.

This month, we try to make sense of the labor markets, both nationally and here in Montana, and attempt to separate signal from noise.

Transcript available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1jg0EhB6pNyu7zlUc70Ff7YM2v21xharx

This episode features Dr. Philip Higuera, Professor of Fire Ecology, and Kyra Wolf, Ph.D. Candidate in Systems Ecology both at the University of Montana’s Franke College of Forestry and Conservation. Phil and Kyra and their colleague Bryan Shuman recently published some alarming findings on what we’re experiencing right now with wildfire. The title speaks for itself: “Rocky Mountain sub-alpine forests now burning more than any time in recent millennia.” That should get our attention.

Today's guest is legendary Montana political journalist Chuck Johnson. During Chuck’s forty-five year reporting career he covered twenty-two Montana legislative sessions and eight governors. Known by his colleagues as the Dean of Montana politics, Chuck gave Montanans line of site to many of the state’s most transformation political moments.

Transcript available here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EICIufj_J5t6azylWrNbWA7HcsFBQXYQ/view?usp=sharing

Today’s we bring you Winona LaDuke, an internationally renowned activist, economist, and organizer working on sustainable development, renewable energy and smarter, more secure food systems. She’s also a two time United States Vice presidential candidate, running both times with Ralph Nader.

Winona visited the University of Montana recently to give the Presidential Lecture Series address. It was great to get some time with her and dig into important issues facing not only tribal communities but our broader society as well. Winona pulls no punches in this conversation and she has the courage to question, if not outright discard, some of the basic assumptions guiding our politics and economy.

Transcript available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FpMN4IqHAxA2mqNF2yADJMzsrUUWlN6j/view?usp=sharing

Today’s conversation is with Conrad Anker, legendary mountaineer and leader in the outdoor community. He's climbed some of the hardest routes on the most notorious mountains around the world, from Everest to Antarctica.

Conrad is a mentor, philanthropist and activist. In particular, he is working to raise the volume on the climate crisis, along with his colleagues at Protect Our Winters - a nonprofit working to protect the places we love from the effects of climate change. Conrad’s had a front row seat to climate change in his many years traveling to wild landscapes significantly altered by warmer temperatures, more extreme weather, and many other factors.

Conrad is also a Montanan. He and his family live in Bozeman and are actively engaged in the Montana community. Conrad wants all of us who enjoy wild spaces and nature to be more mindful of the climate when we do.

Transcript available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wqXcidlvOCDB2MQpC0X4UbI9DbPGwMPCXMRUUge_4co/edit

Starting July 1st, A New Angle is moving to Montana Public Radio. Tune in on Thursday nights at 7:30 or Sunday mornings at 5:00, or just continue to follow us on this same feed in your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening and helping us get to this exciting step!

It’s June and life is starting to approach normal again. People are out and about and one thing I’ve definitely noticed is the traffic. Lots of people and lots of cars. This is a challenge for Missoula and many other communities in Montana.

Fortunately, we have some good people and organizations working on the problem. I’m joined today by Gene Schmitz and Bob Giordano. Gene is a cycling enthusiast and member of the Missoula Cycling and Pedestrian Advisory Board. Bob Giordano is the founder and Executive Director of FreeCycles, a non-profit organization trying to create more sustainable transportation systems in Western Montana.

D’Shane Barnett is the new Director and Health Officer of the Missoula City-County Health Department. Prior to that D’Shane served as Executive Director for All Nations Health Center, an organization dedicated to providing sustainable healthy lives for Native People and the broader community through culturally based, holistic care. D’Shane earned his bachelors degree in sociology from the University of Montana, got a masters in health administration from UCSF, and is now working on his doctoral degree in public health here at UM.

D’Shane has been working on American Indian health for over 20 years and served in leadership roles at both the local and federal levels.

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F7-cyuwh6iQrEU_6wQXQ8dhQILUvtdLr_lyr3kCtRaI/edit

Brenda Solorzano is CEO of the Headwaters Foundation, an organization dedicated to a Montana in which all people, especially those most vulnerable, are healthy and thriving.

Headwaters is a relatively young foundation and Brenda is a relatively new Montanan. But in a sort time, Headwaters has made incredible impact, not only though funding many organizations in need, but also doing so through new paradigms, including a deep commitment to trust-based philanthropy.

In this month's edition of Incentives & Instincts, Justin and Bryce speak with University of Montana law professor Craig Cowie.

We’ve talked a lot about the pandemic in this series and the various economic policies rolled out to help us get through it. One aspect of those policies we haven’t talked much about is consumer protection. At a time when many consumers can’t make their debt payments, we thought it important to talk with another expert.

Craig Cowie is Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Blewett Consumer Law and Protection Program and the University of Montana Blewett School of Law. His scholarship and teaching focuses on consumer protection and he brings nearly twenty years of litigation experience to the table.

Full transcript available here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mGCNxJtTeVotMVje0b033x8rLuTRW-Qs2zskmpbE7VE/edit

Michael Legg is in his third season as Artistic Director for the Montana Repertory Theater. Much has changed at the Rep since Michael arrived. Beyond just plays in cars and hotel rooms, Michael has brought a commitment to place-based, Montana-inspired programming. Many folks assume the business world owns the term innovation. This conversation should correct that misguided notion as what’s happening at the Montana Rep is as cutting edge as it gets.

Meg Oliver is a 1993 graduate of the University of Montana with a degree in journalism. She is an award-winning CBS News correspondent with more than two decades of journalism experience. Meg joined CBS News in 2006 as overnight anchor of “Up to the Minute” and correspondent for “The Early Show” and today reports for all CBS News programs and platforms. She's covered breaking news stories around the county and world, from terrorist attacks to devastating hurricanes

Meg remains actively engaged in service to UM – she is a past Dean Stone Lecturer, a member of the Journalism Dean’s Advisory Board and a supporter of women’s leadership programming at UM.

Chandra Brown is Director of the Freeflow Institute. She is a writer, a guide and an entrepreneur, and Freeflow is a venture aimed at eliminating barriers between artists and environment. To do this, Chandra and her colleagues create thoughtfully structured trips into wild spaces where emerging writers, artists and athletes can learn and grow together. This sort of community building, creative entrepreneurial venture seems quintessentially Montanan.

Justin's monthly conversations with Bryce Ward continue. In this edition, the two discuss the housing market and where it's headed here in Montana.

Transcript available here:

https://umt.box.com/s/pnnwv74sjgzw5oxqwq5dvq9tqpcclfgi

Today we're excited to bring back to A New Angle, legendary climber and New York Times best-selling author Mark Synnott.

Mark’s new book – The Third Pole – documents the amazing story of his team’s mission to solve one of the great mysteries of Mount Everest history - whether or not George Mallory and Sandy Irvine were the first people to stand on the summit. That mission is also captured in the amazing films – Lost on Everest and the shorter edit, The Ghosts Above.

It’s a riveting story that confronts many of the dominant and oversimplified narratives associated with Mt Everest.

Full transcript available here:

https://umt.box.com/s/kgmqy8i0lvjjzmhyvmdvbsr24xilifbj

Dr. Jonathon Richter is the President and CEO of iLRN, the Immersive Learning Research Network. iLRN is an international organization of developers, educators and research professionals collaborating to develop the scientific, technical, and applied potential of immersive learning. These folks are out there operating on the frontier of how to communicate and collaborate using the best of technology.

Transcript available here:

https://umt.box.com/s/53qjmsm2hy64yty497itgjudwzl0jg85

Today we present a quintessential Montana story. Robin Selvig was head coach of the University of Montana Lady Griz basketball team for nearly 40 years. In that time he amassed an incredible 865 wins and countless other accolades, but more importantly he built a community of inclusion and empowerment that positively transformed the lives of so many young women.

That community is documented in a beautiful new film titled The House the Rob Built. Today we are joined by the film’s co-director, writer and producer, Megan Harrington, as well as Coach Selvig himself.

Transcript available here:

https://umt.box.com/s/nl87ebbtun1jl0gx5et8itd5mrls9neg

We're especially excited today to welcome friend of the pod Alan Adams back to A New Angle.

2020 was a hard year for pretty much everyone. Alan decided to make 2020 especially challenging on a singular dimension – vertical feet traveled. In honor of his impending 40th birthday, Alan set out to climb 2,000,000 vertical feet on his skis and bike in a single calendar year.

Not only did he do that, but along the way he upped the goal, set a world record and learned valuable lessons about life, priorities and perspective.

Transcript available here:

https://umt.box.com/s/8snselcl0pru6nknnnmibvz1cr0fphlw

Justin's monthly conversations with Bryce Ward continue. This month they are joined by Peter Larsen, Staff Scientist and Deputy Leader in the Electricity Markets and Policy Department at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Peter conducts research and analysis on the economics of electricity reliability and resilience. He’s also an expert on risk to infrastructure from extreme events. He holds a Ph.D. in management science and engineering from Stanford, masters degrees from Stanford and Cornell and studied economics as an undergraduate student at the University of Montana.

Transcript available here:

https://umt.box.com/s/jtvyowei5jazfcfpervmjle6d6133xpj

Kent Haslam was named Director of Athletics at the University of Montana in 2012. During his tenure, he's made major coaching decisions, dealt with controversy, added sports and managed a series of risks through the COVID-19 pandemic. In today's conversation we talk about those challenges, his approach to leadership and what the future holds for Grizzly Athletics.

Transcript available here:

https://umt.box.com/s/yvr0303u8f7s5h27mf4sfgafnvm0uds3

Episode 1 of our new series Fireline drops today. Search for Fireline on any podcast player or visit www.firelinepodcast.org. Today we're joined by writers and producers Nick Mott and Victor Yvellez to get their thoughts on what Fireline is all about...then hear Episode 1: Suppressed in full...

Episode 1 show notes:

When Lily Clarke arrived at the August Complex Fire, it was a fire of sensational size. The blaze eventually burned more than 1 million acres, becoming the largest recorded wildfire in California history. Across the country in 2020, flames charred an area size nearly 5 times the size of Yellowstone National Park — the largest swathe of land burned since reliable records began. Wildfires across the country are getting bigger, hotter, and more devastating. But what's all this fire really mean — for the west, for firefighters, and for everyday folks? And what's it really like to fight fire on the ground?

Lily Clarke fights wildfire for the US Forest Service and received her Master of Science in Systems Ecology from the University of Montana. John Maclean is the author of 5 books about wildfire.

Full transcript available here:

https://umt.box.com/s/ap7uzb0wki5q3f24wz76dskk4ieg5psf

Montana’s economy is changing rapidly and the technology sector is a big part of that change. Pat LaPointe is managing director of Frontier Angels, a consortium of angel investors spread across Montana. They’re focused on Montana’s tech sector and have funded a variety of exciting and innovative start ups, including NextStep, TransformativeMed and Sellhound.

Full transcript available here:

https://umt.box.com/s/1cb1g18g41ajdzbd02k98lrd3yfzmv4t

Justin's monthly conversations with Bryce Ward continue. In this episode they try to make sense of the economic relief policies currently being debated in Washington.

We hear the $1.9 trillion price tag. Some say that’s too much, some say it’s not enough. How do we make sense of that question?

To think about an answer, we're joined by Dr. Ricardo Reis. Ricardo is the A.W. Phillips Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and a prolific expert on macroeconomics, inflation and unconventional monetary polices. He’s also worked as an academic consultant to the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve System.

Full transcript available here:

https://umt.box.com/s/b1q64bv5tcv6pnwy9io5oceqsqmyb46r

Dr. Beverly Tatum is president emerita of Spelman College and a clinical psychologist widely known for her expertise on race relations and as a thought leader in higher education.

She is the author of several books, including the best-selling modern classic “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” and Other Conversations About Race.

On March 3, the University of Montana community will join Dr. Tatum for a President’s Lecture Series conversation on race, class, gender, and their intersections.

You can register for that event at www.umt.edu/president

Full transcript available at:

https://umt.box.com/s/znb9ivy1znypodkyi71nt82udf3jv3nj

Christina Henderson is the Executive Director of the Montana High Tech Business Alliance. She also teaches at the University of Montana College of Business. In today’s conversation we learn all about the important role the Alliance plays in economic development throughout Montana. We also discuss Montana’s changing economy, the growth of the technology sector, the influx of remote workers, the need for more home grown talent, and what the business community can expect from the Gianforte Administration.

Full transcript available here:

https://umt.box.com/s/4hzjmyr78k2s979icoc6e5t6026v6oki

Amy Allison Thompson is the Executive Director of the Poverello Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing food, shelter, clothing and other essential services to the hungry and homeless population in and around Missoula, MT.

In today’s conversation we get the pandemic state of play from Amy’s perspective, debunk some of the pernicious myths about homelessness and learn more about Amy’s approach to leading a perpetually resource-constrained, yet vital community organization.

Full transcript available here: https://umt.box.com/s/txi75jebod78rxacyc1rc31k51lzbwui

A New Angle turns 3 years old today! Thanks to all of you for coming along for the ride.

In today's episode, Justin's monthly conversations with Bryce Ward continue. This time, the two speak with University of Montana Professor of Law Anthony Johnstone about our current state of disunion and ideas for how to move forward.

For full transcript, click here: https://umt.box.com/s/sahsda70s21xkl9e67yuvnts30ai4ign

John Fiore is one of the first people I met when I moved to Missoula. His business, Sapphire Physical Therapy, has helped many of us overcome injury, launched many of the great PT’s in this town and sponsored many of the awesome events that bring us together. Sapphire was also one of the earliest supporters of A New Angle and we are eternally grateful.

Transcript available here:

https://umt.box.com/s/ipogayz66y6zi1mdxp34ob34awumdpbd

About 5 years ago, John teamed up with serial entrepreneur Joe Jensen and then later Michael Gardner, to create Morphose Exercise Systems. Their objective was to improve the way physical therapy is delivered, increase patient compliance and improve outcomes. It’s a classic story of a market ripe for disruption.

Today we conclude our healthy sport series by examining how many of the questions and issues raised in the last two episodes exist at the highest level of sport - in this case, elite professional running. Matt Hart is a former professional athlete turned investigative journalist. His reporting on questionable practices by elite coaches, doctors and their runners produced front page stories in the New York Times, as well as his recently published debut book, Win At All Costs. Matt and I discuss the role of sport in our society, the risks and tradeoffs facing athletes and the abuse of coaching power at the hands of Alberto Salazar, former head coach of the Nike Oregon Project.

Transcript available here: https://umt.box.com/s/8mlpccl1sncwhkb1aknmwx9h6asymgr4

Today's episode is Part 2 of our healthy sport series. In Part 1 we tried to define the problem; here we ponder some solutions. To do that, we speak with two important players in the Missoula athletics community. Courtney Babcock is a former collegiate and Olympic runner and now runs a highly successful coaching practice with a focus on wellness and longevity. For a variety of reasons we’ll talk about today, Courtney was able to successfully navigate the risks and pressures of an elite athletic career. Dr. Rob Amrine is a sports medicine specialist and an expert on the emerging science of Relative Energy Deficit in Sport (RED-S). He’s also typical of many Missoulians – he leads a busy, successful life while still crushing on the bike.

Courtney and Rob share some important wisdom and offer actionable insights.

In part 1 of our three-part mini-series on healthy sport, Justin speaks with Jessie Thomas, Leah Versteegen and Anya Gue. This wide-ranging conversation considers our culture's strained relationship with athletics. Though a force for good in many of our lives, the pressure to perform in sport can lead to over-training, premature specialization and an unhealthy degree of self-identification with athletics. We consider the role of coaches, parents, and clinicians in this delicate balance and identify markers of dysfunction to look for in ourselves and others.

Learn more about Jessie at www.sustainablewellness.net

Learn more about Anya at www.endurancephysio.net

Learn more about Leah at www.alpineptmissoula.com

Justin's monthly conversations with Bryce Ward continue. In this edition they consider how our country should conduct effective and ethical distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Vasu Sojitra is a professional athlete and activist based in Bozeman, MT. He is driving an important dialogue about diversity, equity and inclusion in the outdoor space. This conversation might push you to reconsider how you think about people with disabilities, conservation and inspiration. Conversations like this can be uncomfortable and that discomfort is important. Perhaps now more than ever we all need to seek out perspectives that differ from our own. That’s where we learn and grow, and hopefully come together to make society better.

I learned a lot speaking with Vasu and I hope that you do too.

Transcript available here: https://umt.box.com/s/e9vnmz9r2s8j80k4xboiv2htug4xm8w7

Sarah Coefield is an Air Quality Specialist with the Missoula City-County Health Department. Her wildfire smoke reports are mandatory reading for many of us here in Western Montana.

Sarah is deeply passionate about air quality and how it affects people’s lives. That passion, along with some famously dark humor and whimsy make her writing unique and incredibly effective. It takes courage, talent and clarity to use humor when writing about serious topics. You might not expect humor from a government employee like Sarah, but you’ll find it at just the right moments, with just the right tone.

Beyond her writing, Sarah is a fierce advocate for the communities and people affected by wildfire smoke. In this conversation we talk about her approach to communication, as well as her collaboration with Climate Smart Missoula to scrape together the funding required to get air cleaners to communities in need.

Meg Fisher is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, athletic performance coach, and motivational speaker based in Missoula, MT. She’s also a decorated athlete having won gold, silver, and bronze medals in the 2016 and 2012 Paralympic Games and accumulating ten world championship titles.

At age 19 Meg was involved in a tragic car accident that nearly killed her and took the life of her best friend. She survived a coma and lost the lower portion of her left leg.

In this conversation we talk about those experiences and how they shaped Meg’s approach to life and her work helping others achieve their health, wellness and performance goals.

Justin's monthly conversations with Bryce Ward continue. This month, the two are joined by New York Times Opinion Writer at Large, Charlie Warzel. They discuss the information economy, our collective failure to converge on truth and the potential consequences of that failure.

Five Valleys Land Trust is a conservation pillar of Western Montana. Whitney Schwab is the Executive Director of this great organization, and in this conversation she explains how land trusts work and the many ways Five Valleys helps make Missoula the special place it is.

We welcome back to the pod Ryan Tootell and Colter Nuanez of ESPN radio. We discuss their current edition of the Griz Greats series, a 25-part celebration of the 1995 University of Montana National Champion Football team.

The series is fantastic! In today’s conversation we dig into some of the broader themes and lessons learned in the series, the characters involved and some of the bigger challenges and contradictions that reside within collegiate athletics.

Today I speak with Brendan Leonard, the man behind Semi-Rad. I started following Brendan’s Semi-Rad feed on Instagram several years ago and then his blog and then his weekly newsletter. He has a playful sensibility and an uncanny knack for making you consider the ordinary or obvious from a different perspective.

Check out Brendan's work at: https://semi-rad.com/ and @semi_rad

Justin's monthly conversations with Bryce Ward continue. In this edition the two talk about voting - why do we do it and do we want more people to do it? They also add two new segments: a listener question and predictions.

Some election-relevant bonus content for you today! Shared State is a new podcast collaboratively produced by Montana Public Radio, Yellowstone Public Radio and Montana Free Press. It's an important exploration of the critical issues facing Montanans during the 2020 election.

Editor Nick Mott and Host Sarah Aronson join Justin to introduce Epsiode 7.

More on Shared State:

If you've turned on the TV in Montana recently, you've probably been bombarded with advertisements propping up or tearing down candidates for political office. Each contender claims they're the best choice to uphold "Montana values."But what does that mean? Who is that promise for? And how do those unspoken values shape Montana's politics? In the new podcast Shared State, Montana Free Press, Montana Public Radio and Yellowstone Public Radio will bring listeners along for a deeper look at the most important issues on the ballot. The nine-episode series debuts Sept. 8, 2020 and will culminate just before Election Day.Listen on air Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. on Montana Public Radio or Thursdays at 6 p.m. on Yellowstone Public Radio.

October is Co-op Month, so to learn all about cooperative business structures, we speak with Jack Lawson of Clearwater Credit Union, Jason Williams of Blackfoot and Mark Hayden of Missoula Electric Cooperative. These three co-ops are creating value for customers and members, while making important contributions to our community.

Conrad Anker is a legendary mountaineer and leader in the outdoor community. For nearly 30 years Conrad led the North Face athlete team and his resume of climbing achievements is largely unmatched, both in terms of difficulty and longevity.

Conrad is also a mentor, philanthropist and activist – all important passion areas for him that we talk about today. With the election underway, Conrad and his colleagues at Protect Our Winters and upping the volume on the climate crisis. Conrad’s had a front row seat to climate change in his many years traveling to wild landscapes significantly altered by warmer temperatures, more extreme weather, and many other factors.

Conrad is also a Montanan. He and his family live in Bozeman and are actively engaged in the environmental politics of our state. He wants people to vote and he wants people to think about the climate when they do.

Protect Our Winters: https://protectourwinters.org/

PC: Jimmy Chin

Darcy Chenoweth is a doer of many things. She’s an artist, an activist, a mom, a wife, a teacher, a climber, a skier, a nurse…the list goes on and on. We cover a ton of ground in this conversation and I hope it inspires you as much as it did me. We’re all just trying to do our best here in this world and Darcy gives us some great wisdom about her effort.

This week we've got another great story of creativity and hustle happening right here in Western Montana. Oriana Turley is a registered nurse who grew sick and tired of working in crummy clothing that didn’t fit, didn’t last and wasn’t sourced from an ethical supply chain. So she decided to do something about it. Medicine Mountain Scrub Company is bringing to market a line of scrubs designed to maximize comfort and performance in a product you can feel good about.

Oriana’s journey to entrepreneurship is one we can all learn a lot from. Medicine Mountain is in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign and from the sounds of it, folks are lining up to get their hands on these scrubs.

Check out the Kickstarter campaign at:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/orianaturley/sustainable-scrubs-for-women-in-medicine

Scott Burke is President and CEO of First Security Bank and a pillar of leadership and integrity in our community. This year the College of Business honors Scott with the 2020 Outstanding Alumni Award. It is well earned. Scott’s contributions to economic development and community health in Western Montana are an inspiration. It was great to learn more about Scott and and the values he brings to First Security Bank and the many other organizations he supports.

Justin's monthly conversations with Bryce Ward continue. This time the duo brings Dr. John Sommers-Flanagan into the conversation. John is Professor of Counselor Education at the University of Montana's Phyllis J. Washington College of Education. He's also a practicing clinician, host of the Practically Perfect Parenting Podcast and co-teaches a class called "The Art and Science of Happiness." We could all use a little more happiness these days, and John outlines some simple steps each of us can take to get some.

Banu Ozkazanc-Pan is Professor of the Practice in Engineering at Brown University. She also directs the Venture Capital Inclusion Lab, a research organization working to educate VC’s and policy makers on inclusion. She does cutting edge research in this area and in 2019 testified before congress about her findings. It was great to chat with Banu, learn more about her work, and how some of the forces she’s illuminating are affecting rural areas like Montana.

Missoula County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier, Missoula City Councilman Jordan Hess and President of the Rail Passengers Association Jim Matthews join A New Angle and present a compelling case to bring passenger rail service back to southern Montana.

For more information visit: https://montanapassengerrailsummit.org/

And consider registering for the Montana Passenger Rail Summit on 9/17.

Missoula-based Peter Stark writes powerfully about adventure, expedition and history. His books include At the Mercy of the River, Last Breath, The Last Empty Places, as well as New York Times best-sellers Astoria and Young Washington. Peter's writing has also appeared in many prominent magazines, including The New Yorker, Outside and the Smithsonian.

In this conversation we discuss what makes for an interesting adventure, what sort of adventures are best to write about, and his experience writing Young Washington.

Justin's monthly conversations with Bryce Ward continue. In this installment they discuss potential solutions to our current state of political polarization.

Dr. Brent Ruby is one of Missoula's most colorful characters. Not only is Brent a world-class scientist and Director of UM's Center for Work Physiology and Exercise Metabolism, but he's also the author of a wonderful new children's book. "Wrango & Banjo: On the Fireline" is a heartwarming tale of Brent's two dogs and their adventures leading a wildland fire crew.

Learn more at wrangoandbanjo.com

And you can check out the Kickstarter campaign for the book here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wrangoandbanjo/wrango-and-banjo-on-the-fireline

Back in early March I connected with former Beartooth District Ranger Traute Parrie to learn more about the book project she and renowned naturalist Jesse Logan were putting together – Voices of Yellowstone’s Capstone – A Narrative Atlas of the Beartooth-Absaroka Wilderness. The book is beautiful and tells a rich, multidimensional history of this critical piece of Montana.

Missoula adventure writer and photographer Aaron Teasdale contributed a moving chapter to this amazing volume and joins us in the conversation.

Today we bring you a conversation with three amazing women working together on an exciting and important program at the University of Montana - The Women’s Leadership Initiative. WLI’s purpose is to accelerate women’s careers of impact. It was initiated by former UM president Royce Engstrom in 2015 and was relaunched by President Seth Bodnar, with the generous support of Clearwater Credit Union and private contributions from folks like Denise Grills. In this conversation, we speak with Denise about why she invested in WLI. Denise is joined by UM Psychology Professor and Department Chair Chris Fiore, a key faculty advisor to the program, as well as Glenda Bradshaw, board member of Clearwater and owner of Clyde Coffee.

Justin’s monthly conversations with Bryce Ward continue. In this installment, Bryce and Justin discuss the latest Covid-19 developments and ponder why our country seems unable to solve problems.

Rob Saldin is Professor of Political Science at the University of Montana. His recent book, Never Trump: Revolt of the Conservative Elites, hit the market in June and is getting lots of attention - for good reason. In this conversation we trace the history of the Never Trump movement and ponder how it will all shake out as the 2020 election approaches.

Travis DeCuire is Head Men's Basketball Coach at the University of Montana. He is a phenomenal leader and inspirational member of our community. Our conversation ranges from how Travis, his staff and players are coping with coronavirus, to the challenges of being a prominent Black man in the least-Black state in the US.

This week we learn about a woman and a venture that epitomize A New Angle’s primary themes – creativity and hustle. Paige Williams is a creator, innovator and entrepreneur. Since 2013 she’s been grinding along the winding road of a start up trying to create something completely new. It started as the Audience Awards and is now AudPop…we actually discuss that re-branding decision in this conversation. Our interview covers a lot of ground - from Paige’s own documentary film making, to some big ideas about gender in entrepreneurship, to some unexpected questions for me. And Paige schools me on slam poetry as well.

Justin’s monthly conversations with Bryce Ward return. In this installment, Bryce and Justin discuss the latest Covid-19 developments in Montana before turning their attention to racism, both at the individual and systemic level.

Today’s conversation explores the importance of marketing and brand investment during the pandemic. There’s an instinct to batten down the hatches and cut everything extraneous in a crisis, to hoard cash at all costs. Historically, however, pulling back on marketing during a recession or depression is not a winning strategy.

You can find the PartnersCreative slide deck here: bit.ly/2AqJ81k

Sean Benton is Creative Director and Kevin Keohane is Strategy Director at PartnersCreative, a Missoula-based creative agency that punches well above its weight class, working with top flight international firms like Deloitte and Montana mainstays like Discovery Ski Area.

Sean, Kevin and their colleagues are out with a compelling piece of thought leadership offering some insightful and actionable ideas on how brands can rise to this unique occasion. What they have to say has implications for all brands of all sizes as well as anyone trying to make sense of what we see in the market place.

For the last several months we’ve been working with recent University of Montana Journalism graduate, Victor Yvellez, on a podcast project that we’ll be announcing shortly. Victor has his own pod that he launched during the pandemic. It’s called Sounds of our Lives, and his latest episode, America the Broken, is amazing. Shortly after the murder of George Floyd, Victor participated in the demonstrations in his hometown of San Jose, CA, and in this episode he brings to life the intensity and consequence of those demonstrations. His reporting is courageous and important. Have a listen and check out Victor’s other stuff at Sounds of our Lives.

Today we bring you three amazing and important voices – Deena Mansour and Germaine White from the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center at the University of Montana as well as Heidi Wallace from EmpowerMT.

These three women are doing important work to promote diversity and inclusion and to build a more just society. It was an honor to speak with them and learn more about their work and experiences. This was a deeply moving conversation.

Today we bring you Tobin Miller Shearer, Professor of History and Director of the African American Studies Program at the University of Montana. We recorded this conversation in early May, before the murder of George Floyd and associated demonstrations. That conversation covers several important topics, including anti-racism, race as a biological and social construction, and the reasons why UM is the perhaps unlikely home to such a strong African American Studies program. Tobin also speaks eloquently and passionately about his journey as a white man in this space.

A special statement on pausing the podcast.

Today we bring you one of Missoula’s finest Molly Bradford. Molly seems to be everywhere. She’s involved and engaged in so many aspects of our community. Her software venture, Gatherboard, powers Missoulaevents.net and similar community calendars for a surprisingly wide variety of clients. Events are such an integral part of how communities connect and it’s nice to think a bit about events right now. Molly and I dig into the dynamics of her business and her unique view of how technology can be used to foster human connection. Molly’s work help drives the culture of this community.

A New Angle’s weekly series on all things coronavirus releases every Monday morning. Listen to economist Bryce Ward, Missoula Economic Partnership Executive Director Grant Kier, United Way of Missoula County CEO Susan Hay Patrick and UM College of Business professor Justin Angle break down the latest developments, explain what they mean for Western Montana, and inform listeners on how they can get or give help.

Malou Anderson-Ramirez and her family are doing some bold, controversial and inspiring things on their ranch in Montana’s Tom Miner Basin, using technology in ways to make their operation more sustainable and more integrated with the natural system in which they live. Malou is joined by A New Angle alumna Lara Birkes, who helps us understand what’s happening in regenerative ag through the lens of rural entrepreneurship. You might recall that Lara referenced Malou’s family ranch on several occasions during our first pod, so it was great to get these two together for a dynamic conversation.

A New Angle’s weekly series on all things coronavirus releases every Monday morning. Listen to economist Bryce Ward, Missoula Economic Partnership Executive Director Grant Kier, United Way of Missoula County CEO Susan Hay Patrick and UM College of Business professor Justin Angle break down the latest developments, explain what they mean for Western Montana, and inform listeners on how they can get or give help.

In case you forgot, we’re facing a few other big, multi-dimensional challenges that require coordination across myriad aspects of a global society. Climate change is one such challenge and when Utah State University Professor Rob Davies visited Missoula to keynote Climate Smart Missoula’s Big Climate Event, we jumped at the chance to get some time with him. Rob is not only a top flight scientist, he’s also a gifted and passionate science communicator. Climate conversations often leave us feeling helpless but Rob’s view is much more hopeful. Not because the problem is small, but rather because we have not yet even begun to take it seriously.

A New Angle’s weekly series on all things coronavirus releases every Monday morning. Listen to economist Bryce Ward, Missoula Economic Partnership Executive Director Grant Kier, United Way of Missoula County CEO Susan Hay Patrick and UM College of Business professor Justin Angle break down the latest developments, explain what they mean for Western Montana, and inform listeners on how they can get or give help.

This week we're joined by Missoula Mayor John Engen.

Dr. Rob Thomas is Regents Professor of Geology at University of Montana-Western. In addition to many achievements as a researcher and teacher, Rob led a years-long effort to fundamentally change the way his university conceives and delivers education. It's an inspiring story and it reminds us that institutional change is possible.

A New Angle’s weekly series on all things coronavirus releases every Monday morning. Listen to economist Bryce Ward, Missoula Economic Partnership Executive Director Grant Kier, United Way of Missoula County CEO Susan Hay Patrick and UM College of Business professor Justin Angle break down the latest developments, explain what they mean for Western Montana, and inform listeners on how they can get or give help.

This week we're joined by University of Montana President Seth Bodnar and The Big Dipper's Charlie Beaton.

Laura Orvidas is CEO of onX Maps, a rapidly rising Montana company. Prior to joining onX, Laura spent 18 years at Amazon, playing a lead role in the formative years of e-commerce. She made the move to onX in 2018 and is now leading the company through a major growth phase. In this conversation we hear Laura’s thoughts on culture, scaling a business, and how to thoughtfully take a brand into new markets.

A New Angle’s weekly series on all things coronavirus releases every Monday morning. Listen to economist Bryce Ward, Missoula Economic Partnership Executive Director Grant Kier, United Way of Missoula County CEO Susan Hay Patrick and UM College of Business professor Justin Angle break down the latest developments, explain what they mean for Western Montana, and inform listeners on how they can get or give help.

This week we're joined by Missoula Parks and Recreation rock star, Meg Whicher. Meg offers a quick PSA on responsible outdoor recreation.

Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament and Fitz & the Tantrums’ John Wicks are previous guests on A New Angle and they’ve both supported this podcast in many ways, most notably in the music we use for the show and the Drum Coffee we enjoy in Studio 49. The two developed a special bond through shared experience and a shared connection to this wonderful place we live in – Montana. In this conversation we talk about the hard decisions to postpone tours, creativity in this time of social isolation, and the prospects for important art emerging from this troubled moment in our history.

This week we get updates from First Security Bank President and CEO Scott Burke, Coaster Cycles Chief Operating Officer Justin Bruce and UM College of Business Professor Michael Braun.

A New Angle’s weekly series on all things coronavirus releases every Monday morning. Listen to economist Bryce Ward, Missoula Economic Partnership Executive Director Grant Kier, United Way of Missoula County CEO Susan Hay Patrick and UM business professor Justin Angle break down the latest developments, explain what they mean for Western Montana, and inform listeners on how they can get or give help.

In this crisis, disruption and innovation are happening all around us, especially in education. Leslie and Mark Begert recently launched Fabulingua, a language learning app that mixes animated story telling with simultaneous translation. The Fabulingua origin story is inspiring, the platform and its methodology are super engaging, and the scaling possibilities are exciting.

This week we hear from Dr. Dan Pierce, Director of Emergency Medicine at St. Patrick Hospital.

A New Angle’s weekly series on all things coronavirus releases every Monday morning. Listen to economist Bryce Ward, Missoula Economic Partnership Executive Director Grant Kier, United Way of Missoula County CEO Susan Hay Patrick and UM business professor Justin Angle break down the latest developments, explain what they mean for Western Montana, and inform listeners on how they can get or give help.

BuzzFeed's Anne Helen Petersen returns to A New Angle's Incentives & Instincts series for an in depth discussion of the economics of burnout. Anne's upcoming book, "Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation," releases in September and is available for pre-order now.

A New Angle’s weekly series on all things coronavirus releases every Monday morning. Listen to economist Bryce Ward, Missoula Economic Partnership Executive Director Grant Kier, United Way of Missoula County CEO Susan Hay Patrick and UM business professor Justin Angle break down the latest developments, explain what they mean for Western Montana, and inform listeners on how they can get or give help.

In this final episode of the S.E.A. Change series, we finish where we started with UM Regents Professor of History Dr. Anya Jabour. Anya is joined by Professor and Director of UM Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, Dr. Elizabeth Hubble. We discuss Anya’s new biography of an incredible woman somewhat lost to history, Sophonisba Breckenridge, along with what lies ahead for the ongoing S.E.A. Change effort.

In this emergency edition of the Incentives & Instincts series, Bryce and Justin discuss two dimensions of the coronavirus crisis. They cover how to understand the spread of the disease and the wisdom and importance of social distancing. They then discuss what’s happening in the markets, why it's happening, and what policy makers can do about it.

Amid the covid-19 crisis, the pod rolls on with the inspiring story of a local musician. Maiah Wynne wrote her first song at age 7, started performing live at age 15 and is now – a short few years later - winning major recording and performing awards all over the country. The poise and passion of this amazing young woman is an inspiration.

Megan Molteni is staff writer at WIRED magazine. She writes at the intersection of health, science and technology and in the last few years has emerged as one of journalism’s experts on CRISPR. In this conversation we dig into CRISPR, the internet of things, what makes for a WIRED story, and Megan’s winding path to professional journalism, a path that included studying with the legendary Michael Pollan.

Sarah Calhoun is the founder of Red Ants Pants, a venture borne of a determination to find a better way. Tired of working in uncomfortable men’s pants, Sarah saw the need for women’s workwear. With no experience in apparel design or business, Sarah built Red Ants Pants into a multi-platform brand dedicated to making great products and encouraging self-reliance among women.

Michelle Weaver Knowles is a nurse practitioner who recently established her own practice – Ava Health. She helps patients navigate cancer and understand the genetics associated with many cancers. This conversation surfaces some incredibly complex questions about genetics, ethics and family communications. If you haven’t thought about this stuff, you’re not paying attention.

Justin’s monthly conversations with Bryce Ward continue, and as promised, our series now has a name: Incentives & Instincts. In this installment, Bryce and Justin discuss material (in)security and how the dynamics of accumulating wealth have changed over time and have affected various age cohorts in different ways.

John Pierce grew up in Billings, studied at the University of Montana and is now crushing it as a songwriter in Nashville. In the last several years, John has written hit songs for the likes of Zac Brown, John Pardi and Reba McEntire. He recently visited UM to perform at the inaugural Grizzly Songwriters Showcase, produced by our Entertainment Management students. It was a fantastic event and we were lucky to get time with John during his visit. In this conversation, we learn all about the business and process of songwriting and some great lessons that generalize to other creative pursuits.

When you think of Western art the name Monte Dolack is surely top of mind. Monte’s work is currently on exhibition at the Montana Museum of Art and Culture. In this conversation we learn about Monte’s development as an artist and how he approaches the various media in which he works. It’s a story of grit, hustle and experimentation.

Jim Elser is the Bierman Professor of Ecology at the University of Montana and Director of the Flathead Lake Biological Station. Jim is a world class scholar, evidenced by his recent election to the National Academy of Sciences. In this conversation we learn all about limnology, why it’s important, and why Montana is the best place on earth for Jim’s research.

This week Justin Angle and Bryce Ward appeared on Home Ground Radio with Brian Kahn. They discussed their new monthly series on A New Angle. Home Ground was kind enough to let us drop that episode in our feed.

This week we bring you #10 in the S.E.A. Change series, an interview with the amazing Joyce Dombrouski. Joyce is Chief Executive for the Montana Service Area for Providence Health & Services. She’s also a newly appointed member of the Montana University System Board of Regents. Joyce and Justin have a far-ranging conversation and ponder the parallel challenges facing health care and higher education in Montana.

Today’s episode is a special preview of this year’s Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, which runs February 14-23. Executive Director Rachel Gregg (UM 2009, 2011) previews what to expect from this year’s selections and tells us all about the many other great things happening at the Big Sky Documentary Film Institute.

In this second edition of our new monthly series, Bryce and Justin discuss the Future of Work and digest what we’ve learned on the podcast over the last two weeks. We reflect on Justin’s conversations with Scott Latham (12/31/19) and Michael Punke (1/7/20) and postulate some principles for thinking about our rapidly changing relationship to work and education. Justin also makes a bold promise – that this series will have a name...starting next month.

Today we bring you a shining example of a #TomorrowProof person – Michael Punke. Michael’s career includes private law practice, a trade policy position in the Clinton administration, an ambassadorship to the WTO under President Obama, and now VP of Global Public Policy for Amazon Web Services. And we haven’t even mentioned the thing for which Michael is perhaps most known – writing the Revenant, among several other great books and screenplays.

If you’re not concerned about the Future of Work, you’re not paying attention. UMass-Lowell Professor Scott Latham is an expert on the topic. No one can predict what jobs will be lost, created, or transformed by automation, artificial intelligence and other technologies, but Scott helps us understand how we should be thinking about the disruption we’re in.

In this ninth edition of the S.E.A. Change series, we interview an amazing student. Kat Cowley earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Montana in Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies in 2018 and is now working toward her master of public administration. We discuss her pioneering leadership to establish the Food Pantry at UM as well as her personal experiences with food and housing insecurity.

Today we click the century mark – 100 episodes of A New Angle – and in so doing, we bring back one of our favorite guests, economist Bryce Ward. In a new monthly series Bryce and Justin will investigate a broad theme: there’s lots going right in our society but something is clearly wrong. We’ll talk about economics, education, technology, health, media, happiness, and occasionally politics. We’ll debate and we’ll learn and hopefully you will too.

Growth in Western Montana and its effect on our community are recurring themes of A New Angle. In this week’s episode we chat with Grant Kier, Executive Director of Missoula Economic Partnership. Grant’s job is to think hard about this stuff every day. His challenge is to guide, facilitate, and articulate a vision for growth that balances progress with character.

Laurie Francis is Executive Director of Partnership Health Center, a critical provider of a broad array of health care services in Western Montana. Laurie’s wisdom on the social determinants of health and her conception of innovation in health care offer important clarity in an often murky space.

In this 8th edition of the S.E.A. Change series, we interview Nichole Heyer, Homeless Education Liaison for Kalispell Public Schools and the Evergreen School District. Nichole is a graduate of the University of Montana's Masters of Social Work program, and was recently honored as the Homeless Education Liaison of the Year by the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.

University of Montana alumna Lara Birkes is a sustainability rock star. She recently returned to Montana after serving in leadership roles with the World Trade Center and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Her fascinating new startup, Eqogo, is attempting to create a sustainability score for all consumer products. Lara also works with local entrepreneurs on nature based solutions to persistent environmental challenges.

Jim Sciutto is Chief National Security Correspondent and Anchor at CNN. His new book, The Shadow War, is a fascinating and terrifying account of the new ways China and Russia are waging war – from systematic election interference campaigns to kidnapper satellites straight out of a James Bond film. Jim visited UM last month and shared his thoughts on how to separate signal from noise in today’s crazy news environment.

The Innovation Factory opens on November 8, 2019. It’s a place where ideas collide and come to life. It’s a place where you can do things and make things. University of Montana art professors Elizabeth Dove and Brad Allen spent the last 18 months building “IF” and in this episode we investigate their vision to create an experiential learning hub for our entire community.

Entrepreneur, teacher and persuasion expert Micah Larsen returns to the pod for #7 in the S.E.A. Change series. Learn all about Micah’s non-linear journey to motherhood and how having a child motivated a huge shift in her business – a specific and empathetic focus on helping women entrepreneurs succeed.

To learn more about Micah, check out: www.micahlarsen.com

This week’s episode brings you a deeply personal conversation with University of Montana alum Matt Gangloff, founder of Enlyten Lab. We discuss Matt’s military experience and his post-deployment battles with anxiety, depression and addiction. Many of us live with anxiety and depression every day, and this conversation shines a much needed light on that reality.

Matt Hamon is Professor of Art at the University of Montana. His photography is currently on display at the Montana Museum of Art and Culture in a striking exhibition called Ratljóst. We ask Matt about his process, his decision to shoot nudity and his conception of representing truth in photography.

Sheila Stearns is a Montana legend. Her list of important and difficult jobs in higher education is unparalleled: Montana’s longest-serving commissioner of higher education, interim chancellor of MSU-Billings, President of Wayne State College in Nebraska, provost and chancellor of UM Western, and – of course – President of the University of Montana. Now, she’s been tapped to chair Montana’s congressional redistricting commission. Is there anything Sheila can't do?

Nora Saks is creator and host of the Richest Hill podcast on Montana Public Radio. Richest Hill is a deep exploration of Butte’s history and its ongoing relationship with mining. Our conversation explores that relationship’s complexity and the challenges Nora faced in reporting the authentic story. Nora earned her masters degree in environmental science and natural resource journalism at the University of Montana in 2018.

This week is #6 in the S.E.A. Change series, an interview with Jennifer Palmieri, Communications Director for the Hillary Clinton Campaign and Communications Director for the Obama White House. Jennifer’s recent book “Dear Madam President” is a powerful account of her experience in politics and a hopeful message for anyone looking to make change in the world.

Nick Checota arrived in Montana in 2012 and in that brief time he’s transformed Missoula’s music scene. Learn about Nick’s perspective on the entertainment business, his guiding principles for creating exceptional customer experiences and his plans to expand his business to new markets.

This week we learn all about a market that very likely befuddles many of you – childcare. We speak with Erica Mackey (co-founder & CEO) and Elke Govertsen (Chief Community Officer) of MyVillage, a Bozeman based start-up determined to fix a broken system for both parents and providers.

Owen Gue is the co-founder and president of The Cycling House, a Missoula business that epitomizes two of this podcast’s core themes – creativity and hustle. Owen made his passion for cycling his life’s work and there’s much to learn from his story, including important lessons about culture and growth.

In this fifth edition of the S.E.A. Change series, we host the pod’s first mother-daughter duo – Carol and Whitney Williams. Carol’s career in public service is legendary, serving more than a decade in the Montana State legislature, including time as the Senate’s first female majority and minority leader. Whitney followed the family tradition of service, serving as a high level staffer to Hillary Clinton during the Bill Clinton administration. In the years since she founded Williamsworks, an organization that guides some of the world’s most influential and important philanthropic endeavors.

Leigh Greenwood is the Forest Health Program Director for North America at The Nature Conservancy. Armed with a biology degree from Williams College, Leigh worked as a field researcher for several years before enrolling in the renowned Masters of Wildlife Biology program at the University of Montana. Leigh now works in policy and gets to think about things you perhaps never considered – like why it’s bad to move firewood and the complicated dynamics of wood pallet inspection. She makes these topics interesting and you’ll definitely learn a thing or two in this episode.

This week’s episode was recorded live at the recent innovateUM conference. InnovateUM brings together community leaders, entrepreneurs, policy makers, researchers, students and more for an annual celebration of the incredible innovation happening within the University of Montana orbit. A New Angle recorded in front of a live audience for the first time, capturing two micro-panel conversations. The first features previous podcast guest Brigitta Miranda-Freer of the Montana World Trade Center and MonTEC, along with Nicole Rush of the Missoula Economic Partnership in a discussion of the Montana Bioscience Cluster. The second features another previous guest – Erin Switalski, now at the Headwaters Foundation – along with UM Professor of Social Work Ryan Tolleson-Knee in a conversation about early childhood education.

Doug Mitchell is the Executive Director of the Glacier National Park Conservancy. The Conservancy is dedicated preserving the park, educating current and future stewards of the park, and supporting world-class research that explores the park’s amazing ecosystems. In this conversation, we discuss why organizations like the Glacier National Park Conservancy are vital and how they fill critical gaps in funding for some of our most precious national treasures. We also explore how the organization sets priorities and makes decisions that affect the resource and all of our experiences with it.

In this fourth edition of the S.E.A. Change series we feature Susan Hay Patrick, CEO of United Way of Missoula. Susan is a renowned leader in Western Montana and she has a lot to say about many of the challenges facing our region, especially when it comes to the pillars of her organization – education, income, and health. We discuss how these issues affect women and mothers and the persistent challenge of hidden homelessness.

Dave Franke is a Principal at Franke & Company and the son of Bill Franke, founder of Indigo Partners. In 2016 the Franke family made the single largest gift in University of Montana history, naming both the WA Franke College of Forestry and Conservation as well as the Franke Global Leadership initiative.

Dave’s work involves finding places where the family can invest to create both impact and access and you’ll hear those two themes throughout the conversation. We discuss the concept of philanthropic investing and how it differs from the traditional charitable giving model. Dave cites some compelling reasons to invest in higher education, reasons that certainly resonate with me and likely many of you.

Adam Wolf is the founder and Chief Scientist at Arable Labs, a firm that brings data science to agriculture. Arable produces a set of sensors and a suite of software and analysis services that allow farmers to make data-informed decisions. Our conversation ranges from the role data plays in both industrial as well as small-scale agriculture, to how anyone who eats can “come into integrity” with their consumption choices.

Anne Helen Petersen is a Senior Culture Writer at Buzzfeed News, based in Missoula, MT. She earned her Ph.D. in Media Studies from the University of Texas and is the author of two books – “Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Women” and “Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Sex, Deviance, and Drama from the Golden Age of American Cinema.” Anne’s reporting covers an incredibly wide range of topics, but her recent focus on millennial burnout is the focal point of this conversation. We also discuss how burnout affects men and women differently, as well as her experience in academia, and her observations of the goings-on here at the University of Montana.

Joe Anderson might just be the most interesting man on earth, and the conversation we had on this episode of A New Angle is that sort that gives you hope in our society’s ability to solve seemingly intractable problems. After a long and varied career in both law and rock & roll, Joe returned to his native Montana and landed with Reflex Protect, the creators of a non-lethal self-defense spray. Their amazing product can both save lives and get people engaged in a conversation about safety and self-defense that they were previously unwilling to entertain.

Brigitta Miranda-Freer is the Executive Director of the Montana World Trade Center and the Director of Operations at MonTec. If you think that sounds like two jobs, well, you’re right. So we ask Brigitta how she does it all in this 3rd installment of the S.E.A. Change series. As a prominent leader in the Montana economy, Brigitta is known for getting things done. We talk about her experience leading two important organizations in the Montana economy and her perspective on gender equity in the workplace and on campus.

Peter Giannascoli grew up in New Jersey, studied economics at Princeton, worked in management consulting and then…went to film school. That’s right - film school. In this conversation we explore how Peter broke free of the traditional career path to pursue his dreams in the movie business. Now Co-President of Domestic Marketing for Paramount Pictures, Peter helps make movies come to life. He is also a passionate teacher and generously visits the University of Montana Entertainment Management Program each year to share his knowledge and experience with our students.

Eric Becker is an Emmy Award-winning director and documentary film maker. He is interested in social justice, conservation and human rights and tries to illuminate these issues by capturing emotional connection on film. He recently visited Missoula to show his beautiful, Return to Mount Kennedy, at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. The film tracks the sons of the famed climber Jim Whittaker and the late Senator Robert Kennedy as they recreate their fathers’ historic climb of Mt. Kennedy, a remote peak in the Yukon. Eric discusses the highs and lows of a career in film, where it has taken him, and how he views his responsibility as a story teller.

Scott Jurek is an ultramarathon legend and arguably one of the greatest runners of all time. Mired in semi-retirement from professional racing and late career stagnation, he set his sights on the Appalachian Trail speed record in 2015. Scott and his wife Jenny approached this project as relative novices and their collaborative narrative account, North, tells the amazing story of their 46-day, 2,189-mile AT adventure. The book is about so much more than running, and in this conversation we interrogate some of those larger topics – relationships, communication, loss, triumph and community. (Photo by Luis Escobar)

In this second installment of the S.E.A. Change series, we catch up with two amazing women in the Missoula community. Christine Littig is a serial entrepreneur in the restaurant space, having opened the Old Post, the Red Bird and Bernice’s Bakery. Morgan Slemberger is the Associate Director of the Blackstone Lauchpad at the University of Montana and the leader of the Pursue Your Passions program. Christine serves on the board of Pursue Your Passions and in this conversation we explain that program, what it’s trying to accomplish and how we should assess its success.

Brian Kahn is a Montana radio legend. As host of the long-running (23 years!) and award-winning “Home Ground Radio,” Brian has interviewed hundreds of influential Montanans, asking who they are, what they think and what they are doing about it. Today we flip the mic and ask Brian about his approach to storytelling, activism, collaboration and problem solving. We also discuss his new book, "America: Rediscovering my Country," which documents a 50-day trip across the United States aimed at exploring diversity along many dimensions. His inquisitive spirit and Montana roots teach us how community can be built and appreciated in the most, or least, diverse environments.

Marc Moss is the creator, producer and host of Tell Us Something, a live storytelling event that began in Missoula and is expanding across Montana. Marc is a master at telling stories and teaching others how to do the same. In this conversation, we discuss how Tell Us Something came to be, the five “beats” of a good story and the big plans Marc has for this amazing platform.

The Max S. Baucus Institute at the University of Montana’s Alexander Blewett III School of Law is a one of a kind public service institution offering a one of a kind student experience. In this episode Professor of Law and Institute Director Sam Panarella and Professor and Director UM’s Masters in Public Administration program Sara Rinfret are joined by Montana’s legendary Max Baucus, former US Senator and Ambassador to China. We discuss why the Baucus Institute is uniquely positioned to create transformative learning experiences focused on public service.

SuzAnne Miller is an unlikely tech entrepreneur. Shortly after she began live-streaming an osprey nest at her family ranch, Dunrovin, she slowly discovered and cultivated an amazing online community. Days@Dunrovin is a "digital front porch" and an interactive window to life on a Bitterroot ranch that brings joy and community to many in need.

In this special episode we introduce S.E.A. Change, a University of Montana initiative to address the challenges and embrace the opportunities facing our society as we seek equity for all women. March 2020 will mark the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment. We chat with Chelsea and Seth Bodnar about the significance of this centennial and what to expect from S.E.A Change. We then pivot to a conversation with UM Regents Professor of History Anya Jabour and historian and Montana public radio legend, Beth Judy, about the history of women’s suffrage here in Montana and beyond.

Jeremy Smith’s recent book “Breaking & Entering: The Extraordinary Story of a Hacker Called Alien” is a riveting narrative account of a dark world that touches us all. This is Jeremy’s third book and his writing has also appeared in The Atlantic, Discover and The New York Times. He lives in Missoula and is a graduate of the UM Masters of Fine Arts program.

Winona LaDuke is an economist, environmentalist, tribal leader, and two-time vice-presidential candidate. Although she resists the term activist, Winona spends her life fighting “stupid ideas.” In this conversation, she explains how unsustainable economic systems provide an excellent opportunity to build something greener, more community-oriented, more successful, and maybe even happier. Her prescription: “Make a living, not a killing.”

Winona visited the University of Montana earlier this year to give the Presidential Lecture Series address.

This week's “A New Angle,” produced by marketing University of Montana Professor Justin Angle, features a conversation with UM head football coach Bobby Hauck. They pull the lens back a bit and talk about some of the larger issues facing UM, Grizzly football and the sport in general. Coach Hauck's passion for football and what it can do for young men is on display in this engaging conversation.

The podcast is supported by First Security Bank and Blackfoot Communications.

Emily Graslie (2011 UM College of the Arts and Media graduate) is creator and host of the hugely successful Brain Scoop youtube channel and the Chief Curiosity Correspondent at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History. Emily recently visited UM to be honored at this year’s Odyssey of the Stars and was kind enough to stop by Studio 49. We talk about her experience in digital media, her time as an unpaid intern, and her confrontation of gender inequities in both entertainment and education.

Athena Pack is a leadership conference bringing together women in the Rocky Mountain West to learn, share, and grow. Founders Kim Shappee (RBC Financial), Nicole Hagerman-Miller (Biomimicry 3.8), and Jen Euell (Women’s Foundation of Montana) tell us why and how they joined forces, along with Sara Close (Hello Soul) to create a transformative event built around understanding personal story and making real connection.

As Executive Director of the Zootown Arts Community Center, Kia Liszak is a critical driving force in the Missoula arts community. The ZACC fills a growing void in our education system by encouraging creativity, self-identification, and personal connection through art. Kia appropriately asks: “What else is there besides finding ways to deeply relate to one another and ourselves?”

In 1994, Wilmot Collins fled civil war in Liberia and somehow landed in Montana. Learn more about his amazing journey, his dedication to public service, and his inspiring rise to Mayor of his adopted home of Helena. Mayor Collins gives us hope that it is indeed possible to bring people together in this fraught political time.

Mark Synnott is a world class big wall climber whose writing has appeared in Outside, Men’s Journal and National Geographic. Mark’s new book “The Impossible Climb: Alex Honnold, El Capitan, and the climbing life,” covers his dangerously precocious introduction to climbing and the journey that led him to climb alongside Alex Honnold and document his amazing free solo of El Capitan. The book is available beginning today, wherever you buy your books.

Chris Wright, 2002 University of Montana College of Business graduate, has worked at Google for over 15 years and worn many hats, most recently serving as head of awareness for Google Cloud. In this free-wheeling episode we discuss Chris’s undergraduate shenanigans, his efforts to digitize the entire New York Times photo archive, and his new podcast – Try: the Podcast

Dr. Rich Willy is one of the world’s leading experts in running injuries. Learn why this professor of physical therapy chose to build his career at the University of Montana and how his research can help both clinicians and every day athletes develop strength, stay healthy and keep moving. Rich has some common sense advice that runs counter to many popular narratives about running shoes, injuries, and stretching.

The speed of technological innovation has seemingly compressed time. Peter Coffee, VP of Strategic Research at Salesforce.com, has the job of predicting what’s next in technology, what forces we should be afraid of, what issues we are wasting our time on, and how we should prepare for all of it. This conversation has broad implications for education, business, public health and every-day life.

Our digital footprints now influence nearly all of the information we see, making the question of ethics in business and marketing much more salient. To wrestle with this fraught topic, Justin enlists the help of two UM colleagues – Dr. John Chandler, marketing professor and data science practitioner, and Dr. Christopher Preston, philosophy professor and ethicist. Together they open up about thirty doors in a wide-ranging conversation.

A New Angle celebrates its 1-year Anniversary this week with a flipped format. Friend of the Pod and professional mountain athlete Mike Foote turns the mic on Justin Angle. Tune in to hear the wacky, winding path that brought Justin to Missoula and the University of Montana, what’s on tap for year 2 of the pod, and new music from Jeff Ament and John Wicks.

Service learning and civic engagement are focal components of a University of Montana education. The Montana chapter of Campus Compact recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary and Andrew Seligsohn, President of Campus Compact, visited Montana and our University System Board of Regents meeting to celebrate this milestone. In this episode Justin speaks with Andrew and Andrea Vernon, Executive Director of the Montana Compact, about service learning in the Montana University System, changes and challenges in higher education, and the role of higher education in promoting civil discourse.

Micah Larsen is a “rogue persuasion scientist” and communications consultant. Her practice, Apis Communications Science, has helped many individuals and organizations communicate more effectively. In this episode we discuss the intersection of communications and marketing, techniques you can use to be more persuasive, and ways you can detect others’ attempts to persuade you.

An expert in all things brand, Kevin Keohane is Director of Brand & Talent Strategy at Partners Creative, a Missoula-based marketing and creative agency. Kevin is a published author (Brand & Talent) and the prolific guitarist and frontman for Catnyp. There is a lot to learn from Kevin in this dynamic and wide-ranging conversation. Enjoy!

Hank Donovan is the doer of all things at Rattlesnake Cables, Effectsbay.com and several other music-focused entrepreneurial ventures. Hank explains why good cables are a critical and often overlooked investment and how he helps musicians find the sound they’re looking for. Hank is also an accomplished musician himself, playing guitar for the Magpies and touring throughout the West.

University of Montana biologist John McCutcheon studies microbial genomics and symbiosis. In this week’s episode, John explains these fancy science terms and tells us why the work he and his colleagues are doing informs our basic understanding of life and evolution. Plus, he’s got some compelling things to say about being a professor.

Melissa Stephenson’s debut book is her powerful memoir Driven: A White-Knuckled Ride To Heartbreak And Beyond. Our conversation explores how this UM graduate and Missoula resident gained the confidence to share her deepest truths and the process she went through to craft this poignant and powerful piece of writing.

Ryan Tootell and Colter Nuanez rule sports talk radio in Western Montana. These two dynamic characters host drive time (4:00-6:00pm) on ESPN 102.9 and collaborate on a number of other sports related ventures on multiple media platforms. Learn more about their approach to journalism, entertainment, and sports as a metaphor for important issues of the day.

Cheryl Strayed is a literary force. Her memoir, "Wild," was a #1 New York Times best seller and the first selection in Oprah’s Book Club 2.0. She also wrote "Tiny Beautiful Things," "Brave Enough" and "Torch." Cheryl recently visited the University of Montana and we were fortunate enough to speak with her about writing, grief, and finding your deepest, darkest truth.

This week we bring you a difficult but important conversation. Vanessa Grigoriadis is an investigative journalist and author of the powerful book “Blurred Lines: Rethinking Sex, Power, and Consent on Campus.” Vanessa shares her thoughts on the changing rules and norms for sex and consent, and we discuss where universities are succeeding and failing on the issue.

This week we visit with iconoclastic musician, sound engineer, and Missoula-native Steve Albini. Albini has worked with the likes of Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Cheap Trick, and countless others at his legendary recording studio, Electrical Audio. He is a passionate critic of the music business and our conversation explores why he thinks music and art are often corrupted by capitalism.

This week’s pod features one of Montana’s finest - Amy Martin, creator and host of the award-winning Threshold podcast. Threshold is deeply reported and beautifully produced by Amy and her team. Learn about Amy’s approach to story-telling and the many adventures she endured to produce Season Two’s fascinating investigation of the Arctic and climate change.

Our Election Day episode gets appropriately political. We visit with legendary New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd and explore her unique sensibility as a long time watch dog in Washington D.C. Maureen goes deep on the Shakespearian aspects of the Trump presidency and helps us understand the context and meaning of what’s happening in our democracy.

This week, we explore the value of higher education. First, Associated Students of University of Montana President Alex Butler and Vice President Mariah Welch tell us about their efforts to get students engaged in the debate about funding higher education and the 6-Mill levy ballot referendum. Next, we hear from Sen. Jon Tester, Congressman Greg Gianforte, and economist Bryce Ward on the importance of higher education in creating opportunities for Montanans and the value of the 6-Mill levy.

It's election season and we continue this week with our series highlighting important reasons to vote. Alan Adams in the regional sales rep for Patagonia. Learn all about the path that led him to this position, his views about Patagonia's advocacy work, and the company's efforts to get folks to the polls. Midterms Matter!

We're getting political this week! Justin and Sara co-founded and co-direct the University of Montana Big Sky Poll and in this episode they break down the poll's most recent results. Sara also shares her motivation for starting the poll, for creating applied learning experiences, and why her tenure as Director of UM's Masters of Public Administration program has been so successful. And in case that's not enough, we get to learn about Sara's primary research interest - bureaucracy! Don't miss this one.

This week features Justin’s conversation with Larry Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury under President Clinton, President emeritus of Harvard University, chief economist to President Obama, among many other illustrious and influential positions. Larry and Justin discuss freedom of speech and expression on college campuses and the importance of universities to America’s future.

It was a great privilege to visit with Larry during his recent visit to Montana and we are excited to bring you this important episode.

We’ve been trying to pin down Mario Schulzke for some time. Since leaving his role as UM’s Chief Marketing Officer, Mario has become a self-described “digital nomad with a house.” He’s working remotely as CMO for the Seattle-based start up, GeniusLink, and enjoying a wide variety of adventures. Mario remains bullish on UM and lays out the reasons why in this wide-ranging conversation.

Geoff Peddicord - Missoula's Branding Superhero by Justin Angle

Cathy Cole, UM's recently hired VP of Enrollment & Strategic Communications, just walked into a big job. In this episode we discuss what attracted her to this opportunity, why she is unabashedly bullish about the University of Montana, and what she sees in our future. If you are a fan of UM and rooting for our recovery, we think you will really enjoy this episode.

Ben Ferencz is the co-founder of FairEnds. Though this Missoula -Manhattan collaboration between two friends is primarily known for its distinctive hats, Ben tells us the hat doesn't really matter. It's an entry point for an important conversation. Tune in and learn all about that conversation and the non-linear path Ben has taken to build a life of design, creation, family, and balance - all with a deep commitment to making it happen in Montana.

To learn more about FairEnds, visit www.FairEnds.com.

What's innovative about the broadband business? You'll likely be surprised by Blackfoot Communications CEO Jason Williams' answer. His outlook for Blackfoot's future and role in the Northern Rockies technology ecosystem is visionary, and the recent hire of former UM Tech Transfer director Joe Fanguy is evidence to back it up. Listen to Jason and Joe talk about Blackfoot's commitment to leading economic development in the region and the launch of their new innovation and entrepreneurship incubator, C2MBeta. These guys are right at the center of some exciting development happening here in Montana.

Front Street Capital Management's Russ Piazza (UM '77) knows exactly the sort of businesses he wants to invest in. As the portfolio manager of the hugely successful Tarkio Fund, Russ brings a focus and clarity to his work that's inspiring. He also has a thing of two to say about the bond markets. This is an important conversation anyone with an interest in the markets should hear.

"You gotta get Holly Truitt on the pod!" We've heard this countless times since we launched the show, and we finally got her to come on. Holly is the Director of University of Montana's Broader Impacts Group. Her work ranges from directing spectrUM, a wonderful science museum for children, to leading innovateUM, a coalition of key innovators driving the future of Western Montana's economy. Holly is inspirational and visionary and in this conversation we explore how her unique and challenging upbringing shaped her outlook on community and how she builds strong, creative coalitions of forward-thinking problem solvers. This episode is particularly inspired! Tune in...

The competitive pinnacle of Sam Schultz's mountain biking career came during the 2012 Olympic games. In the years since, he's faced health challenges, a limited capacity to train and race, and the reality that his relationship with his bike and livelihood must change. Today we talk about how Sam has met these challenges to build an inspiring, productive, and sustainable career in the cycling industry. Sure, he lives in a van down by the river, but it's a damn nice van with some really sweet bikes in it. Not too bad!

Sam is particularly excited about his efforts to launch a high school bike racing league in Montana. For more information, visit:

http://www.montanamtb.org

Missoula's John Wicks wears many hats - drummer for the hugely successful Fitz and the Tantrums, co-founder of Drum Coffee with his wonderful wife Jenna, bad-ass mountain athlete, and committed husband and father. In this conversation we break down how he juggles it all, and how he visualizes what's next.

You can find Drum Coffee at: www.drumcoffee.com

Nick Triolo is passionate about story and using the tools of narrative to make the world a better place. Through his work as an activist, writer, filmmaker, coach, guide, and mountain athlete Nick is deeply dedicated to making people care more about the natural world. He is a 2016 graduate of University of Montana's Environmental Studies program and we have known each other for years through the trail running community. We were able to catch Nick on the tail end of a quick visit to Montana.

You can learn more about his work at:

www.nicolastriolo.net

Keila Szpaller took over the University of Montana "beat" in 2015. This Missoulian reporter and UM Journalism graduate has covered both the city of Missoula and UM during tumultuous and controversial times. In this episode we discuss her approach to reporting, sourcing, background, and what sort of stories bring joy to her work.

You can find her tweets @KeilaSzpaller and her reporting at www.missoulian.com

MoFi is a non-profit organization with a mission to "provide financing and consulting services that transform the lives of individuals and strengthen communities." Dave Glaser is president of this important organization and chats with us about the critical catalytic roll MoFi (formerly known as Montana & Idaho Community Development Corporation)plays in the economic develop of five Northern Rockies states.

For more information on MoFi and to learn how the organization could help you, visit: http://mofi.org

The Montana Code School launched in 2015 as a way to prepare students to walk in ready and able to the growing number of technology jobs available in Montana. In this episode we talk with Paul Gladen, Director of the Blackstone Launchpad and founder of the Code School, and Kelly Nash, graduate of the first Code School cohort and current director of admissions. We learn about how the Code School came to be, what sorts of students it targets, and what types of jobs its graduates are getting. We then speak with two of those graduates - Luke Walawander and Shannon Dooling. Luke is currently Director of Ad Operations at LumenAd and Shannon is working with Tribal Learning Aids. Both are great case studies in the power of coding skills to improve your life and open doors.

For more information, check out: https://montanacodeschool.com

Rob Angel invented the legendary game Pictionary in 1985. I got the chance to speak with this charismatic, inspired and dynamic creator during a quick visit with his children, both Missoula residents. Rob shares the Pictionary origin story, brings us up to date on his current endeavors, and outlines his philanthropic efforts...all subject to the entertaining commentary of his daughter Sam (UM 2017) and his son Ben (MT Code School 2018).

Few places impact the community like Big Sky Brewing. This week, we sit down with founder Bjorn Nabozney to talk about beer, building a community, and the issue of alcohol on college campuses.

Women’s Voices for the Earth is a Missoula based national non-profit organization doing big things on a national scale. The group’s aim is to eliminate the use of harmful chemicals in a surprising and disturbing number of household products, particularly products used predominantly by women. We talk about WVO’s mission and strategy and how you can be more aware and get more involved

Montana has a handful of iconic establishments, and The Big Dipper is one of its finest. In this week's episode we learn all about it with founder and owner Charlie Beaton, a Missoula legend. Charlie not only creates killer ice cream, but he also makes great music as the lead singer for VTO. On top of that, hes a passionate family man and had a keen sense of the sort of life he wants to build for himself and his family.

Check out The Big Dipper at: www.bigdippericecream.com

Matt McQuilkin and Jim Chapman launched Black Coffee Roasting Company in 2010 and it quickly became a fixture of the Missoula scene. In this conversation, Matt and I discuss the series of experiences that uniquely prepared him for success as a coffee entrepreneur and how he has turned that success into deep support for the Missoula community.

To learn more about his great product, shop, and staff, visit:

https://www.blackcoffeeroastingco.com

Or stop by the shop at 525 E Spruce St in Missoula.

Meg Whicher is a Recreation Specialist at Missoula Parks and Recreation. In four short years she's become a fixture of

Investment in higher education is a hot topic across the country and in Montana especially. Every ten years since 1948 Montanans vote on a ballot measured called the 6-mil levy, which represents a substantial funding mechanism for the state's university system. The 6-mil levy returns to the ballot this November. In this special episode we present the viewpoints of Senator Jon Tester (D), Congressman Greg Gianforte (R), and UM Bureau of Business and Economic Research economist Bryce Ward. Each presents a different perspective on the value of higher education and offers some thoughts on the 6-mil levy.

To be clear, we here at A New Angle can't take a position on how you should vote, but we can present you with these various viewpoints encourage you to get out and vote.

Eric Sprunk was the commencement speaker at this year's University of Montana graduation ceremony. In today's episode, we track Eric's experience as an accounting student who graduated in from UM in 1986 though to his current position as head of Nike's global operations. It's an amazing story and along the way Eric has developed a powerful and inspiring set of leadership principles. He also has some important ideas about how to conceptualize and seize opportunity. Thanks for listening!

Jeff Ament was born in Havre and grew up in Big Sandy. His Montana roots and pride run deep and returning to his home state is a big part of what keeps him balanced. Our conversation dug into several key themes about the basis for his gritty work ethic, his creative process, and his commitment to creating opportunity for others. We also explore the magic that has kept Pearl Jam at the top of its game for over 25 years.

Jeff's knew solo album, Heaven/Hell, releases on May 10th. Check it out!

Lisa Mills is the creator of the world's first tea certification program. In this episode she tells us about the devastating effects conventional tea farming has on the severely endangered population of Asian elephants. The program she launched - Elephant Friendly Tea - is a fantastic example of the important collaborative, interdisciplinary work happening at the University of Montana. Housed at UM's Broader Impacts Group, the project brings together wildlife biologists, policy makers, economists, and business leaders in an attempt to change culture, industry, and the trajectory of this magnificent species.

To learn more visit: www.elephantfriendlytea.com.

This week we chat with Christopher Preston, Professor of Philosophy at University of Montana. Christopher recently published The Synthetic Age: Outdesigning Evolution, Resurrecting Species, and Reengineering Our World. The central argument of the book is that human beings have fundamentally altered the planet in a manner unprecedented in history. We chat talk about the areas in which this is happening - climate, genetics, artificial intelligence, etc. It's fascinating, horrifying, inspiring, and humbling all at the same time. Christopher makes a compelling case that the world needs philosophy now more than ever.

You can find the book at:

https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/synthetic-age

This week's episode features my conversation with Karen Knutsen, Executive Director of the Clark Fork Coalition. Karen's focused and dynamic leadership has lead the coalition to many critical achievements in its work to protect and restore the Clark Fork River watershed. We talk about the mission of the CFC and how she uses that mission as a guide for deciding what the CFC should do and initiatives it should say "no" to.

To learn more about the Clark Fork Coalition, visit www.clarkfork.org

In this episode we chat with some of the amazing University of Montana students behind Switchback Records. Switchback Records is an entirely student-run record label operating out of the College of Business’s Entertainment Management Program. On April 13, Switchback will launch its first album Elvis: Missoula to Memphis and this episode we discuss all the work leading up to this achievement. Enjoy!

Learn how Missoula's Dram Shop went from crazy idea to booming business in this week's conversation with Zach Millar. This interview was done on location, catching Zach as he tuned up the shop for a regular day of business. That makes the sound quality a bit challenging, but we think the content is solid and authentic.

The Dram Shop will be celebrating its 3rd anniversary on Saturday April 7th with cool promotional events happening all day. In conjunction with this, A New Angle is launching our first promotional give-away. Listen to the pod for details!

Joel Benenson is a premier political strategist and pollster. He's the only Democratic pollster to have played a leading role in 3 winning presidential campaigns. He recently visited University of Montana to speak with our students about the Big Sky Poll project. Joel and I discuss the roll of polling, the problems associated with reporting on poll results, and how some things went wrong (for his candidate) in the 2016 election.

Joel is founder and CEO of The Benenson Strategy Group where he and his team serve as strategist and consultants to heads of state, domestic political leaders at all levels, Fortune 100 CEOs, and leaders of major advocacy and nonprofit institutions.

https://www.bsgco.com/who-we-are/team/joel-benenson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Benenson

http://www.umt.edu/bigskypoll/

This week we feature Michelle Cardinal, CEO and Co-founder of the R2C Group, a digital marketing firm headquartered in Portland, OR. Michelle was recently on campus as this semester's Gilkey Lecture Speaker. She used the opportunity to talk about the power of business to give back and do good. We talk about the important work she and her firm are doing to fight homelessness and we also discuss some interesting ideas on women in the workplace. Thanks for listening!

In this episode we connect with "friend of the pod" Mike Foote. Mike is a legendary mountain athlete who competes with the world's best in two sports that few people know about - ultra running and ski-mountaineering. He is the co-founder and race director of The Rut Mountain Runs and sits on the board of the Five Valleys Land Trust. We talk about the creative and innovative spirit he brings to The Rut as well as his deep commitment to protecting public lands. Be sure to listen all the way to the end for some exciting news about a big project Mike is cooking up.

This episode is sponsored by Sapphire Physical Therapy and Consolidated Electrical Distributors.

Today we drop in a special episode. Over the last year I've had three members of the UM Men's basketball team as students in my class - Jamar Akoh, Fabijan Krslovic, and Bobby Moorehead. These fellas exemplify what student-athletes can be and are great representatives of our community. I caught them for a quick chat on the eve of the Big Sky Conferences Tournament. We talk about the team's development over the course of the season and their expectations for playing well into March Madness Enjoy!

It's award show season, so this week we feature our conversation with Jeremy Sauter, Marketing Executive at Paramount Pictures. We discuss how a film moves (or doesn't) from idea to release and the various drivers of success. It's a bit of art and a bit of science and Jeremy draws on his deep experience working on many films to help us understand this complicated and mysterious industry.

Jeremy is a big part of the University of Montana family. He currently sits on the UM Foundation's Board of Trustees and is a regular guest speaker in our Entertainment Management Program.

In this episode we speak with Michelle Huie and Stef Sample. Michelle is founder of VIM&VIGR and Director of Marketing at Submittable, two important start-ups headquartered in Missoula. Stef is a serial Montana entrepreneur who owns and operates a broad portfolio of businesses. She is also a professional coach and coaches executives and entrepreneurs through the REWIRE platform. Stef coaches Michelle and today we dig into the dynamics of their relationship.

This week we sit down with Missoula Mayor John Engen. Mayor Engen is a graduate of the University of Montana's School of Journalism. He worked for years at the Missoulian before joining Missoula City Council and then winning the Mayoral election in 2005. We discuss his vision for the optimal relationship between Missoula and the University of Montana.

Oh, and we break some news on an issue troubling many fathers of young children in this community.

In this episode I sit down with University of Montana President Seth Bodnar. Seth is six weeks in the job and brings a unique blend of experience an youth to the position. We explore his leadership philosophy and how to bring thoughtful change to UM.

In this episode I'm joined by University of Montana Regents Professor of Marketing Jakki Mohr and Associate Professor of Management Suzanne Tilleman. Together we explore the timely topic of sexual harassment and misconduct in the workplace and our role as business educators in addressing the problem. We're not experts in this area, but we tried to advance the conversation as best we could.

In today's episode I speak with former professional cyclist Tyler Hamilton. Tyler's amazing story has been told well in several other places (probably best in his book - The Secret Race). In this conversation we explore what he wants to do next and why he wants to do it in Missoula.

In this first episode of A New Angle, I sit down with Bryce Ward, Associate Director at the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research, to explore the future of higher education.

On January 26 we are launching A New Angle, a bi-weekly podcast featuring cool people doing awesome things in and around Missoula, MT. Subscribe here or wherever you get your podcasts!