A New Angle

This week’s guest is Alex Sobin, director of spectrUM. Since 2008, spectrUM has been dedicated to igniting an interest in science for kids throughout Montana. spectrUM is housed in the Missoula Public Library and supported by a wide variety of grants and other sources. In this conversation, Alex explains the hands-on and various outreach programs the museum fosters. She discusses funding challenge...

This week’s guest is Donnie Wetzel Jr., tribal liaison for the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. Donnie is also the founder of Identity, Inc., which houses the Montana Indian Athletic Hall of Fame. Donnie and his colleagues are working to promote the virtues of warrior culture through sport. In part two of this two-part episode , Donnie discusses his work on the forthcoming documentary fil...

This week’s guest is Donnie Wetzel Jr., tribal liaison for the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. Donnie is also the founder of Identity, Inc. , which houses the Montana Indian Athletic Hall of Fame. Donnie and his colleagues are working to promote the virtues of warrior culture through sport. In this conversation, Donnie explains the qualities of warrior culture and emphasizes the importan...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.anewanglepodcast.com 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. The two talk role models this month, a topic that’s come up several times in their conversations. They consider h...

This week’s guest is Dean Pearson, research ecologist with the United States Forest Service. Dean and his colleagues recently developed the urban pollinator matrix, a model municipalities and citizens can use to help threatened pollinators recover. In this episode, Dean and Justin discuss pollinator decline, some of the findings of the urban pollinator matrix - including the difference between let...

This week we’re sharing a special live recording of our recent event - This Didn’t Happen By Accident: Stories of Intention on the Land - hosted by Five Valleys Land Trust at the Line Ranch outside of Missoula. Justin moderated a panel discussion about conservation success stories in Montana with authors Donna Erickson, Bruce Bugbee, and Greg Tollefson, along with Whitney Schwab, Executive Directo...

This week’s guest is Lura Forcum, president of the Independent Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to giving politically independent Americans a stronger voice in elections. Lura and her colleagues conduct research and outreach to better understand the many Americans who don’t align with either major political party. In this episode, Lura talks about the disfunction of the two party system...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.anewanglepodcast.com This week is our 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. It is back to school season and phones remain a hot topic in public schools. Some states have legislated bans and we'r...

This week's guest is Theresa Williams, crisis intervention team program manager for Missoula. CIT programs bring together law enforcement, mental health professionals, advocates and other partners to improve community response to mental health crises. Theresa has a deep background in social work and has worked in the behavioral health space for over 20 years. In this episode, Theresa talks about h...

This week Justin speaks with Andrew Light, distinguished professor of philosophy, public policy and atmospheric science at George Mason University. Andrew has also served in the highest levels of U.S. Government, most recently as the Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs at the U. S. Department of Energy. Andrew recently visited the University of Montana to deliver the 2025 Alber...

This week Justin speaks with Gillian Glaes and Peter Baker about the value of international experiences and perspectives. Gillian directs the University of Montana’s Franke Global Leadership Initiative, and Peter directs international programs at the Mansfield Center. Together, these two play a significant role in shaping the international experiences and perspectives available to students in Mont...

Today 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 episode is a continuation of last month’s conversation on artificial intelligence and its impact on our quality of life. In this conversation, Justin and Bryce discuss the business models and incentives aro...

This week Justin speaks with Dr. Reed Humphrey, who has held almost every academic position at the University of Montana. In part two of this two-part episode, Justin presses Reed on the tenuous nature of the provost position at UM. Reed talks about the pros of interdisciplinary initiatives and the importance of stability and institutional knowledge in academic leadership roles, as well as the nee...

This week Justin speaks with Dr. Reed Humphrey, who sits at the threshold of retirement after a long and winding academic career. Reed has held nearly every academic position possible at the University of Montana, and there’s not much he hasn’t seen. Reid reached out to Justin and asked if he would be interested in kicking the tires of higher education. Naturally, Justin said he’d love to. Tune in...

This week Justin talks with Paul Reichert, CEO of Prospera, a nonprofit economic development organization focused on southwest Montana. Paul explains Prospera’s role helping small businesses as a “navigator and problem solver,” discusses some of the challenges facing the nonprofit — like financing infrastructure and community development projects — and answers Justin’s magic wand question: If Paul...

In this week’s episode, Justin speaks with a former student, Eli, about his journey establishing a relationship with artificial intelligence. Eli turned to Chat GPT to help him with school, in social situations and while working on figuring out his life. He talks to Justin about how he uses Chat GPT as a sounding board and considers it something that really cares about him, while also being aware...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.anewanglepodcast.com Today is our 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. The duo has been putting this episode off for a long time, but now is the time to talk about AI. In this conversation, Justi...

This week is part two of our conversation with John Sommers-Flanagan, director of the Center for the Advancement of Positive Education at the University of Montana’s Phyllis J. Washington College of Education. John and Justin pick up where they left off last week talking about how lying and parenting intersect, the concept of confirmation bias and the risks of AI-generated content and building rel...

Today’s guest is John Sommers-Flanagan, director of the Center for the Advancement of Positive Education at the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education. John is transitioning to this role after a long tenure as professor of counseling at the University of Montana. John and Justin talk about good faith, the erosion of trust in institutions and confirmation bias. Within the good faith concept, th...

This week we’re speaking with Sarah Vowell, an author with Montana roots of many bestselling books. She’s a historian, actor, journalist and a regular contributor to This American Life. Sarah recently contributed an essay to Michael Lewis’s edited volume, Who Is Government? In this conversation Sarah talks about highlighting Pam Wright, an archivist at the National Archives, for Who Is Government?...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.anewanglepodcast.com Today is our 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. This month, Bryce and Justin talk about time. They discuss it as a scarce resource and consider how to make the most optimal...

This is the third episode in our Voices of Trade series. To mark the Montana World Trade Center ’s World Trade and Investment Day, we’ve been exploring the various opportunities and challenges facing Montana firms doing business internationally. Today, we are speaking with Chris Tilleman, founder of TeraDact , a data security company serving clients around the world. Also joining Justin is Brigitt...

We continue our conversation with renowned wildlife biologist Diane Boyd, whose memoir A Woman Among Wolves explores her decades of experience with wolves and the often fraught relationships between people and predators. Boyd reflects on her role as both scientist and advocate, navigating public conflict and the persistent challenge of irrational fear. She discusses the social and ecological dimen...

Diane Boyd is a world-renowned wildlife biologist and active participant in wolf recovery in the Northern Rockies over the last 40 years. In part 1 of this two-part episode, Boyd shares stories from her early days living as a field researcher in remote Moose City, Montana—just 400 yards from the Canadian border. She recounts tracking wolves on foot, tranquilizing them for collaring, and working at...

Dr. Rafael Chacón is a professor of art history and director of the Montana Museum of Art and Culture (MMAC). Rafael shares his journey from Cuba to Indiana, his early love of art sparked by visits to the Art Institute of Chicago, and how he found a home and career in Montana. He and Justin discuss the MMAC’s historic and global collection, its stunning new facility, and 19 Under 39 , a new bienni...