A New Angle

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 indus...

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 This is a public episode. If you'd like to di...

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 t...

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.misso...

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...

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 ca...

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...

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

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 This is a publ...

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...

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,...

Meg Whicher is a Recreation Specialist at Missoula Parks and Recreation. In four short years she's become a fixture of This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.anewanglepodcast.com/subscribe

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), Congressm...

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 so...

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 g...

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 U...

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 happe...

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 initiative...

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 wit...

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...

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 som...

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...

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 develop...

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...