A New Angle

Steve Arveschoug is the executive director of Big Sky Economic Development in Billings and an advocate for leaders to embrace vulnerability and mental well-being. In this episode, Steve discusses the turning point that led him to seek help for work-related stress, the boundaries he sets to prioritize emotional health, and why he believes leaders have a responsibility to raise these conversations i...

In 2022, Eliza Donahue was caught in an avalanche while backcountry skiing. The accident left her with serious physical injuries, as well as mental and emotional trauma. In this episode, Justin speaks with Eliza and clinical social worker Justin Short, who founded a support group for those who’ve experienced loss in the outdoors like Eliza has. They discuss the cumulative nature of trauma, the emo...

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 a...

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 . This is a public epis...

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 availabl...

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 t...

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 meteorolo...

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 . This is a p...

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 h...

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get ac...

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 Ame...

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...

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 innovatio...

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 t...

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 br...

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 ar...

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. Justi...

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 n...

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 Silv...

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...

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 J...

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 chan...

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 entrepreneur...

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 pa...

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...