Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson

Kathie Sever is an artist, designer, and the founder of Fort Lonesome , an Austin-based company that creates one-of-a-kind, hand-cranked, chain-stitched western wear. What started with Kathie hand-embroidering garments for friends out of her home has transformed over the years into a globally known fashion brand that is worn by well-known personalities such as Matthew McConaughey and singer-songwr...

This is the second of two live episodes that were recorded at the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society's 2023 annual meeting in Houston, Texas. The topic of this panel discussion was Achieving Landscape-Scale Management in a Private Land State. As you learned in the previous episode, Texas has very little public land compared to other western states, so large-landscape conservation in Texas bring...

This is the first of two live episodes that were recorded at the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society's 2023 annual meeting in Houston, Texas. The topic of this panel discussion was Equitable Access to the Outdoors, a subject that is timely and important in all areas of the West, but especially important in Texas, where 93% of the state's land is privately owned. Whether your interest is outdoor...

Taylor Hawes is the Director of the Colorado River Program for the Nature Conservancy. As the leader of the program, she guides TNC's efforts to conserve the freshwater biodiversity of the Colorado River Basin while also meeting human demands for water– challenging objectives given the wide-ranging stresses facing the river today. But despite the challenges brought about by climate change, overall...

Beau Alexander is the owner and operator of Maxwell Alexander Gallery , a world-renowned art gallery that curates and celebrates "a new breed of fine art" here in the American West and beyond. Beau and his brother, the famed western artist Logan Maxwell Hagege, officially opened the gallery back in 2012, and their goals were simple: Represent one-of-a-kind artists, put the artists' interests first...

I met Chandra Brown through the podcast more than four years ago, and with each passing year, I've been more and more inspired by her life and work. You may remember that she's the founder of Freeflow Institute , a Montana-based organization that curates immersive outdoor learning experiences in Earth's wildest classrooms. What started with combining summer river trips with writing workshops taugh...

If you've listened to Mountain & Prairie since the early days, then I'm sure you remember Cate Havstad-Casad . She first joined me on the podcast in early 2018 for a conversation about her life and career as a hatmaker and farmer. In late 2019, she was one of the four amazing women who joined me on stage for a live podcast at the Bozeman's Ellen Theatre. And today, more than 5 years after that fir...

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is a world-renowned climate scientist, professor, and Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy, where she leads and coordinates the organization's scientific efforts. She is also the author of " Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World ," an excellent book you've likely heard me reference on the podcast. Whether you are interested in lear...

Megan Torgerson is a podcaster and the creator of Reframing Rural , a narrative podcast whose mission is to "share stories of people and places in rural America in an effort to celebrate culture, preserve history and cultivate curiosity and conversation across geographic, class and cultural divides." In just three seasons, Megan has grown Reframing Rural from a spark of an idea into a highly regar...

Bryce Andrews is a Montana-based rancher and writer, and he's the author of the brand new book " Holding Fire: A Reckoning with the American West ." Longtime Mountain & Prairie listeners will remember my first conversation with Bryce back in 2019 when we discussed his writing, conservation work, ranching experience, and his first two books. I thoroughly enjoyed that first conversation and was so i...

Cole Mannix is the President and Founder of the Old Salt Co-op , a new, purpose-driven company that "provides meat raised with integrity from Montana landscapes its customers know and care about." Cole and his team partner with a growing number of Montana ranches, butchers, chefs, and businesses to connect customers and producers, while simultaneously encouraging and promoting a deeper understandi...

Carlos Fernández is the Colorado State Director of The Nature Conservancy, one of the most effective conservation organizations in the American West and around the globe. You probably remember Carlos from our first conversation back in August of 2020, in which we discussed his inspiring career trajectory, the importance of collaborative conservation partnerships, and several of TNC's cutting-edge...

Christian Beamish is a writer, craftsman, surfboard shaper, and all-around adventurer who lives and works between Ventura and Carpinteria, California. He's the author of one of my favorite books– " The Voyage of the Cormorant" – which tells his deeply personal story of building an open-hulled boat by hand and then sailing it down the Baja Peninsula alone, surfing and camping along the way. He's al...

Jess Mudgett is an artist, skater, surfer, and occasional ranch hand who specializes in one-of-a-kind designs that appear everywhere from murals in the rural West to the Yeti offices in downtown Austin. Fans of Jess's work can spot his art from a mile away– he's known for bold, often-times big portrayals of western landscapes, horses, birds, people, and more, all presented in a style that is uniqu...

If you're a Mountain & Prairie Patreon supporter , then you probably already know that I recently began hosting another podcast for my friends at Ranchlands. It's called the Ranchlands Podcast , and it features conversations with members of the Ranchlands community. As of today, we're about ten episodes in, and we feel very grateful that the podcast has been well-received and shared widely. - For...

This is a special episode that was recorded live in Fort Worth, Texas as part of the Cowboy Artists of America's 56th annual exhibition and sale. The show was called "Stories From Around The Campfire," and it was held at the world-renowned Amon Carter Musem of American Art. I was joined on stage by seven influential members CAA community, and we had a panel discussion about the rich history and br...

Chris Dombrowski is a Missoula-based writer, poet, teacher, and fishing guide, and he's also the author of the excellent new book "The River You Touch: Making a Life on Moving Water." If you're a longtime Mountain & Prairie listener, you probably remember Chris's first appearance on the podcast in which we discussed his first book "Body of Water" and his poetry collection, "Ragged Anthem." Since t...

Douglas Brinkley is a world-renowned historian, author, and professor who may be best known to Mountain & Prairie listeners as the author of "The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America" and "Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America," which detailed the first two waves of the United States' conservation movement. His most recent book is " Silent S...

This is a special podcast episode that was recorded live in Los Angeles at Maxwell Alexander Gallery's 10 Year Anniversary Exhibition. Maxwell Alexander Gallery was founded back in 2012, when brothers Beau Alexander and Logan Maxwell Hagege decided to start an artist-focused gallery that spotlighted the West's most cutting-edge art. What started with a crazy idea, a small space, and a few artists...

Monica Tranel is an attorney, Olympian, and mother of three, and she's also running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Montana's reformed second congressional district. Monica grew up in eastern Montana in a large family where she was one of ten siblings. Throughout her childhood, her parents stressed the importance of hard work, curiosity, and independent thinking, characteristics that Moni...

Francesca Claverie is the Native Plant Program Manager at the Borderlands Restoration Network. Based in the southern Arizona town of Patagonia, the Borderlands Restoration Network's mission is " to grow a restorative economy by rebuilding healthy ecosystems, restoring habitat for plants and wildlife, and reconnecting our border communities to the land through shared learning." Through binational p...

Amber Smith is a Montana-based rancher and the Executive Director of Women in Ranching, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to hold brave space, support courageous action, and champion rural women's leadership on the land. Offering a blend of in-person and virtual events, Women in Ranching has filled a unique niche across a wide range of rural communities in the West and beyond. From skill-b...

Mike McTee and Vince Slabe are Montana-based researchers who use cutting-edge science, writing, and educational programs to protect eagles in the American West and beyond. Both Mike and Vince are laser-focused on the surprisingly little-known issue of lead poisoning in bald and golden eagles, a problem caused mainly by eagles scavenging the remains of big game animals that have been hunted with le...

If you're a long-time Mountain & Prairie listener, then I'm sure you've heard me reference the author and historian Peter Stark. He's written some of the most memorable books I've ever read, including one of my all-time favorites about the early history of the western United States– a thrilling tale of adventure and exploration called "Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific...

Frances B. Ashforth is an artist who specializes in drawing, printmaking, and painting. While much of her work is tied to the landscapes and rivers of the American West, she is also well known for her depictions of salt flats and coastal weather in more tropical locales. If there are two threads that bind all of Francie's work, they are her deep reverence for natural landscapes and her desire to p...