Mountain & Prairie Podcast

Matt Pierson is a fifth-generation Montana rancher who owns and operates Highland Livestock Company alongside his wife and two sons. He’s also the founder and President of the Producer Partnership, a newly formed non-profit organization that brings together farmers and ranchers with the goal of ending hunger in Montana. Since its start in spring of 2020, the Producer Partnership has given away tens of thousands of pounds of beef to Montana food banks and is creating replicable, scalable solutions for fighting hunger throughout the West and beyond. - The idea for the Producer Partnership was born in early 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was roiling communities and economies across the globe. With many Montana residents out of work and food banks struggling to keep up with the unprecedented demand, Matt decided to donate the meat from a cow he was planning to cull to his local food bank. He quickly recognized the direct positive impact that his donation had on the community, so he reached out to friends to

Ryan Busse is a Montana-based conservationist, public lands advocate, and former top-performing firearms executive. He's also the author of the new book "Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry that Radicalized America," which has received advanced praise from everyone from Publishers Weekly to Senator Jon Tester. Ryan is a life-long hunter and angler, as well as a proud gun owner, and he brings a unique, nuanced perspective to our country's ongoing debate about guns and the Second Amendment. "Gunfight" is in no way an "anti-gun" book-- rather, it's an insider's examination of how and why the firearms industry transformed from a sportsman-centered business into a politically driven machine that uses decisiveness and fear to grow profits exponentially. From a broader perspective, "Gunfight" helped me to understand how we ended up at this bizarre moment in history-- a moment defined by anger, misinformation, tribalism, and binary thinking. - Ryan was born in western Kansas and grew up on his family's ranch, wh

Lesli Allison and Tuda Libby Crews join me to discuss the critical role of private and working lands in achieving durable conservation outcomes in the United States. Lesli is a founding member and the Executive Director of the Western Landowners Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advances policies and practices that sustain working lands, connected landscapes, and native species. Tuda is a rancher and owner of Ute Creek Cattle Company, a conservation-focused ranching operation in northeastern New Mexico that has been in Tuda’s family for more than 200 years. Whether discussing on-the-ground stewardship practices or the intricacies of federal conservation policy, Lesli and Tuda are uniquely qualified to offer informed and thoughtful perspectives on all aspects of private land in the West. - While ranchers, farmers, and conservation stakeholders have long understood the critical importance of private land stewardship and conservation, the Biden administration’s 30x30 conservation goal has brought the topic

Hampton Sides is a historian and New York Times bestselling author who is best known for his engaging works of narrative nonfiction, including the books “Blood and Thunder,” “Ghost Soldiers,” “On Desperate Ground,” and more. His latest project is an ebook and audiobook titled “THE EXOTIC: Intrigue and Cultural Ruin in the Age of Imperialism,” which details the life and unbelievable adventures of a man named Mai, who was the first Polynesian to set foot on British soil. “The Exotic” is much shorter than Hampton’s previous books but much longer than a magazine article, giving the reader a chance to enjoy Hampton’s one-of-a-kind historical storytelling in only a few hours of reading. - Longtime listeners of Mountain & Prairie will remember Hampton’s two previous appearances on the podcast. The first was an in-depth discussion of his book “Blood and Thunder” and the history of the American West, which was recorded live and on stage at the Aspen Institute. In his second appearance, we focused on his writing an

Luke Smithwick is a professional alpinist, ski mountaineer, and mountain guide best known for his cutting-edge climbs and descents in the world’s wildest mountain ranges. Luke is based in Victor, Idaho, in the shadow of the legendary Teton Range, but he spends large portions of each year deep in the Himalayas, guiding clients on remote peaks or pursuing personal climbing and skiing objectives on 7-8,000-meter peaks. He is currently hard at work on a multi-year skiing project called The Himalaya 500, which is his personal quest to ski 500 aesthetic ski lines throughout the greater Himalayan Range. - Luke was born and raised in North Carolina, and he moved to Colorado for college, where he attended CU Boulder and studied environmental biology and cultural anthropology. When not in class, Luke immersed himself in outdoor sports and soon began working as a guide-- first a river guide on Colorado’s Upper Arkansas River and then a climbing guide. After graduation, Luke completely committed himself to the mountains,

Shane Doyle is a Montana-based scholar, teacher, and community advocate whose work focuses on the history and heritage of Native American tribes of the Northern Great Plains. Shane is an enrolled member of the Apsáalooke Nation (also known as the Crow Tribe), and he holds a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Montana State University. His unique personal and professional experiences, combined with his deep curiosity and seemingly endless energy, have made Shane a well-known leader in many fields, including education, land use advocacy, and the arts. - Shane grew up in Crow Agency, Montana, and he did not have an interest in history until college, when a road trip with a professor opened his eyes to Montana’s rich Native American past. From that moment onward, Shane’s curiosity has continued to grow, and he has built his career around making Native American history a cultural mainstay in everything from Montana’s educational system to governmental land management decisions. Whether designing education

Antonia Malchik is a Montana-based writer and essayist, and she’s also the author of the book “A Walking Life: Reclaiming Our Health and Freedom One Step at a Time.”  She has written for publications including The Atlantic and High Country News, she also writes a regular Substack newsletter titled “On the Commons,” which I highly recommend. Antonia thinks deeply about a wide range of topics, including community, conservation, the environment, private property, the West, books, and more. She has a true talent for writing about complex subjects in an engaging, in-depth manner that both educates and challenges the reader. - Antonia grew up in northwest Montana-- her mother was a multigenerational Montanan and her father was a first-generation immigrant from the former Soviet Union. Her family heritage combined with her innate curiosity gave Antonia a unique perspective on the world that informs all of her work. She has lived in Moscow, Vienna, Australia, and other far-flung regions, but she has always been drawn

Nickolas Butler is an award-winning writer and novelist who has published five books, one of which is the wildly popular, award-winning "Shotgun Love Songs." His most recent novel is titled "Godspeed"-- a fast-paced, thriller of a book that is set in and around Jackson Hole, Wyoming. While the novel has all of the components that make for a great story-- action, suspense, wild landscapes, complex characters-- it also touches on many of the challenges facing the modern-day West, including income inequality and rural gentrification. From the first page of "Godspeed," I was hooked, and I stayed up way too late for several nights in a row finishing the book. - For all of Nick’s accomplishments as a novelist, his path to becoming a full-time writer was not an easy one, nor was he an overnight success. He spent many years working a variety of jobs, including as a telemarketer, meatpacker, and Burger King maintenance man. And as you’ll hear him discuss in this conversation, it was during his stint working as a liquo

Nicole Morgenthau is a Utah-based professional photographer whose work depicts the people and places of the American West in a completely unique, one-of-a-kind style. While she has been involved in many aspects of the photography business throughout her career, Nicole may be best known for her portraits of a wide range of western characters-- from cowgirls to mountain men, from professional athletes to mountain-town ski bums. And her creative pursuits don’t stop with photography-- Nicole is also the owner of Sandstone Sky Jewelry, a business in which she makes and curates a variety of stunning jewelry, much of which has its creative roots in Native American culture. - Nicole was born and raised on the east coast, just outside of New York City. As a kid, she loved western movies and dreamed of moving out of the humid New Jersey suburbs and into wide-open, arid landscapes of the American West. After high school, she made the move West for college, first in Colorado and then to Montana State, where she studied p

Adam Gall is a hunting guide and owner of Timber to Table Guide Service, a guiding company focused on helping hunters of all skill levels put wild, healthy, and delicious meat on their tables. Based out of the small town of Hotchkiss on Colorado’s Western Slope, Timber to Table offers multi-day hunts on both public and private lands, offering top-notch instruction on everything from the intricacies of elk hunting to the technical skills needed to properly and efficiently process the meat. Adam is highly regarded by many of my friends and past podcast guests and praised as an outside-the-box thinker, so I’m thrilled to finally have him join me for a conversation. - Adam’s professional background gives him a unique perspective on wildlife, land management, and wild places in the American West-- he worked as a wildland firefighter, a wolf biologist, and a high school science teacher before devoting himself to full-time guiding. He has also been involved in a variety of volunteer initiatives, ranging from leaders

John Branch is a Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist with the New York Times and the author of the brand new book "Sidecountry: Tales of Death and Life from the Back Roads of Sports." He is also the author of "The Last Cowboys: A Pioneer Family in the New West," which is one of my favorite books about the modern-day challenges facing ranching families in the American West. Whether he’s reporting on the historic ascent of the Dawn Wall on Yosemite’s El Capitan, reconstructing a deadly avalanche in the Washington backcountry, or describing the financial realities of the cattle ranching business, John’s has one of the most unique and engaging voices you’ll find anywhere in print. - Growing up in Colorado, John never had serious childhood dreams about a career in writing or journalism. He studied business at CU Boulder and graduated fully focused on pursuing jobs in the business world. But after several years of building a successful career with retail-focused companies, John found himself dreaming of a career as a

Matt Barber and Joel Doub are the owners of Tom Morgan Rodsmiths, one of the West’s most renowned custom fly rod companies.  I was introduced to Matt and Joel nearly three and half years ago and was quickly fascinated by their entrepreneurial journey and Tom Morgan Rodsmiths’ storied history in the fly fishing world. As longtime listeners may remember, I recorded a podcast with Matt and Joel in January of 2018, about a year after they had purchased the company from Tom and Gerri Morgan. In that conversation we talked in depth about the history of the company, Matt and Joel’s unconventional backgrounds, and their plans for the future of TMR-- it was a fun conversation that led to a great friendship between all of us. - But in the more than three years since I published that episode, Tom Morgan Rodsmiths has grown in size and scope, and Matt and Joel have continued to evolve as business owners.  They’ve enjoyed highs that include being featured in the New York Times and steadily growing their sales year over ye

Max Wenerstrom is a blacksmith and craftsman best known for creating hand-forged knives that balance a beautiful aesthetic with practical durability. Max started blacksmithing at the age of 15, became obsessed with the craft, and quickly demonstrated an elite talent for creating one-of-a-kind knives. His passion led him to study under a 17th-generation Japanese bladesmith, who began teaching Max the art of forging knives in the Japanese tradition-- a labor-intensive, time-honored method of creating some of the world’s sharpest and most durable knives. - I was introduced to Max by my friends at Ranchlands, one of the West’s most respected ranch management companies. Max was participating in a residency at Ranchlands’ 87,000-acre Chico Basin Ranch, where he was offering blacksmithing demonstrations and forging a specific model of knife developed in partnership with Ranchlands. It’s a knife created specifically for ranchers-- designed to be used on horseback for everyday work and high-stakes situations. So when

Dr. David Hewitt is the Executive Director of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, an organization widely recognized as the leading wildlife research organization in Texas. The Institute is located on the campus of Texas A&M - Kingsville, and its mission is to provide science-based information for enhancing the conservation and management of Texas wildlife. Dave and his team at the Institute are focused on applied science-- research that is useful, actionable, and tightly focused on helping land managers meet their goals. - Dave was born and raised in Colorado and followed in his grandfather’s footsteps to become a wildlife biologist. After earning his undergraduate degree from Colorado State, his education and research took him to many different corners of the United States, and in 1996 he landed at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute. For the past 25 years, Dave has been fully focused on the flora and fauna of Texas, and many of his projects have positive ripple effects on land man

Marci McLean and Cora Neumann are joining me for another episode of my ongoing series called New West Dispatches. In each New West Dispatch, I break from the normal Mountain & Prairie format of discussing a guest’s personal experiences, influences, and life story, and instead we spend the hour diving deep into a specific, timely issue that is creating challenges in the American West. The goal of these episodes is to offer a clear-eyed examination of a pressing issue, then to highlight the people and ideas that are helping to solve these sometimes-overwhelming problems. These episodes are meant to educate and provide actionable information, while also offering hope and optimism in the face of challenges. - In today’s New West Dispatch, we’ll be discussing COVID’s impact on Native communities in Montana and throughout the American West. Marci and Cora are uniquely qualified to discuss this topic, as they have been on the front lines of Montana’s public health response to the devastating effects of COVID acr

Brendan Leonard is a prolific writer and artist who is best known as the creator of Semi-Rad.com. He’s also the author of a brand new book titled “I Hate Running and You Can Too: How to Get Started, Keep Going, and Make Sense of an Irrational Passion.” The book offers motivation and witty insights into the sometimes-crazy pastime of running. And Brendan knows a thing or two about running irrational distances-- he’s completed multiple 100-mile ultramarathons, ran 52 marathons in 52 weeks, directed the film How to Run 100 Miles, and co-hosts the Off The Couch Podcast, which features interviews with runners of all stripes. - Through his books, filmmaking, and writing on Semi-Rad.com, Brendan offers a unique perspective into the world of outdoor recreation and adventure. Rather than focusing on the mind-blowing feats of super-elite athletes, Brendan’s work highlights the passion and determination of regular people who enjoy pushing themselves hard in the outdoors. Brendan has also perfected the ability to draw la

Mitsu Iwasaki is the CEO of the American Alpine Club (AAC), a historic and storied organization whose mission is to "share and support our passion for climbing and respect for the places we climb." Founded in 1902, the AAC began as a social club for east coast elites who shared a passion for climbing, adventure, and conservation. But over the past 119 years, the AAC has evolved into an open and equitable organization, which provides "knowledge and inspiration, conservation and advocacy, and logistical support for the climbing community." Mitsu took the helm of the AAC in the summer of 2020, ushering in a new phase for the Club's growth and focus. - Mitsu was born in Japan but immigrated to Seattle with his family when he was six years old. In high school, at the urging of his father, Mitsu began spending his summers working on commercial fishing boats in Alaska, experiences that he credits as the genesis of his lifelong pursuit of adventure. He attended college in Washington State at the foot of the Cascade M

Jason Gardner is a father, homesteader, leadership instructor, and regenerative agriculture devotee who lives with his family on a remote property in the mountains of northeastern Washington State. Jason is also a retired Navy SEAL Master Chief who spent nearly thirty years in the SEAL teams and is a recipient of the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart, and numerous other awards. As you’ll hear in our conversation, Jason applies the lessons learned from his years of service toward building a meaningful life for his family in the wilds of Washington-- a life lived with purpose and intention, built on a deep respect for the land. - If Jason sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the husband to Iris Gardner, who was a guest on the podcast just a few weeks ago. Given all of the wisdom that Iris shared regarding parenting and intentional living, and how fondly she spoke of Jason as a father and husband, I thought it would be fun to have Jason join me for a conversation. It was fascinating to hear Jason discu

Kelsey Johnson is a Bozeman-based artist whose work highlights the epic wildlife, people, and landscapes of the American West. Using graphite pencils and oil paints, Kelsey creates stunning, life-like artwork-- works that you would assume were created by a full-time artist with decades of experience. But in reality, Kelsey is new to professional art-- she balances her artistic endeavors with a full-time job, and she actually started her art business only a few years ago, back in 2018. While Kelsey’s artistic career will undoubtedly continue to grow and flourish in the coming years, I am inspired by the commitment and work ethic she exhibits on a daily basis to turn her creative passions into a self-sustaining business. - Growing up in Pennsylvania, Kelsey was always artistic, but she put art aside and earned her undergraduate degree in agricultural business and agronomy. After graduation, she began a career with a large corporation where she sold corn and soybean seeds across the United States. While the job

Iris Gardner is a writer, horse wrangler, mother, and former organic farmer who lives with her family on a homestead in northeastern Washington State. After many years of living and farming in southern California, Iris, her husband Jason, and their two children moved to their current home-- a rural property located close to the Canadian border and more than two hours from the nearest city. As you’ll hear in our conversation, Iris and Jason have chosen to live and raise their children deliberately, with intention, and close to nature-- in a beautiful landscape far removed from many of the so-called conveniences of modern life. - Iris grew up off the grid in rural Washington, in an area so remote that her home did not have electricity. During her childhood, she developed a deep love of reading, horses, and wild landscapes-- all passions that are still of great importance to her and her family today. Iris’s husband Jason is a retired, highly decorated Navy SEAL who shares her devotion to intentional living and p