A New Angle

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 teenager, and the values of fair and civil discourse that underlie his future ambitions.

Transcript available here.

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 meteorology, motoring and metalworking.

Transcript available here.

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 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 his enthusiasm for emerging technologies like cryptocurrency and AI.

Transcript available here.

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 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 American society.

Full transcript available here.

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 history of looking at African American religious traditions through a racialized lens, and her take on the public scrutiny that elite institutions of higher education are currently facing.

A transcript of the conversation is available here.

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 innovation and passion.

In this episode, Justin speaks with Victoria, Remy, Josie, and Anders about what it's like to be a young person confronting our challenging climate realities, the inspiration they've taken from the Held v. Montana court case, and their outraged optimism for the future.

Transcript available here.

Learn more about The Green Initiative.

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 tell these stories about Glacier National Park, and how increased visitation has changed the way information is conveyed to visitors. Justin asks Peri & Kyle about their favorite park stories.

Transcript available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10oq9GoBGnvc6CUVzA5ZA27pepegEyoORUt5st9zF0OI/edit?usp=sharing

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 broadcast from Missoula weekday evenings.

In this episode Justin and Maritsa talk about her family ties to TV reporting in Montana,  her experience covering the pandemic and the Scripps News business model. Justin asks Maritsa what her thoughts are on the state of journalism.

Transcript available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1maGNDvgYq3BA9z-DmUPghCLY60gO1KZFUGZ9HuW5Oj0/edit?usp=sharing