A New Angle

This week is the August 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. This week, Bryce takes on the role of host to talk with Justin and Nick Mott about their brand new book, This is Wildfire: How to Protect Yourself, Your Home, and Your Community in the Age of Heat.

Justin and Nick share their earliest experiences with wildfire and how their perceptions and understanding have changed since then. Bryce asks what the co-authors want the individual reader to take away from the book and also what our broader responsibility is to engage with policy makers on the subject of wildfire.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OzrVUhEGaaeIzXgGku8kTgMEoDmNlog9LsstYfQfhBs/edit?usp=sharing

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

This week's guest is Colin Hickey, senior vice-president of operations at VidCon - a conference that brings together up to 75,000 online creators each year. Colin is a Montana entrepreneur and community leader and has grown the VidCon program across the globe.

In this episode, Colin tells the story of how he got involved with VidCon and its rapid growth over the course of a few short years. Justin asks Colin a series of lightening round questions about streaming media, regulation in big tech, content abundance and more.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V8_fK8lOcOULnoZrOVJhmZnmWN-5v69PBn8sUsA3Yb8/edit?usp=sharing

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

This week's guest is Jeff Batton, a principal at HomeStake, a fund that pursues a variety of business models, all designed around connecting more local investors with more local companies.

In this episode, Justin and Jeff talk about the trend towards consolidation in business and some solutions HomeStake is pursuing to avoid the problems created by continuous consolidation, how investors can rethink how they invest in order to support the biodiversity of their local business ecosystem, and how you can contribute to a healthy local economy even as an everyday consumer.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JimYxknJ-1I8NGKed-hnKmTAztcaQqjH1nKOqOYEFiw/edit?usp=sharing

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

This week's guest is Dr. Pardis Mahdavi, an Iranian-American professor, administrator, outgoing provost at the University of Montana, and the newly named president of the University of La Verne. Pardis is the author of multiple books and served in leadership roles in several prominent universities.

In this episode Justin asks Pardis about her path into academia, what changes to the University of Montana and higher ed more broadly she would like to see and her goals for the new role as president of the University of La Verne.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WXbFyw5yg9sg_R4VSGkiiIzlUCNT2oY_xIyGWXp1t5U/edit?usp=sharing

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

This week's guest is Dr. Jay Erickson, a family medicine doctor in the Flathead Valley and assistant clinical dean of the University of Washington's WWAMI Program, a residency track for doctors to practice in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.

In this episode Justin and Dr. Erickson discuss the challenges and opportunities in rural health care, how the WWAMI program provides access to publicly funded medical education for the residents of Montana and how to recruit more young people into the practice of rural medicine.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YgovokKr6-U5tMM3m5x_M7ofBuQZdbVrlSAE4X83z-k/edit?usp=sharing

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

This week's guest is journalist Sally Mauk, senior news analyst and news director emerita at Montana Public Radio. Sally has covered Montana politics and other topics for over 30 years and is the host of MTPR's Capitol Talk.

In this episode Sally talks about the factors that brought her to journalism, her perspective on the 2023 Montana Legislative session and the future of political coverage in Montana. Justin asks Sally about friend and colleague Chuck Johnson, and about her current objectives now that she has semi-retired.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HRVBLQ1smR9DBJCgeXqKEyuFzJ6y_g0Uz6P_yUJOKqg/edit?usp=sharing

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

This week is the July 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. This week the two discuss some of the more encouraging signals in the economy.

They cover declines in violent crime, inflation and increases in labor force participation rates over the last year or so. Justin and Bryce also dig into a recent study which found people across the world tend to believe things used to be better in the past and discuss why this might be and why that idea isn't actually accurate.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KeXOkMce66kq4VSpa_fl8XQIQ8WNKWlTAjh1mV06Mdg/edit?usp=sharing

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

This week Justin returns to his conversation with Emmy Award winning production designer and art director John Shaffner about his career designing some of the most iconic sets in television, including Friends and Two and a Half Men.

In part two of this two-part episode, they discuss the transition from network television to today's streaming services, the inner-workings of license deals and why the number of sitcoms produced each year continues to decline. Justin asks John about his connection to the University of Montana and continued dedication to the college.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Lf61TK02ugiUAY1TUf0pRJHU2lwtwrLstWVJKm-Nisg/edit?usp=sharing

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

This week Justin talks with Emmy Award winning production designer and art director John Shaffner about his career designing some of the most iconic sets in television, including Friends and Two and a Half Men.

In part one this two-part episode, they discuss Shaffner's path into production design, how screen technology has evolved to shape the industry and most importantly, how did the cast of Friends afford to live in such a big apartment in New York City? Stay tuned for part two of this conversation next week.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Um2Op_Xmgp0Jm0ZkgbMO7oLLEhHNn4WQjhCBtIZqGyg/edit?usp=sharing

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

This week's guests are legendary Missoula-based musicians, Jeff Ament and John Wicks, who have collaborated to form the band Deaf Charlie. Their first full length album, Catastrophic Metamorphic, recently released on June 30th.

In this episode they talk with Justin about the Deaf Charlie origin story and how the two musicians have yet to play together in a studio. They cover the challenges and opportunities of fostering creativity and collaboration with the only rule is, there are no rules. Justin asks about their upcoming show at the Ohana Festival and the decision to produce the album on vinyl.

Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h9ZoXhanDu7m-rgl3MiF_ZqhawJgUDHifm5k_jsnNnI/edit?usp=sharing

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