A New Angle

This week is the first edition of The Ripple Effect, a quarterly series in which Justin speaks with grantees of the Headwaters Foundation. Today’s guest is Alice Boyer, executive director of Forward Montana, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building political power for young people. Alice has held a variety of leadership positions in her young career, all focused on getting more people engaged in our democracy.In this episode, Alice talks about how she got involved in political engagement and her path to Forward Montana. She describes different barriers youth have to political participation but emphasizes Forward Montana’s initiatives to connect young people and reiterates that young people do care about politics. And, she answers Justin’s new closing question: When is the last time you changed your mind?

This week’s guest is Bobby Hauck, who recently retired after his second long tenure as head football coach at the University of Montana. Justin was interested in Coach Hauck’s thoughts on the state of collegiate athletics and football in particular. After his retirement from UM, Coach Hauck was named defensive coordinator at the University of Illinois.In this episode, Coach Hauck talks about his decision to leave UM and reflects on the good and less good parts of the job. Justin and Coach Hauck talk about the changing landscape of college football, but Coach Hauck maintains that college football isn’t going anywhere.

This week is the 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.Justin has been asking guests a new closing question this year, “When was the last time you changed your mind?” Research on updating one’s beliefs is strong an…

In the spirit of ANA’s new tagline: “How we’re doing and where we’re going,” this week Justin speaks with Cascade County Commissioner Joe Briggs and Missoula County Commissioner Josh Slotnick. Though these two come from different political parties, they came together to work on improving Montana’s tax system. This collaboration shows us that cooperation across party lines is not only possible, but perhaps critical to our future.In this episode, Josh and Joe discuss how their partnership began and the challenges they faced getting buy-in from other political leaders. The two talk about the role of a county commissioner and their ideas on how to bridge the divide of partisan politics, something they both think is heavily influenced by social media and national politics.

It’s time once again to check in with A New Angle’s Chief Legal Correspondents Craig Cowie and Constance Van Kley, law professors at the University of Montana. 2026 is sure to bring many consequential legal developments, and Constance and Craig will help us try to make sense of what to expect.In this conversation Justin, Craig and Constance talk about the changing power of the executive and the rise of the unitary executive theory. They discuss the shadow docket and the tendency for courts in this administration to expedite processes, making the path to decisions less clear. Craig and Constance consider the topics they have in focus for the remainder of this year.

This week’s guests are Logan and Jordan Lefler. Together, these brothers are making “Journey to the Sun,” a documentary film about Glacier National Park’s Going To The Sun Road. This film not only tells the history, but peers into the future at the many challenges facing this iconic piece of Montana.In this conversation, the brothers talk about their early filmmaking, which included making clips of them skateboarding as teenagers. Logan and Jordan discuss what it took to originally make the Going To The Sun Road and their goal of incorporating Indigenous perspectives into the film to highlight the historical and cultural significance of the area.

This week 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.

A New Angle is excited to announce a new partnership with the Headwaters Foundation. To talk about this and other new stuff, Bryce and Justin are joined by Headwaters CEO, Carly Hare.

In this conversation, Carly shares Headwaters’ mission and how the foundation supports nonprofits working with families most impacted by health challenges to build leadership and have a real say in the decisions that affect their lives. Justin explains A New Angle’s new tagline: a show about how we’re doing, and where we’re going.

Also in this episode, Justin debuts a new segment for subscribers-only called The Parent Trap. Justin and Bryce will use this segment to commiserate on some of their misadventures in parenting. This week, it’s free for everyone.

This week’s guest is Trevor Brown, post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Economy and Society at Johns Hopkins University. Trevor is the co-author of an important new book, Rural Versus Urban: The Growing Divide That Threatens Democracy. Many of the dynamics reported in this book are unfolding here in Montana.

In this conversation, Trevor talks about how rural and urban areas have become increasingly polarized, and discusses the economic factors and messaging strategies that have led to that divide. Trevor talks about the dangers of this divide, but also brings up some solutions.

This week’s guests are Marcus Welnel and Parker Fleming. Marcus played football for the Griz and now serves as chief revenue officer for Grizzly Athletics. Parker has a PhD in economics and works with the universities on how to set player salaries.

In this conversation, the three talk about the changing landscape of collegiate athletics, particularly the impact of name, image and likeness on the ability for student-athletes to earn income. They also discuss the changing landscape of playing sports for the value of camaraderie and institutional pride or for more lucrative offers.

This week’s guest is Dr. Alex Metcalf, associate professor at the University of Montana’s Franke College of Forestry and Conservation. Alex is a social scientist who studies how people make decisions in a wide variety of conservation domains. Alex and Justin collaborate on a variety of projects, including a just released study on the interaction between politics and our attitudes towards wolves.

In this conversation, Alex and Justin talk about how political identity can contribute to the polarization around people’s attitudes towards wolves and discuss how identity-based assumptions can drive division, but also how that can be corrected to bring people back together.