A New Angle

Eric Sprunk was the commencement speaker at this year's University of Montana graduation ceremony. In today's episode, we track Eric's experience as an accounting student who graduated in from UM in 1986 though to his current position as head of Nike's global operations. It's an amazing story and along the way Eric has developed a powerful and inspiring set of leadership principles. He also has some important ideas about how to conceptualize and seize opportunity. Thanks for listening!

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Jeff Ament was born in Havre and grew up in Big Sandy. His Montana roots and pride run deep and returning to his home state is a big part of what keeps him balanced. Our conversation dug into several key themes about the basis for his gritty work ethic, his creative process, and his commitment to creating opportunity for others. We also explore the magic that has kept Pearl Jam at the top of its game for over 25 years.

Jeff's knew solo album, Heaven/Hell, releases on May 10th. Check it out!

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

Lisa Mills is the creator of the world's first tea certification program. In this episode she tells us about the devastating effects conventional tea farming has on the severely endangered population of Asian elephants. The program she launched - Elephant Friendly Tea - is a fantastic example of the important collaborative, interdisciplinary work happening at the University of Montana. Housed at UM's Broader Impacts Group, the project brings together wildlife biologists, policy makers, economists, and business leaders in an attempt to change culture, industry, and the trajectory of this magnificent species.

To learn more visit: www.elephantfriendlytea.com.

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 we chat with Christopher Preston, Professor of Philosophy at University of Montana. Christopher recently published The Synthetic Age: Outdesigning Evolution, Resurrecting Species, and Reengineering Our World. The central argument of the book is that human beings have fundamentally altered the planet in a manner unprecedented in history. We chat talk about the areas in which this is happening - climate, genetics, artificial intelligence, etc. It's fascinating, horrifying, inspiring, and humbling all at the same time. Christopher makes a compelling case that the world needs philosophy now more than ever.

You can find the book at:

https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/synthetic-age

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 episode features my conversation with Karen Knutsen, Executive Director of the Clark Fork Coalition. Karen's focused and dynamic leadership has lead the coalition to many critical achievements in its work to protect and restore the Clark Fork River watershed. We talk about the mission of the CFC and how she uses that mission as a guide for deciding what the CFC should do and initiatives it should say "no" to.

To learn more about the Clark Fork Coalition, visit www.clarkfork.org

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

In this episode we chat with some of the amazing University of Montana students behind Switchback Records. Switchback Records is an entirely student-run record label operating out of the College of Business’s Entertainment Management Program. On April 13, Switchback will launch its first album Elvis: Missoula to Memphis and this episode we discuss all the work leading up to this achievement. Enjoy!

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Learn how Missoula's Dram Shop went from crazy idea to booming business in this week's conversation with Zach Millar. This interview was done on location, catching Zach as he tuned up the shop for a regular day of business. That makes the sound quality a bit challenging, but we think the content is solid and authentic.

The Dram Shop will be celebrating its 3rd anniversary on Saturday April 7th with cool promotional events happening all day. In conjunction with this, A New Angle is launching our first promotional give-away. Listen to the pod for details!

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Joel Benenson is a premier political strategist and pollster. He's the only Democratic pollster to have played a leading role in 3 winning presidential campaigns. He recently visited University of Montana to speak with our students about the Big Sky Poll project. Joel and I discuss the roll of polling, the problems associated with reporting on poll results, and how some things went wrong (for his candidate) in the 2016 election.

Joel is founder and CEO of The Benenson Strategy Group where he and his team serve as strategist and consultants to heads of state, domestic political leaders at all levels, Fortune 100 CEOs, and leaders of major advocacy and nonprofit institutions.

https://www.bsgco.com/who-we-are/team/joel-benenson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Benenson

http://www.umt.edu/bigskypoll/

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 we feature Michelle Cardinal, CEO and Co-founder of the R2C Group, a digital marketing firm headquartered in Portland, OR. Michelle was recently on campus as this semester's Gilkey Lecture Speaker. She used the opportunity to talk about the power of business to give back and do good. We talk about the important work she and her firm are doing to fight homelessness and we also discuss some interesting ideas on women in the workplace. Thanks for listening!

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

In this episode we connect with "friend of the pod" Mike Foote. Mike is a legendary mountain athlete who competes with the world's best in two sports that few people know about - ultra running and ski-mountaineering. He is the co-founder and race director of The Rut Mountain Runs and sits on the board of the Five Valleys Land Trust. We talk about the creative and innovative spirit he brings to The Rut as well as his deep commitment to protecting public lands. Be sure to listen all the way to the end for some exciting news about a big project Mike is cooking up.

This episode is sponsored by Sapphire Physical Therapy and Consolidated Electrical Distributors.

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