Facing West

2020 will be known as a devastating year. More than 300,000 people in America died due to complications from the novel coronavirus. But it was the single death of a black man in Minneapolis that sparked nationwide protests against systemic racism and police brutality.

Reporter Nate Hegyi listened to a lot of people in the rural West during his nearly 800-mile bicycle ride along the continental divide. And he heard a few things… over and over again… that gave him pause. Facts… that weren't facts.

There's a dominant culture in the rural Mountain West. Reporter Nate Hegyi explores who fits in... and who doesn't.

Growth and change are two constants in the American West. At least they have been for the past two centuries. Ever since White settlers and the U.S. government grabbed this land from Indigenous tribes. And today, as our region undergoes yet another transformation, some are digging in their heels. Others see opportunity.

In this first episode, the word "divide" is front and center. Journalist Nate Hegyi meets rural Westerners worried that America is headed towards a second Civil War.

A new podcast about the ever-changing face of the Mountain West. In our first season we're looking at America's Great Divide. I'm reporter Nate Hegyi with the Mountain West News Bureau.