Outlaw Beat

By Joe Borden & Michelle Veale BordenComedy

Outlaw Beat episodes

August 30 Remembering Andrea Eastman (1940-2026)
A sad look back at a special conversation.
Our friend Andrea Eastman passed away August 26 and we wanted to remember her in her own distinctive words. Andrea was a legendary casting director (The Godfather, Love Story) and longtime Gallatin Valley local.
Health issues ultimately forced her to leave her beloved home in the Patterson Ranch area of Bozeman and return to sunny Southern California.
Enjoy this all-too-short chat with her from May 2023 and, if you’re so inclined, order her children's book (based on her true story) "Trooper at the Beverly Hills Hotel" here:
https://a.co/d/dDUr0Iu
Andrea Eastman’s obituary: https://www.explorebigsky.com/obituary-andrea-eastman/173667

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32 min
August 27 The “Roadless Rule” Repeal - Scott Christensen, Greater Yellowstone Coalition
The USDA has proposed repealing the 2001 Roadless Rule — the policy that's kept roads, logging and mining out of 45 million acres of national forest for 25 years. Nearly 10 million of those acres are in Montana and Wyoming.
The public comment period closes September 21, 2026. Thirty days. No public meetings. For comparison: the original rule took years, 600 public hearings and 1.6 million comments.
Greater Yellowstone Coalition Executive Director Scott Christensen joins us to explain what's actually in the proposal, what the government admits in its own filing, and what a public comment does when everyone assumes the outcome is already decided.
Then we play Best Damn Comment Period — Scott grades quality public comments against, let's say, less effective alternatives.
Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/roadless
Learn more here: GreaterYellowstone.org/
Direct link to make your comment (by 11:59pm on September 21, 2026):
https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FS-2025-0001-223869
What makes a comment count: name a specific place you use, describe how this would affect you, and make a concrete ask. Scott's biggest one in this episode: the proposal contains almost nothing analyzing impacts to wildlife, drinking water or backcountry recreation. Ask for that analysis.
Note: comments are part of the public record — your name and comment become publicly viewable.

And take advantage of the first climate-controlled storage opportunity in Big Sky! BigSkyStorage.com/
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48 min
August 20 Lone Peak Film Festival 2026: Why This Big Sky Festival Flies Out Every Filmmaker | Daniel Glick & Dr. Shane Doyle
The second annual Lone Peak Film Festival hits the Waypoint Theater in Big Sky, Montana, September 17–20, 2026 — and this year it's four days instead of three, with 20 films and a teepee in the park.
Outlaw Beat sits down with Emmy-winning filmmaker and festival director Daniel Glick and Dr. Shane Doyle — Apsáalooke scholar, educator, singer, and new LPFF board member.
Daniel explains why Lone Peak flies out a filmmaker for every single film and refuses to stop. He gets into Bring Them Home, his Lily Gladstone–narrated documentary about returning wild buffalo to Blackfeet land, and the seven-years-in-progress feature he's making with his wife about whether cultures built on care instead of domination are actually possible.
Dr. Doyle talks about growing up in Crow Agency with two generations of boarding schools between him and his own history — and the moment at MSU when he found out Native American Studies existed at all. He explains why Big Sky was a thoroughfare rather than a settlement, unpacks the Hidatsa roots of the name Sacagawea, and walks through the Anzick child: a 12,600-year-old burial discovered by accident near Bozeman in 1968, and what its DNA did and didn't settle.
Then we play No Spoilers — Daniel has to sell four films from this year's slate without giving too much away.
Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/lpff26
Tickets and full lineup: LonePeakFilmFestival.com

And enjoy the Vintner Series August 28 at One & Only Moonlight Basin’s Wildwood Restaurant: oneandonlyresorts.com/moonlight-basin/dining/wildwood

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42 min
August 06 Taco & Caden Dowler on Montana State's National Title, the Transfer Portal, and “the Stick Incident”
Taco and Caden Dowler are twin brothers from Billings who became the faces of Montana State's first national championship in 41 years — Taco caught the title-tying touchdown in overtime, Caden won Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year.
They sat down with Outlaw Beat to break down the final fourth-down play snap by snap, explain why they turned down transfer portal money to stay in Montana, and settle a few things about growing up as each other's toughest competition.
Plus: the family bloodline that runs through the first Super Bowl, the Taco Dowler Youth Foundation's Backpack to Belong program, and a game of Bobcats Back to Back presented by Stay Montana.
Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/dowlertwins
Learn more about and support the Taco Dowler Youth Foundation: TacoDowlerYouthFoundation.org
Come see the Dowlers play this fall: MSUbobcats.com
Support Bobcat football by joining the Bobcat Collective: BobcatCollective.com

And visit StayMontana.com to book your next Big Sky vacation

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37 min
July 29 Jamie McLean & Willie McMillon on Wildlands 2026, the First-Ever Free Family Jam, and the Worst Gigs of their Lives
Two very different musicians, one festival weekend under Lone Peak. Jamie McLean — former guitarist for New Orleans' legendary Dirty Dozen Brass Band, with stages from Madison Square Garden to Japan's Fuji Rock — plays Wildlands Music Festival on Saturday, August 1 alongside Carrie Underwood and Kaitlin Butts, plus a free solo acoustic set at the first-ever Wildlands Family Jam that morning. Willie McMillon of Fader Magavin & the Risky Livers brings underground basement warehouse country from Jackson, Wyoming to Friday night's bill with Riley Green and LeAnn Rimes — and explains why his band keeps writing checks to a festival they're already losing money to play.
Jamie comments on being drafted into the Dirty Dozen without a single rehearsal, what Taj Mahal told his tour manager, and why streaming royalties don't fill a gas tank. Willie speaks to the artist donation he started as a dare to richer bands, the tour bus sticker incident that nearly got him uninvited, and the night his drummer set him on fire with a bottle of 151.
Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/jamiemclean
WILDLANDS MUSIC FESTIVAL 2026
July 31 – August 1, Big Sky Events Arena
Tickets and full lineup: wildlandsmusic.com
Wildlands Family Jam — Saturday, Aug. 1, 10 a.m.–12 p.m., Big Sky Events Arena VIP Tent. Free, no tickets, all ages. Pancake breakfast, face painting, balloon animals. Papa Strings with special guest Jamie McLean.
JAMIE McLEAN BAND
Latest album One Step Forward — featured track "Summer of Who Knows When"
[JamieMcleanBand.com / Spotify / IG — @jamiemcleanband]
FADER MAGAVIN & THE RISKY LIVERS
New album Troubled Blud, out now on all major streaming platforms
FaderMagavin.com
[Spotify / Instagram — @riskylivers]
CHAPTERS
00:00 Roots rock dude
00:52 How the Jamie McLean Band got its name
02:19 The free Wildlands Family Jam (and the pancake bribe)
03:56 Why Saturday morning is solo acoustic
04:47 The Taj Mahal bus does not leave without Taj Mahal
06:05 Six years in the Dirty Dozen, zero rehearsals
08:15 How bands actually make money now
10:38 What happens when weather cancels a show
12:40 Of Monsters and Men, incognito at Pine Creek Lodge
13:32 Fly fishing, coffee, and Montana off-days
14:19 Tales From the Tour Bus: Jamie
20:01 "Summer of Who Knows When"
21:02 Willie McMillon and the rise of warehouse country
22:13 Two years, one new album: Troubled Blud
23:01 The artist donation that started a trend
24:10 The tour bus sticker incident
25:50 Why protecting Montana land is worth the money
27:36 Tales From the Tour Bus: Willie
31:03 Outro
#WildlandsMusicFestival #BigSkyMontana #JamieMcLean #FaderMagavin #OutlawBeat

And visit Crossbow Hatmakers in Bozeman to get fitted for a hat that's as tough and one-of-a-kind as Big Sky country. ShopCrossbow.com
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34 min
July 23 The Guitar Fighting to Save a Forest - Rick Bass on the Yaak Valley’s Last Hope
Rick Bass — petroleum geologist turned Montana Project director — explains how a 315-year-old spruce, felled during a Forest Service clearcut in Montana's Yaak Valley, became the Black Ram Guitar.
Jeff Bridges heard it once and commissioned six more. Now it's touring with a busload of MFA students trying to get the Black Ram region of the Yaak designated as America's first Climate Refuge. We talk old-growth forests, grizzly habitat, the politics behind a proposed 800-acre clearcut, and whether a guitar can actually stop a chainsaw.
Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/rickbass
Buy a ticket to the Black Ram Guitar Festival this October 2 in Bozeman, MT at The Ellen Theatre: BlackRamGuitarFest.org
Follow the students’ progress on their journey: GreenCurtainRoadShow.org
Check out this story about Rick and the Yaak in Mountain Outlaw: https://www.mtoutlaw.com/songs-from-a-climate-refuge/

And head to the Big Sky Events Arena for the free Wildlands Family Jam Saturday Aug. 1, from 10am to 12pm!

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Our barn at EBS: https://www.explorebigsky.com/outlaw-podcasts

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28 min
July 16 Meteorologist Mike Heard - What’s in his Forecast after 38 Years in Local News
For 38 years, Mike Heard was the most trusted voice in southwest Montana weather — chief meteorologist for KBZK and KXLF, the forecast an entire region planned its week around. In June 2026, his position was eliminated in a statewide downsizing. He didn't see it coming: "0% chance," in his words.
Mike joins Outlaw Beat to talk about growing up in Butte, getting hired with zero TV experience, and why forecasting Bozeman is so hard (southwest Montana is a radar desert). We cover the super El Niño threatening this ski season, why there's been no snow on Christmas in Bozeman, what a microburst actually is, and Mike’s brutally honest forecast for the future of local television. Plus, he plays along in "Cloudy with a Chance of BS," where he rates your favorite weather folklore — and a science teacher finally stumps him.
Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/mikeheard
Follow Mike's new venture, Heard's First Forecast, for hyper-local southwest Montana weather here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61590004850751
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15587640/join

And treat your feet to handcrafted, made-in-Texas leather boots at downtown Bozeman’s Lucchese. lucchese.com

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36 min
July 09 Epilepsy Foundation & Making Montana Schools Seizure Safe
What does a seizure actually look like? What do you do when one happens in front of you? And why is Montana one of the states still without a law requiring teachers to know the answer to that question?
On this episode of Outlaw Beat, we sit down with Jessica Veach — Regional Executive Director of the Epilepsy Foundation covering Montana, Nevada, and Utah — and Dr. Karla Mora Rodriguez, neurologist with Billings Clinic, to talk about one of the most common neurological conditions most people know almost nothing about.
Nearly 11,000 Montanans are living with epilepsy. 1 in 10 people will have a seizure in their lifetime. And a free, one-hour, on-demand training exists that could prepare every teacher and school employee to respond — but Montana has yet to make it law.
Big Sky PBR is going purple in support of epilepsy awareness Thursday July 16. If this episode moves you, contact your Montana state legislator and ask them to support the Seizure Safe Schools bill when it hits the floor in February.
Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/epilepsyfoundation
Learn more and support the Epilepsy Foundation: Epilepsy.com
Resources:
📞 24/7 Helpline: 1-800-332-1000
📲 @epilepsymontana
🏥 Billings Clinic Neurosciences: 406-238-2410
Tags/Keywords: epilepsy Montana, seizure first aid, Seizure Safe Schools, Epilepsy Foundation Montana, Big Sky PBR, what to do during a seizure, ketogenic diet epilepsy, SUDEP, Billings Clinic neurology, Montana health, epilepsy awareness, purple day epilepsy

And plan your next trip to the Crown Jewel of the National Park System with Explore Yellowstone! ExploreYellowstone.com

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32 min
July 02 Ornithologist Jeff Marks: The Guy Who Wrote the Book on Montana Birds
Meet Jeff Marks, senior author of “Birds of Montana” - the first comprehensive state bird reference since 1921. Jeff is the executive director of the Montana Bird Advocacy, a former editor of The Auk, and has spent decades studying everything from Long-eared Owls to Bristle-thighed Curlews in the Pacific.
We met Jeff in Grant, Montana to talk about the best places to birdwatch in the state, the worst bird in Montana (his answer might surprise you), how birds can literally see Earth's magnetic field, the controversial ethics of using bird call playback apps like Merlin Bird ID, and we play a rapid-fire birding etiquette game to find out what's actually frowned upon in the field.
Topics covered: the most underrated birding spots in Montana, why grassland birds are in trouble, the strange science behind bird migration, magpie funerals, and what it's like being the gatekeeper of the official Montana bird records list.
Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/jeffmarks
Support Jeff's nonprofit: MontanaBirdAdvocacy.org
This episode is sponsored by Vim & Vigr, Montana-born compression socks. A portion of proceeds from their limited edition Wildlands Music sock goes to this year's festival beneficiary. Find them at VIMVIGR.com.
Follow us on instagram: @outlawbeatpodcast
Our barn at EBS: https://www.explorebigsky.com/outlaw-podcasts

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44 min
June 11 Building Montana with SWMBIA - Bozeman Housing, Trades Training & the Future of Work
We’re talking home building and AI-proof trades for Gen Z with President of Southwest Montana Building Industry Association slash owner of Rivers Landscaping Riley Rivers and Career Outreach Coordinator for Bozeman and Gallatin High Schools Karl Schwartz, architect of the new Bozeman Construction Academy.
Riley breaks down the real inputs driving building costs in the Gallatin Valley: materials, labor, land, fuel, permit delays, government regulation, and the cost of holding land while projects wait for approval. Karl explains how the Construction Academy gives high school students hands-on trades experience, college credit through Gallatin College, and job-site readiness before they graduate.
They also get into why construction careers are much broader than “swinging a hammer,” why AI is not about to install sprinkler lines on a Big Sky hillside, and how private industry support helped launch a public-school trades program. Then Joe makes Riley and Karl play a deeply unserious but weirdly educational price-per-square-foot guessing game featuring storage units, Bozeman homes, Costco, Yellowstone Club, coffee shacks, the Las Vegas Sphere, and the International Space Station.
Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/swmbia
Join SWMBIA: SWMBIA.org
Support the Construction Academy: BozemanConstructionAcademy.org

And get your Big Sky Community Rodeo tickets here: BigSkyPBR.com

Follow us on instagram: @outlawbeatpodcast
Our barn at EBS: https://www.explorebigsky.com/outlaw-podcasts

Help us corral more listeners like yourself by subscribing and then reviewing us wherever you get your podcasts.
Still need more links? Okay here's one more. https://www.hoarymarmot.net/
39 min