Jake Bullinger is a Wyoming native, freelance journalist and new father who covers the politics, culture, economy and environment of the West. In "Sowing Possibility: Episode 2" host Megan Torgerson and Jake discuss red state-blue state binaries, the history of mobility in the west and the potential for climate resilience in resource economies.

Following Reframing Rural's interview with Red Ants Pants Founder, Sarah Calhoun, Megan Torgerson heads to Red Ants Pants Music Festival in White Sulphur Springs, Montana where she records powerful performances and speaks with musicians, festival attendees and Red Ants Pants Foundation timber skills workshop facilitators.

Sarah Calhoun has long been venerated as a champion of rural causes in Montana and beyond. In the first episode of our Sowing Possibility series, Calhoun explores how her childhood in rural New Brunswick and New England informed her decision to move to the small agricultural town of White Sulphur Springs, Montana. She'll share exciting plans for the future of the Red Ants Pants Foundation and key takeaways on rural resiliency she's gleaned from her years running the Red Ants Pants workwear company and Red Ants Pants Music Festival.

In the final episode of Reframing Rural's inaugural season, founder Megan Torgerson recounts her experience leaving rural Montana to attend college in Missoula, her journey encountering and dismantling rural stereotypes, and why she is working to reframe the narrative on rural America. Offering a glimpse into Megan's childhood, this narrated essay explores how her rural roots informs her work today.

Looking for another podcast set in the American West that weaves family stories, personal inquiry and cultural analysis to uncover issues affecting beloved rural places? Look no further than The Modern West's Ghost Town(ing) series! In this episode you'll hear from host Melodie Edwards who will transport you to Walden, Colorado where she interviews her parents about their enduring love for their small town and what compels them to stay.

This special Mother's Day episode features Kay Brinkman and Renny Torgerson two old friends and rural Montana farm women who have lived in the Scandinavian farming community of Dagmar, since the 1970s. From braving a whiteout with a herd of cattle, to teaching in a two-room school house, these matriarchs are an example of the integral role women play in small towns and rural communities across the country.

The Torgersons have farmed for as far back as the family has record of, at least the 1500s, but likely much longer. Beginning with the onset of industrialization, this episode tracks the story of a family who left Norway for the promise of a better life in America nearly 150 years ago, and how this family continues to preserve its farming legacy in Northeastern Montana despite a dwindling population, unpredictable weather and an unfavorable commodity market.

Ralph Summers is a mailman, bus driver, taxidermist and preacher living in Dagmar, Montana. In this episode, we explore the history of rural mail delivery, the value of neighbors, and what it means to have faith.

Eddie Hentges grew up and later taught history on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Northeast Montana. A descendant of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, he discusses the politics behind looking Native, the history of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes and how he approaches teaching U.S. high school history through a multicultural and decolonial lens.