-‘He motors toward Shoshone Canyon and its prehistoric majesty, on what Teddy Roosevelt is said to have called the most beautiful drive in the world. Back home in Hollywood, he dreams about this place. He emerges from a tunnel, the expanse of the Buffalo Bill Reservoir before him. “Now you see,” he says, “why I come back.”’ - John M. Glionna on Gregory Hinton-

Mark Pedri is an expedition-based documentary filmmaker and writer from Southwestern Wyoming where he tells stories from off the beaten path. His character-driven style of storytelling is reminiscent of his equally unique upbringing in Wyoming. Mark founded Burning Torch Productions in 2011 as a nimble production company to focus on character-driven stories from the backcountry and backroads of the world. His films have won awards at international festivals, played on national PBS, and in screening tours around the world. Prior to making films full-time, Mark managed the Episodic Storytelling program at Sundance Institute where he focused on ushering underrepresented artists into the industry by helping them hone their craft and develop their own personal stories. Mark has an MFA in Producing from the University of Southern California and an MA in Communication and Journalism from the University of Wyoming. For his most recent film, "Dear Sirs"he cycled across Germany to retrace the route of his grandfather who was a Prisoner of War in WWII.

"'I know how to research. I know how to tell stories. I don't know what to do with a microphone or audio editing, but I want to learn,' and they hired me, and that's how my journalism career started in 2005. And it was incredible to start and learn there, because I was in a shop where I was surrounded by really talented editors and reporters who taught me a lot about not just how to find stories and how to report, but also, how to do service-driven, mission-driven journalism, which is something I feel really attached to, having come up in public media. I really want my work to be meaningful in people's lives, and to serve a purpose."

Help us welcome Anna Sale to What's Your Why! 

Anna is the creator and host of Death, Sex & Money, the podcast from WNYC Studios about, “The things we think about a lot and need to talk about more.” After debuting at the top of the iTunes chart in 2014, Death, Sex & Money was named the #1 podcast of the year by New York Magazine in 2015. Anna won a Gracie for best podcast host in 2016 and the show won the 2018 Webby and 2021 Ambie for best interview show.

A West Virginia native, Anna graduated from Stanford University with a degree in history. Even before launching Death, Sex & Money, Anna covered politics for nearly a decade, and became a published author. The book? It's called, Let's Talk About Hard Things. She grew up in West Virginia and now lives in Berkeley with her husband and two daughters.

Thank you, Anna!

Robert Martinez was born in Wyoming on the Wind River Reservation in the small city of Riverton. His lineage is Spanish, Mexican, Scotts Irish, French Canadian, and Northern Arapaho. He graduated Riverton High School at 17 at age 19, he became the Youngest Native American to graduate from Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design at that time.

Living among the hard working people of the West and experiencing their issues deeply influences Robert's creations as well as his native heritage. Much of Robert’s current work uses the historical imagery, myths and stories of the West and Arapaho Culture combined with modern themes to create images that leave a statement. Using intense vibrant color and contrasting shades of light and dark, he paints and draws striking forms that are confronting and engage the viewer.

A strong supporter of Education and of the Arts, Robert devotes time to helping and mentoring emerging artists on his reservation in Wyoming and the western region. He gives back to the community by speaking about art topics, giving workshops, and demonstrates his style to schools, agencies and art groups.

Thank you for your time Robert! Check out his website here.

Darla Worden is editor in chief of Mountain Living magazine and founder/director of the Left Bank Writers Retreat in Paris. A Wyoming native and life-long Ernest Hemingway fan, Worden discovered that the author spent summers from 1928 to 1939 in her home state. Her book, Cockeyed Crazy: Hemingway's Wyoming Summers With Pauline, shows Wyoming as an influential place in Hemingway’s life just as Paris, Africa, Cuba, Key West and Sun Valley have anchored past works.And it casts his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, in a new light, as devoted stepmother, mother and wife playing a major role in Hemingway’s life and work. 

 “I am a product and lifelong resident of Alabama. I was born in Fairfield, Alabama to a father who worked for U.S. Steel and a stay-at-home mom. One of my grandfathers was a steelworker and the other a coal miner. I, too, spent some time working a union job in the steel mill. My parents and grandparents forged my respect for those who work to feed a family while trying to make their childrens’ lives better.” Doug Jones

Douglas Jones is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as a United States Senator from 2018 to 2021. A Democrat, he was the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama from 1997 to 2001.

Jones was born in Fairfield, Alabama, and after law school, he worked as a congressional staffer and federal prosecutor.

In 1997, President Bill Clinton  appointed Jones as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. Jones' most prominent cases were the successful prosecution of two Ku Klux Klan members for the 1963 Birmingham church bombing that killed four African-American girls, and the indictment of domestic terrorist Eric Rudolph. He returned to private practice at the conclusion of Clinton's presidency in 2001.

“We reopened a three-decade-old case that had been the most tarnishing crime in Alabama in the 20th century – the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. The Klan used dynamite to kill four little girls and three of the four killers had escaped justice for over 35 years. Thanks to an incredibly dedicated team of prosecutors, investigators and staff we convicted two former Klansmen for the murder of those four innocent children. Justice may have been delayed, but it was certainly not denied.” Doug Jones

Jerry Enzler might just be the best living expert on the famous mountain man, Jim Bridger, and his exploits as a trapper and explorer. Today, we become experts of the expert, as Jerry takes us through his early life and onward to the eventual obsession with the famed adventurer. Thank you for your time, Jerry!

Jerry also served as founding director of the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium for thirty-seven years. He has written and curated national exhibitions and films and has published historical articles on Jim Bridger, river history, and other topics.