Darcy Chenoweth – Helping the Helpers
Darcy Chenoweth is a Montana-based Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner whose career sits at the intersection of medicine, trauma recovery, and the outdoor world. Darcy works with individuals and organizations—especially those in high-stress helping professions such as first responders, healthcare workers, and other frontline roles—to address burnout, trauma exposure, and the long-term impacts of stress. …
Stella Maria Baer – Moons, Horses, and New Mexico Light
Stella Maria Baer is a Santa Fe–based painter whose work is deeply rooted in land, light, and place. Known for her luminous depictions of moons, desert skies, horses, and wide-open Southwestern landscapes, Stella often makes her own pigments by hand—grinding rocks, dirt, and minerals into paint that quite literally contains the places she portrays. In …
A Joint Episode with The River Radius Podcast, featuring Sam Carter
Today’s conversation is a joint episode between Mountain & Prairie and The River Radius podcast. I’m joined by Sam Carter, the creator and host of The River Radius. If you’re not already familiar with The River Radius, I give it my highest endorsement. It’s the most thoughtful and well-crafted show out there about rivers, water, …
Kelsey Morris Returns – Going All In on Art
My guest today is Kelsey Morris, and this is her second time on the podcast—which feels long-overdue, because a lot has happened since we last talked. When Kelsey first joined me nearly five years ago, she was balancing a full-time job while building her art career on the side. Shortly after that conversation, she did …
Ed’s Appearance on “My Favorite Things”
Today’s episode is a bit of a departure from the usual format: I’m re-sharing a recent conversation I had on my friend Brendan Leonard’s new podcast, My Favorite Things. I’m sure most of yall are already familiar with Brendan’s work, but for those of you who aren’t, he’s an author, illustrator, filmmaker, and creator of …
Bex Frucht — Story Wrangler! Vibe Steward! One of a Kind!
Bex Frucht is a force of nature—a storyteller and community builder whose work blends performance, land, and small-town life in the American West. Based in Livingston, Montana, she’s the founder of TMI Live, a storytelling series that celebrates vulnerability, humor, and human connection, and for the past three years, she’s been the “vibe steward” of …
Helen Rebanks – “The Farmer’s Wife” – Live at the Old Salt Festival
This conversation with Helen Rebanks was recorded live and on stage at the 2025 Old Salt Festival, held on the Mannix Family Ranch in Helmville, Montana. If you were there, you know how special the moment was. If you weren’t—well, I’m glad you’re here now. Even though we were on a stage, in front of …
Brendan Leonard Returns – On Writing, Teaching, and Staying Weird
Brendan Leonard is back for his third appearance on the podcast—this time recorded in person at his house in Missoula. Brendan’s the creative mind behind Semi-Rad, and over the years, he’s become a good friend and one of my most trusted advisors when it comes to creativity and building a life around the things you …
Cassidy Randall – The Untold Story of Denali’s First All-Women’s Ascent
Cassidy Randall is a journalist and author whose work explores the intersections of adventure, history, and the natural world. Her new book, Thirty Below: The Harrowing and Heroic Story of the First All-Women’s Ascent of Denali, tells the gripping true story of six women who, in 1970, became the first all-female team to summit North …
Cody Wellema – After the Fire, Before What’s Next
Cody Wellema is a master hatmaker and the founder of Wellema Hat Co., a highly regarded, California-based custom hat business. For over a decade, Cody built a reputation as one of the country’s premier craftspeople in the art of traditional hatmaking, creating heirloom-quality hats by hand, using vintage tools and techniques that harken back to …
Elliot Ross: Where Landscape, Justice, and Storytelling Meet
Elliot Ross is a photographer and writer whose work focuses on the intersection of landscape, identity, and justice in the American West. His images have appeared in Time, National Geographic, and The New York Times, and he’s known for deeply researched, long-term projects that combine striking visual storytelling with a journalist’s rigor. Whether he’s documenting …
David Cronenwett – Lessons from Jiu-Jitsu, On and Off the Mats
David Cronenwett is the owner of Helena Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and a third-degree black belt under American Jiu-Jitsu legend Rafael Lovato Jr. David started his Jiu-Jitsu journey in Seattle in 1996, back when finding a place to train was like stumbling upon a secret society. Over the years, he’s not only refined his own game …
Ivan McClellan Returns – From Behind the Lens to Center of the Arena
Ivan McClellan is a photographer, writer, and storyteller who’s shining a light on Black cowboy culture in a way that’s never been done before. When we first talked back in 2020, Ivan was in the early stages of immersing himself in this world—capturing rodeos, meeting cowboys, and telling stories that had largely been overlooked. Now, …
Nicole Qualtieri – Charting a New Course in the Changing Landscape of Outdoor Media
Nicole Qualtieri is an outdoor writer and editor, a conservationist, and a committed outdoorswoman. Over the past decade, she’s worked with some of the most notable brands in the outdoor industry, including MeatEater, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, and GearJunkie, and she has bylines with many well-known outdoor publications, such as Outside, Modern Huntsman, and Backcountry …
Scott Hulet: Reading + Writing + Surfing + Fishing + Traveling
Scott Hulet is a legendary writer, editor, and current Creative Director at The Surfer’s Journal. He also has a new book titled Flow Violento: A Scott Hulet Omnibus, which is a compilation of more than thirty years of his writing about surfing, fishing, travel, food, music, and more. If you subscribe to my book recommendations …
Nick Mott – A Masterclass in Nuanced Storytelling
Nick Mott is an award-winning multimedia journalist who lives in Livingston, Montana. His latest project is a wonderful new podcast called The Wide Open, which he produced in collaboration with Montana Public Radio and the Montana Media Lab. The podcast offers a fresh look into our ever-changing relationship with the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and …
Dr. Alan Townsend – Generosity & Curiosity in the Face of Tragedy
Dr. Alan Townsend is a scientist, author, and Dean of the Franke College of Forestry & Conservation at the University of Montana. His new book is titled This Ordinary Stardust: A Scientist’s Path from Grief to Wonder, and it’s an unbelievably powerful book. It’s the story of Alan’s family being rocked to the core by …
Pete McBride Returns – Exploring & Documenting His Backyard River
If you’re a longtime Mountain & Prairie listener, then you’ll definitely remember Pete McBride. He’s a renowned photographer, filmmaker, and author, and he’s joined me on the podcast twice before– once to discuss his epic hike of the length of the Grand Canyon, and then to chat about his global search for silence in a …
SHED SESSION – Everything I Know About Starting a Podcast
This is a special Shed Session episode, normally published exclusively for Mountain & Prairie Patreon supporters. In it, I answer the most common question I receive, which is some variation of: “How do I start a podcast?” In this episode, I answer that question in excruciating detail, laying out everything I know about it, based …
Kami Bakken – How to Build a Life and Career in the West’s Wide-Open Spaces
Kami Bakken is a river guide and outdoor advocate, and she currently serves as the Director of the Freeflow Foundation and Director of Ambassador and Grant Programs for Rivers for Change. A native of Minnesota, Kami headed West for college at Colorado State University, where she earned a degree in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources. …
Hampton Sides Returns: The Wild and Tragic Tale of Captain James Cook
Hampton Sides is a Santa Fe-based historian and bestselling author who has written many books that are favorites of Mountain & Prairie listeners, including Blood and Thunder, On Desperate Ground, and Ghost Soldiers. His newest book is The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook, which …
Logan Maxwell Hagege Returns – On Taking Action & Finding Balance
Logan Maxwell Hagege is an Ojai, CA-based contemporary artist with modern visions of the American West. Logan is no stranger to longtime Mountain & Prairie listeners—he first joined me on the podcast back in 2019, and he made another appearance in 2022 alongside several other renowned Western artists in an episode recorded live at Maxwell …
Sterling Drake – Roots Music, Ranching, and Giving Back
Sterling Drake is an award-winning musician whose soulful tunes reflect his deep love of the landscapes, people, and culture of the American West. The media outlet Lonesome Highway probably best described Sterling’s music by calling it a “perfect fusion of western swing, honky-tonk heartache, and dance hall treasures.” But you can’t really confine Sterling’s music …
Live at the Amon Carter Museum – In Conversation with James Prosek and Spencer Wigmore
This is a special live episode that was recorded at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas. The event was centered around the museum’s ongoing exhibition titled Trespassers: James Prosek and the Texas Prairie, and the episode features a fascinating on-stage conversation with artist and past podcast guest James Prosek and …
Rick Wittenbraker – Humility, Generosity, and Building One-of-a-Kind Brands
Rick Wittenbraker is the CMO of Howler Brothers, an Austin-based apparel company that creates some of the most unique, stylish, quirky, and highly functional outdoor clothing for adventurers of all stripes. In a little over a decade, Howler has firmly established itself as the go-to brand for anglers, surfers, travelers, and fun-seekers– the kind of …
Jenna Pollard – Timber Framing, Organic Farming, Community, and Purpose
Jenna Pollard is a timber framer, a farmer, and an advocate for organic agriculture, but at her core, she is a teacher. The list of Jenna’s inspiring projects, causes, and interests is too extensive to summarize in a few sentences, but to give you an overview: She hosts workshops for women in which they learn …
Vincent Stanley – Lessons Learned from Patagonia’s First Fifty Years
Vincent Stanley is the Director of Philosophy at Patagonia, and he holds the honor of being the company’s longest-serving employee. He is also an author, poet, and a resident fellow at the Yale Center for Business and the Environment. His most recent book, which he co-authored with Patagonia’s founder Yvon Chouinard, is titled The Future …
Nick Offerman – Empathy, Nuance, & Good Hard Work
Nick Offerman is an actor, author, humorist, and woodworker who is best known for playing the legendary character Ron Swanson on NBC’s Parks and Recreation. But his success as an actor is just the tip of the iceberg– he’s written five New York Times bestselling books, is the narrator of three of Wendell Berry’s audiobooks, …
James Prosek – Art, Philosophy, & Our Natural World
James Prosek is an artist, writer, and naturalist whose work deeply examines our relationship with the natural world. Over the course of his career, he’s focused his artist’s eye and philosopher’s mind on everything from trout to eels, from birds to ocean fishes. For the past two years, he’s been focused on understanding and documenting …
David James Duncan – Live at the Old Salt Festival
David James Duncan is one of those Western literary legends who needs no introduction to Mountain & Prairie listeners. But for those of you who may be new to the podcast or to Western literature, David is a renowned Montana novelist, activist, and flyfisherman. He’s the author of The River Why and The Brothers K, …
