The Life-Changing Magic of Living Strenuously, with Kate Kavanaugh
This episode is a little different– it’s me being interviewed by my friend and past Mountain & Prairie podcast guest Kate Kavanaugh. If you’ve been listening for a while, then I’m sure you remember Kate– she’s a farmer, butcher, and all-around interesting woman who co-founded Western Daughters Butcher Shop in Denver. Kate recently started an …
Dylan Tomine – Protecting What He Loves
Dylan Tomine is a conservationist, angler, and author of the excellent new book Headwaters: The Adventures, Obsession and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman. Headwaters is a collection of essays and stories from Dylan’s life as a self-proclaimed fly fishing bum, a life that has taken him from his home in the northwest to the far …
Chris Burkard, Part 2 – Seeking Beauty Through Adventure
Chris Burkard is a prolific photographer, filmmaker, and author who is known for diving headfirst into epic adventures, documenting them with his camera, and producing one-of-kind stories that resonate deeply with millions of people around the world. He’s bikepacked across Iceland in winter, scouted cold-water surf breaks in British Columbia, and explored some of the …
Heather Hansman, Part 2 – The Fascinating Story of Skiing’s Past, Present & Future
Heather Hansman is a Seattle-based writer and editor, as well as the author of the excellent new book Powder Days: Ski Bums, Ski Towns, and the Future of Chasing Snow. Longtime listeners will remember Heather’s first appearance on the podcast, when we discussed her book Downriver, one of my favorite books about the complicated subject …
Ryan Busse – Standing His Ground
Ryan Busse is a Montana-based conservationist, public lands advocate, and former top-performing firearms executive. He’s also the author of the new book Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry that Radicalized America, which has received advanced praise from everyone from Publishers Weekly to Senator Jon Tester. Ryan is a life-long hunter and angler, as well as …
Hampton Sides, Part 3 – Tales from a Most Excellent Adventure
Hampton Sides is a historian and New York Times bestselling author who is best known for his engaging works of narrative nonfiction, including the books Blood and Thunder, Ghost Soldiers, On Desperate Ground, and more. His latest project is an ebook and audiobook titled The Exotic: Intrigue and Cultural Ruin in the Age of Imperialism, …
Antonia Malchik – Exploring Culture & Complexity
Antonia Malchik is a Montana-based writer and essayist, and she’s also the author of the book A Walking Life: Reclaiming Our Health and Freedom One Step at a Time. She has written for publications including The Atlantic and High Country News, she also writes a regular Substack newsletter titled On the Commons, which I highly …
Nickolas Butler – The Craft of Creativity
Nickolas Butler is an award-winning writer and novelist who has published five books, one of which is the wildly popular, award-winning Shotgun Love Songs. His most recent novel is titled Godspeed— a fast-paced, thriller of a book that is set in and around Jackson Hole, Wyoming. While the novel has all of the components that …
John Branch – Seeking the Extraordinary in the Ordinary
John Branch is a Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist with the New York Times and the author of the brand new book Sidecountry: Tales of Death and Life from the Back Roads of Sports. He is also the author of The Last Cowboys: A Pioneer Family in the New West, which is one of my favorite books about …
Brendan Leonard, Part 2 – On Running, Creating, and Other Irrational Passions
Brendan Leonard is a prolific writer and artist who is best known as the creator of Semi-Rad.com. He’s also the author of a brand new book titled I Hate Running and You Can Too: How to Get Started, Keep Going, and Make Sense of an Irrational Passion. The book offers motivation and witty insights into …
The Ramblings of a “Conquistador of the Useless”
This episode is a little different than normal– it’s me being interviewed on the Off the Couch podcast by my friends Jonathan Ellsworth and Brendan Leonard. Brendan is likely familiar to many of you long-time listeners– he joined me on the podcast a few years ago to discuss his writing career, his film “How to …
Monte Burke – Exploring Obsession
Monte Burke is a journalist, New York Times bestselling author, and contributing editor at Forbes, Garden & Gun, and The Drake. His most recent book is Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World-Record Tarpon, which was one of the best books I read in 2020. He’s also the author of …
Malcolm Brooks – Epic Tales from the American West
Malcolm Brooks is a Montana-based author best known for his epic novel Painted Horses, a sweeping, large-scale tale of life in the American West in the 1950s. Published in 2015, Painted Horses has quickly become a classic among those who love Western literary fiction. Even more impressive, Painted Horses was Malcolm’s first published novel– a …
Steve Casimiro – Voice of Adventure
Steve Casimiro is the founder and editor of Adventure Journal, an online and quarterly print magazine devoted to outdoor adventure in all its forms. AJ began as Steve’s personal blog back in 2008—a project he created on the side while writing for National Geographic Adventure. Steve’s unique perspective and devotion to adventure writing struck a …
Anna Brones – Committed to Creativity
Anna Brones is a freelance journalist, author, artist, and producer who is prolific in all of her creative endeavors– she’s published four books, produced documentary films, is currently publishing a quarterly print journal about food, and much more. One of her most recent projects was the Women’s Wisdom Project, in which she showcased the wisdom …
David Gessner, Part 3 – A Confluence of Conservation Ideals
David Gessner is back for his third appearance on the podcast, and this time we are discussing his brand new book Leave It As It Is: A Journey Through Theodore Roosevelt’s American Wilderness. Most long-time listeners will remember David’s past two episodes– we discussed everything from Edward Abbey and Wallace Stegner to his daily writing …
Chris La Tray – Rediscovering His Past, Writing His Future
Chris La Tray is a writer, poet, and musician, as well as the author of the award-winning book One Sentence Journal: Short Poems and Essays from the World at Large. Chris is also an enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe—a Native American tribe that was just recently recognized by the United States government, and …
Callan Wink – A New Voice for the New West
Callan Wink is a writer, novelist, fishing guide, and surfer who currently splits his time between Livingston, Montana and Santa Cruz, California. He’s the author of the newly released novel August, as well as the highly regarded short story collection Dog Run Moon, books that I recently read and thoroughly enjoyed. Callan’s writing speaks for …
Peter Heller – Chasing the Flow
Peter Heller is a renowned novelist, as well as an award-winning adventure writer and former contributing editor to Outside, Men’s Journal, and National Geographic Adventure. Since age eleven, Peter has been committed to the craft of writing, and his lifelong love of words and stunning prose are the threads that connect all of his work– …
Hal Herring – A Man of Words & Wild Places
Hal Herring is an award-winning journalist and writer whose work has appeared in such notable publications as the Atlantic, the Economist, and Orion. He is also a contributing editor at Field and Stream and a regular contributor to High Country News. Most recently, Hal has made a name for himself in the podcast world as …
Mark Kenyon – A Passion for Public Lands
Mark Kenyon is a conservationist, outdoorsman, and author of the fantastic new book That Wild Country: An Epic Journey through the Past, Present, and Future of America’s Public Lands. For years, Mark has been well-known and respected in the hunting world, thanks in part to his website, blog, and podcast called Wired to Hunt, which …
William deBuys – Sage of the Southwest
William deBuys is a renowned writer and conservationist who is known as one of the most influential thinkers in the modern-day American West. To call Bill prolific would be a blatant understatement—a few of his many books include The Walk, A Great Aridness, River of Traps, and The Last Unicorn. For more than 40 years, …
Heather Hansman – Demystifying Water in the West
Heather Hansman is a freelance writer and editor whose work explores the intersection of science, adventure, and culture. Her new book Downriver: Into the Future of Water in the West should be required reading for everyone who enjoys this podcast—it strikes the perfect balance of being entertaining and educational while examining all sides of the …
David Gessner, Part 2 – Ambition, Art, and Arête
If you’re a regular Mountain & Prairie listener, then you are undoubtedly familiar with best-selling author David Gessner. He has written several of my all-favorite books, most notably All the Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, and the American West. He was also a past guest on this podcast almost exactly a year ago—a …
Bryce Andrews – People, Predators, and the American West
Bryce Andrews – People, Predators, and the American West Bryce Andrews is a Montana-based rancher, conservationist, and author whose unique set of experiences gives him uncommon insights into the relationship between humans and carnivores in the West. Having worked as a ranch hand, ranch manager, and ranch owner, Bryce understands agriculture and the myriad of …
Chris Dombrowski – Words, Water & the West
Chris Dombrowski – Words, Water & the West Chris Dombrowski is an author, poet, and fishing guide who lives and works in Missoula, Montana. As a writer, Chris is probably best known for his book Body of Water: A Sage, a Seeker, and the World’s Most Elusive Fish, which is one of the best books …
Auden Schendler – The Optimistic Pragmatist
Auden Schendler is Senior Vice President of Sustainability at Aspen Skiing Company, where he focuses on finding large-scale solutions to climate change, specifically through clean energy and activism. Aspen Skiing Company has long been at the forefront of sustainable business practices, and Auden is one of the main forces behind the scenes driving those efforts—efforts …
Chandra Brown – Fostering Creativity Through River Adventures
Chandra Brown is an educator, writer, and river guide who has worked on the West’s most iconic rivers, including many seasons below the rim of the Grand Canyon. She’s also the founder of the Freeflow Institute, a unique Montana-based program that offers multi-day river trips for writers and creatives that combine immersion in the natural …
Sara Dant – A Deep Dive Into the History of the West
Sara Dant is a historian, professor, and chair of the history department at Weber State University. She’s also the author of one of my new favorite books: Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West. Sara’s work touches many of the topics we discuss regularly on this podcast, including conservation, water, public lands, building …
Hampton Sides, Part 2 – How to Tell a Damn Good Story
Hampton Sides, Part 2 – How to Tell a Damn Good Story Anyone who has listened to this podcast surely knows of best-selling author and narrative historian Hampton Sides. I reference his books often and was lucky enough to interview him in August at the Aspen Institute, which I released as a podcast episode. In …
