This week’s guest is Eleanor Kiloh, British Consul General and senior representative of the British government in Northern California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and Alaska. Eleanor recently toured Montana and we were fortunate to get some time on her schedule.In this conversation Eleanor explains what diplomacy actually is and gives advice for those considering the career path on how to jump in. She talks about how Montana and the UK are finding resonance in quantum technology, and how state governments can get involved in international collaboration.

This week's guest is Marc Moss, creator of Tell Us Something, a live storytelling program producing events across Montana. Tell Us Something is now in its 15th year and expanding into new forms of storytelling.In this conversation, Marc explains to Justin how Tell Us Something came to be, talks about the submission and selection process and dives into the only two times the event has encountered hecklers, and what Marc did in those situations. Marc talks about his dreams of expanding Tell Us Something by location and frequency.Catch Tell Us Something on June 16 at Bonner Park in Missoula, MT.

This week is our May edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society. And affordability is the name of the conversation this time around. It's a word and a concept we've heard a lot about in recent election cycles. Candidates from Tr…

As part of Climate Solutions Week here at Montana Public Radio, Justin speaks with Devin Morales, founder of Cool Earth Creamery, a plant-based creamery committed to sustainability and local agriculture. Devin established Cool Earth in 2019 after a 25-year career in natural resources and engineering.In this conversation, Devin talks about how responding to various disasters led to the understanding that climate change impacts are everywhere. Devin’s journey to Cool Earth was propelled by climate anxiety, and once on that path, Devin became frustrated with the dairy-free productions on the market. To Devin, it seemed despite the fact that a growing number of people were consuming dairy-free products, the product itself still wasn’t up to par.

Devin explains Cool Earth’s price-point and how it trends higher due to the company’s dedication to environmentally-friendly packing and using local products, like potatoes, in its dairy-free milk and gelato.

This week's guest is Joy French, executive artistic director of Bare Bait Dance. Bare Bait began in 2011 as an effort to create more opportunities for aspiring professional dancers in Montana. Bare Bait operates out of Missoula's Westside Theater, which has quickly become a lively community hub for the performing arts.In this conversation, Joy tells Justin she didn't set out looking for a dance career. She talks about the difficult parts of that career - scheduling, stress on the body and juggling various incomes to make ends meet - and the fulfilling ones, like giving local dancers a paid opportunity to perform, finding a home-base and constantly creating. She also explains the origin story of Bare Bait's name to Justin, which does, in fact, involve bears.

This week is the next edition of The Ripple Effect, a quarterly series in which Justin speaks with grantees of the Headwaters Foundation. Today’s guest is Casey Fuson, kids program director at the TFS Community Hall in Trego, Montana. What’s happening in Trego offers a wonderful example of how communities can come together to fill gaps in services and support each other.In this conversation, Casey talks about how she saw a problem in her beloved town - a lack of childcare - and took it upon herself to make a solution - Trego Kids. Casey worked with the community through many conversations while navigating regulatory hurdles and raising her own young kids to come up with something that worked for everyone.

This week is our April edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society.A lot of these I&Is can get a little heavy. And often Justin and Bryce talk about problems with unclear solutions, or solutions in which they don't have a lot of …

This week's guest is Casey Zablocki, a ceramic artist based here in Missoula, Montana. His art occupies the space between sculpture, monument and function. Casey's work is shown at galleries around the world and is held in several prominent collections. His work is currently being shown in New York at the Guild Gallery.In this conversation, Casey talks about his path to ceramics and his process to create his pieces, including the use of a giant, Japanese-inspired, wood-fired kiln. Casey walks us through the various mentors he's had through his creative career and how he balances living in Missoula and showing in New York, and why he thinks that combination works so well for him.