The Modern West
Exploring the evolving identity of the American West. Produced by Wyoming Public Media and PRX, The Modern West takes you on a sound-rich journey into some of America's most iconic landscapes. Guided by host Melodie Edwards' personal connection to the region, it's an unflinching look at the American West--its problematic history, its modern-day struggles and resilience, and how its present and future are being shaped.
S10 E1 · Wed, April 09, 2025
A Pluralistic Mindset (with author Samuel Western)
Wyoming author and economist Samuel Western is a master at tracing back the beginnings of issues in the American West. He’s an economist with a deep fascination for history and culture that get at “the gray in between” in truly revelatory ways. He talks with host Melodie Edwards about his new book The Spirit of 1889.
S10 Enull · Wed, March 26, 2025
Gray In Between Trailer
Join us for a brand new season full of nuance, where we move closer to the heart of matters and hear the voices of those who understand them the best. Catch episode one of The Gray In Between coming to you every other Wednesday starting April 9th.
S9 E13 · Wed, February 19, 2025
We Are Remarkable Creatures
For westerners, watching the fires burn through Los Angeles in the middle of winter feels like deja vu . It was only four years ago that the Marshall Fire raged through the town of Louisville, outside Boulder, Colorado. That fire is now considered the most costly fire in Colorado history. But that deja vu is especially acute for those who survived the Marshall Fire. Like Ariel Lavery’s family. An update from our 2023 season The Burn Scar.
S9 E12 · Wed, February 05, 2025
The Modern West presents: United By Fire Episode 1
Wildfires are getting closer and closer to home. A new podcast by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science asks some really good questions about our relationship to fire in the American West. Like, can we learn to coexist with fire in the West? United By Fire explores our relationship with the land amid rapidly changing wildfire behavior in a world that’s burning hotter and faster than ever.
S10 E12 · Wed, January 22, 2025
Neighbor is a Verb
Some think the cowboy has gone riding off into the sunset, never to return. But in our final episode, we hear stories of resilience and community pride. We return to Antonito, CO to hear how Aaron Abeyta started a school there to teach children that success doesn’t mean fleeing your hometown. It means staying to celebrate the unique heritage of the community.
S10 E11 · Wed, January 08, 2025
Slow Waters Run Deep
Wyoming helped develop western water law, including the very idea that public waters belong to all of us. But the state’s reluctance to update its laws has left ranchers scrambling to protect their streams and wells, as drought and water hoarding make water scarcer than ever.
S10 E10 · Wed, December 18, 2024
The Wide Open: Five Billboards Outside Livingston, Montana
The Endangered Species Act helped bring the Yellowstone-area grizzly population back from the brink of extinction. It also sparked controversy over a question that looms over more species than just grizzly bears: How do we balance the needs of endangered wildlife with the needs of humans?
S10 E9 · Wed, December 11, 2024
A Promise Never To Plow
A few years ago, the May family set off on a trailblazing path to protect their land, and the carbon it stores, by selling carbon credits on the global market. By promising to never plow the land, the Mays store carbon and protect native wildlife. But with diminishing margins and the looming threat of fire, the road hasn’t been easy.
S10 E8 · Wed, November 27, 2024
Only One Bite
The Rardins are father and son cowboys watching climate change threaten their way of life. They’ve given up on the old idea of “get big or get out” and joined the regenerative ranching movement. Inspired by how bison improve the land, they raise cattle to protect grasses and reduce emissions. But for many, it's still a financial risk.
S10 E7 · Wed, November 13, 2024
The Ranch Kid
Ranchers are having a really hard time these days. They’ve got more drought, more conflict, expensive land, high rates of suicide, just to name a few. But this fall the University of Wyoming launched a new agricultural leadership degree. The goal is to re-envision the rancher of the future. This summer, a Wyoming kid named Ethan Mills became the first registered student in the program. We tag along as he attends a ranch camp.
S10 E6 · Wed, October 30, 2024
Big is Fragile
We follow the cow’s journey from the mountain pasture to the feedlot and eventually the slaughterhouse. Along the way, we hear from animal welfare advocate Temple Grandin and cattle handlers who all want a fairer, more humane market – and one not so monopolized by large corporations.
S10 E5 · Wed, October 16, 2024
Nothing Heals
We head to Wyoming’s Red Desert - and hear the history of the 19th century range wars. They led to laws requiring grazing fees and regular land health check-ups. But over a century later, some say these regulations haven’t done enough to protect our wild spaces. Not to mention our climate.
S10 E4 · Wed, October 02, 2024
Cows = Civilization
The history of how we brought the pastoral cow to live on the arid lands of the west is a violent one. Jim Elliot grew up in the shadow of that history and his stories are quintessential cowboy, full of guns, death and hard winters. But even Jim recognized the tragedy of the attempted annihilation of Indigenous culture and bison to make way for cows. But now, there’s growing hope among tribes as bison make a comeback.
S10 E3 · Wed, September 18, 2024
Se Benefician De Ella
The Abeyta family has been driving sheep down from the mountains of southern Colorado for generations. But it hasn’t been easy to keep that tradition alive – they’ve had to fight for it. Through their eyes, we trace back the beginnings of the cowboy to the Mexican vaquero and find out how those adventurous roots are still very much alive in the American southwest.
S10 E2 · Wed, September 04, 2024
The Rolling Stone: Bonus 2 of The Great Individualist Reboot
The Rolling Stone: The Modern West is re-sharing our ranching series The Great Individualist. This time, we explore our deep abiding love for the cowboy. "If you get out there and bust your butt taking care of cows and even putting up hay, it’s so rewarding. I can get on a saddle horse and ride all day." But how that infatuation sometimes gets us in trouble.
S10 E1 · Wed, August 21, 2024
The Rancher of the Future: Bonus 1 of The Great Individualist Reboot
We're back with a new season of Modern West. Listen to the first episode of The Great Individualist Reboot now!
Trailer · Wed, August 07, 2024
Great Individualist Reboot Trailer
It's a new season of the Great Individualist - new episode premieres on August 21st.
S9 E7 · Wed, June 26, 2024
The Suffragist In The Basement
Wyoming is known as the “equality state” because it was the first in the nation to pass women’s suffrage. And for decades it’s proudly recognized that history with a statue of Esther Hobart Morris, Wyoming's first Justice of the Peace and a vocal participant in the women's suffrage movement. But that statue is no longer standing in front of the Wyoming state capitol.
S9 E6 · Wed, June 12, 2024
One Size Does Not Fit All - Part Six of High Altitude Tales
Meet Iva, an innovative teacher conducting scientific research with her middle schoolers on the Wind River Reservation. They even set up trail cameras! It's the final episode of High Altitude Tales.
S9 E5 · Wed, May 29, 2024
The Tamers and the Tamed - Part Five of High Altitude Tales
Recidivism rates in the U.S. are some of the highest in the world, and in Wyoming, 33 percent of inmates are back in prison within the first year. But studies show that animal therapy can help reduce that by teaching things like responsibility, nonviolence and empathy. Most programs pair inmates with dogs. But Wyoming has a special program – one of only five in the country – that teaches inmates how to tame wild horses.
S9 E4 · Wed, May 15, 2024
Chasing the Dragon - Part Four of High Altitude Tales
In the resort town of Jackson Hole, WY, the housing shortage is so bad that people are finding crazy workarounds for how to live there. Like this guy, living in his van. "It’s cold when you come back. And then the issue is, like, all your water freezes and all your stuff is frozen. And trying to dry ski stuff or anything like that it’s a pain - but once the heaters are goin it gets crankin' in here!"
S9 E3 · Wed, May 01, 2024
Wolves #2101 and #2301- Part Three of High Altitude Tales
The story of two wolves in Colorado’s North Park, a father and a son, and how the community is – or is not – coming to terms with their presence. "Wolves represent a lot of what farming and ranching is about, which is like, you have no control ultimately." Wolves #2101 and #2301: episode 3 of our series High Altitude Tales.
S9 E2 · Wed, April 17, 2024
The Sixth Boom - Part Two of High Altitude Tales
Take a bike ride into a tiny forgotten historic mining town that sits at the intersection of two beloved through trails. For hardcore bikers and hikers, this town is an oasis. And for a community used to cycles of boom and bust, there's hope this boom could last.
S9 E1 · Wed, April 03, 2024
Courage is a Muscle - Part One of High Altitude Tales
Exactly 100 years to the day after a woman named Eleanor Davis became the first recorded woman to ever climb the Grand Teton – a nearly 14,000 foot-tall mountain that’s the namesake for Grand Teton National Park – an all-female group of climbers is summiting the peak to celebrate her legacy. Hannah Habermann tagged along for the adventure.
S9 Enull · Wed, March 20, 2024
High Altitude Tales Trailer
Miss us? We're back for Season 8 of The Modern West - High Altitude Tales. High Altitude Tales drops on April 3rd on all of your favorite streaming platforms.
S8 E5 · Wed, February 07, 2024
Urban Wildfires: a Burn Scar Bonus
“In Paradise, what the fire didn't take was the sense of community that exists there. Our mission was, ‘look how far we've come, and it’s a vision to the future.”
S8 E5 · Wed, January 24, 2024
Our Imperfect Human Selves
Ariel makes the trip out to see the new construction of her family home. But it’s nothing like the one that burned down in the Marshall Fire. Her feeling of solastalgia is long gone.
S8 E4 · Wed, January 10, 2024
A Desirable Neighborhood
Ariel’s family and neighbors are starting to rebuild after the Marshall Fire destroyed their homes. But now new green building codes are making it super expensive. Ariel’s brother is dubious.
S8 E4 · Wed, December 27, 2023
The Burn Scar: Bonus Episode
Listen to a behind-the-scenes conversation with The Burn Scar’s producer Ariel Lavery and The Modern West host Melodie Edwards. Ariel says the idea for the series came to her in the shower. “I just needed to record this. I just needed to somehow remember the feelings of visiting the site, being there.”
S8 E3 · Wed, December 13, 2023
Our Safe Place
Ariel’s neighbors all want to know what caused the Marshall Fire. Then a new forensic report comes out, confirming climate change isn’t at the door…it just burned the door down. #OurSafePlace Part III of #TheBurnScar
S8 E2 · Wed, November 29, 2023
Solastalgia
Ariel returns to see the burn scar that was once her childhood home. She feels strangely…homesick. “Imagining one’s home place meet its end – envisioning just what this neighborhood looked like engulfed in flames – I wonder if this is all part of the feeling of solastalgia.”
S8 E1 · Wed, November 15, 2023
The Winter Fire
It’s the most expensive fire in Colorado History. Listen now.
S7 E5 · Wed, November 01, 2023
The Burn Scar Trailer
The Marshall Fire was the most expensive fire in Colorado history. The Burn Scar is a tender yet carefully investigated podcast of one family, one fire and the hard choices people are making in the wake of increasing natural disasters. Hear the trailer now.
S7 E4 · Wed, October 18, 2023
Bison Stories: A Conversation With Ken Burns - Part 4
Filmmaker Ken Burns just released a new series called American Buffalo and The Modern West sat down to talk to him about it. He says it’s a very new direction for him. “This is a project we’ve been thinking about for more than 30 years – a biography of an animal.”
S7 E3 · Wed, October 11, 2023
Bison Stories: Bringing Home the Buffalo - Part 3
We’re re-sharing all of our bison episodes in preparation for the release of the new Ken Burns film, The American Buffalo! In Part III, we journey to the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana to learn why tribes there are rescuing wild Yellowstone bison… and we experience a bison release ceremony.
S7 E2 · Wed, October 04, 2023
Bison Stories: Bringing Home the Buffalo - Part 2
Did you know documentarian Ken Burns is coming out with a film on the American buffalo? I’m going to share my interview with him in a few weeks. Meanwhile, we’re re-releasing all of our bison episodes! In Part II: why American settlers chose to wipe out the bison and replace them with cattle.
S6 E1 · Wed, September 27, 2023
Bison Stories: Bringing Home the Buffalo - Part 1
Bringing Home the Buffalo…part one of our mini series Bison Stories. Find it under podcasts at wyomingpublicmedia.org.
Wed, August 30, 2023
Bonus: On Land Podcast from Western Landowners Alliance
You might remember this daunting statistic from our season on ranching: the American West is facing its biggest drought in 1200 years. This special episode from the On Land podcast is all about solutions to that water crisis. Geologist Caroline Nash joins for a conversation about building resilience in times of uncertainty, how restoring beavers to our Western landscapes could help with watershed restoration, and the ways landowners across the West are experimenting with innovative land management practices.
S6 E9 · Wed, August 02, 2023
Bonus Episode 3: A Conversation with Lakota Historian Jeff Means
As you might have noticed from previous episodes, Jeff is a committed skeptic. But still, I decide to start by asking Jeff, does he believe healing this history is even possible?
S6 E8 · Wed, July 19, 2023
Existence As Protest: Mending the Hoop Part 8
I wanted to be part of contributing to identify healing interventions for our community. And also sharing with people that knowledge, like, it's not all your fault.
S6 E7 · Wed, June 28, 2023
Land Back: Mending the Hoop Part 7
It’s popular these days to read a land acknowledgement at public events, but Indigenous leaders and thinkers say that should only be the beginning — “a commitment that should be followed by action.” Like, returning the land itself.
S6 E7 · Thu, June 15, 2023
Bonus Episode 2: A Conversation with Lakota Historian Jeff Means
Jeff and I pick up the conversation today where our last one left off. As the 19th century came to a close, the United States may have stopped direct battle with the Plains nations… but the war was far from over. As Native communities were forced onto reservations, the U.S. now used new techniques to attempt cultural genocide … alienating children from their communities at boarding schools and exterminating the bison. Throughout the conversation, Jeff points out the ways Indigenous communities continue to demonstrate a pride in their identities that the U.S. government tried to erase.
S6 E6 · Wed, May 31, 2023
#MMIW: Mending the Hoop Part 6
Native American women are the most stalked, raped, murdered and exploited of any other race in this country.
S6 E5 · Wed, May 10, 2023
Rematriation: Mending the Hoop Part 5
That's the identity for our tribe is our buffalo. So they are our relatives. I always cry when they come. It's always really emotional when they come home. Because I believe that's going to heal our people.
S6 E5 · Thu, April 20, 2023
Killing The Indian Inside: Mending the Hoop Part 4
This time on the Modern West…to make sure the Plains Indian Wars don’t flare up again, the U.S. army starts taking hostages…the tribes’ children. If they ran away, where would they go? They're 1000s of miles away from home. It was strategic on their part. It really isolated them. Killing the Indian Inside…it’s part four of our series Mending the Hoop.
S6 E4 · Thu, April 06, 2023
Bonus Episode: A Conversation with Lakota Historian Jeff Means
It seemed important to share some of the behind the scenes conversations for this series. As a white woman reporting on Indian Country, Melodie always knew she would need extra guidance putting this season together. So she’s been regularly sitting down to talk with Oglala Lakota member and Native American historian Jeff Means to discuss best practices.
S6 E3 · Mon, March 27, 2023
The Broken Hoop: Mending the Hoop Part 3
The Plains Tribes continue their winning streak at the Rosebud and Little Bighorn fights. But it only leads the federal government to crack down harder. Soon, many tribal leaders surrender and, in despair, take their people to live on tiny reservations. Then along comes a new ceremony: the Ghost Dance. And that changes the dynamics of the war drastically.
S6 E2 · Wed, March 08, 2023
The War Pipe: Mending the Hoop Part 2
After the massacre, the survivors flee into the bitter cold night and eventually are rescued by the Lakota. The tribes form a great alliance and decide war is justified. And so, in the months after Sand Creek, what ensues is a series of battles that shocks and awes the U.S. army. Never before have they witnessed the full might of the greatest mounted horsemen in the world.
S6 E1 · Wed, February 22, 2023
The Witness Trees: Mending the Hoop Part 1
For the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes, the Sand Creek Massacre of November 29, 1864 doesn’t feel like distant history at all. That’s the day that the Colorado cavalry tortured and killed over 200 people, mostly women, children, and elderly – one of the worst atrocities in U.S. history. To the tribes, it feels like there’s still a lot of healing to do. And so, these days, they’re working to do just that.
S6 Enull · Wed, February 08, 2023
Mending the Hoop Trailer
Recently, you may have noticed a lot of big news coming out of Indigenous America, from protests at Standing Rock to the return of wild bison to efforts to bring home ancestral remains and artifacts. But when you talk to the movers and shakers, the conversation often comes back around to a bitter history – the Plains Indian Wars. This season we hear the story from the point of view of the Plains tribes themselves. We discover how raw that story still is, and yet how communities are coming together to heal it.
Thu, January 19, 2023
Bonus: Those Who Can’t Teach Anymore
A few seasons back, we had a series called Cowboy Up that dug into the juvenile justice system in Wyoming. If you liked thinking about education in the west, you’re going to love this. We are sharing an episode from the podcast Those Who Can’t Teach Anymore, produced by one of our very own, Charles Fournier. This is a narrative podcast series that takes a look at why teachers are leaving education and what can be done to stop the exodus. In this episode, we’ll hear from Charles’ wife, Jennie and two other former teachers about why they left teaching. From struggles with mental health, to low pay, to a lack of autonomy in the classroom - they give insight into why we are losing good teachers across the country. This episode sets the stage for the series, which will take you through the history, pop-culture, and politics of education.
Thu, December 15, 2022
Bonus: Reframing Rural
For all you Modern West fans who love our last season about ranching and the cowboy mythos in the American West, have we got a treat for you. We’re going to share an episode from our good pals at the podcast Reframing Rural. It’s now in the middle of its third season “Groundwork,” and they’ve been sharing stories about host Megan Torgerson’s family farm as well as the widening wealth gap in Montana…think towns like Bozeman and Missoula. This episode we’re going to hear about Jeanie Alderson, a fourth-generation Montana rancher and the co-owner of Omega Beef. In the '70s, Jeanie’s parents were among the rural organizers to form the Northern Plains Resource Council. Today, Jeanie continues the council's work standing up for family ranches by fighting against the "Big Four" meatpacking monopoly that's dictating prices and forcing some ranchers out of business.
S5 Enull · Wed, November 23, 2022
Revising the Wilderness Tale
This time on The Modern West, we join an 1896 hunting expedition to America’s first national park. The journey reveals cracks in our concepts of Yellowstone, a place entangled with violence toward the Indigenous people who long took care of the region.
S3 Enull · Fri, October 28, 2022
The Great Dying: Revisited
November is Native American Heritage Month…and in recognition, we thought we’d re-release the first episode of our third season “Shall Furnish Medicine.” In it, we connected the dots between the spread of European diseases among Indigenous communities when Europeans first arrived and we examined what that history of genocide meant when the COVID-19 pandemic struck home in Native communities. This episode, “The Great Dying,” recently won a couple of big awards – a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for best news documentary and a national Public Media Journalism Association award for best long documentary. Kudos to reporters Savannah Maher and Taylar Stagner! Hope you enjoy!
S5 Enull · Thu, September 29, 2022
The Great Individualist Bonus Episode
It's very important when you introduce a new technology, to make sure early adopters don't fail. And I want virtual fencing to work. It’s a bonus episode! Binge the whole season of the Great Individualist now. Find the Modern West under podcasts at wyomingpublicmedia.org. Sponsored by the Lor Foundation. Listen at themodernwest.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
S5 E9 · Fri, September 02, 2022
Neighbor Is A Verb: The Great Individualist Part 9
Some think the cowboy has gone riding off into the sunset, never to return. But in our final episode, we hear stories of resilience and community pride. We return to Antonito, CO to hear how Aaron Abeyta started a school there to teach children that success doesn’t mean fleeing your hometown. It means staying to celebrate the unique heritage of the community.
S5 E8 · Wed, August 17, 2022
Slow Waters Run Deep: The Great Individualist Part 8
Wyoming helped develop western water law, including the very idea that public waters belong to all of us. But the state’s reluctance to update its laws has left ranchers scrambling to protect their streams and wells, as drought and water hoarding make water scarcer than ever.
Bonus · Thu, August 11, 2022
Bonus: Out There
If Out There isn’t already on your radar, it should be. It’s an award-winning show that uses stories about the outdoors to help you make sense of your life and your world. Just like the Modern West, Out There gets up close and personal, but at the same time, each of its episodes invites you to think big, exploring deeper questions that matter to all of us. In this episode, Out There explores something on a lot of our minds this time of year: wildfires. Becky Jensen had given herself the perfect present for her 50th birthday: a two-week solo backpacking trip. But when she emerged from the trail, she learned that a wildfire had started near her home in northern Colorado. Her house might already be gone. Becky takes us from the tranquility of the San Juan mountains to a cramped basement where she waited out her evacuation, and explores the difficult process of finding a sense of peace, when a natural disaster threatens everything you’ve built.
S5 E7 · Thu, August 04, 2022
A Promise Never To Plow: The Great Individualist Part 7
A few years ago, the May family set off on a trailblazing path to protect their land, and the carbon it stores, by selling carbon credits on the global market. By promising to never plow the land, the Mays store carbon and protect native wildlife. But with diminishing margins and the looming threat of fire, the road hasn’t been easy.
S5 E6 · Thu, July 21, 2022
Only One Bite: The Great Individualist Part 6
The Rardins are father and son cowboys watching climate change threaten their way of life. They've given up on the old idea of "get big or get out" and joined the regenerative ranching movement. Inspired by how bison improve the land, they raise cattle to protect grasses and reduce emissions. But for many, it's still a financial risk.
S5 E5 · Wed, July 06, 2022
Big Is Fragile: The Great Individualist Part 5
We follow the cow's journey from the mountain pasture to the feedlot and eventually the slaughterhouse. Along the way, we hear from animal welfare advocate Temple Grandin and cattle handlers who all want a fairer, more humane market – and one not so monopolized by large corporations.
Bonus · Wed, June 29, 2022
Bonus: Middle of Everywhere
The Modern West brings you heartfelt stories about poignant issues happening today in the rural west. A lot of these issues are also felt in other rural communities, across the country. Today we take you to the foothills of the lush Appalachian Mountains in East Tennessee. There you’ll meet people who lost their way of life when a federal agency decided to take their land and flood their rich river valley, burying beneath the water much of our country’s early history, including many sacred Cherokee sites, and threatening an endangered species. This was all done in the name of progress. From our good friends at the award-winning podcast Middle of Everywhere , with WKMS in Kentucky, this is The Story of Tanasi, the first of a five-part series following a decades-long battle that took the river’s people all the way to the Supreme Court as they tried to save their way of life in the Little Tennessee River Valley. In this first part, called The Birth of a River, you’ll hear a history of the river valley, and learn about the cultural significance and importance of the river to the Cherokee Nation.
S5 E4 · Wed, June 22, 2022
Nothing Heals: The Great Individualist Part 4
This time, we head to Wyoming's Red Desert - and hear the history of the 19th-century range wars. They led to laws requiring grazing fees and regular land health check-ups. But over a century later, some say these regulations haven't done enough to protect our wild spaces. Not to mention our climate.
S5 E3 · Wed, June 08, 2022
Cows = Civilization: The Great Individualist Part 3
The history of how we brought the pastoral cow to live on the arid lands of the West is a violent one. Jim Elliot grew up in the shadow of that history and his stories are quintessential cowboy, full of guns, death and hard winters. But even Jim recognized the tragedy of the attempted annihilation of Indigenous culture and bison to make way for cows. But now, there's growing hope among tribes as bison make a comeback.
S5 E2 · Wed, May 25, 2022
Se Benefician De Ella: The Great Individualist Part 2
The Abeyta family has been driving sheep down from the mountains of southern Colorado for generations. But it hasn't been easy to keep that tradition alive – they've had to fight for it. Through their eyes, we trace back the beginnings of the cowboy to the Mexican vaquero and find out how those adventurous roots are still very much alive in the American southwest.
S5 E1 · Wed, May 11, 2022
The Rolling Stone: The Great Individualist Part 1
For the Elliot family, there isn't just one kind of cowboy. There are guys like Jake who chase the idea of the rodeo star, never sinking roots, a rolling stone. And then there's Jim, the hardworking and intimidating rancher. In this episode, we bust some myths about what it means to be a "real" cowboy and whether ranching ever measures up to our American ideals.
Trailer · Wed, April 27, 2022
The Great Individualist Trailer
The cowboy roaming horseback across the American West is nearly inextricable from what it means to be American. But in reality, most beef is raised out East where there's more grass, and only a tiny fraction of the economy in the West comes from cattle. Now a new generation of ranchers is working to reinvent this iconic way of life to fit a modern world.
S4 E3 · Wed, February 02, 2022
Heavy To One, Light To Many: Cowboy Up Part 3
Fifteen-year-old Kate just lost her mom. On top of that, her learning disabilities are making it hard to go to school. She's missed so much that the school says she might get sent away to a residential treatment center hundreds of miles away. But her grandparents are fighting hard for their right to keep her home.
S4 E2 · Wed, January 19, 2022
Caught In The Current: Cowboy Up Part 2
In Rock Springs, Wyoming, we follow the treacherous paths of two young women. Larissa endures one trauma after another and soon finds herself unable to escape a cycle of probation and incarceration. Another kid, Jess, endures racism and bullying and seems headed down the same road. The system fails them both, but Jess's story takes a turn when she lucks out with a new teacher. But Mr. Baker says kids shouldn't have to rely on good luck.
S4 E1 · Wed, January 05, 2022
Stranger On The Side Of The Road: Cowboy Up Part 1
In 1892, Wyoming hosts its first execution and it's a teenage boy named Kansas Charley. His trial causes a big national debate: is Charley a hardened criminal or a neglected child? It's a question we still haven't answered in the American West, where children are incarcerated in greater numbers than anywhere else. We also hear from a modern-day Kansas Charley who's living out his days in Wyoming's prisons who says, growing up, no one ever asked him the simple question: do you need help?
Trailer · Wed, December 15, 2021
Cowboy Up Trailer
Everyone likes to say that there's no better place to grow up than in the Rocky Mountains. Building snow forts, riding your bike everywhere, learning how to find your way out of the woods when you're lost. But for kids having a hard time, no one's handing them a map and compass. In Wyoming, kids are incarcerated and dying of suicide at higher rates than anywhere else. Longtime education reporter Tennessee Watson started to wonder if all this had to do with the "cowboy up" attitude we take toward child-rearing in the American West. A three-part series coming January 5th.
S3 E3 · Wed, November 10, 2021
We're Still Here: Shall Furnish Medicine Part 3
When COVID-19 arrives on reservation borders, tribes aren't sure if their newly minted health care programs can hold up against the onslaught. The fear is that this is history happening all over again. But the two tribes on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming decide early to roll up their sleeves–literally–in a fight for the very survival of their tribal identity.
S3 E2 · Wed, October 13, 2021
Enough Is Enough: Shall Furnish Medicine Part 2
It's the late 1800s. With no government help in sight, Omaha citizen Dr. Susan LaFlesche is determined to bring health care to her tribe. Decades later, the U.S. still hasn't gotten around to fulfilling its treaty promise to furnish medicine. So, tribes find a way to take over their health care system, and a quiet social movement is born.
S3 E1 · Wed, September 29, 2021
The Great Dying: Shall Furnish Medicine Part 1
For Native Americans, the story of pandemics started the moment European colonizers stepped foot off their ships. Savannah Maher' s tribe the Mashpee Wampanoag experienced that first Great Dying. Arapaho and Shoshone descendant Taylar Stagner tells the history of how those diseases came West as a form of biological warfare.
Trailer · Wed, September 15, 2021
Shall Furnish Medicine Trailer
Reservations have been some of the hardest-hit communities in the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, for Native Americans, this all feels awfully familiar...the arrival of a terrible illness that kills elders while the federal government does little to stop it. But this time, tribes know what to do. Coming September 29, we'll bring you a three-part series we're calling Shall Furnish Medicine, tracing that devastating history from its beginnings.
Bonus · Wed, May 26, 2021
Bonus: Reframing Rural
If you loved our Ghost Town(ing) series, check out Reframing Rural . Host Megan Torgerson takes you to her Montana homeland and introduces us to all sorts of people we usually don’t hear from. Like in this episode, where high school history teacher and Chippewa descendent Eddie Hentges talks about the challenges of teaching in a small town.
Bonus · Fri, May 07, 2021
Bonus: Carbon Valley Part 1
We're hard at work on our next season but, while you're waiting, we wanted to share Carbon Valley , another podcast from Wyoming Public Media that follows the race to develop an unlikely climate solution.
Bonus · Wed, April 21, 2021
Bonus: Reversing Ghost Town(ing)
In the process of reporting on rural decline, we discovered an underground movement of people thinking hard about how to help small towns revitalize. We partnered with the Rural America Chamber of Commerce to host a live virtual event, bringing some of these problem-solvers together. The result was an inspiring and clear-eyed conversation. In this episode, we bring you the highlights.
Bonus · Fri, March 26, 2021
My Modern West: From Surviving To Thriving
From the nurse who moved back to Walden, to the foreign diplomat who grew up in Nebraska, from the ranch kid who's seen the wealthy moving in, to the Asian-American daughter remembering her father's migration to the great American West. Listeners react to Ghost Town(ing) with their stories.
S2 E12 · Fri, March 12, 2021
The Fine Art Of Coexisting: Ghost Town(ing) Part 12
In the final chapter of Ghost Town(ing), host Melodie Edwards revisits her parents' decision about whether to move away from Walden. Her mom has been trying to lure her dad away with all sorts of stratagems. But there's a lot about the craziness of 2020 that entrenched him even deeper.
S2 E11 · Fri, February 26, 2021
Small Town Democracy: Ghost Town(ing) Part 11
Small town politics has a lot to teach us about how fragile democracy is right now. In Walden, we sit in on a beautification committee meeting and see how hard it is to make change happen--and how rural struggles are reflected in American democracy writ large.
S2 E10 · Wed, February 10, 2021
Mountains In The Rearview Mirror: Ghost Town(ing) Part 10
The out-migration of rural youth is one of America’s great migrations--even the history books are calling it that. Younger generations leave because they have a need to feel connected to the great, big world out there. And as that world becomes more connected through the internet, small towns like Walden feel even more isolated. But would they come home if there was more equality in rural broadband?
S2 E9 · Wed, January 27, 2021
Immigrations, Interrupted: Ghost Town(ing) Part 9
Right now, the West is struggling to diversify its economy. But would our economy have already been diversified if a greater diversity of people had been allowed to make their homes here? How the history of racial erasure has hurt small towns, and how welcoming newcomers could turn that around.
S2 E8 · Wed, January 13, 2021
A Tale Of Two Towns: Ghost Town(ing) Part 8
Some former Southern enslaved people and their descendants followed the American dream westward, where they created towns to homestead together. This is a tale of two of those towns—on either side of the Wyoming-Colorado border—and what today's small towns now can learn from their stories.
Bonus · Wed, December 30, 2020
Bonus: Stranger In A Strange Land
We're on a short holiday break, so here's the first part of a podcast called Grouse, a show about the most controversial bird in the West and what it can teach us about hope, compromise and life in rural America.
S2 E7 · Wed, December 16, 2020
The Garden On The Prairie: Ghost Town(ing) Part 7
Many places in the American West are becoming food deserts, where it's hard to get healthy food. Sometimes that's because people can't afford it or because it means driving long distances. And for really isolated places, sometimes it's because of both. Now, a group of ladies in Wyoming's struggling coal country are working on a plan to solve hunger there.
S2 E6 · Wed, December 02, 2020
The Doctor In The Screen: Ghost Town(ing) Part 6
Living in a pandemic doesn't have many plus sides to it. But there is one bright side for rural America. Telehealth is finally getting to flex its muscles. But adjusting to technology isn't easy for older patients, and that's one thing small towns have lots of: senior citizens. So, we take a trip to Sheridan, Wyoming to see how well telehealth is working for veteran Ron Loporto.
S2 E5 · Wed, November 18, 2020
Gabby's Story: Ghost Town(ing) Part 5
The rural West has been seeing a steeper and steeper decline into despair, especially among white men. But when a Vietnam vet's mental breakdown threatens the safety of Walden, the small town has a response that neighborhoods everywhere could learn from.
S2 E4 · Wed, November 04, 2020
The Environmental Billionaire: Ghost Town(ing) Part 4
2020 feels apocalyptic. It's not just the pandemic; there's also drought, mega-fires, melting glaciers. Meanwhile, the ultra-wealthy are stockpiling land, buying up small family ranches across the Mountain West. It makes you wonder, is it really a good idea to put that much environmental control in the hands of so few?
Bonus · Wed, October 28, 2020
Meet Your Neighbor: A Conversation About The Rural West And The 2020 Election
Part 4 of our Ghost Town(ing) series is in the works, coming out next week. But while you’re waiting, here's a way that you can get your voice in on the conversation about the state of the rural West.
S2 E3 · Wed, October 14, 2020
A Stranger Comes To Town: Ghost Town(ing) Part 3
The West has long been a haven for the ultra-wealthy. Sometimes, they move into small towns with the aim of revitalizing them. But in Walden, Colorado, one wealthy businessman’s plans went awry, with dire consequences for the community.
S2 E2 · Wed, September 30, 2020
Bust Town: Ghost Town(ing) Part 2
Why are we so fascinated by old ghost towns? And what can they teach us? We go looking for the ghosts of an old silver mining community called Teller City to see if they have any lessons for how the nearby town of Walden, Colorado can keep from falling into the same cycles of boom and bust.
S2 E1 · Wed, September 16, 2020
"You Can’t Eat The View": Ghost Town(ing) Part 1
Years ago, small towns like Walden, Colorado were vibrant. Street dances, a health food store, a movie theatre, the works. At least, that's how host Melodie Edwards remembers it from her childhood. Now it's shrinking, part of the "ghost towning" of the American West. But can communities like Walden find a way to survive? Or will Melodie's parents be forced to move away, like so many others?
Trailer · Wed, September 09, 2020
Season 2: Ghost Town(ing) Trailer
They say those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So what can Old West ghost towns teach us about today's shrinking rural towns? Starting September 16, we'll take you to the windswept prairie where towns once stood and to new ghost towns in the making. We're exploring rural decline and resilience, and asking, why does it matter if America's small towns disappear?
S1 E13 · Wed, July 22, 2020
The Small-Town Drag Queen
It wasn’t easy growing up queer in small-town Wyoming. And when Taylar went to college in Laramie, an assault left her in pieces…until she found community with Giselle and the Dragonettes. Follow them as they head to the big city for a David Bowie drag competition.
S1 E12 · Wed, July 01, 2020
A Walk Across The Prairie
When Emily Chen-Newton moved to Nebraska, she was worried she’d miss her Kentucky mountains. But then she walked a long section of the new Great Plains Trail and realized her new home was a more magical place than she gave it credit for. And not so flat either.
S1 E11 · Wed, June 17, 2020
The Rancher And The Wild
Albert Sommers is a rancher who thought he'd seen it all. When he found a mysteriously dead calf, he started wondering: how wild should our wild places be?
Trailer · Wed, June 03, 2020
Coming Soon To A Feed Near You...
A preview of our summer mini-season: three episodes that take you deep into the real West to meet people thinking hard about the future of this place. Predators, prairie, and pots of glitter.
S1 E10 · Fri, December 20, 2019
The Widower
Bob was devastated when his wife died of cancer. He’d been her main caregiver, and afterward, he realized that now he had to face his old age alone. No kids, no family nearby. And living in the West, he started worrying about how inaccessible senior care could be. That’s when his gallows humor took over. (more…)
S1 E9 · Thu, December 05, 2019
What You're Missing About Coal Country
Once upon a time, coal miners took pride in the hard work they did. But these days the coal industry is sluggish and miners are feeling left behind—even disrespected—by the world. What they want most now is to just figure out how to hold on to the strong community that coal once gave them. (more…)
S1 E8 · Wed, November 20, 2019
The Man From Lodge Grass
Quincy Dabney loved growing up in Lodge Grass on the Crow Reservation in Montana. But then, just like him, it started falling apart. Now Quincy is working to save the hometown that saved him. (more…)
S1 E7 · Wed, November 13, 2019
Bringing The Buffalo Home
It’s been over a century since the U.S. government exterminated bison from the Great Plains as a way to win the war against the Native American tribes there. But now reservations across the West are working to bring them back. (more…)
S1 E6 · Wed, November 06, 2019
The Next Yellowstone
Imagine Congress agreeing to create national forests and wildlife refuges these days. Probably wouldn’t happen. So when a billionaire realized a large swath of the Great Plains needed special protections he decided to do it himself, without the government’s help. His dream is for a new kind of privately-owned national park–one as expansive as Yellowstone. (more…)
S1 E5 · Wed, October 23, 2019
Belonging
Young people from Gen Z are moving to cities around the West. But in doing so, they’re also out-migrating from rural hometowns in places like Wyoming and New Mexico. Conversations between young people about why they leave and why they stay. (more…)
S1 E4 · Wed, October 09, 2019
The Midwife
Most births are uncomplicated. So in rural areas where hospitals are shutting down, women want to give birth at home. Now, states across the country are legalizing and regulating midwifery so they can. This is the story of one rural state, one midwife, and one brand-new mama. (more…)
S1 E3 · Tue, October 01, 2019
Adult-Onset Hunting
The number of Americans hunting and fishing is declining, but women are bucking the trend. Host Melodie Edwards finds a sisterhood at an all-women hunting camp—and catches her first fish with her dad. (more…)
S1 E2 · Tue, September 24, 2019
Both/Neither
The U.S. government only allows Native Americans to register with one tribe. But what happens when two tribes share one reservation for over a century? Two women grapple with how that affected their identity growing up. (more…)
S1 E1 · Tue, September 17, 2019
Carpetbagger
You ask around, and people can’t agree on a quintessential Wyoming writer. And if you can’t identify the literature of a place, you can’t define the place. Authors including CJ Box and Craig Johnson weigh in. (more…)
Trailer · Wed, August 21, 2019
Season 1 Preview
The Modern West is getting a reboot! New host, new theme music, and brand-new stories just for this podcast. Season 1 starts September 17. (more…)
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