A New Angle

In this month's edition of Incentives & Instincts, Justin and Bryce speak with University of Montana law professor Craig Cowie. We’ve talked a lot about the pandemic in this series and the various economic policies rolled out to help us get through it. One aspect of those policies we haven’t talked much about is consumer protection. At a time when many consumers can’t make their debt payments, we thought it important to talk with another expert. Craig Cowie is Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Blewett Consumer Law and Protection Program and the University of Montana Blewett School of Law. His scholarship and teaching focuses on consumer protection and he brings nearly twenty years of litigation experience to the table. Full transcript available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mGCNxJtTeVotMVje0b033x8rLuTRW-Qs2zskmpbE7VE/edit

Michael Legg is in his third season as Artistic Director for the Montana Repertory Theater. Much has changed at the Rep since Michael arrived. Beyond just plays in cars and hotel rooms, Michael has brought a commitment to place-based, Montana-inspired programming. Many folks assume the business world owns the term innovation. This conversation should correct that misguided notion as what’s happening at the Montana Rep is as cutting edge as it gets.

Meg Oliver is a 1993 graduate of the University of Montana with a degree in journalism. She is an award-winning CBS News correspondent with more than two decades of journalism experience. Meg joined CBS News in 2006 as overnight anchor of “Up to the Minute” and correspondent for “The Early Show” and today reports for all CBS News programs and platforms. She's covered breaking news stories around the county and world, from terrorist attacks to devastating hurricanes Meg remains actively engaged in service to UM – she is a past Dean Stone Lecturer, a member of the Journalism Dean’s Advisory Board and a supporter of women’s leadership programming at UM.

Chandra Brown is Director of the Freeflow Institute. She is a writer, a guide and an entrepreneur, and Freeflow is a venture aimed at eliminating barriers between artists and environment. To do this, Chandra and her colleagues create thoughtfully structured trips into wild spaces where emerging writers, artists and athletes can learn and grow together. This sort of community building, creative entrepreneurial venture seems quintessentially Montanan.

Justin's monthly conversations with Bryce Ward continue. In this edition, the two discuss the housing market and where it's headed here in Montana. Transcript available here: https://umt.box.com/s/pnnwv74sjgzw5oxqwq5dvq9tqpcclfgi

Today we're excited to bring back to A New Angle, legendary climber and New York Times best-selling author Mark Synnott. Mark’s new book – The Third Pole – documents the amazing story of his team’s mission to solve one of the great mysteries of Mount Everest history - whether or not George Mallory and Sandy Irvine were the first people to stand on the summit. That mission is also captured in the amazing films – Lost on Everest and the shorter edit, The Ghosts Above. It’s a riveting story that confronts many of the dominant and oversimplified narratives associated with Mt Everest. Full transcript available here: https://umt.box.com/s/kgmqy8i0lvjjzmhyvmdvbsr24xilifbj

Dr. Jonathon Richter is the President and CEO of iLRN, the Immersive Learning Research Network. iLRN is an international organization of developers, educators and research professionals collaborating to develop the scientific, technical, and applied potential of immersive learning. These folks are out there operating on the frontier of how to communicate and collaborate using the best of technology. Transcript available here: https://umt.box.com/s/53qjmsm2hy64yty497itgjudwzl0jg85

Today we present a quintessential Montana story. Robin Selvig was head coach of the University of Montana Lady Griz basketball team for nearly 40 years. In that time he amassed an incredible 865 wins and countless other accolades, but more importantly he built a community of inclusion and empowerment that positively transformed the lives of so many young women. That community is documented in a beautiful new film titled The House the Rob Built. Today we are joined by the film’s co-director, writer and producer, Megan Harrington, as well as Coach Selvig himself. Transcript available here: https://umt.box.com/s/nl87ebbtun1jl0gx5et8itd5mrls9neg

We're especially excited today to welcome friend of the pod Alan Adams back to A New Angle. 2020 was a hard year for pretty much everyone. Alan decided to make 2020 especially challenging on a singular dimension – vertical feet traveled. In honor of his impending 40th birthday, Alan set out to climb 2,000,000 vertical feet on his skis and bike in a single calendar year. Not only did he do that, but along the way he upped the goal, set a world record and learned valuable lessons about life, priorities and perspective. Transcript available here: https://umt.box.com/s/8snselcl0pru6nknnnmibvz1cr0fphlw

Justin's monthly conversations with Bryce Ward continue. This month they are joined by Peter Larsen, Staff Scientist and Deputy Leader in the Electricity Markets and Policy Department at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Peter conducts research and analysis on the economics of electricity reliability and resilience. He’s also an expert on risk to infrastructure from extreme events. He holds a Ph.D. in management science and engineering from Stanford, masters degrees from Stanford and Cornell and studied economics as an undergraduate student at the University of Montana. Transcript available here: https://umt.box.com/s/jtvyowei5jazfcfpervmjle6d6133xpj

Kent Haslam was named Director of Athletics at the University of Montana in 2012. During his tenure, he's made major coaching decisions, dealt with controversy, added sports and managed a series of risks through the COVID-19 pandemic. In today's conversation we talk about those challenges, his approach to leadership and what the future holds for Grizzly Athletics. Transcript available here: https://umt.box.com/s/yvr0303u8f7s5h27mf4sfgafnvm0uds3

Episode 1 of our new series Fireline drops today. Search for Fireline on any podcast player or visit www.firelinepodcast.org. Today we're joined by writers and producers Nick Mott and Victor Yvellez to get their thoughts on what Fireline is all about...then hear Episode 1: Suppressed in full... Episode 1 show notes: When Lily Clarke arrived at the August Complex Fire, it was a fire of sensational size. The blaze eventually burned more than 1 million acres, becoming the largest recorded wildfire in California history. Across the country in 2020, flames charred an area size nearly 5 times the size of Yellowstone National Park — the largest swathe of land burned since reliable records began. Wildfires across the country are getting bigger, hotter, and more devastating. But what's all this fire really mean — for the west, for firefighters, and for everyday folks? And what's it really like to fight fire on the ground? Lily Clarke fights wildfire for the US Forest Service and received her Master of Science in Systems Ecology from the University of Montana. John Maclean is the author of 5 books about wildfire. Full transcript available here: https://umt.box.com/s/ap7uzb0wki5q3f24wz76dskk4ieg5psf

Montana’s economy is changing rapidly and the technology sector is a big part of that change. Pat LaPointe is managing director of Frontier Angels, a consortium of angel investors spread across Montana. They’re focused on Montana’s tech sector and have funded a variety of exciting and innovative start ups, including NextStep, TransformativeMed and Sellhound. Full transcript available here: https://umt.box.com/s/1cb1g18g41ajdzbd02k98lrd3yfzmv4t

Justin's monthly conversations with Bryce Ward continue. In this episode they try to make sense of the economic relief policies currently being debated in Washington. We hear the $1.9 trillion price tag. Some say that’s too much, some say it’s not enough. How do we make sense of that question? To think about an answer, we're joined by Dr. Ricardo Reis. Ricardo is the A.W. Phillips Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and a prolific expert on macroeconomics, inflation and unconventional monetary polices. He’s also worked as an academic consultant to the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve System. Full transcript available here: https://umt.box.com/s/b1q64bv5tcv6pnwy9io5oceqsqmyb46r

Dr. Beverly Tatum is president emerita of Spelman College and a clinical psychologist widely known for her expertise on race relations and as a thought leader in higher education. She is the author of several books, including the best-selling modern classic “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” and Other Conversations About Race. On March 3, the University of Montana community will join Dr. Tatum for a President’s Lecture Series conversation on race, class, gender, and their intersections. You can register for that event at www.umt.edu/president Full transcript available at: https://umt.box.com/s/znb9ivy1znypodkyi71nt82udf3jv3nj