In the resort town of Jackson Hole, WY, the housing shortage is so bad that people are finding crazy workarounds... more

The story of two wolves in Colorado’s North Park, a father and a son, and how the community is –... more

Take a bike ride into a tiny forgotten historic mining town that sits at the intersection of two beloved through... more

Exactly 100 years to the day after a woman named Eleanor Davis became the first recorded woman to ever climb... more

Miss us? We're back for Season 8 of The Modern West - High Altitude Tales. High Altitude Tales drops on... more

“In Paradise, what the fire didn't take was the sense of community that exists there. Our mission was, ‘look how... more

Ariel makes the trip out to see the new construction of her family home. But it’s nothing like the one... more

Ariel’s family and neighbors are starting to rebuild after the Marshall Fire destroyed their homes. But now new green building... more

Listen to a behind-the-scenes conversation with The Burn Scar’s producer Ariel Lavery and The Modern West host Melodie Edwards. Ariel... more

Ariel’s neighbors all want to know what caused the Marshall Fire. Then a new forensic report comes out, confirming climate... more

Ariel returns to see the burn scar that was once her childhood home. She feels strangely…homesick. “Imagining one’s home place... more

It’s the most expensive fire in Colorado History. Listen now.

The Marshall Fire was the most expensive fire in Colorado history. The Burn Scar is a tender yet carefully investigated... more

Filmmaker Ken Burns just released a new series called American Buffalo and The Modern West sat down to talk to... more

We’re re-sharing all of our bison episodes in preparation for the release of the new Ken Burns film, The American... more

Did you know documentarian Ken Burns is coming out with a film on the American buffalo? I’m going to share... more

Bringing Home the Buffalo…part one of our mini series Bison Stories. Find it under podcasts at wyomingpublicmedia.org.

You might remember this daunting statistic from our season on ranching: the American West is facing its biggest drought in... more

As you might have noticed from previous episodes, Jeff is a committed skeptic. But still, I decide to start by... more

I wanted to be part of contributing to identify healing interventions for our community. And also sharing with people that... more

It’s popular these days to read a land acknowledgement at public events, but Indigenous leaders and thinkers say that should... more

Jeff and I pick up the conversation today where our last one left off. As the 19th century came to... more

Native American women are the most stalked, raped, murdered and exploited of any other race in this country.

That's the identity for our tribe is our buffalo. So they are our relatives. I always cry when they come.... more

This time on the Modern West…to make sure the Plains Indian Wars don’t flare up again, the U.S. army starts... more

It seemed important to share some of the behind the scenes conversations for this series. As a white woman reporting... more

The Plains Tribes continue their winning streak at the Rosebud and Little Bighorn fights. But it only leads the federal... more

After the massacre, the survivors flee into the bitter cold night and eventually are rescued by the Lakota. The tribes... more

For the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes, the Sand Creek Massacre of November 29, 1864 doesn’t feel like distant history at... more

Recently, you may have noticed a lot of big news coming out of Indigenous America, from protests at Standing Rock... more

A few seasons back, we had a series called Cowboy Up that dug into the juvenile justice system in Wyoming.... more

For all you Modern West fans who love our last season about ranching and the cowboy mythos in the American... more

This time on The Modern West, we join an 1896 hunting expedition to America’s first national park. The journey reveals... more

November is Native American Heritage Month…and in recognition, we thought we’d re-release the first episode of our third season “Shall... more

It's very important when you introduce a new technology, to make sure early adopters don't fail. And I want virtual... more

Some think the cowboy has gone riding off into the sunset, never to return. But in our final episode, we... more

Wyoming helped develop western water law, including the very idea that public waters belong to all of us. But the... more

If Out There isn’t already on your radar, it should be. It’s an award-winning show that uses stories about the... more

A few years ago, the May family set off on a trailblazing path to protect their land, and the carbon... more

The Rardins are father and son cowboys watching climate change threaten their way of life. They've given up on the... more

We follow the cow's journey from the mountain pasture to the feedlot and eventually the slaughterhouse. Along the way, we... more

The Modern West brings you heartfelt stories about poignant issues happening today in the rural west. A lot of these... more

This time, we head to Wyoming's Red Desert - and hear the history of the 19th-century range wars. They led... more

The history of how we brought the pastoral cow to live on the arid lands of the West is a... more

The Abeyta family has been driving sheep down from the mountains of southern Colorado for generations. But it hasn't been... more

For the Elliot family, there isn't just one kind of cowboy. There are guys like Jake who chase the idea... more

The cowboy roaming horseback across the American West is nearly inextricable from what it means to be American. But in... more

Fifteen-year-old Kate just lost her mom. On top of that, her learning disabilities are making it hard to go to... more

In Rock Springs, Wyoming, we follow the treacherous paths of two young women. Larissa endures one trauma after another and... more

In 1892, Wyoming hosts its first execution and it's a teenage boy named Kansas Charley. His trial causes a big... more

Everyone likes to say that there's no better place to grow up than in the Rocky Mountains. Building snow forts,... more

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... more

It's the late 1800s. With no government help in sight, Omaha citizen Dr. Susan LaFlesche is determined to bring health care to her... more

For Native Americans, the story of pandemics started the moment European colonizers stepped foot off their ships. Savannah Maher's tribe... more

Reservations have been some of the hardest-hit communities in the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, for Native Americans, this all feels... more

If you loved our Ghost Town(ing) series, check out Reframing Rural. Host Megan Torgerson takes you to her Montana homeland... more

We're hard at work on our next season but, while you're waiting, we wanted to share Carbon Valley, another podcast... more

In the process of reporting on rural decline, we discovered an underground movement of people thinking hard about how to... more

From the nurse who moved back to Walden, to the foreign diplomat who grew up in Nebraska, from the ranch... more

In the final chapter of Ghost Town(ing), host Melodie Edwards revisits her parents' decision about whether to move away from... more

Small town politics has a lot to teach us about how fragile democracy is right now. In Walden, we sit... more

The out-migration of rural youth is one of America’s great migrations--even the history books are calling it that. Younger generations... more

Right now, the West is struggling to diversify its economy. But would our economy have already been diversified if a... more

Some former Southern enslaved people and their descendants followed the American dream westward, where they created towns to homestead together.... more

We're on a short holiday break, so here's the first part of a podcast called Grouse, a show about the... more

Many places in the American West are becoming food deserts, where it's hard to get healthy food. Sometimes that's because... more

Living in a pandemic doesn't have many plus sides to it. But there is one bright side for rural America.... more

The rural West has been seeing a steeper and steeper decline into despair, especially among white men. But when a Vietnam vet's... more

2020 feels apocalyptic. It's not just the pandemic; there's also drought, mega-fires, melting glaciers. Meanwhile, the ultra-wealthy are stockpiling land,... more

Part 4 of our Ghost Town(ing) series is in the works, coming out next week. But while you’re waiting, here's... more

The West has long been a haven for the ultra-wealthy. Sometimes, they move into small towns with the aim of... more

Why are we so fascinated by old ghost towns? And what can they teach us? We go looking for the... more

Years ago, small towns like Walden, Colorado were vibrant. Street dances, a health food store, a movie theatre, the works.... more

They say those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So what can Old West ghost... more

It wasn’t easy growing up queer in small-town Wyoming. And when Taylar went to college in Laramie, an assault left... more

When Emily Chen-Newton moved to Nebraska, she was worried she’d miss her Kentucky mountains. But then she walked a long... more

Albert Sommers is a rancher who thought he'd seen it all. When he found a mysteriously dead calf, he started... more

A preview of our summer mini-season: three episodes that take you deep into the real West to meet people thinking... more

Bob was devastated when his wife died of cancer. He’d been her main caregiver, and afterward, he realized that now... more

Once upon a time, coal miners took pride in the hard work they did. But these days the coal industry... more

Quincy Dabney loved growing up in Lodge Grass on the Crow Reservation in Montana. But then, just like him, it... more

It’s been over a century since the U.S. government exterminated bison from the Great Plains as a way to win... more

Imagine Congress agreeing to create national forests and wildlife refuges these days. Probably wouldn’t happen. So when a billionaire realized... more

Young people from Gen Z are moving to cities around the West. But in doing so, they’re also out-migrating from... more

Most births are uncomplicated. So in rural areas where hospitals are shutting down, women want to give birth at home.... more

The number of Americans hunting and fishing is declining, but women are bucking the trend. Host Melodie Edwards finds a... more

The U.S. government only allows Native Americans to register with one tribe. But what happens when two tribes share one... more

You ask around, and people can’t agree on a quintessential Wyoming writer. And if you can’t identify the literature of... more

The Modern West is getting a reboot! New host, new theme music, and brand-new stories just for this podcast. Season... more