PODCAST · society
Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson
by Ed Roberson
Long-form conversations with remarkable people connected to the land, communities, and culture of the American West.•For 10+ years, host Ed Roberson has talked with writers, ranchers, scientists, artists, historians, and adventurers. Every episode is substantive, relaxed, and rich with wisdom — offering listeners fresh perspectives and a deeper connection to one of the world's most compelling places.•Past guests include Yvon Chouinard, Kris Tompkins, Nick Offerman, and Sebastian Junger.•Top 0.5% of all podcasts globally. Featured by Patagonia, The Aspen Institute, SXSW, and MeatEater.
Episodes
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Olivia Amber – On Chosen and Unchosen Suffering
Olivia Amber is a professional ultrarunner, climber, and adventurer, and a North Face sponsored athlete based in Bishop, California. I met Olivia at The Rut Mountain Runs in Big Sky, where she was on a public lands panel I moderated. She was also there to talk about her biggest project to date:...
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Dan Flores – A Deep Dive into the History of the Natural West
Dan Flores is back for another visit on the podcast. If you're a fan of the history of the American West, then Dan is no stranger—he's the author of many of my favorite books, including American Serengeti, Coyote America, and Wild New World. Most recently, he wrapped up a 42-episode series with…
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Fitz Cahall - Going on the Offense for Public Lands
Fitz Cahall is the creator of the legendary outdoor podcast The Dirtbag Diaries, co-founder of the creative agency Duct Tape Then Beer, and author of the excellent book States of Adventure. But most recently, he's gone from prolific creative mind to public lands advocate with the launch of Save...
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T.A. Barron - Naming Nature, Choosing Optimism, and Using Our Time Well
T.A. Barron—known as Tom to his friends—is a renowned author, a lifelong conservationist, and someone whose work sits at the intersection of two subjects that are near and dear to my heart: books and the natural world. Tom has written more than 30 books, including the internationally bestselling...
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Kim Wiggins – The Courage to Be Original
Kim Wiggins is a world-renowned painter from New Mexico, and one of the most recognizable artists working in the American West today. His bold, swirling canvases have made him one of the leading artistic voices of what's come to be called the New West. His work hangs in the Autry, the Booth, and...
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Announcing MOUNTAIN & PRAIRE READS! Featuring "Water Lines" by Riverhorse Nakadate
Introducing Mountain & Prairie Reads—a book club for people who don't want to sit through another Zoom call. Every other month or so, I'll recommend a book I think is worth your time. Read it, send me your questions, and then I'll sit down with the author and ask as many of your best questions as…
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Romey Swanson — The Work of Finding Common Ground
Romey Swanson is the Executive Director of the Devils River Conservancy, and he wears a lot of other hats too—wildlife biologist, naturalist, writer, photographer, and a leader in just about every corner of the Texas conservation world. The Devils River is generally considered the most pristine...
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Mike Bartolo — Soil, Science, and Selflessness
Dr. Mike Bartolo is a third-generation farmer from Pueblo County, Colorado, and a retired research scientist and vegetable crops specialist at Colorado State University. Mike's grandparents immigrated from Italy in the early 1900s to work in the mines around Pueblo, and after years of…
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Heather Hansman — The Untold Stories of Three Fierce Women
This is Heather Hansman's third appearance on the podcast, and if you've been listening for a while, you know how much her work has shaped my own understanding of the West. Heather is an award-winning journalist and the author of "Downriver" and "Powder Days"—two books I reference constantly—and...
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Elif Koyutürk — Filmmaking, Resilience, and a Vanishing Way of Life
Elif Koyutürk is a filmmaker, photographer, and all-around artist originally from Istanbul, now based in Bend, Oregon. Elif works across many mediums—photography, poetry, film, and more—but the throughline in everything she does is a drive to make people feel a story, not just read the facts of…
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A Public Lands Update + Ways to TAKE ACTION, with Adam Cramer
This is my second episode with Adam Cramer, CEO of the Outdoor Alliance, a coalition of ten national organizations representing the human-powered outdoor community—mountain biking, backcountry skiing, kayaking, climbing, trail running, and more. The Outdoor Alliance works to protect public lands...
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Five Foundational Conservation Books That Shaped How I See the West
In this solo episode, I share five books that fundamentally shaped my understanding of conservation, public lands, water, ranching, and the American West. These are the books that helped transform me from a ranch broker with a growing curiosity about conservation into someone who eventually…
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Dillon Osleger - Trails, Maps, and the Hidden Stories of Our Public Lands
Dillon Osleger wears a lot of hats: geologist, professional mountain biker for Specialized, trail builder, public lands policy analyst and advocate, and now first-time author. His debut book, "Trail Work: Restoring the Paths and Stories of America's Public Lands," blends science, history, and...
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Distance Champions – TNC's "On the Move" Podcast (M&P Special Episode)
My longtime partners and collaborators at The Nature Conservancy recently launched a great podcast series called "On the Move," hosted by TNC storyteller Leah Palmer. It's all about wild animals, their migrations, and the people working to keep those journeys wild and free. If you're a longtime...
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Holly Bamford & Marshall Johnson - A 30-Year Vision for North America's Grasslands
This is a live episode recorded at the 2026 Great Plains Stakeholder Workshop, hosted by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The workshop brought together many of the country's leading grasslands conservationists, scientists, funders, and policy experts to tackle a huge question: what…
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Hillary Rosner - Why Wildlife Needs Room to Roam
Hillary Rosner is an award-winning journalist and author whose work combines science, storytelling, and the natural world. She's been writing about environmental issues for decades, with bylines in publications like The New York Times, The Atlantic, and National Geographic. Her new book, "Roam:...
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Miriam Horn - George Schaller and the Transformation of Wildlife Biology
Miriam Horn is an award-winning journalist and author whose work lives at the intersection of conservation, food production, and the people working—often quietly and pragmatically—to hold those worlds together. Many listeners will recognize her from her excellent book "Rancher, Farmer…
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Meriwether Hardie - What You Learn Riding Across the West
Meriwether Hardie has built a life around long, ambitious horseback journeys through remote landscapes, and she uses those adventures as a way to better understand land, food, and the people who depend on both. In her early twenties, she rode for a year through South America, and this past…
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Jazmine Ulloa – The Untold History of El Paso
Jazmine Ulloa is a national reporter who covers immigration for The New York Times and is the author of the new book "El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race, and Memory." It's a sweeping, deeply researched look at one of the most overlooked regions in the American...
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Pete McBride - Witness to Water
Pete McBride is a photographer, filmmaker, and author whose work has taken him all over the world, but at the center of it all is a river much closer to home: the Colorado River. He's been a frequent guest on this podcast over the years, and his work has consistently offered one of the most...
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Sebastian Junger - On Meaning, Mortality, and Belonging
Sebastian Junger is an award-winning journalist, a New York Times bestselling author, and an Academy Award–nominated filmmaker. Regular listeners are surely familiar with his work, as I've mentioned his books a ridiculous number of times on this podcast over the years—especially his book "Tribe,"...
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Darcy Chenoweth - Helping the Helpers
Darcy Chenoweth is a Montana-based Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner whose career sits at the intersection of medicine, trauma recovery, and the outdoor world. Darcy works with individuals and organizations—especially those in high-stress helping professions such as first responders,...
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Our 10 Favorite Adventure Books, with Mark Kenyon
Mark Kenyon is no stranger to Mountain & Prairie listeners—he's the author of "That Wild Country," host of the Wired to Hunt podcast, and the newly minted Director of Conservation at MeatEater. He's also one of the most voracious readers I know. Every few years, Mark and I record a special…
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Stella Maria Baer – Moons, Horses, and New Mexico Light
Stella Maria Baer is a Santa Fe–based painter whose work is deeply rooted in land, light, and place. Known for her luminous depictions of moons, desert skies, horses, and wide-open Southwestern landscapes, Stella often makes her own pigments by hand—grinding rocks, dirt, and minerals into paint...
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A Joint Episode with The River Radius, featuring Sam Carter
Today's conversation is a joint episode between Mountain & Prairie and The River Radius podcast. I'm joined by Sam Carter, the creator and host of The River Radius. If you're not already familiar with The River Radius, I give it my highest endorsement. It's the most thoughtful and well-crafted…
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Kelsey Morris Returns – Going All In on Art
My guest today is Kelsey Morris, and this is her second time on the podcast—which feels long-overdue, because a lot has happened since we last talked. When Kelsey first joined me nearly five years ago, she was balancing a full-time job while building her art career on the side. Shortly after that...
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Jason Gardner Returns – Fire, Leadership, and What Really Matters
Jason Gardner is a retired Navy SEAL who now works as a top-level leadership instructor with Echelon Front. Over his thirty-year career in the SEAL teams, he served in combat operations in Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, later becoming Command Master Chief of SEAL Team Five and Training…
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Todd Ulizio – Farming, Attention, and a Life Well Rooted
Todd Ulizio is the co-owner of Two Bear Farm, an organic vegetable farm in Whitefish, Montana, that's quietly become a cornerstone of the Flathead Valley's local food community. Alongside his wife Rebecca, Todd has spent nearly two decades growing food, building soil, and figuring out how to make…
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Sammy Matsaw Jr. – Salmon, Sovereignty, and the Long Work of Healing
Sammy Matsaw Jr. is the Director of the Columbia Basin Program at The Nature Conservancy, where he works at the intersection of salmon recovery, tribal sovereignty, and large-scale river restoration across one of the most complex watersheds in North America. In this role, Sammy helps guide...
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Ed's Appearance on "My Favorite Things"
Today's episode is a bit of a departure from the usual format. I'm re-sharing a recent conversation I had on my friend Brendan Leonard's new podcast, My Favorite Things. I'm sure most of y'all are already familiar with Brendan's work, but for those of you who aren't, he's an author, illustrator,...
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Mike Schaedel - Restoring Balance to Fire-Adapted Landscapes
Mike Schaedel is the Western Montana Forest Restoration Director for The Nature Conservancy, where he leads some of the most ambitious and collaborative forest restoration work happening anywhere in the West. Based in Missoula, Mike works at the intersection of science, community partnerships…
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SHED SESH: September & October 2025 Book Recommendations
This month marks ten full years of my bimonthly book-recommendations project—a decade of weird little paragraphs about the books that grab my scattered attention. Whether you've been here since the beginning or signed up five minutes ago, thank you. I'm still baffled anyone reads these things…
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Devon O'Neil — On Nature's Power and the Price of Adventure
Devon O'Neil is a journalist, author, and longtime friend of mine whose new book "The Way Out: A True Story of Survival in the Heart of the Rockies" is one of the best pieces of outdoor nonfiction I've read in years. The book tells the harrowing true story of a backcountry ski trip near…
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Carli Kierstead – Wyoming Forests and the Work of Keeping Water Flowing
Carli Kierstead is the Forest Program Director for The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming, where she leads efforts to understand and restore some of the West's most critical—and often overlooked—ecosystems. From beetle kill and wildfire to drought, Wyoming's forests face a range of challenges that...
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Bex Frucht — Story Wrangler! Vibe Steward! One of a Kind!
Bex Frucht is a force of nature—a storyteller and community builder whose work blends performance, land, and small-town life in the American West. Based in Livingston, Montana, she's the founder of TMI Live, a storytelling series that celebrates vulnerability, humor, and human connection, and for...
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Yvon Chouinard – The Perpetual Pursuit of Simplicity
Yvon Chouinard needs no introduction. The founder of Patagonia, pioneer of clean climbing, co-founder of 1% for the Planet, and lifelong advocate for simplicity and wildness, he's one of the world's most influential environmental leaders. Now in his mid-80s, Yvon continues to live, work, and fish...
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Chris Keyes – From Outside to RE:PUBLIC
Chris Keyes is the Executive Director of RE:PUBLIC and the former longtime Editor in Chief of Outside magazine. During his decades-long career in journalism, Chris helped guide Outside through some of its most iconic years—publishing award-winning stories, mentoring top writers, and keeping the...
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Brad Johnson – Building Trust and Soil Health
Brad Johnson is the Senior Regenerative Agriculture Advisor for The Nature Conservancy, where he helps farmers across Idaho and beyond explore new ways of working the land that build healthier soils, stronger operations, and more resilient communities. Brad's path into this work is deeply...
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Paul Hendricks – The Conservation Alliance and the Future of Public Lands
Paul Hendricks is the Executive Director of The Conservation Alliance, a coalition of more than 270 businesses working together to protect wild places across North America. Founded nearly four decades ago by Patagonia, REI, The North Face, and Kelty, The Conservation Alliance has grown into one…
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Kate Williams – Leadership Lessons from the CEO of 1% for the Planet
Kate Williams is the CEO of 1% for the Planet, the global nonprofit that has turned a simple idea into a worldwide force for good: businesses committing 1% of their annual revenue to environmental causes. If you've ever spotted that little 1% for the Planet logo on a favorite brand, you've seen...
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Nicholas Triolo – What the Circuitous Path Reveals
Nicholas Triolo is a writer, endurance athlete, and educator whose life and work sit at the crossroads of ecology, activism, and storytelling. For years, he's been exploring what happens when we stop charging toward the summit and start paying attention to the circuitous paths that wind around…
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Kelly Beevers – Connection, Collaboration, Conservation
Kelly Beevers is the Grazing Lands Partner Strategy Lead with The Nature Conservancy, where she helps guide collaborative efforts to support ranchers, strengthen communities, and conserve some of the most threatened ecosystems in North America. Based in Montana, Kelly has built her career at the...
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Cole Mannix & Andrew Anderson – The Hard Work of Building a Better Food System
This episode was recorded live on stage at the 2025 Old Salt Festival in Helmville, Montana, where I had the honor of sitting down with two of the people at the center of this ambitious experiment in food, land, and community: Cole Mannix who is the President and co-founder of the Old Salt Co-op...
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Brady Robinson Returns – Grassroots Conservation on a Global Scale
Brady Robinson is a lifelong climber, conservationist, and educator who currently serves as Director of Philanthropy for the Freyja Foundation. His career has spanned outdoor education, nonprofit leadership, and global conservation philanthropy, with past roles including Executive Director of…
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Celene Hawkins and Taylor Hawes – Navigating the Next Era of the Colorado River
Celene Hawkins is the new Colorado River Program Director for The Nature Conservancy, stepping into the role after years of impactful work in tribal water policy and place-based conservation across the basin. She's taking the baton from Taylor Hawes, who led the program for nearly 17 years and is...
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Helen Rebanks - "The Farmer's Wife" - Live at the Old Salt Festival
This conversation with Helen Rebanks was recorded live and on stage at the 2025 Old Salt Festival, held on the Mannix Family Ranch in Helmville, Montana. If you were there, you know how special the moment was. If you weren't—well, I'm glad you're here now. Even though we were on a stage, in front...
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Brendan Leonard Returns – On Writing, Teaching, and Staying Weird
Brendan Leonard is back for his third appearance on the podcast—this time recorded in person at his house in Missoula. Brendan's the creative mind behind Semi-Rad, and over the years, he's become a good friend and one of my most trusted advisors when it comes to creativity and building a life...
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Sean Claffey – A Resilient Vision for Sagebrush Country
Sean Claffey is the Southwest Montana Sagebrush Conservation Coordinator at the Nature Conservancy, a role that places him at the center of one of the West's most overlooked but critically important ecosystems: the sagebrush steppe. Based in Dillon, Montana, Sean works across public and private...
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Adam Cramer – Fighting for the Future of Public Lands
Adam Cramer is the CEO of the Outdoor Alliance, a coalition that brings together human-powered outdoor recreation groups to protect public lands and waters. With a deep understanding of both policy and recreation, Adam has helped position the Outdoor Alliance as a powerful voice in the national...
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Tony Bynum - Showing Up for the Land
Tony Bynum is a conservation photographer, scientist, and advocate who's spent decades working at the intersection of public lands, Indigenous rights, and environmental storytelling. Based in Montana, his images have helped shape national conversations around energy development, landscape...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Long-form conversations with remarkable people connected to the land, communities, and culture of the American West.•For 10+ years, host Ed Roberson has talked with writers, ranchers, scientists, artists, historians, and adventurers. Every episode is substantive, relaxed, and rich with wisdom — offering listeners fresh perspectives and a deeper connection to one of the world's most compelling places.•Past guests include Yvon Chouinard, Kris Tompkins, Nick Offerman, and Sebastian Junger.•Top 0.5% of all podcasts globally. Featured by Patagonia, The Aspen Institute, SXSW, and MeatEater.
HOSTED BY
Ed Roberson
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson have?
Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson currently has 320 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson about?
Long-form conversations with remarkable people connected to the land, communities, and culture of the American West.•For 10+ years, host Ed Roberson has talked with writers, ranchers, scientists, artists, historians, and adventurers. Every episode is substantive, relaxed, and rich with wisdom —...
How often does Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson release new episodes?
Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson publishes regularly with 320 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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You can listen to Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson?
Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson is created and hosted by Ed Roberson.
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