Our Imperfect Human Selves

FromThe Modern West

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Our Imperfect Human Selves

FromThe Modern West

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Length:

49 minutes

Released:

Jan 24, 2024

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

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.

Released:

Jan 24, 2024

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (87)

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.

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Episode 8: 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. by The Modern West
36 min listen
Episode 7: 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. by The Modern West
28 min listen
Episode 1: 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. by The Modern West
29 min listen
"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? by The Modern West
22 min listen
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? by The Modern West
4 min listen
Episode 4: 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, a by The Modern West
26 min listen
Episode 2: 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. by The Modern West
18 min listen
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. by The Modern West
38 min listen
Episode 3: 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. by The Modern West
22 min listen
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. by The Modern West
32 min listen
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? by The Modern West
38 min listen
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. by The Modern West
29 min listen
Episode 5: 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. by The Modern West
24 min listen
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. by The Modern West
4 min listen
Immigrations, Interrupted: Ghost Town(ing) Part 9 by The Modern West
35 min listen
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. by The Modern West
41 min listen
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. by The Modern West
38 min listen
Episode 6: 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. by The Modern West
49 min listen
Mountains In The Rearview Mirror: Ghost Town(ing) Part 10 by The Modern West
39 min listen
The Rancher And The Wild by The Modern West
38 min listen
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. by The Modern West
58 min listen
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. by The Modern West
4 min listen
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. But now a new generation of ranchers is working to reinvent this iconic way of life to fit a modern world. by The Modern West
7 min listen
$The Great Individualist Trailer: The cowboy roaming horseback across the American West is nearly inextricable from what it means to be American. But in reality, most beef is raised out East where there's more grass, and only a tiny fraction of the economy in the West comes from cattle. But now a new generation of ranchers is working to reinvent this iconic way of life to fit a modern world.$
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. by The Modern West
3 min listen
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. by The Modern West
30 min listen
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? by The Modern West
51 min listen
Episode 9: 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. by The Modern West
37 min listen
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. by The Modern West
39 min listen
Episode 10: 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. by The Modern West
27 min listen
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. by The Modern West
36 min listen

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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. by The Modern West
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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. by The Modern West
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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. by The Modern West
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Urban Wildfires - a Burn Scar Bonus: If you missed our Facebook Live panel discussion, now’s your chance to hear it. We discuss how to prepare for urban wildfires in the west with folks you met in The Burn Scar… and the former mayor of Paradise, California. by The Modern West
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A Desirable Neighborhood: “What ends up happening is you're just propping up the people who can afford this and it's really elitist. It's saying if you can't afford any of this, you're not going to live here.” by The Modern West
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The Burn Scar: Bonus Episode: Here's a bonus episode focusing on a behind the scenes conversation between Melodie and Ariel. Happy Holidays Modern West listeners! by The Modern West
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Our Safe Place: “It's continuously the hottest year on record for us. But I feel like I had that feeling before I ever had an awareness of the climate doom that would define our lives.” by The Modern West
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Solastagia: 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.” by The Modern West
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The Winter Fire: Burn Scar Part 1: December 30, 2021, Podcaster Ariel Lavery’s parents are forced to flee as Boulder’s Marshall Fire bears down. Later, her mom returns to find their house burned down. “The fire was so hot that a lot of it just crumpled and exploded.” It’s the most expensive fire in Colorado History. Listen now. by The Modern West
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Bison Stories: Bringing Home the Buffalo - 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.” by The Modern West
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Bison Stories: Bringing Home the Buffalo - Part 3: We’re gearing up for the Ken Burns film The American Buffalo. In part three of our Bison Stories series, we make a journey to the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana for a bison release ceremony. by The Modern West
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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? by The Modern West
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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. by The Modern West
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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. by The Modern West
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Our Imperfect Human Selves

Our Imperfect Human Selves

Description

Titles in the series (87)

More Episodes from The Modern West