Presented by the Institute for Mountain Research at Westminster College, the Mountain Stories Podcast will share the stories of people who live, work, and play in the mountains. The Institute for Mountain Research provides a hub to coordinate and support interdisciplinary research and learning related to the cultural, economic, scientific and political facets of mountain landscapes and the people who live in them. We encourage deep and abiding interests in the mountains, the people who live in and near them, and the connections between the two. The Institute supports thinking across disciplinary and political boundaries in order to foster conversations about the landscapes that are part of our lives. We strive to serve as a home for exploration, a refuge for reflection and thought, and a forum for community conversation.
Presented by the Institute for Mountain Research at Westminster College, the Mountain Stories Podcast will share the stories of people who live, work, and play in the mountains. The Institute for Mountain Research provides a hub to coordinate and support interdisciplinary research and learning related to the cultural, economic, scientific and political facets of mountain landscapes and the people who live in them. We encourage deep and abiding interests in the mountains, the people who live in and near them, and the connections between the two. The Institute supports thinking across disciplinary and political boundaries in order to foster conversations about the landscapes that are part of our lives. We strive to serve as a home for exploration, a refuge for reflection and thought, and a forum for community conversation.

During the 2017 Fall Semester, 14 students, two professors, and a program coordinator loaded a bunch of books and some camping gear into a trailer, piled into a couple of vans, and took off on a 10,000 mile, 84 day academic adventure around the American West. The trip was designed as an exploration into the issues at the heart of the contemporary West. Students earned 16 credits in environmental studies and history as they study Environmental Cooperation and Conflict, Landscape and Meaning, the History of Public Lands, and the Native West.
This prolonged journey into the field gave us a chance to learn directly from the landscapes and ecosystems of the west. More importantly, we had a chance to talk with the people who live, work, and study in those places. In this weeks podcast, we remember some of the places we visited and people we met. We also take a moment to look forward to the next Expedition, when we'll hit the road with a new cohort of students in the fall of 2020.
Jeff Nichols and Brent Olson co-direct the Institute for Mountain Research and our 2018-2019 Mountain Fellows are Katie Saad and Naomi Shapiro. Our theme song is “Home” by Pixie and the Partygrass Boys.. As Naomi likes to say, “They are awesome and you should check them out.”
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