The Modern West

Love stories set in the American West are often extra romantic and heart-wrenching because of all the moving around the lovers are forced into. Jenny and Brian Drollinger’s story takes them to every nook of the American West. But they actually met in high school in Alaska. It’s a real life 80’s rom-com, with all the miscommunications, near misses and twists of fate.

We usually think of full time RVers as retirees. But these days, over half are Millennials and Gen Zers. And way more people are adopting the RV life. Including a house builder who doesn’t have a house of his own. Instead he lives in his RV on the edge of Wyoming’s Big Hollow. He says, off gridding isn’t for the faint of heart.

You’ve probably seen viral videos on social media about how quaint it is to live an off-grid life. But these videos belie something more problematic going on beneath the surface. An affordable housing crisis that’s affecting the working and middle class more all the time. Eight of the ten states with the least affordable housing are in the American West. And that’s causing lots of resilient westerners to get creative about their living situations. Including Host Melodie Edwards who shares her own story of living off grid in a canvas dome in a no man’s land in northern Arizona.

Two conversations about Wyoming's news ecosystem: one with Cali O'Hare, the editor of the Pinedale Roundup and a roundtable discussion with Solution Journalism's Melissa Cassutt and WyoFile's Rod Miller.

Reviving Rural America -- A Modern West Bonus

This time, an episode from another podcast we care a lot about. It’s called Those Who Can’t Teach Anymore, produced by Charles Fournier, the former sound designer of the Modern West. (To illustrate just what a back scratching industry podcasting is, Melodie happens to be the editor of this podcast as well.) Charles dives into what’s causing public school teachers to leave the profession. We'll hear episode one of his second season in which he collected audio journals through one full school year from teachers across the country. He starts at the beginning, in August.

Back in the 1930’s, a trading post swapped Northern Arapaho artifacts for food and other basic necessities. Decades later, a descendent opened boxes in a storage room of the Episcopal Church in Laramie, Wyoming. There, she found a photo of her grandfather, Chief Yellow Calf.“And so I talked to my grandfather, and I said, 'Grandfather, is there something that I'm supposed to do here? Show me. Guide me.'”80 years later, the church has finally returned the artifacts to the tribe. We attend the ceremony.