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This week on ‘The Write Question,’ Lauren speaks with Bill Vaughn, author of ‘The Last Heir: The Triumphs and Tragedies of Two Montana Families’ (Bison Books), the story of the Burke and Herrin families, brought together by marriage.

In this encore broadcast, Lauren chats with Colorado-based poet and scholar Khadijah Queen, author of ‘Anodyne’ (Tin House Books). Their conversation covers a lot: imagining change, our dying planet, “confessional” poetry, the ethics of care—plus much, much more!

A former Republican governor of Montana chastises his party for downplaying the January 6th insurrection. A former Republican congressman (and current congressional candidate) from Montana is chastised for ethics violations. And voters may see an initiative on the ballot that could lower their property taxes and hurt funding for local services.

Two legal decisions go against actions by the last Legislature. Republicans want a more conservative state Supreme Court. Congressional candidate Ryan Zinke calls people who got the COVID vaccine "little Communists." And Texas Senator Ted Cruz gets upset in a Montana airport.

Rep. Rosendale sits out the State of the Union and votes no on a resolution in support of Ukraine. Attorney General Knudsen brags about being 'the most hated man in Helena.' And is the furor over Gov. Gianforte's lion hunt much ado about nothing?

Tail feathers, and tails in general, provide a variety of functions for different animal species. The prehensile tails of monkeys in Central and South America are the ultimate fifth appendage. These tails can be used for grasping and hanging from branches and manipulating objects. Curiously, while African monkey species often have similar tails, none have grasping prehensile tails.

I looked up into the starry night and a flood of emotions came over me as I thought about my T̓at̓áyaqn (Bitterroot Salish) ancestors who hunted this way for thousands of years. All of a sudden, snčlčlép (coyotes) began howling and I felt this strong connection to my ancestors and the bison. This hunt helped me realize the sacred significance of bison to my people and I wanted to find out more about these glorious animals.

Imagine being on the shore of the Western Interior Seaway, 73 million years ago, near what is now Fort Peck Lake and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. (Yes, Montana once had beachfront property along a huge, warm, shallow inland sea!) You spy elasmosaurid Nakonanectes bradti as she comes up for air, showing teeth the size of a great white shark’s.

For millennia mosses have been used as insulation, diapers, and in many other ways that require absorption. I had to know more.

They’re in my yard, in a yard two blocks away, or on someone’s front porch chewing pumpkins. It’s rare that I take my daily four-mile trek without seeing these white-tailed wonders, often grazing near the sidewalk, seemingly unafraid.