Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Come celebrate MTPR’s 60th anniversary with a birthday bash at the Union Club in Missoula! Join us February 7th at 6 p.m. for a night of music, cake, and mingling with MTPR staff and fellow public radio fans.

2024 top audio

  • The Endangered Species Act helped bring the Yellowstone-area grizzly population back from the brink of extinction. It also sparked controversy over a question that looms over more species than just grizzly bears: How do we balance the needs of endangered wildlife with the needs of humans?
  • Wolves get trapped in the wild, loaded onto an airplane, and delivered to Montana and Idaho. When they scamper off into the wilderness, they test a question central to endangered species debates: What does it mean to recover a species?
  • As summer heats up in Montana, so does wildfire season. This raises the question, does winter snowpack really correlate to the severity of the wildfire season? And what does a 'normal' fire season mean?
  • Montana has seen record levels of fundraising for Supreme Court candidates in recent years, parties seem to have their favorite candidates and outside special interest groups spend a lot of money to influence these races. On top of that, not everyone is familiar with the workings of the court. So, how can voters evaluate candidates for state Supreme Court?
  • Everywhere you look in Montana, there are places to gamble. Odds are good you've seen machines in bars, liquor stores and of course, gas stations. How did Montana end up with so many "casinos," and what does it have to do with bingo? The only sure bet is that The Big Why team has the answers.
  • In this special episode of The Big Why, A New Angle host, Justin Angle, joins Austin Amestoy to answer two questions.
  • When it comes to winter driving, everyone wants their route clear and dry, and they want it done quickly. Why don't the plows come sooner or more often? Why don't they drop more salt or deicer? Why not get more drivers on the road? Tag along as a Montana snowplow driver prepares for a big winter storm and find out more about the logistical, environmental and technical challenges that come with keeping the roads clear of snow.
  • The Ninepipe wetlands cover thousands of acres across the Mission Valley. Nearly 15,000 acres are protected by federal, state and tribal agencies, and many more are on private lands. It’s a sprawling complex of wetlands and grasslands tucked at the base of the Mission Mountains. A listener wants to know how the wetlands there formed and if climate change poses a threat.
  • Across Montana there are hundreds of nuclear missile silos and launch facilities hidden in plain sight. If you didn't know what you were looking for, you probably wouldn't know what they were. So, why are there so many nuclear missile sites in Montana?