Arts & Culture

While some animals get off comparatively easily in the winter by hibernating, or by gorging and then fasting, the short-tailed weasel has to hunt every day to keep its blast-furnace metabolism stoked. With a heart rate of several hundred beats a minute and little in the way of fat reserves on its long and slender body, the animal must consume half its body weight daily.

The Food Guys return to the object of Jon Jackson's mother's phrase, "There's nothing like an RC and a moon pie." Jon recalls her fruit turnovers, baked from leftover pie pastry, each one clutched in the hand of a child making a beeline for the front door. Moon pies, hand pies, turnovers: call them what you will, they're homey, unpretentious, easy to make, and delicious.

"My desire is to have broad-based community ownership of Montana businesses; because it makes sense. These businesses are profitible, they can pay a dividend. And so that's really where our arrow is pointed, but there's a lot of interim steps between starting and getting to that destination," says Mary Stranahan, founder of Goodworks Ventures.

Founded in 2007, Goodworks Ventures, a Missoula, Montana impact fund, currently has a portfolio of 35 companies in science, food, sustainability and technology. The company is the dream of Stranahan, a longtime Montana philanthropist and retired physician. Goodworks Ventures invests in early-stage  Montana businesses that they believe contribute to the greater good and enact positive change.

Shonda Buchanan can tell a story like no other. Her writing pulls at the thread of truth with deep compassion, grace, and humor. In this conversation, she shares what it means to be Black Indian both within intimate family relations as well as in the broader cultural and historical contexts. Her work is prescient and her voice is disarming: “This is our country and we have a right to stay. We have a right to be here and we have a right to fight. . . For me, writing is fighting.”

As the temperature drops and the leaves turn brown and drop as well, it gets hard for a botanist in Montana to find anything interesting to study outside. At this time of year I go on field trips to the supermarket. In the produce section the leaves are still green, and you can always find some germinating alfalfa and mung beans. There’s a lot to be learned among the aisles, but there’s a distressing amount of misinformation as well.

Avocado-Lime Cheesecake with Oatmeal Brittle Crust and Gingered Blueberry Sauce

This is a rich, creamy, smooth, no-bake cheesecake with a crust made from oatmeal brittle, oats, and walnuts. A gingered blueberry sauce, sweetened with some of the powdered brittle, adds a zesty finish. Make the brittle first. You’ll have much more than you need for the crust and sauce, so you can enjoy leftovers as a special candy treat.

Sophia Shalmiyev wields her intellect and insight during a conversation about her lyrical, heart-breaking memoir, “Mother Winter.” Both the book and the conversation are a collection of Shalmiyev’s influences, from traumatic moments of her early years in Leningrad to the inspiring Riot Grrrl feminist movement. Shalmiyev speaks with authority and passion about mother loss, inviting listeners into a kaleidoscopic take on the immigrant narrative while offering possibilities for a more just future.

If there is something happening in the entrepreneurial world in Montana, Paul Gladen probably has something to do with it. In 2008, Paul came to Montana armed with a degree from Oxford University and more than 15 years of experience working with Arthur Andersen and his own firm Muzeview.

In 2009, Paul helped launch Hellgate Venture Network, a Missoula-based local entrepreneurship forum. When the university was chosen to be part of the prestigious Blackstone LaunchPad, a national effort to provide viable pathways to entrepreneurship, Paul was the “go to” choice to head it up.