Northstar Unplugged

Majka Burhardt is a professional climber, conservation entrepreneur, author, and filmmaker. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Legado and the author of Vertical Ethiopia: Climbing Toward Possibility in the Horn of Africa, which was short-listed for the Banff Book Award. Her work and projects have been featured in The Economist, Outside Magazine, The Weather Channel, NPR and more, and her articles have appeared in publications including Afar, Men's Health, Skiing Magazine, Backpacker, Patagonia, Alpinist, Women's Adventure, The Explorers Journal, and Climbing. Majka is a climber and ambassador with Patagonia and an American Mountain Guides Association Rock Guide and Ice Instructor. She graduated from Princeton University cum laude and received a MFA in Creative Writing from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers. She and her husband, Peter Doucette, an internationally certified (AMGA/IFMGA) mountain guide, live in Jackson, New Hampshire with their twin children. Full show notes at https://northstarunplugged.kristenrainey.com/

Sarah Kitchin is an architect and faculty member at Montana State University who joined MASS Design Group in 2011 as a founding member of the Kigali Office, contributing to nearly all of MASS's built work in Rwanda. She has led design and implementation projects in various typologies, including healthcare, housing, and education, cultivating deep engagement with local builders, material suppliers, and agencies to maximize impact during the construction process.Full show notes at https://northstarunplugged.kristenrainey.com/

Matthew Marquardt is a professional triathlete and medical student at the Ohio State University College ofMedicine. A varsity swimmer while in college and US Olympic Trials Qualifier, he graduated from Princeton University in 2021 with a major in Chemistry and a minor in Entrepreneurship. A diagnosis of sleep apnea during his sophomore year of college sparked his interest in learning more about sleep and how sleep can be used to optimize performance in all aspects of life.Full show notes at https://northstarunplugged.kristenrainey.com/

Genevieve Walsh is the Co-founder and CEO of Iqra Fund, supporting the education of girls in the remote regions of northern Pakistan.Full show notes at https://northstarunplugged.kristenrainey.com/

Emily Stifler Wolfe has two kids, two donkeys, two cats, five chickens, one spunky, lanky, very enthusiastic teenage dog, and a mountain man husband. A journalist-turned-strategist, Emily has called Bozeman home since January of 2005. Her first job in town was selling homemade cookies off her tailgate while parked at the turnoff for Bridger Bowl. Full show notes at https://northstarunplugged.kristenrainey.com/

Leigh Marz is a collaboration consultant and leadership coach for major universities, nonprofit coalitions, and federal agencies. Along with Justin Zorn, she is a co-author of GOLDEN: The Power of Silence in a World of Noise. Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

Ryan Green and Adrienne Huckabone are a husband and wife duo who founded and run Happy Trash Can Curbside Composting, a residential and commercial compost operation in Bozeman and surrounding areas.Full show notes at northstarunplugged.com

Amy Loughman is a Senior Research Fellow at Deakin University's Food & Mood Centre in Australia. She is passionate about how the environments we live and work in affect our wellbeing. In this episode, we discuss the science about how the world around us - from our homes, workplaces, natural spaces, microbes and more - impacts our brain health. Full show notes at northstarunplugged.com

Melissa Lockman and her family are survivors of Dec 2021's Marshall Fire in Louisville, CO. She is a somatic psychotherapist with a passion for supporting her clients in finding joy, meaning and satisfaction in motherhood and parenting. She is also passionate about assisting her clients in navigating trauma in order to move from a sense of overwhelm to a sense of power. Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

Dylan Tomine is the author of two books published by Patagonia -- Closer to the Ground: An Outdoor Family's Year on the Water, in the Woods and at the Table (2012), and most recently, Headwaters: The Adventures, Obsession, and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman (2022), winner of a National Outdoor Book Award. He is also a producer of the feature-length documentary "Artifishal," which has been watched by more than 3.5 million viewers.  

Trained as a professional chef and cooking her way around the world as a private chef for over 25 years, who would have thought Rachel Vaughn would find herself on the border of Poland and Ukraine, cooking for refugees fleeing the war?  World Central Kitchen asked her to join its team after witnessing her passion for justice, humanity, and food. When she isn't saving the world, one pierogi at a time, Rachel resides in Bozeman, MT and Martha's Vineyard, MA as an empty-nester, having raised her two boys.Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

John McPhee was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and was educated at Princeton University and Cambridge University.  After seven years at Time magazine, he moved to The New Yorker, where he has been a staff writer since 1965.  A Fellow of the Geological Society of America and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he was awarded in 1999 the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction (Annals of the Former World).Full show notes at northstarunplugged.com

Ethan Barlow is the co-founder and principal of Holding Ground, a design build firm in Bozeman, Montana. Before beginning his career as an architect, Ethan played professional baseball, worked in finance, and apprenticed to a master carpenter on an island in Maine.Full show notes at northstarunplugged.com

Husband and wife team Charley Graham and Lauren Reich are joint owners of Bozeman's Little Star Diner, combining their talents of chef and farmer. Charley runs the kitchen and Lauren grows much of the produce for their small modern diner which highlights the peak flavors of each season.Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

Nate Kouhana is the founder and CEO of Anthem Snacks, a premium veteran-owned meat snack company. He spent six years in the military and served as a Green Beret, where he received numerous awards, including two Bronze Star Medals and a Purple Heart.Full show notes at northstarunplugged.com

Emmet Gowin is a renowned photographer whose work has evolved from intimate portraits of his wife Edith Morris and extended Virginia family to aerial vistas of nuclear test sites, to scientific surveys of tropical ecosystems and their dependent biodiversity.  Emmet also served on the faculty of Princeton University as a professor of photography in the Visual Arts Program from 1973 until his retirement in 2009, and is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (1974) and two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships (1977, 1979). Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

As the founder and Executive Director of the Young Masterminds Initiative, a nonprofit organization offering young men of color with the tools, resources and empowerment needed to navigate life, Manny introduced the Camping to Connect outdoor mentoring program, which is the focus of Wood Hood, a short documentary film that recently premiered at the Mountainfilm Festival.”Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

In 2007, Benjamin Sears founded the LUXYOGA retreat in the South of France, an experience featured in Esquire, Yoga Journal, Vogue, the New York Times Magazine, and more. LUXYOGA now exists as a transformational experience both in person at retreats and trainings in the Paradise Valley of Montana, wherever Benjamin travels, and online. He conducts seminars worldwide, mentors yoga teachers, and leads acclaimed 200, 300 and 500 hour Yoga Alliance certified teacher training programs. Full show notes at www.northstarunpugged.com

Kristin Ohlson is an author and freelance journalist based in Portland, Oregon. She wrote the book The Soil Will Save Us and appeared in the award winning documentary Kiss the Ground, speaking about the connection between soil health and climate health.  Her latest book is Sweet in Tooth and Claw: Stories of Generosity and Cooperation in the Natural World.Full show notes at northstarunplugged.com

In 1999, Josh Morris moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand, intending to stay for a year or two in his position there teaching English, but life had other plans. 23 years later, Josh is still living in Chiang Mai. He and his wife Kat- whom he met there- started Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures and later, the Progression Group. Josh was featured in the recent film The Rescue about the cave rescue of a Thai soccer team in July of 2018. In this interview,  we learn more about Josh's critical role in that complex, technical, cross-cultural rescue effort. Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

Lorca Smetana teaches resilience in leadership to entrepreneurs and professionals as well as to students and faculty at Montana State University, helping them design for high levels of energy, innovation, compassion, and recovery.  A survivor of the 1986 school mountaineering tragedy on Mt. Hood, Lorca has been teaching and learning for over thirty years about risk, personal sustainability, recovery from tragedy, and joyFull show notes at northstarunplugged.com

Philip Henderson has spent nearly 30 years in the outdoor industry. He has been on several major expeditions including Mount Everest, Mount Denali, Mount Kilimanjaro and Mt Kenya. Most recently, in May 2022, he led the first all Black team on an expedition of Mount Everest. Full show notes at northstarunplugged.com

Lucia Giovannini is a former international Italian supermodel turned transformational speaker and author of 13 books, including her most recent one, A Whole New Life.Full show notes at northstarunplugged.com

Doug Peacock is a Montana-based American naturalist, outdoorsman, and author who has spent decades of his life alone in the wilderness, observing Grizzly Bears in Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks following several tours as a Green Beret medic in the Vietnam War.Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

Kareen Erbe owns Broken Ground, a permaculture education and design business in Bozeman, Montana that teaches people how to grow their own food and become more self-reliant.Full show notes at northstarunplugged.com

Rick Ridgeway is an outdoor adventurer, writer and advocate for sustainability and conservation initiatives. For 15 years, Rick was the VP of Environmental Affairs and then VP of Public Engagement at Patagonia, Inc.  In addition, Rick is recognized as one of the world's foremost mountaineers. With three companions, he was the first American to summit K2,  which at over 28,000 feet is the world's 2nd highest peak after Everest and is located on the China-Pakistan border. Rick has done other significant climbs and explorations on all continents. He has written seven books, many magazine stories and produced and directed dozens of television shows. National Geographic honored him with its “Lifetime Achievement in Adventure” award.Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

Laura Putnam is the author of the award-winning Workplace Wellness That Works and CEO and founder of Motion Infusion, a leading well-being provider.Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com.

Marah Hardt is both a scientist and a storyteller, focused on our oceans. In this interview, we dive into some of her research on the global impacts of COVID on the seafood industry. We also talk about her book Sex in the Sea to hear how human activities- including those leading to climate change- are wrecking havoc on how fish mate in the sea. Full show notes at northstarunplugged.com

After 9+ years of owning multiple gyms including CrossFit (™) affiliates, and a deep analysis of his “ideal day,” Eric Malzone decided to sell his businesses to create a bigger impact in the fitness industry while living the lifestyle that he and his wife had always dreamed of.  He is now the host of two top-rated podcasts - The Future of Fitness and Fitness Blitz Radio, where he has interviewed 650+ professionals in the areas of fitness, health and wellness. Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

Tanja Hester is the author of Wallet Activism: How to Use Every Dollar You Spend, Earn, and Save as a Force for Change  and Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny Pinching Way.  She's a former political consultant and journalist turned activist and early retiree.Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

Nic Bryce is the founder and owner of Grotto Meats, a charcuterie company in Bozeman, Montana. He also launched Bozeman's first food truck, Rendezvous, with a crepe and taco menu.Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

Tired of wearing men's work pants that didn't fit, rural entrepreneur Sarah Calhoun founded Red Ants Pants, designing pants that would fit and flatter working women.  Based in White Sulphur Springs, Montana,  Calhoun is also the founder of the Red Ants Pants Music Festival held there every summer. Festival proceeds fuel the Red Ants Pants Foundation, supporting women's leadership, working family farms and ranches, and rural communities.Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

Chris lives in Bozeman, Montana and has worked professionally and volunteered in public service for more than three decades, most recently as Mayor and City Commissioner for Bozeman. He previously worked for ten years as the Policy Director at Headwaters Economics, a research group that works with communities across the West to promote community development and local economic growth. Before, Mehl was the Communications Director in the Northern Rockies Office of The Wilderness Society. Chris started his career working for 15 years in Washington, D.C. as Press Secretary for Members of the House of Representatives.  Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

Paige Davis is a mindfulness trainer, entrepreneur, author, and cancer survivor. She facilitates mindfulness, meditation, and resilience programming designed to enhance communication, productivity, and manage high-demand situations with more clarity, compassion and creativity. Paige, along with her sister, Melissa Nathan, is co-founder of Pebbl, a comfortable floor chair with back support. Described as "the yoga mat for meditation," Pebbl provides a lil' cush for the tush, peace for the soul, and support on the pathway to presence and well being.Full show notes at northstarunplugged.com

Clint Ober is behind the grounding or earthing movement which consists of reaping the health benefits- including better sleep and reduced inflammation-  from spending more time with our bodies in direct contact with the earth- such as simply walking in the grass barefoot. After spending 30 years in the communications industry where everything has to be grounded to the earth, Clint is now CEO of a business called Earthing FX, focused on the topic of grounding.Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

Eva Gruber is a Habit Coach, Mental Fitness Advocate, and International Best-Selling Author. She supports people who have too much on their plate to improve their wellbeing, relationships, and peak-performance.Full show notes at northstarunplugged.com

Matt Skoglund is the founder and owner of North Bridger Bison, a bison ranch rooted in Regenerative Agriculture principles located in Montana's Shields Valley.Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

Yale professor Justin Farrell's most recent book, Billionaire Wilderness, offers a revealing look at the intersection of wealth, philanthropy, and conservation.Full show notes at www.northstarunplugged.com

When Vasu was only nine months old, he was diagnosed with septicemia, resulting in the amputation of one of his legs. Since then, Vasu has not looked back; with the motto of “ ninjasticking through the woods to bring intersectionality to the outdoors,” Vasu continues to challenge the biases that go with being a Disabled person of color with a through his intersectional work which include being the first adaptive athlete for The North Face, a founding member for The Outdoor F.U.T.U.R.E Initiative, the co-founder of Inclusive Outdoors Project, and a Disability Access strategist for The Avarna Group, In Solidarity Project and independently.Full show notes at nothstarunplugged.com

Morgan Lindsey is an Austin, Texas based psychotherapist, specializing in resilience building, self-compassion, and trauma recovery. Her work consists of individual therapy, group psychotherapy, corporate mindfulness, and training coaches and therapists up and coming in the field. Her work aims to weave modern neuroscience with ancient wisdom traditions in an effort to help people find the love and connection they long for both within themselves and each other.See full show notes at northstarunplugged.com

Brandon LaGreca is a licensed acupuncturist, a thought leader in the synthesis of traditional and functional medicine, and the author of Cancer and EMF Radiation: How to Protect Yourself From the Silent Carcinogen of Electropollution.Full show notes at www.northstarsleepschool.com/podcast.

Based near Bozeman, Montana,  Julie Fathy is an expert is zero waste living. Through systems she has developed throughout her home, Julie shares how to make this happen and why less is more.Full show notes at www.northstarsleepschool.com/podcast.

Best selling author John J. Ratey, MD is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and an internationally recognized expert in Neuropsychiatry. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles, and 11 books published in 17 languages. With the publication of  Spark-The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, Dr. Ratey has established himself as one of the world's foremost authorities on the brain-fitness connection.  See full show notes at www.northstarsleepschool.com/podcast.

April Rinne helps individuals and organizations rethink and reshape their relationship with change, uncertainty, and a world in flux.  She's the author of the newly-launched book, Flux: 8 Superpowers for thriving in constant change.  April has been weaving a story about how to thrive amid flux for as long as she can remember, drawing on her history as a futurist, advisor, global development executive, microfinance lawyer, investor, mental health advocate, certified yoga teacher, globetrotter (100+ countries), and insatiable handstander.  April also harnesses her very personal experiences with flux, including the death of both of her parents in a car accident when she was 20. Through her travels and tragedy, vision and values, global perspective and grounded sense of purpose, April helps others better understand how we see, think about, struggle with, and ultimately forge positive relationships with change.Full show notes at www.northstarsleepschool.com/podcast.

After becoming financially independent at 32 years old, Jillian turned her personal and professional experience towards a creative life. She is a popular public speaker, coach, writer, and teacher of online classes. Her book Fire the Haters: Finding the Courage to Create Online in a Critical World  helps creatives and entrepreneurs share their best work with the world. She hosts the Everyday Courage Podcast. Her husband and she live in Montana, near Glacier National Park, with their 5 kids, and a dog named Cheesy Taco. She's an avid traveler and drinker of hot tea. You can connect with her at jillianjohnsrud.com.See full show notes at www.northstarsleepschool.com/podcast.

In one of Richard Manning's 11 books, Go Wild,  he and co-author John Ratey share why returning to a lifestyle more like that of our ancestors will restore our health and wellbeing.Full snow notes at www.northstarsleepschool.com/podcast

You may have seen Dr. Anna Lembke in the 2020 Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma about the impact of social media on our lives. She is a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Clinic. She's the author of the book Drug Dealer, MD about the opioid epidemic and the forthcoming book Dopamine Nation, about compulsive overconsumption, including digital products. Full show notes at www.northstarsleepschool.com/podcast

Bryan Stewart is CEO of Hacker Paradise, the longest running remote work and travel community, and he is also cofounder of Outpost, a network of coliving, coworking, and social spaces for location independent entrepreneurs, creatives, and professionals.  Bryan is based in Indonesia, on the island of Bali.Full show notes at www.northstarsleepschool.com/podcast

At the non-profit MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies), Berra Yazar-Klosinski oversees research on the risk/benefit profile of psychedelics in compliance with the global regulatory landscape. In this episode, we hear more about how various psychedelics- such as MDMA and cannabis- have been successful in treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (or PTSD), sleep disorders, and more. See full show notes at www.northstarsleepschool.com/podcast

In 2015, Canadian adventurer, writer, and photographer Bruce Kirkby, his wife, and two young sons left Kimberley, BC and began a six month adventure that included 97 days of overland travel to Ladakh, India where they spent three months living in a remote monastery, Karsha Gompa.Full show notes at www.northstarsleepschool.com/podcast

Lina Menard has resided in a yurt and three tiny houses on wheels, exploring questions around intentional living, less stuff, and happiness. With a background in sustainable design-build and urban planning, Lina also has a penchant for experiential learning and healthy communities. She has found her niche nestled between small spaces, collaborative education, and community planning.See full show notes at www.northstarsleepschool.com/podcast.