MSU Library offers new podcast series inspired by Ivan Doig

A new podcast series inspired by famed Montana author Ivan Doig and offered by the Montana State University Library is now available to the public.

The podcast series, called “The Wind from Eden: Montana Weather Stories,” explores how weather shaped the history, culture and literature of central Montana. The episodes include interviews with residents of Meagher and Pondera counties and use the writings of Doig as a literary lens through which to view these conditions.

The project was funded with a grant from Humanities Montana. MSU Library partnered with Jeff Rice, who edited, produced and hosted the series. Rice is an independent radio producer whose stories have appeared on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” “Here and Now” and “The Best of NPR.” He is also the program director at the library’s Acoustic Atlas, a collection of natural sound recordings from Montana and the western U.S.  

The episodes range from five to 15 minutes in length and explore the history of ranching in the region known informally as “Doig Country,” touching on the fierce weather conditions during the early to mid-20th century. The first five episodes address the weather-related themes of wind, extreme cold, isolation, spring rebirth and the celebration of summer.

“For Montanans along the Rocky Mountain Front, weather was a factor during every season,” said Rice. “The area’s brutal winters made travel difficult and often separated families. By contrast, warm or sweltering summers were a period of celebration but brought challenges such as thunderstorms, fire and hazards for livestock.”

To enhance the interviews, Rice also spoke with meteorologists, historians and literary scholars. Doig’s widow, Carol Doig, was an adviser to the series.

“We’re pleased to work with Jeff on the podcast series,” said Kenning Arlitsch, dean of MSU Library. “By capturing these stories, we are able to preserve historic information about Montana’s rapidly changing ranching culture.”

The podcast is available at ivandoig.montana.edu/projects/sounds/, all major podcasting platforms and Public Radio Exchange (PRX), allowing for potential broadcast on radio programs throughout Montana and beyond. Audio from the podcasts is also included in MSU Library’s Ivan Doig Writer’s Quest Traveling Trunks, a learning experience designed to introduce students to the works of Doig and available for loan to 7th through 12th grade teachers throughout Montana.

Doig, who died in 2015, grew up in White Sulphur Springs and Dupuyer and set the majority of his 16 books in the Big Sky State. His first book, “This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind,” a poetic memoir published in 1979, was a finalist for the National Book Award. Doig then turned to writing fiction that perennially hit bestseller lists. Carol Doig donated his archive to MSU Library in 2015.

The Ivan Doig Archive can be accessed at ivandoig.montana.edu/.