We interviewed historian, conservationist, author, Betsy Gaines Quammen, in 2020 when her book, AMERICAN ZION: CLIVEN BUNDY, GOD AND PUBLIC LANDS IN THE WEST was published. https://forthright.media/2020/03/18/betsy-gaines-quammen-american-zion-cliven-bundy-god-public-lands-in-the-west/

Her latest book, TRUE WEST: MYTH AND MENDING ON THE FAR SIDE OF AMERICA, was published this Fall by Torrey House Press. She received a doctorate in Environmental History from Montana State University in 2017, her dissertation focused on Mormon settlement and public land conflicts. She has studied various religious traditions over the years, with particular attention to how cultures view landscape and wildlife. The rural American west, pastoral communities of northern Mongolia, and the grasslands of East Africa have been her main areas of interest. She is the president of the Board of Directors of Wild Earth Guardians.

Although TRUE WEST focuses primarily on the intermountain west, what goes on in this region is having tremendous effect on our national politics and well-being. Just two days ago, the Colorado Supreme Court decided in favor of a suit brought by CO Republican and unaffiliated voters, working with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, CREW, against CO Secretary of State Jena Griswold and Donald J. Trump, taking advantage of a CO law that allows voters to challenge a candidate’s eligibility. In this case the eligibility was challenged under Section 3 of the 14th amendment, claiming that the former president had engaged insurrection , based on his actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack by his supporters at his urging. As you will hear in this interview with Betsy Gaines Quammen, recorded in the Beyond the Deep End Studio on the Winter Solstice of 2023, extremist organizing in this region over more than a decade contributed to that insurrection. We share it with you now.

Oath Keepers’ son emerges from traumatic childhood to tell his own story in a long shot election bid https://apnews.com/article/oath-keepers-stewart-rhodes-dakota-adams-montana-e0b46f25dfe319afe29617fd7325eb10

How Mike Johnson’s creationist beliefs clash with climate facts: ‘He just wasn’t interested’ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/13/mike-johnson-creationist-beliefs-clash-with-climate-facts

Christian Nationalism May Not Be Serious, but It’s Dangerous https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/01/opinion/christian-nationalism-trump-renew-america.html

What the South’s population boom means for 2030 redistricting https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/20/census-population-estimates-reapportionment-00132620

The Myth of the Cowboy https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/mar/20/myth-of-the-cowboy