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The Big Why Answers to your questions — big or small — about anything under the Big Sky. Let's see what we can discover together!
The Big Why

Podcast Directory
The Big Why

The Big Why

From Montana Public Radio

Answers to your questions — big or small — about anything under the Big Sky. Let's see what we can discover together!

Most Recent Episodes

The state lottery was meant to help fund schools. Does it?

When voters authorized the Montana Lottery in 1986, the promise was that lottery revenues would be used for education funding. Now, with schools facing budget woes and lawmakers debating funding bills, one listener wants to know if this gamble is paying off.

What is 'conifer expansion' and how does it affect the water supply?

More than half a million acres in southwest Montana have been impacted by conifer expansion. It used to be that fires would come through these landscapes and burn back the trees, but that natural cycle isn't happening anymore. Now, more trees are encroaching into traditional sagebrush habitat, and that has impacts on our water supply.

Why does the state have a Spanish name? Why so many Rock Creeks? 'And-aconda?' Racetrack?

Why does the state have a Spanish name? Why so many Rock Creeks? What's the deal with 'And-aconda'? Racetrack? This week, a sequel to an episode we ran all about Montana's place names and their numerous and sometimes humorous origins.

Why does the state have a Spanish name? Why so many Rock Creeks? 'And-aconda?' Racetrack?

Listen · 8:51

Join us for our 60th anniversary party on Feb. 7th!

Come celebrate MTPR's 60th anniversary with a birthday bash on Feb. 7th at the Union Club in Missoula! It's a night of music, cake, and mingling with MTPR staff and fellow public radio fans.

Agriculture is a 'graying' industry. Are Montana youths prepared to take over?

Farming and ranching combined generate billions of dollars in revenue and employ tens of thousands of Montanans. They're also on the cusp of a generational sea change. One listener wants to know how young people are being encouraged and prepared for life as a farmer or rancher.

Agriculture is a 'graying' industry. Are Montana youths prepared to take over?

Listen · 8:52

What would a federal abortion ban mean for Montana's new constitutional protections?

Montana voters approved a constitutional amendment in November to protect access to abortion. What would federal anti-abortion laws mean for Montana's new amendment?

What would a federal abortion ban mean for Montana's new constitutional protections?

Listen · 8:23

Snow is melting earlier. What does that mean for our groundwater supply?

You probably know snowpack affects the amount of water in our rivers. But snowmelt also recharges underground water systems and flows back into the rivers and streams, keeping them running even after the snow melts. What happens to groundwater supplies when the snowmelt comes earlier in the year?

Snow is melting earlier. What does that mean for our groundwater supply?

Listen · 8:13

What do we know about Montana's earliest residents?

An archeological find in the Shields Valley in 1968 revealed some surprising new information about the earliest inhabitants the state, and provides a window into the shifting ethics of modern archeology. Our story starts in the Ice Age, when people took to the mountains of Montana to hunt camels, cheetahs and mammoths.

What happens when rail lines are abandoned?

Railroads helped build the state we know today. Now, rail travel has all but disappeared in Montana, and many unused lines are going dormant or being abandoned. What happens to them next?

What happens to abandoned oil & gas wells in Montana?

An oil company comes in, drills a hole and a well is born. But what if the well stops producing or the company in charge goes bankrupt, leaving behind holes that can be thousands of feet deep, spout toxic gasses and muck things up on the surface? These so-called 'orphan wells' are all over Montana.

The Big Why

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