The Write Question

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks to anthropologist Sally Thompson, author of ‘Black Robes Enter Coyote’s World: Chief Charlo and Father De Smet in the Rocky Mountains’ (Bison Books; University of Nebraska Press). In this, the second half of their conversation, Lauren and Sally discuss Chiefs Victor and Charlo and the relationship between Jesuit missionaries and Montana’s native people. The two also talk at length about Chief Charlo’s 1876 speech, a lament of white politicians and settlers who evicted his people from the Bitterroot Valley after the tribe had always/only helped them, beginning with Lewis and Clark.

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks to anthropologist Sally Thompson, author of ‘Black Robes Enter Coyote’s World: Chief Charlo and Father De Smet in the Rocky Mountains’ (Bison Books; University of Nebraska Press). In this, the first part of a two part conversation, Lauren and Sally discuss how this book was conceived and they dig into the figure of Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, his history and his motivations.

During this episode of ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with University of Montana journalism professor Jule Banville and audio producer Jad Abumrad about ‘The Obit Project,’ a collaborative podcast created by the UM School of Journalism and the Montana Media Lab that combines the art of audio storytelling and the obituary form to spotlight the multi-dimensional lives of real Montanans. This conversation was recorded in advance of Jad’s 2026 Dean Stone Lecture and University of Montana Democracy Summit Keynote Lecture, which takes place on April 13, 2026.

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Wyoming-based author Nina McConigley about her novel, ‘How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder’ (Pantheon; Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group). Nina is a spring lecturer for the Elk River Arts & Lecture series; she will appear in Livingston on April 16, 2026.

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ for a live, pledge weed episode, host Lauren Korn speaks with Allison De Jong: the Montana Natural History Center’s Communications Coordinator and the editor of ‘Montana Naturalist’ and ‘Field Notes.’

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with memoirist Fred Haefele, author of ‘The Essential Book of Pickup Trucks’ (Bison Books).

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with University of Montana alum Andrew Martin (MFA ‘13), author of ‘Down Time,’ published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with poet, author, and educator Maya Jewell Zeller about her memoir-in-essays, ‘Raised by Ferns’ (Porphyry Press).

In this episode of ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks to journalist Leah Sottile about ‘Blazing Eye Sees All: Love Has Won, False Prophets, and the Fever Dream of the American New Age’ (Grand Central Publishing; Hachette Book Group). This is the second part of a two-part conversation.

In this episode of ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks to journalist Leah Sottile about ‘Blazing Eye Sees All: Love Has Won, False Prophets, and the Fever Dream of the American New Age’ (Grand Central Publishing; Hachette Book Group). This is the first part of a two-part conversation.

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Penobscot writer Morgan Talty, author of ‘Fire Exit’ (Tin House Books; Zando Projects), now available in paperback!

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Joanna Pocock, author of ‘Greyhound’ (Soft Skull Press).

This mini episode of ‘The Write Question’ features used bookseller Crystal Koosman, owner of Last Best Books in Missoula, Montana. What does her used book ethic look like? What’s trending right now?

In advance of his appearance in Helena at MT Book Co. on Monday, February 2, 2026, novelist David Guterson, author of ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ (Vintage Books), discusses his latest book, ‘Evelyn in Transit’ (W. W. Norton & Company).

In advance of his appearance in Livingston, Montana—as a guest of Elk River Arts & Lectures on January 23, 2026, at the Livingston Elks Lodge—novelist Colum McCann discusses the many themes and narratives found in his latest book, ‘Twist’ (Penguin Random House).

In this episode of ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with former Montana Poet Laureate Tami Haaland about her collection, ‘If I Had Said Beauty’ (Lost Horse Press).

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Missoula, Montana-based writer Brian Buckbee, author of ‘We Should All Be Birds’ (Tin House Books; Zando Projects), written with Carol Ann Fitzgerald, who joins them for the first half of their conversation.

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with memoirist and renowned whitewater rafting guide Bridget Crocker, author of ‘The River’s Daughter’ (Spiegel & Grau), about her life lived along the Snake River in Wyoming.

Host Lauren Korn picnics with writer Matt de la Peña to celebrate the release of ‘Última parada de la calle Market,’ the Spanish edition of the Caldecott Honor Book and Newbery Award-winning ‘Last Stop on Market Street’ (G. P. Putnam’s Sons; Penguin Group USA).

This is the second part of a two-part conversation with Alice Bolin, author of ‘Culture Creep: Notes on the Pop Apocalypse’ (Mariner Books; HarperCollins).