In Other Words

In celebration of International Women's Day and Women's History Month 2015, Beth Judy and Ann Szalda-Petree produced what Ann calls an hour-long "docu-drama." It's about about access to justice,  health care, education and political power, but also about why we often don't hear about the lives of women, whether they live in far-flung parts of the world or in our own backyard.

After more than thirty years of broadcasts, the final "In Other Words" show on Montana Public Radio aired on Tuesday, November 11, 2014.

Historian, member of the Montana Legislature, and long-time Missoula resident Diane Sands describes in fascinating detail the story of women's suffrage, both in Montana and nationwide.  November 3, 2014 marks the hundredth anniversary of women winning the right to vote in the state.

Ann Szalda-Petree talks with Shawna Lee, a venue manager who books stage shows in Missoula. Shawna is the go-to woman who locates the sound company, the plexiglass, the M & Ms for traveling and local bands, most of them male. Shawna believes a combination of patience and local connections helped break into this field: "It's a matter of establishing trust."

Operating out of Athens, Georgia since 1976, the Jeannette Rankin Foundation (founded by Jeannette herself and some admirers) assists women over age 35 in going back to school, a step that improves their lives and those of their families and communities.

IOW Producer Beth Judy talks with Sue Lawrence, Executive Director of the foundation, and also Francy Moll of Polson, Montana, a Rankin Scholarship alumna.

This interview first aired in April 2013, sixteen months before Curtis was chosen to replace John Walsh as Montana's Democratic nominee in the 2014 U.S. Senate election.

Bryony Schwan talks with Dr. Sally Thompson, an archaeologist, ethnographer and ethnohistorian who long ago forged connections with indigenous North Americans that re-defined the philosophy and nature of her work. Recently, Sally spent time in Ladakh, in the northeast Himalaya region of India, where ancient medicine and lifeways are colliding with modernity.

Ann Szalda-Petree interviews Dr. Elizabeth Kohlstaedt, chief clinical officer of Intermountain of Helena, about residential treatment for abused and neglected children. Dr. Kohlstaedt describes the complexities of treating children who need help learning how to have healthy relationships.  

(This show aired on Montana Public Radio on March 12th, 2013.  Thanks to Clark Grant for producing.

In the drilling sites and "man camps" of North Dakota's oil fields, women can seem like fictional beings.  But you don't really need to look far to find women living and working in the Bakken oil patch. In small towns near drilling rigs, women and teenagers perform essential jobs. Some are native to the region, while others moved there independently or with partners, looking for work. These women keep the towns moving and sometimes even venture onto the oil fields to do a "man's" work.

Amy Cilimburg talks with naturalist and Lolo National Forest Wildlife Interpreter Sue Reel about native bees, the plants they need, why we need pollinators, and the colorful guides Sue developed.

Amy also speaks with Amy Seaman – Amy's colleague at Montana Audubon – about cool birds.