I Am Interchange

In this podcast, our host Tate Chamberlin is joined by Ryland Engelhart — co-founder and executive director of Kiss the Ground and producer of the September 2020 film by the same name — for a conversation about his HATCH accelerator lab, regenerative agriculture, the 2023 Farm Bill and Engelhart’s multi-pronged mission to help save the planet. Next year, the 2023 Farm Bill — a package of legislation passed once every five years that outlines agricultural parameters around farming and food production — will once again define our path forward. Or back. Engelhart and many like him are particularly passionate about engaging public momentum around the bill because its reverberations have the power to revolutionize farming and food in America on a regenerative, sustainable platform, or to seal the fate of the planet and all the species reliant upon it. Co-creator of the documentary film May I Be Frank and co-owner of the groundbreaking Cafe Gratitude and Gracias Madre plant-based restaurants, Engelhart and his family live in Fillmore, California where they put intention into practice on their own 17-acre regenerative organic farm.

In this podcast, our host Tate Chamberlin reimagines philanthropy with HATCH Rethinking Philanthropy lab facilitator Ada Williams Prince and esteemed lab guests, Asiaha Butler and Kimberly Bryant. Ada Williams Prince is the senior advisor for program strategy and investment at Pivotal Ventures, where she works to accelerate positive social programming and evolution, particularly in the areas of adolescent mental health and empowerment and access for women and girls of color. Former electrical engineer and current founder and CEO of Black Girls CODE, a non-profit that introduces girls of color to technology and computer science, Kimberly Bryant has grown her grassroots initiative since 2011 to reach over 30,000 young women worldwide. And Asiaha Butler, co-founder and CEO of the Resident Association of Greater Englewood or R.A.G.E. in Chicago, works to reinvigorate the greater Englewood neighborhood by mobilizing “residents and resources to force a change in the community.” Through the voices and experiences of these commanding women of color, this podcast provides a glimpse of the struggle, the passion, and the power behind change and its makers.

I’m Tate Chamberlin, and in this podcast, I discuss the future of education with HATCH education lab coordinator, President Philomena Mantella of Grand Valley State University, and esteemed lab guests, Ty Hobson-Powell, and Zineb Mouhyi. President of Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, Philly Mantella brings 30 years of higher education experience to both her university role and her work transforming inter-institutional collaborations and designing partnerships for diversity in learning.

The Future of Education HATCH lab was centered around accelerating Mantella’s passion project REP4 (or rapid education prototyping), an alliance of six higher education founding partners working together to transform the education system into a student/learning-centered model. Lab invitee, child prodigy, and founder of Concerned Citizens Demanding Change, Inc., Ty Hobson-Powell joins the discussion as a lifelong activist and advocate intent on disrupting systems and structures that no longer serve the global community.

Photos by MT Shots Photography

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How does a nation reconcile a heinous history of colonialism, slavery, murder, rape, and thievery to itself, let alone the generations that have sprung forth from those it harmed? There are fair arguments for reparations. There are equally persuasive challenges to make the past just that and to come together as a global community of differently colored, shaped, and sized Homo sapiens stumbling through existence with good intentions, but a particular aptitude for making trouble. Humanity has, after all, a rather unadulterated history of exploration and colonization, regardless of origin, ethnicity, and religion; this isn’t American-made.

On the contrary, there are a host of social, political, ethnologic, economic, and sexist structures and constructs in place to ensure that this manor of degradation, exploitation, and annihilation of the “other” continues. How does humanity take down what was, address what is, and build anew?

I’m Tate Chamberlin and in this podcast, myself and a panel of esteemed guests including, business owner Billy McWilliams, indigenous political activist Terry Bradley, indigenous documentary filmmaker Ivy MacDonald, and libertarian entrepreneur Kyle Mack discuss America’s legacy of oppression and genocide, globalization versus tribalism, reconciliation, perspective, and the work needed to ensure a collective future that does not repeat the past.

Indigenous activist and documentary filmmaker Ivy MacDonald is a study in straddling multiple worlds, marrying sometimes contrary identities to create one "beautiful Blackfeet bitch." Born on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana, Ivy is defined by a home as much about place as people. And, while her identification with the LGBTQ community would presumably further fracture an identity already enmeshed in the space between conflicting perspectives, she owns her voice and the range of presence and purpose she embodies as a powerful queer indigenous woman in a world intent on marginalization.

As co-founder of the Bozeman Tea Party, Henry Kriegel is no stranger to political activism or the controversy that can surround it. Born of eastern European Jewish emigrant parents who fled post-WWII Germany with their lives and little else, Kriegel is a first-generation American and a firm believer in the freedoms this country promises, providing some critiques of the governmental bodies sworn to protect them.

This interview was conducted in October 2020, over a year ago. While circumstances and conditions changed significantly since then, the issues and point-of-view shared are still relevant.  Additionally, the views expressed by Mr. Kriegel are his own and not necessarily reflective of any organization with which he has an affiliation. 

Photos by Ben Johnson

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Indigenous activist Terry Bradley has his hands and heart in a lot of pots. Whether he's advocating for the LGBTQ community, igniting a passion for the democratic process with Forward Montana, or pinpointing colonizers' roles in the desecration of "the other" and their responsibilities going forward, Bradley has a lot to say and it's not all met with an accepting acquiescence. While he challenges whether we can make America great again, he argues that we have the capacity to achieve that greatness for the very first time – and that it's worth the fight.

In this podcast, Interchange Founder Tate Chamberlin and Terry Bradley discuss identity, colonization, the challenge of tribal reconciliation, and hope on the horizon.

Photos by Ben Johnson

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What began for Billy McWilliams as a simple move to follow family, ended halfway across the world in a small southwest Montana town. Since his relocation with twin brother Robert decades ago, Billy has worn many hats, the most fitting of which as the owner of Erotique, an adult boutique in the downtown area. Meager beginnings in the late '80s as the store manager ignited Billy's passion for sexual health, empowerment, and advocacy. Through a range of applications and arenas – from providing HIV outreach and awareness during the height of the AIDS epidemic to inviting MSU's incoming freshman (and their blushing parents) to embrace their sexual identities and independence – Billy has become a warm example to an ever-evolving Bozeman demographic of what is possible when inclusivity and compassion drive action. And now, he's set his sights on a bit wider circle of influence through the Great American Orgasm. Billy's newest altruistic venture is a simple answer to Trump-era divisiveness and COVID-induced tension: a wave of pint-sized vibrators sweeping the nation and providing a whole lot of sexual healing.

What happens when a tall drink of water, a self-motivated mom to the masses, and a passionate walking dick joke get together? Unparalleled improvisation, challenging classes, and a comic community defined by laughter.

Well, that is, in any time other than the present. When Last Best Comedy founders and veteran improv artists Annie and Levin O'Conner and Molly Hannan banded together to develop a performance and training venue in early 2020, the last thing they expected was that contagious laughter would be the end of comedy.

Just days before they were due to sign the lease on their new space, the country shut down in the wake of rising numbers and a pandemic that has proven to be the cruelest and most persistent of hecklers.

Successful artist and children's book author Eddie Hemingway is no stranger to the limelight, but he's never felt at home there. As the son of Valerie Danby-Smith and Gregory Hemingway – and grandson of renowned author Ernest Hemingway – Eddie's relatively solitary private catholic school upbringing in New York segued seamlessly into a fine arts degree at Rhode Island School of Design and solidified a creative, empathic introvert. While Eddie actively cultivates personal space and values the introspection it affords in both his personal and professional spheres, his compassion, curiosity, gentle humor, perceptiveness, and love of intimate connection are equally defining.

In this podcast, Interchange Founder Tate Chamberlin delves into Eddie Hemingway's consciously intentional life: from the challenges of his past and successes of his present works, and new release, Pigeon and Cat.

Cover photo by Ben Johnson

Fast friends Conrad Anker and Wilmot Collins couldn’t have less in common. Or so it seems. Anker is a world-renowned mountaineer, author, and activist; Liberian refugee and US Navy Reserve veteran Wilmot Collins is the mayor of Helena, Montana. But their respective covers hide pages of experience oddly in concert. They have both led incredible lives. They both know and have been defined by heart-wrenching loss. They both feel an intrinsic responsibility to engage and give back. And they both know the power of forgiveness and the work and humility necessary for lasting reconciliation.

In this multimedia podcast, Interchange Founder Tate Chamberlin and guests Wilmot Collins and Conrad Anker delve into the complexities of personal, social, and cultural reconciliation.

Photos by: Ben Johnson

Montana State University (MSU) professor Dr. David Sands was no novice to the challenges of plant pathology even before he began an education that would define him as a leader in the field. A Silent Generation farm kid, he spent his childhood rooted in the land. Now, in a roundabout manner with detours through the arts, education and conservation, Sands' daughter Claire has found herself equally ensconced in a green vision defined as much by growth and life, as death. Their mutual enemy? An innocuous looking little weed called striga, which devastates crops and food security on 40 million farms throughout Africa. Six years ago, Dave and Claire began the Toothpick Project, an inter-cultural and -generational endeavor to fight fire with fire and help smallholder African farmers take their farms back from striga's stranglehold with an equally innocuous looking little fungus.

In this podcast, Interchange Founder Tate Chamberlin, Professor David Sands and his daughter Claire Sands Baker discuss plant pathology, The Toothpick Project and a brave new world of agricultural biodiversity. 

Little did Yarrow Kraner know, as he submitted to yet another ass-kicking in a series thereof, that those same bullies would ignite a distant passion for social justice, for the power of voice, and for the change felt around the world. Meager beginnings with his superhero mother fostered a tenacious, insightful boy that found the meaning of empathy in the fight for self. In 2003, after a string of entrepreneurial and directorial successes, Kraner launched HATCH, “a network of influencers accelerating progress on solutions for global challenges.” Through its many iterations, HATCH has been an ever-evolving conduit for creativity, social activism, volunteerism, innovation, and that global change Kraner had envisioned decades earlier.

In this podcast, Interchange Founder Tate Chamberlin and guest Yarrow Kraner discuss the pandemic’s implications and possibilities for industry, the environment, and the minds finding hope in the spaces between what was, what is and what might become.

Photos by Ben Johnson

The United States is on the brink of the largest wealth transfer in its history as aging boomers and traditionalists pass along financial assets estimated in excess of $68 trillion to their progeny. Further polarizing class and reinforcing unparalleled income inequality, this inheritance is expected to solidify millennials as the richest generation in human history. But perhaps only a few among them. As economists identify possible outcomes and wonder at the future ahead, skeptics can't help but ask how much of an impact the transition can make if it is only from a handful of wealthy individuals to an even smaller one?

And what of the world the youth inherits, one arguably on the brink of an unprecedented existential overhaul? How will Millennials, Gen Z, and those to come thereafter respect the wisdom of past generations, while learning from their mistakes? Now that they know better, can they do better? Will anything change? Or will money continue to define and divine the course of America's future, at least for those who have it?

In this podcast, I Am Interchange founder Tate Chamberlin and generationally diverse guests Kyle Mack, Sara Blessing, Sheyne Lieber, Pete Strom, and Susan Carstensen examine wealth, climate, society, politics, and the ties that inextricably bind generations to each other the future of life as we know it.

Cover photo by Ben Johnson

“We’re in ripe territory for big shifts in the next 50 years,” remarks notable local entrepreneur Pete Strom, “and it could go anywhere.” As the United States sits on the brink of the largest wealth transfer in human history, Strom finds himself more concerned with future generations’ non-monetary inheritance: a morally bankrupt government, social instability, and, most importantly, the climate crisis. An environmental disaster generations in the making, the crisis is no longer avoidable, but rather a matter of whether it will be “really bad, catastrophically bad or existential annihilation.” Strom points to a need for change in leadership and the mobilization of massive financial resources – like, all of them – immediately as the only course to mitigate what is to come. “If we do everything right, it’s still really bad, and that’s the best possibility.”

In this podcast, Interchange Founder Tate Chamberlin and guest Pete Strom attempt to reconcile the assumptions and concerns – absolutes and possibilities – surrounding baby boomers’ social, political, economic, and environmental legacy, and its impact on generations to come.

Author and radio host Tom Egelhoff is no stranger to change. Over the 77 years, he’s spent on this planet, he’s weathered periods of poverty and prosperity, wartime and peace. He’s seen technology shift the landscape of communication and watched medical innovation extend the lives and livelihoods of the nearly five generations that have come since his birth. He’s witnessed many of the defining failures and triumphs of this country’s history—assassinations, explorations, recession, and expansion.

While the country teeters on the edge of the largest wealth transfer in its history as aging boomers and traditionalists pass along financial assets estimated in excess of $68 trillion to their progeny, further polarizing the haves and the have-nots and reinforcing unparalleled income inequality, Egelhoff laughs at the worries. A staggering wave of homes and businesses is predicted to hit the market over the next 20 years, but Egelhoff smiles at the financially apocalyptic predictions. The solutions will come when they are necessary, “but they will come in their own time,” as they always have.

In this podcast, Interchange Founder Tate Chamberlin and guest Tom Egelhoff attempt to reconcile the assumptions and concerns – absolutes and possibilities – surrounding baby boomers’ social, political, and economic legacy and its impact on generations to come.

Bozeman native Sheyne Lieber has seen the impact of the unfettered growth for which baby boomers are synonymous on the identity of his hometown and he’s not sold on the resulting “prosperity.” The gross inflation of property values, the flux of disposable wealth, and added burden on local natural resources are just a couple of the undesirables he’s seen since Bozeman’s “boring atmosphere” became the third fastest-growing in the country. The 20yo definitely feels the nature of his generation z’s “general decline in giving-a-shitness.” But, as he asserts, “at a certain point you have to rebound.”

In this podcast, Interchange Founder Tate Chamberlin and guest Sheyne Lieber attempt to reconcile the assumptions and concerns – absolutes and possibilities – surrounding baby boomers’ social, political, and economic legacy and its impact on generations to come.

Photo by Ben Johnson

After a long and successful career in business – including stints at Ernst & Young and Martin Marietta in Denver; Powerhouse Technologies upon her return to Bozeman; and eventually as the CFO and COO, respectively, at RightNow Technologies (now Oracle)—fifth-generation Montanan Susan Carstensen is concerned with giving back. “I want to see the world a better place,” remarks Carstensen. “ I want people to do the right things. And I feel more of a responsibility to share it than maintain it.” Thankfully, “people aren’t good at giving up,” least of all Carstensen, and her commitment to change engenders reciprocity. In addition to sitting on a handful of boards, she actively supports many local non-profits, is involved in an equal number of political causes, and dedicates both energy and assets to the establishment and growth of Montana startups. She is the change she seeks to create.

In this podcast, Interchange Founder Tate Chamberlin and guest Susan Carstensen attempt to reconcile the assumptions and concerns – absolutes and possibilities – surrounding baby boomers’ social, political, and economic legacy and its impact on generations to come.

Kyle Mack is a study in the new self-made man. As he takes a possibly permanent break from pursuing a dual degree in business and psychology, and a perhaps less permanent break from a prosperous career in political activism, Mack is riding through his twenties on a wave divined by his entrepreneurial spirit. Monetizing his hobbies may look like a book or a podcast, but, any which way, Mack intends to continue his own brand of libertarian anarchy, melding the fiscally conservative/socially liberal libertarian stance with a “non-aggressive advocacy of property rights” of both self and possession. What that ultimately seems to translate into is an assertion that the governmental institutions held untouchable for generations are, in fact, quite touchable. “We’re being lied to, and have been, by these untouchable institutions,” claims Mack. And the time has come for that “religiosity of government” held by traditionalists and boomers to stop as generations unite in common efforts toward a progressive and inclusive new norm.

Photo by: Ben Johnson

Sara Blessing admits she’s scared. As she faces a life arguably full of options and opportunity, the recent graduate of Montana State University and founder of the local chapter of the Sunrise Movement feels disillusioned, angry and, yes, afraid. And the climate crisis, the concern on which she expected to focus her attention and efforts, is the proverbial tip of the iceberg. As she examines the world her forefathers built, she sees environmental decimation, income inequality, discrimination, social injustice, cronyism and a political wasteland directed and bolstered by an aging population that is so concerned with biting the hand that has fed them that they are unable to realize the untenable future they have created for their children. And their children’s children.

And that, really, is the crux of Blessing’s problem: how can she realize her only American Dream – that of having children – when she is bringing them into that selfsame future. In this podcast, Interchange Founder Tate Chamberlin and guest Sara Blessing attempt to reconcile the assumptions and concerns – absolutes and possibilities – surrounding baby boomers’ social, political and economic legacy and its impact on generations to come.

Photo by: Ben Johnson