Writing Westward Podcast
@writingwestward.bsky.social
- Monthly conversations with authors & scholars of the North American West. - Produced & hosted by @BYUReddCenter.bsky.social Assoc. Director & History Professor @BrendenWRensink.bsky.social - https://writingwestward.org
🚨New Episode Alert🚨 A timely discussion w/ history Prof. @michaelchilders.bsky.social (Colorado State Univ.) about his new book, "The Mountains are Calling: Tourists and the Unmaking of Yosemite National Park" (@univnebpress.bsky.social 2026). writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/090-michae...
🚨New Episode Alert🚨 This month we talk w/ Prof. Emilie Connolly (Dept. of History @yale.edu) about their multiple-award-winning book, "Vested Interests: Trusteeship and Native Dispossession in the United States" (@princetonupress.bsky.social 2025) writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/089-emilie...
🚨New Episode Alert🚨 A conversation with historian María E. Montoya (@memontoya.bsky.social @nyu.edu) about her new book, "A Workplace of Their Own: Rockefeller, Roche, and Labor's Battle Over Industrial Democracy" (@academic.oup.com 2026). writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/088-maria-...
🚨New Episode Alert🚨 On LA surf culture history w/ Prof. Elsa Devienne (@elsadevienne.bsky.social @northumbriahistory.bsky.social) & her award-winning "Sand Rush: The Revival of the Beach in Twentieth-Century Los Angeles" (@academic.oup.com 2024). writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/087-elsa-d...
087 - Elsa Devienne - Sand Rush: The Revival of the Beach in Twentieth-Century Los Angeles | Writing Westward Podcast
A conversation with historian Elsa Devienne about their book, Sand Rush: The Revival of the Beach in Twentieth-Century Los Angeles (Oxford University Press, 2024) Elsa Devienne is Assistant Professo...
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🚨New Episode Alert🚨 We talk the housing crisis blues in Bend, Oregon and beyond with @oregonian.com reporter Jonathan Bach and his book "High Desert, Higher Costs: Bend and the Housing Crisis in the American West" (@osupress.bsky.social 2025). writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/086-jonath...
Congrats to our annual awards and grants winners! It was as competitive a field as ever and we're thrilled by the exciting work being proposed. See the full list at the link below. Please share and congratulate (& tag) any friends and colleagues you see! reddcenter.byu.edu/0000019d-cfe...
🚨New Episode🚨 A conversation with BYU history prof. David-James Gonzales about his new book, "Breaking Down the Walls of Segregation: Mexican American Grassroots Politics and Civil Rights in Orange Country, California" (@academic.oup.com 2025). writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/085-david-...
Less than 2 weeks left to apply for American West research and programming funding from the Redd Center! Please apply and SHARE SHARE SHARE!
BYU Redd Center for Western Studies@byureddcenter.bsky.social · 8mo agoThe annual BYU Redd Center funding season is here and we have INCREASED the $$$ amounts! PLEASE share this as broadly as possible. We accept applications from ANY discipline for projects focused on the intermountain states of AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, & WY. tinyurl.com/2026ReddAwards
🚨New Episode Alert🚨 A conversation with writer George Frazier about grassland rivers, finding wild places, canoeing 1000s of miles, & his new book "Riverine Dreams: Away to the Glorious and Forgotten Grassland Rivers of America" (@uchicagopress.bsky.social 2025) www.podbean.com/ew/pb-t23g3-...
084 - George Frazier - Riverine Dreams: Away to the Glorious and Forgotten Grassland Rivers of America
A conversation with author George Frazier about their book "Riverine Dreams: Away to the Glorious and Forgotten Grassland Rivers of America" (University of Chicago Press, 2025). George Frazier is As...
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BYU's Daily Universe student newspaper did a nice profile on the Writing Westward Podcast, featuring Rensink's "Don't Sound Stupid" reminder, & quotes from recent guests Martha Sandweiss & @neilmathison.bsky.social, & fellow BYU History Prof., @ccjones.bsky.social universe.byu.edu/campus/writi...
Writing Westward podcast tells stories of the North American West
Writing Westward is a podcast run by BYU professor Brenden W. Rensink. The podcast features authors and scholars who write about the North American West.
universe.byu.edu
🚨New Episode Alert🚨 Kicking off Black History Month with Prof. Sara Gallagher (@sgallagher12.bsky.social) of Durham College and her book "Black Wests: Reshaping Race and Place in Popular Culture" (@oupress.bsky.social 2025). writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/083-sara-g...
083 - Sara Gallagher - Black Wests: Reshaping Race and Place in Popular Culture | Writing Westward Podcast
A conversation with literary scholar Sara Gallagher about their book Black Wests: Reshaping Race and Place in Popular Culture (University of Oklahoma Press, 2025) Sara Gallagher is Professor of Libe...
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The BYU student newspaper, The Daily Universe, is going to run an article on the Writing Westward Podcast and is interested in asking questions of a few listeners. Please message if you'd be interested.
Apply and share share share!
BYU Redd Center for Western Studies@byureddcenter.bsky.social · 8mo agoThe annual BYU Redd Center funding season is here and we have INCREASED the $$$ amounts! PLEASE share this as broadly as possible. We accept applications from ANY discipline for projects focused on the intermountain states of AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, & WY. tinyurl.com/2026ReddAwards
🚨New Episode Alert🚨 Starting 2026 with a truly remarkable author and book - Martha Sandweiss and her book, "The Girl in the Middle: A Recovered History of the American West" (@princetonupress.bsky.social, 2025). www.podbean.com/eas/pb-gdd9x...
082 - Martha A. Sandweiss - The Girl in the Middle: A Recovered History of the American West
A conversation with historian Martha A. Sandweiss about their book The Girl in the Middle: A Recovered History of the American West (Princeton University Press, 2025). Martha A. Sandweiss is Profess...
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🚨New Episode Alert 🚨 Buckle your seat belts and enjoy our conversation with author Neil Mathison about his new book, "Airstream Country: A Geologic Journey Across the American West" (@unmpress.bsky.social, 2025). writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/081-neil-m...
The BYU College of Family, Home, & Social Sciences includes the podcast in an article for their annual Connections Magazine. The back cover has a picture of @brendenwrensink.bsky.social with the piles of books whose authors he has interviewed socialsciences.byu.edu/casting-scho...
🚨New Episode Alert🚨 This month we chat with essayist, novelist, and Univ. of Montana environmental studies professor Mark Sundeen about his new essay collection, "Delusions + Grandeur: Dreamers of the New West" (@unmpress.bsky.social, 2025). writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/080-mark-s...
080 - Mark Sundeen - Delusions + Grandeur: Dreamers of the New West | Writing Westward Podcast
A conversation with Mark Sundeen about their book Delusions + Grandeur: Dreamers of the New West (University of New Mexico Press, 2025) Mark Sundeen is an award-winning novelist, essayist, and Assoc...
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🚨New Episode Alert🚨 We're celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month via a conversation with Prof. Ernesto Sagás (Colorado State University, Ethnic Studies) about his new book, "Latino Colorado: The Struggle for Equality in the Centennial State. writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/079-ernest...
079 - Ernesto Sagas - Latino Colorado | Writing Westward Podcast
A conversation with Ernesto Sagas about their book Latino Colorado: The Struggle for Equality in the Centennial State (University Press of Colorado, 2025) Ernesto Sagás is Professor of Ethnic Studie...
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🚨New Episode Alert🚨 An exceptional conversation with historian & writer Adam M. Sowards (@adamsowards.net) about writing for western public audiences. LOTS to consider here for academic writers, grad students, and others. writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/078-adam-s...
078 - Adam Sowards - Taking Bearing and Being Historically Faithful in Public Writing | Writing Westward Podcast
A conversation with historian Adam M. Sowards about their weekly Taking Bearing essays series, "Being Historically Faithful in Public" article, and broader work in public writing. Dr. Adam Sowards is an environmental historian and writer, specializing in public lands and conservation in the US West especially the Pacific Northwest. Much of his public writings can be accessed at adamsowards.net. Dr. Sowards earned his Ph.D. in History from Arizona State University and was professor of history from the University of Idaho 2003-2022. He is now retired with emeritus status and working as a freelance writer. His published books include the following (links to purchase here): Making America’s Public Lands: The Contested History of Conservation on Federal Lands. American Ways series, ed. John David Smith. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2022. An Open Pit Visible from the Moon: The Wilderness Act and the Fight to Protect Miners Ridge and the Public Interest. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2020. Editor. Idaho’s Place: A New History of the Gem State. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2014. The Environmental Justice: William O. Douglas and American Conservation. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 2009 United States West Coast: An Environmental History. Nature and Human Societies Series, ed. Mark Stoll. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2007. The Writing Westward Podcast is produced and hosted by Prof. Brenden W. Rensink for the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University. Subscribe to the Writing Westward Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, and other podcast distribution apps and platforms. Follow the BYU Redd Center and the Writing Westward Podcast on Facebook, Bluesky, or X/Twitter, or get more information @ https://www.writingwestward.org. Theme music by Micah Dahl Anderson @ www.micahdahlanderson.com
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🚨New Episode Alert🚨 This month we talk about 19th-century photography & re-envisioning the West w/ Robert Sullivan & his book "Double Exposure: Resurveying the West with Timothy O'Sullivan, America's Most Mysterious War Photographer" (@fsgbooks.bsky.social 2024). www.podbean.com/eas/pb-38yuk...
077 - Robert Sullivan - Double Exposure: Resurveying the West with America's Most Mysterious War Photographer
A conversation with historian Robert Sullivan about their book Double Exposure: Resurveying the West with Timothy O'Sullivan, America's Most Mysterious War Photographer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ...
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🚨New Episode ft. digital, environmental, & urban historian, Dr. @jasonheppler.org (Senior Developer, @rrchnm.bsky.social @georgemasonu.bsky.social), & his book "Silicon Valley and the Environmental Inequalities of High-Tech Urbanism" (@oupress.bsky.social, 2024). www.podbean.com/eas/pb-wmhpv...
076 - Jason Heppler - Silicon Valley and the Environmental Inequalities of High-Tech Urbanism
A conversation with historian Jason Heppler about their book Silicon Valley and the Environmental Inequalities of High-Tech Urbanism (University of Oklahoma Press, Environment in Modern North Ameri...
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🚨New Episode Alert🚨 This month we talk w/ historian @collthrush.bsky.social about his new book "Wrecked: Unsettling Histories from the Graveyard of the Pacific" (@uwapress.bsky.social 2025) - one of the best books I've read in a long while, I read a lot of books! www.podbean.com/ew/pb-e8h3e-...
075 - Coll Thrush - Wrecked: Unsettling Histories from the Graveyard of the Pacific
A conversation with historian Coll Thrush about their book Wrecked: Unsettling Histories from the Graveyard of the Pacific (University of Washington Press, 2025) Coll Thrush is Professor of History a...
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🚨New Episode Alert🚨 This month we chat with @williamgrady.bsky.social about his book "Redrawing the Western: A History of American Comics and the Mythic West" (@utexaspress.bsky.social 2024). #USWest #AmericanWest #ComicsStudies #Comicbooks writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/074-willia...
074 - William Grady - Redrawing the Western: A History of American Comics and the Mythic West | Writing Westward Podcast
A conversation with scholar William Grady about their book Redrawing the Western: A History of American Comics and the Mythic West (University of Texas Press, 2024) Dr. William Grady is an independent...
writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com
New episode on its way Monday!
Brenden W. Rensink 📚🏃♂️⛰@brendenwrensink.bsky.social · last yr.1st #MountainOffice hammock of the season. I couldn’t do many last year. Hopefully many more in 2025. A bit breezy & chilly this AM, but the PM should be glorious! Reading a super fun book and prepping author interview questions for my @writingwestward.bsky.social Podcast. New episode on Monday.
Congrats to our 2025 award winners and funding recipients! It is thrilling to see how much good work is being done in so many disciplines on the Intermountain West! Please share & tag your friends & colleagues to congratulate them! reddcenter.byu.edu/Blogs/redd-c...
Post
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🚨New episode w/ urban planner & architectural historian James Buckley & his book, "City of Wood: San Francisco and the Architecture of the Redwood Lumber Industry" (@utexaspress.bsky.social 2024). Learn how logging linked distant urban & remote landscapes together. www.podbean.com/eas/pb-cgwdk...
073 - James Buckley - City of Wood: San Francisco and the Architecture of the Redwood Lumber Industry
A conversation with urban planner and architectural historian James Michael Buckley about their book City of Wood: San Francisco and the Architecture of the Redwood Lumber Industry (University of Te...
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Applications for our annual funding season are due in 4 DAYS! March 15th. Please help spread the word (and apply yourself)! 🗃️ #AmWest
BYU Redd Center for Western Studies@byureddcenter.bsky.social · 2y agoIt's FUNDING SEASON at the Redd Center! We have award categories for anyone from any discipline doing work the Intermountain West portions of AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, and WY. Applications are due March 15, 2025. Please help us spread the word! reddcenter.byu.edu/Blogs/redd-c... #funding 🗃️
BIG NEWS from James Tejani, our guest from December: His book just won the Bancroft Prize! Congrats James! www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/a...
Histories of Native America and the Port of Los Angeles Win Bancroft Prize
The award, one of the most prestigious among scholars of American history, honors “scope, significance, depth of research and richness of interpretation.”
nytimes.com
Writing Westward Podcast@writingwestward.bsky.social · 2y ago🚨New Episode Alert🚨 A conversation with Prof. James Tejani (Cal-Poly Dept. of History) about his new book, "A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth: The Making of the Port of Los Angeles—and America" (@wwnorton.bsky.social, 2024). writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/069-james-... #AmWest🗃️📗
🚨New Episode Alert🚨 Bite into some delicious history with professor Amanda Van Lanen (Lewis-Clark State College) and her book "The Washington Apple: Orchards and the Development of Industrial Agriculture" (@oupress.bsky.social 2022). writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/072-amanda...
072 - Amanda Van Lanen - The Washington Apple | Writing Westward Podcast
A conversation with historian Amanda Van Lanen about their book The Washington Apple: Orchards and the Development of Industrial Agriculture (University of Oklahoma Press, 2022). Amanda L. Van La...
writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com
🚨New Episode🚨 We chat with historian John Nelson (@ttu.edu) about Native history, the environment, & more via his multiple award-winning 2023 book, "Muddy Ground: Native Peoples, Chicago's Portage, and the Transformation of a Continent" (@uncpress.bsky.social). 📗🗃️ www.podbean.com/eas/pb-e5vjr...
071 - John Nelson - Muddy Ground: Native Peoples, Chicago's Portage, and the Transformation of a Continent
A conversation with historian John William Nelson about their book, Muddy Ground: Native Peoples, Chicago's Portage, and the Transformation of a Continent (University of North Carolina Press, 2023) J...
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