The Wide Open Creators & Guests

Nicholas Mott is a freelance journalist, podcast producer, photographer, and author who focuses on the environment, wildlife, climate, and public lands. He is also a reporter and producer for Montana Public Radio.Mott's work has appeared in The Washington Post, NPR, High Country News, and Outside. His first book, "This is Wildfire: How to Protect Yourself Your Home and Your Community in the Age of Heat," was published in 2023.

Lee Banville is a political journalist and educator. Currently, he is a Professor of Journalism at the University of Montana, where he teaches introductory journalism as well as courses on covering elections, the First Amendment, journalism law, and information literacy.Previously, Banville was editor-in-chief of the Online NewsHour for 13 years. Before that, he worked in public relations and at the Virginian-Pilot.Banville's first book, “Debating Our Destiny: Presidential Debate Moments that Shaped History,” was published in 2012. His second book, the two-volume encyclopedia, “Covering American Politics in the 21st Century: An Encyclopedia of News Media Titans, Trends, and Controversies,” was published in 2017.

Mary Auld is an audio journalist and editor with a background in public radio and podcasting. Currently, she is the director of the Montana Media Lab, where she coordinates teen audio journalism workshops in the state’s rural and Indigenous communities and produces narrative podcasts.Auld has a master's degree in environmental journalism from the University of Montana.

Jule Gardner Banville is a journalist and educator. Currently, she is a Professor of Journalism at the University of Montana.Banville's podcast, "An Absurd Result," told the story of a 1987 assault on an 8-year-old girl in Billings, Montana, and the investigation and fallout that followed.Before she began teaching, Banville was the assistant managing editor at the alternative newsweekly Washington City Paper. She was a daily news reporter at the Erie Times-News.

Dylan Rodrigue is a singer-songwriter and music producer.Rodrigue's first album, "Cat’s Game," was released in 2019. His second album, the EP "Human Muses," was released in 2020.

Lacy Roberts is a podcast editor and producer based in Missoula, Montana. Most recently, she was the managing producer at Brooklyn-based and Peabody-nominated podcast production company Transmitter Media, where she developed and produced original shows for clients like TED, The New York Times, CNN, and more. Prior to Transmitter Media, she worked with Al Jazeera’s podcast arm on the award-winning podcast Closer Than They Appear and developed an international news show called The Take. Her freelance work has also been seen and heard in the New York Times, The Atlantic, PBS Newshour, and NPR affiliates around the country.

Jake D. Birch is an audio producer, music producer, composer, and mixer. Currently, he is a Production Manager at Montana Public Radio.

Victoria Traxler is a journalist and a photographer. Currently, she is the Rural Policy Reporter at Montana Public Radio.Traxler received her B.A. in Journalism and Global Studies from Elon University and her M.A. in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism from the University of Montana.