Outlaw Beat Podcast

Stories from the West.

Longtime Gallatin Valley locals Michelle Veale Borden (Broad Comedy) and TV comedy writer Joe Borden (Tosh.0) are the voices behind Outlaw Beat. Their wit, local knowledge and conversational style guarantee a laugh while you’re learning something new.

We’ll have new episodes out regularly, so check in each week to get in-depth coverage of the topics you care about. Suggestions for future guests are welcome! Please send ideas to media@theoutlawpartners.com.

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Listen to Outlaw Beat: Stories from the West

Jamie McLean & Willie McMillon on Wildlands 2026, the First-Ever Free Family Jam, and the Worst Gigs of their Lives

Two very different musicians, one festival weekend under Lone Peak. Jamie McLean — former guitarist for New Orleans' legendary Dirty Dozen Brass Band, with stages from Madison Square Garden to Japan's Fuji Rock — plays Wildlands Music Festival on Saturday, August 1 alongside Carrie Underwood and Kaitlin Butts, plus a free solo acoustic set at the first-ever Wildlands Family Jam that morning. Willie McMillon of Fader Magavin & the Risky Livers brings underground basement warehouse country from Jackson, Wyoming to Friday night's bill with Riley Green and LeAnn Rimes — and explains why his band keeps writing checks to a festival they're already losing money to play.

The Guitar Fighting to Save a Forest – Rick Bass on the Yaak Valley’s Last Hope

Rick Bass — petroleum geologist turned Montana Project director — explains how a 315-year-old spruce, felled during a Forest Service clearcut in Montana's Yaak Valley, became the Black Ram Guitar.

Meteorologist Mike Heard – What’s in his Forecast after 38 Years in Local News

For 38 years, Mike Heard was the most trusted voice in southwest Montana weather — chief meteorologist for KBZK and KXLF, the forecast an entire region planned its week around. In June 2026, his position was eliminated in a statewide downsizing. He didn't see it coming: "0% chance," in his words.

Epilepsy Foundation & Making Montana Schools Seizure Safe

On this episode of Outlaw Beat, we sit down with Jessica Veach — Regional Executive Director of the Epilepsy Foundation covering Montana, Nevada, and Utah — and Dr. Karla Mora Rodriguez, neurologist with Billings Clinic, to talk about one of the most common neurological conditions most people know almost nothing about.

Ornithologist Jeff Marks: The Guy Who Wrote the Book on Montana Birds

Meet Jeff Marks, senior author of “Birds of Montana” - the first comprehensive state bird reference since 1921. Jeff is the executive director of the Montana Bird Advocacy, a former editor of The Auk, and has spent decades studying everything from Long-eared Owls to Bristle-thighed Curlews in the Pacific.

Building Montana with SWMBIA – Bozeman Housing, Trades Training & the Future of Work

We’re talking home building and AI-proof trades for Gen Z with President of Southwest Montana Building Industry Association slash owner of Rivers Landscaping Riley Rivers and Career Outreach Coordinator for Bozeman and Gallatin High Schools Karl Schwartz, architect of the new Bozeman Construction Academy.

The Bath Bomb

Strip down to your skivvies! We’re getting hot and cold with Bozeman’s new rejuvenation destination, Umvelt Bathhouse, where owner Paul Byrne shows off the luxurious sauna/steam/soak experience he has created in a 1936 Frank Willson building just off Main Street.

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Writing Western

We’re talking about what makes the American West different (for better and for worse) in this episode with help from local historian and author Dr. Betsy Gaines Quammen. Her latest book “True West: Myth & Mending on the Far Side of America” explores how myths of the American West fuel modern polarization, extremism, and conflict over land and identity.

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The Extracurricular Murder Musical

Bozeman Children’s Theatre is a machine that churns out 8 live productions a year, but their upcoming dark comedic musical “Heathers” both cuts deep and helps the wounds heal. Thanks to partnerships with Bozeman Health and Howlers Ridge, all the performances will feature a mental health-focused talkback immediately to follow.

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Mayor Joey!

Joey Morrison was elected Mayor of Bozeman in November 2023 so naturally he was just sworn in January 2026. We talk to arguably the youngest mayor in city history about that unique systematic oddity. We also discuss another of his triumphs, the creation of a local tenants union, plus the hollow victory of banning urban camping, and the small-town challenges presented by federal efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.

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Putting the “Wood” in Hollywood

We’re putting the “wood” in Hollywood this episode as Outlaw Beat visits a Missoula particle board factory that is the new home of Story House Montana, Missoula’s new 47-acre film and TV studio that has deep-rooted connections to efforts to create affordable housing in the Rocky Mountains.

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Earn your Wings with Eagle Mount

Outlaw Beat has emerged from the hibernation of focusing exclusively on Montana State Bobcat football and we are ready to learn all about Eagle Mount, Bozeman’s longtime nonprofit that provides therapeutic recreation for people with disabilities & young people with cancer.

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Williams Plumbing: Check out the Pipes!

Williams Plumbing began in Bozeman as a one-man pipe-wrench operation in 1979 but it has grown into a 350 employee residential/commercial behemoth that’s one of the largest job creators in Montana plus a growing trade school training tomorrow’s blue collar professionals to work in an AI-proof field.

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Interrogating the FBI

On this episode, the interrogator becomes the interrogated as retired FBI Special Agent Dan Brunner stops by to let Outlaw Beat ask the questions here. Dan lives in Bozeman, but you might recognize him as a frequent guest expert on national news.

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D.C.’s #1 Bobcat

For the first time in 41 years, the Montana State Bobcats brought home an FCS national title yesterday, defeating the Illinois State Redbirds 35-34 in overtime. Montana’s Senior U.S. Senator (and MSU alum) Steve Daines joins Outlaw Beat from Washington D.C. to celebrate the thrilling victory.

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