This week’s guests are Crissie McMullan and Jason Wiener. Together these two launched AI Realists, a nonprofit organization aimed at helping communities shape AI policies. AI Realists is producing events and conducting outreach across Montana.In this conversation, Crissie and Jason share their paths to AI and how they have been both inspired and worried by the technology. They talk about how people tend to feel helpless when it comes to AI reform and speak at length about how their focus currently is on how state governments can play a role.

This week’s guest is Tana Burke, founder and CEO of Sky Cycle, a Montana-made startup seeking to insert wellness and exercise into the airport experience. Tana launched Sky Cycle in 2022 and the product is now ready for takeoff.In this conversation, Tana talks about taking Sky Cycle from concept to reality and the various partnerships she forged to make it happen. She breaks down the airport business and helps us understand how and why airports are increasing their investments in traveller wellness.

Today is the July edition of Incentives & Instincts, a recurring series in which Justin speaks with economist and friend Bryce Ward about some of the broader challenges facing our society. Today’s topic is gratitude, inspired by an experience Bryce had during a speaking engagement a few weeks ago.In this conversation, Bryce outlines economic progress, particularly in Montana, despite how bad the economy can seem. The two get into the differences between zero-sum and positive-sum thinking, and the necessity of human-to-human interaction when cultivating civic virtue.