Ben Bese runs a Bozeman gym that doesn't behave like a gym. Ascend Movement Training blends powerlifting, mobility work and breathwork to help people get out of chronic pain and stay strong for life, and Ben is neither a personal trainer nor a physical therapist. He's somewhere in the middle, and he explains exactly where that line is.

Full interview: https://www.explorebigsky.com/episodes/ascend

In this episode: why cold plunging right after a strength workout may undo the work you just did, why you absolutely can build muscle after 60, what a chiropractic adjustment does and doesn't fix, and what Ben would tell the Silicon Valley guys injecting young blood to live forever. Plus, Joe asks whether his wife and co-host Michelle is slowly destroying her body by running every day, and then submits to a custom workout called "The Joe," which goes about as well as you'd expect.

Ben grew up near Melbourne, played semi-pro Australian rules football, and founded Ascend with his wife in 2019 after watching too many athletes get stuck with shoulders and backs that never healed. Ascend is now in the Story Mill area of Bozeman at:

108 BRIDGER CENTER DRIVE BOZEMAN, MT 59715 SUITE C

Instagram: @ascend_movementtraining

Website: AscendMovementTraining.com

And check out the new fall exhibits at the Museum of the Rockies! MuseumOfTheRockies.org/

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Representative Ryan Zinke (MT-1) is leaving Congress in January. But before he goes, he's trying to pass a 430,000-acre public lands bill in the Blackfoot with an unbelievably broad coalition that includes loggers, environmentalists, motorcyclists, and outfitters.

Congressman Zinke and Executive Director of Wild Montana John Todd join Joe Borden to break down the A River Runs Through It Act: what's actually in it, what each side gave up, who's still going to fight it, and whether a bill 20 years in the making can clear Congress in four months.

Watch the full interview: https://www.explorebigsky.com/episodes/arrti

Also: the Muir-vs-Pinchot argument, the river that was too polluted to play itself on film, Griz vs. Cats in a split household, and a Brad Pitt trivia game that goes sideways fast.

What’s at stake? Roughly 130,000 acres of new wilderness, including additions to the Bob Marshall, the Scapegoat and the Mission Mountains, plus Nevada Mountain — the first standalone wilderness designated in Montana since 1983. About 180,000 acres of forest restoration areas near Lincoln and Ovando. New recreation areas, permanent snowmobile access and an OHV loop. Release of roughly 23,000 acres of wilderness study areas.

Here’s the link to learn more and show your support (don’t be afraid to call the Montana delegation and encourage them): ARiverRunsThroughIt.org

Learn more about Wild Montana: WildMontana.org

And come out for Big Sky Community Week Oct. 5–9! Visit BigSkyCommunityWeek.org to see the full schedule.

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Joe Borden and Flint Rasmussen are live from the Rocking R Bar in Bozeman for Homecoming week, previewing Montana State's Big Sky opener against Northern Arizona.

Watch it here: https://www.explorebigsky.com/episodes/bbs203

Senior associate athletic director Pete Heim on coming to Bozeman from Alabama, Duke, Tennessee and Arkansas, how Brent Vigen compares to Nick Saban and Mike Krzyzewski, the completed Bobcat Stadium feasibility study, alcohol sales, and why he says Montana State is "a wanted entity" nationally.

Dean of students Matt Caires on record enrollment of 17,470, life as a real-life Dean Wormer, and why he never sees Bobcat football players in his office. ASMSU president Ben Wilson and vice president Josey Blazer on the Greatest Show, the drone show, the Homecoming parade, a million-dollar student budget, and the spring they threw a Rail Jam with no rails.

First Security Bank president and CEO Kalli Ryti and marketing director Tyler Wheeler join the picks — Griz at UC Davis, Oregon at USC, and NAU at Montana State.

Plus Champ gets decorated like a homecoming float, Put the Hat on the Cat gets two contestants in Griz colors, and the Chug of Shame.

Bobcat Big Show is live at the Rocking R every Thursday before a home game, 6 to 7. Back October 22 before Weber State.

And do your banking with the best bank in Bozeman, First Security Bank! OurBank.com

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Joe Borden and Flint Rasmussen are live from the Rocking R Bar on Main Street in Bozeman, previewing Montana State's Pack the Place in Pink game against Central Connecticut State.

Watch it here: https://www.explorebigsky.com/episodes/bbs202

Rick VanCleeve, 1976 national champion and chairman of the Bobcat Quarterback Club, on what he got paid to win a title, why the club's mission statement is four words, and the 15-0 vote to keep it. Bobcat Collective president Brandon VanCleeve announces the collective is merging into the Quarterback Club, and explains exactly where a donation lands.

Head coach Brittany Basye and captains Eva Heinz and Nora Seidl on winning the Yellowstone Intercollegiate by 15 strokes, a 62 at Riverside, a snapped driver, and a recruiting call from Austria by way of Tulsa. The tournament returns to Riverside Country Club Sept. 21-22.

Outlaw Realty's EJ Daws, son of 1975 All-American defensive end Brad Daws, on holding headset cords as a kid, Butch Damberger's sideline mishap, and why Pack the Place in Pink is personal. Plus $5,000 raised for breast cancer patients in Montana, Put the Hat on the Cat with Champ playing defense, score predictions and the Chug of Shame.

Bobcat Big Show is live at the Rocking R every Thursday before a home game, 6 to 7. Back Sept. 24 before Homecoming against Northern Arizona.

And call Jereco for all your recording and live event needs! Jereco.com

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Independent US Senate candidate Seth Bodnar joins Outlaw Beat to talk about the seat Steve Daines is leaving behind and doesn’t mince words about the way Daines is trying to hand it off… “It’s garbage.”

Bodnar is a West Point valedictorian, Rhodes and Truman scholar, former Green Beret, GE executive, and the former president of the University of Montana. He's running against Republican Kurt Alme, Democrat Alani Bankhead, and Libertarian Kyle Austin for an open Montana Senate seat — and he says he won't caucus with either party.

We get into public lands and why he calls himself a hell no on selling them, the Boundary Waters copper mine vote, the gutting of the Forest Service and BLM, Montana's teacher shortage and the schools staffing classrooms with teachers from the Philippines, housing and affordability in the least affordable state in the country, congressional stock trading, and what Jon Tester actually told him when he said he wanted to run as an Independent.

Then we make him take a position on issues both important and incredibly stupid… in eight words or less. You won’t believe where he stands on Q-tips!

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/SethBodnar

Election Day: November 3. More at SethForMontana.com

And dust off your lederhosen for this year’s Big Sky Oktoberfest Sept 18-20! BigSkyOktoberfest.com/

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Joe Borden and Flint Rasmussen kick off the Bobcat Big Show live from the Rocking R Bar on Main Street in Bozeman, previewing Montana State's Gold Rush home opener against the Butler Bulldogs.

Head coach Brent Vigen on why his stars stayed, how he'd attack his own team, and a blunt message for fans who don't come back after halftime. Three members of the 1976 national championship team, Tom Powell, John Close and Bert Markovich, on Sonny Holland, the Hawaii trip, the team meeting after Fresno State that changed their season, and the parallels to the 2025 champs. Rocking R owner Mike Hope on the extra point that ended 41 years and the sport coats he bought the team for Washington DC. General manager Will Hope on championship night behind the bar. Plus the debut of “Put the Hat on the Cat,” score predictions, and the Chug of Shame.

Bobcat Big Show is live at the Rocking R Bar every Thursday before a home game at 6pm. Back September 17 before Central Connecticut State.

Support the team: MSUbobcats.com

And grab a Bobcat Collective cap while you enjoy a drink at Rocking R Bar: RockingRbar.com

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A sad look back at a special conversation.

Our friend Andrea Eastman passed away August 26 and we wanted to remember her in her own distinctive words. Andrea was a legendary casting director (The Godfather, Love Story) and longtime Gallatin Valley local.

Health issues ultimately forced her to leave her beloved home in the Patterson Ranch area of Bozeman and return to sunny Southern California.

Enjoy this all-too-short chat with her from May 2023 and, if you’re so inclined, order her children's book (based on her true story) "Trooper at the Beverly Hills Hotel" here:

https://a.co/d/dDUr0Iu

Andrea Eastman’s obituary: https://www.explorebigsky.com/obituary-andrea-eastman/173667

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The USDA has proposed repealing the 2001 Roadless Rule — the policy that's kept roads, logging and mining out of 45 million acres of national forest for 25 years. Nearly 10 million of those acres are in Montana and Wyoming.

The public comment period closes September 21, 2026. Thirty days. No public meetings. For comparison: the original rule took years, 600 public hearings and 1.6 million comments.

Greater Yellowstone Coalition Executive Director Scott Christensen joins us to explain what's actually in the proposal, what the government admits in its own filing, and what a public comment does when everyone assumes the outcome is already decided.

Then we play Best Damn Comment Period — Scott grades quality public comments against, let's say, less effective alternatives.

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/roadless

Learn more here: GreaterYellowstone.org/

Direct link to make your comment (by 11:59pm on September 21, 2026):

https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FS-2025-0001-223869

What makes a comment count: name a specific place you use, describe how this would affect you, and make a concrete ask. Scott's biggest one in this episode: the proposal contains almost nothing analyzing impacts to wildlife, drinking water or backcountry recreation. Ask for that analysis.

Note: comments are part of the public record — your name and comment become publicly viewable.

And take advantage of the first climate-controlled storage opportunity in Big Sky! BigSkyStorage.com/

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