Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson

Megan Torgerson - Storytelling from Rural America

Feb 20, 2023

01:12:02

Megan Torgerson is a podcaster and the creator of Reframing Rural, a narrative podcast whose mission is to “share stories of people and places in rural America in an effort to celebrate culture, preserve history and cultivate curiosity and conversation across geographic, class and cultural divides.” In just three seasons, Megan has grown Reframing Rural from a spark of an idea into a highly regarded podcast, one that has been recognized by institutions such as the Headwaters Foundation, Montana Farmers Union, Humanities Montana, and more. Personally, I have learned a ton from Megan’s work, so it was an honor to have her join me on the podcast.

Megan was born and raised on the Great Plains of eastern Montana, primarily in the small town of Dagmar. She attended the University of Montana in Missoula and eventually made her way to graduate school in Seattle, where she earned her MFA. As you’ll hear in this conversation, during her time in grad school, Megan began exploring the idea of a podcast that focused on rural America. Rather than getting bogged down in endless planning and idea generation, she took action, produced Season 1, and put it out into the world in spring 2020. Fast forward to today, and Megan has a team that works with her, she continues to receive wide-ranging recognition, and the show is being broadcast on several Montana radio stations.

I’ve known Megan for a year or so, but this was the first time I had a chance to ask her detailed questions about her journey as a storyteller. We started out talking about her upbringing in Dagmar, as well as her educational background and early career. We discuss why she decided to create a narrative podcast, and she explains the very involved process of creating a single episode. We discuss some of the issues she explores in Reframing Rural, including rural gentrification, which was the topic of one of her most recent episodes. We discuss her generosity in the podcast space, whether or not she considers herself a journalist, why she is optimistic about the future of rural America, some advice for aspiring podcasters, and she has lots of amazing book recommendations.

If you haven’t already, I’d encourage you to subscribe to Reframing Rural on your favorite podcast app. Megan is committed and she’s a pro, and I know that Mountain & Prairie listeners will appreciate the amazing work she’s putting into the world. Enjoy!

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Reframing Rural
Reframing Rural: S3 E4: Rural Gentrification in North Idaho
Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/megan-torgerson/
Green River Course with the Ed & Freeflow Institute

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TOPICS DISCUSSED:

5:30 - Megan’s childhood
12:30 - What Megan hoped to do once she went to college in Missoula
15:00 - How Megan’s passions inspired hard work
17:15 - Why Megan started Reframing Rural
22:00 - Why Megan produces a narrative style podcast
26:00 - When did Megan plan for podcasting to become a job
28:30 - Megan’s experience with why podcasts generate such compelling stories and interviews
31:30 - Whether podcasting is a journalistic or creative endeavor for Megan, and whether she is concerned or not with “taking sides”
35:30 - An example of Megan’s podcast topics
39:30 - If Megan worries about negative feedback to her show, and how she handles it
44:30 - Where Megan’s generosity comes from
47:30 - What Megan is optimistic about regarding rural America
51:30 - How Megan measures success as a storyteller
53:30 - Other storytellers that Megan admires
55:15 - How to start a podcast, according to Megan
57:30 - How long the Dover episode took Megan to make
59:15 - Megan’s accolades
1:02:30 - Megan’s book recommendations
1:06:15 - Megan’s parting words of wisdom