What is Shared State?
Shared State is a narrative podcast from Montana’s leading nonprofit newsrooms that examines our current political moment through stories about the complex people and beliefs that shape our state. In its premiere season, as 2020 political candidates paid lip service to upholding “Montana values,” reporters from Montana Public Radio, Yellowstone Public Radio and Montana Free Press turned to the state constitution’s preamble to better understand Montana’s political identity and ethos. The ensuing project explored how long-standing values are manifesting in contemporary debates over policy and culture.
In the months since the project aired, our reporting has won awards for journalistic excellence, earned widespread praise for its civic insights, and been used in high school and college classrooms across Montana.