
The Rural Towns Project Podcast
In the Rural Towns Project Podcast, Dax Jacobson combines his day job as a business professor with his love for the rural American West he grew up in. He talks to the people who are actually trying to make a living in - and to the researchers, artists, and others inspired by - the rural towns of the American West. He hopes to help himself and others understand the past, appreciate the present, and positively impact the future of rural towns and the American West.
Podcasting since 2020 • 43 episodes
The Rural Towns Project Podcast
Latest Episodes
Time traveling with Louis Williams (Navajo river guide and owner of Ancient Wayves) in Bluff (UT), Bears Ears, and beyond to connect with earth, air, fire, and water
In this episode, I talk to Louis Williams, river and backcountry guide and owner of Ancient Wayves (the only indigenous owned and operated outfit commercially permitted to provide guided tours within the Bears Ears National Monument). Louis sha...
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Episode 43
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28:58

I was amazed by the night skies in Bluff (UT). It turns out Bluff is a Dark Sky Community. I talk to Sarah Burak (Education Director for the Bears Ears Partnership) about dark skies, what a Dark Sky designation means, and about Bears Ears tourism
In this episode, I talk to Sarah Burak (Education Director for the Bears Ears Partnership) about what brought her to the Bluff (UT) area from Alabama and why she never left. We talk about her journey to the Bears Ears Partnership and what she d...
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Episode 42
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23:46

Canyon Smokehouse was so good I ate there twice when I was in Bluff (UT). I talk to the owner (and town manager), Erin Nelson, about how and why she started the restaurant and what it’s like to be a small business owner who is also the town manager
In this episode, I talk to Erin Nelson, owner of Canyon Smokehouse in Bluff (UT) and Bluff Town Manager. Erin shares how she came to live in Bluff and own Canyon Smokehouse (it involves dark skies, small town life, marrying a chef and chasing t...
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Episode 41
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34:13

Talia Hansen is the reason I was in Bluff (UT) recently. We talk about her role as Economic Development Manager for San Juan County and the importance of empathy, curiosity, and “jumping on the truck”
In this episode, I talk to Talia Hansen, Economic Development Manager for San Juan County. Talia shares a little of her traumatic childhood story of escape and survival and how she learned from it to take risks, “jump on the truck”, and to be c...
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Episode 40
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26:21

Inspired by my drive from Bluff (UT) through the Navajo Reservation, I talked to Michael Powell, author of Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation (which was the inspiration for the Netflix movie Rez Ball)
In this episode, I talk to Michael Powell, currently a staff writer for The Atlantic and author of Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation (which was the inspiration for the Netflix movie Rez Ball). Mi...
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Episode 39
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35:17
