International Voices was inaugurated in Spring 2020. It is part of Arts Missoula GLOBAL’s Community programming aimed at educating and informing local audiences in the Northern Rocky Mountains of Montana with guest speakers discussing current, upcoming, and established international programming, events, activities, and collaborations about “all things cultural and global.” Through our public programming, we connect local citizens from the Garden City of the Treasure State to become globally-minded ‘citizens of the world’ by providing an interactive window to the world.
The monthly International Voices podcasts in 2023 are exclusively sponsored by Orr McDonnell Law, advocates for all personal injury, family law and landlord tenant matters.
The International Voices podcast has listeners in 33 countries around the world!
Click here for a full list of countries.
PODCAST FORMAT
- A monthly 60-minute conversation, featuring guest speakers with seasonal topics. Podcasts are published on the first Thursday of every month.
- Goal: to raise awareness for topics that focus on current events with a global focus supported by intercultural knowledge and international relevance.
- Producers: The Trail 103.3 radio station in Missoula, Montana
- Interviewer: Udo Fluck, Director, Arts Missoula GLOBAL
- Topics: International Cuisine, Consulates, Environmental Sustainability, Global Public Health, Social Economic Development, Preservation of Language and Culture, Leadership Development, Global and Intercultural Teaching and Learning, Democracy and Freedom, Creativity During COVID, Global Issues (that require policy solutions), etc.
- Individual episodes are available with captions on YouTube (below).
The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the persons appearing on the program and do not necessarily reflect the policy, position, views, and opinions of Arts Missoula and its programs. Any content provided by our podcast guests are their opinions and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.
Available Now:
For the November podcast episode of International Voices, Udo is joined by Major General (ret.) Donald Loranger, who was appointed in 2012 to the National Security Education Board by President Obama. The board oversees the National Security Education Program, which increases the United States’ capacity to deal effectively with foreign cultures and languages. Major General Loranger served in the United States Air Force from 1966 until 1996 as an operational pilot and specialist in US national security policy. He started his career graduating from the University of Montana as an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadet.
Mr. Loranger has extensive international leadership experience, serving as the Commander of the Joint Task Force in Southwest Asia, Commander of the 435th Tactical Airlift Wing at Rhein Main Air Base in Germany, and operational Commander of the Peacekeeping Forces Operation Provide Promise, the aerial resupply of Sarajevo and Eastern Bosnia, the longest running humanitarian airlift in history. In addition, Mr. Loranger has served as a Military Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and has been a member of that group for over 30-years. Furthermore, for the past 15 years, Mr. Loranger has been the Director of the Defense Critical Language and Culture Program (DCLCP) at the University of Montana. Join both gentlemen for their conversation about the importance of cultural immersion experiences, what it means to be “language and culture smart”, why that skill is more crucial today, than ever before, the affiliation of the DCLCP with UM, what makes the DCLCP one of the most unique language and culture programs in the country and why and how all of this is critical for U.S. foreign relations.
Udo talks to Julia Tai, the Music Director of the Missoula Symphony Orchestra & Chorale. Maestro Tai is also the Music Director of Philharmonia Northwest, and the Co-Artistic Director of the Seattle Modern Orchestra. Her career has led to acclaimed performances and rehearsals with the American Youth Symphony, Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra, Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic (Czech Republic), Boise Philharmonic, Brandenburger Symphoniker (Germany), Estonian National Youth Symphony (Estonia), to name but a few.
Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Julia Tai began her violin studies at age four and piano at eight. She received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, where she was awarded “Outstanding Graduate.” She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Washington. She has studied conducting with some of the finest conductors in the world, including Peter Erös and Jorge Mester, and has participated in masterclasses with Marin Alsop, JoAnn Falletta, Neeme Järvi, Daniel Lewis, Gustav Meier, Otto-Werner Müller, Jorma Panula, and Larry Rachleff. She is recognized as a prominent innovator of the contemporary music world and has established a reputation for her creative programming, community engagement, and innovative education programs. While Julia Tai is becoming one of today’s most dynamic and engaging conductors on the international stage, she is also the first female conductor in the history of the Missoula Symphony. Words cannot describe Maestro Tai, one needs to see her conducting live, on stage, feeling the music!
September 2023: International Voices in Missoula
With the start of every fall, students are returning to the University of Montana, in Missoula. Among them are international students from around the world, either returning to campus, or as new students starting their undergraduate or graduate studies at UM. Join Udo as he is talking to Andrei Dinu, a graduate student from Romania, Lina Spaes an undergraduate student from France and the 2023-2024 President of the International Student Association (ISA) at UM, Shinichi Taniwaki, an undergraduate student from Japan and Ikuko Valgenti “Koko”, the International Student Advisor at the Global Engagement Office at UM about what attracted them to Missoula, what they love about campus and the community, how they adjusted to a different culture and language, what they are hoping to accomplish, academically and professionally, and what advice they have for others, who might be interested in coming to UM. Learn about their excitement, and how their international voice contributes to the diversity in our community.
August 2023: Remembering John Engen
In August 2022 beloved Missoula major John Engen passed away at the age of 57. This August episode is dedicated to Mayor Engen, who was known for his wit, his kindness, thoughtfulness and his vision for the future of a progressive Missoula.
This podcast is a re-broadcast of the original podcast from March 2020, in which Udo and John talked about the importance of cultural programming in the Garden City. Engen, the 50th mayor elected in Missoula and the longest-serving mayor, led a tenure of growth, a push for equality, municipal independence, greater housing opportunities and efforts to reform local government.
During their visit in June, Udo invited five members of the delegation from Missoula’s sister city Palmerston North (Palmy), New Zealand, to The Trail studio, to talk about how sister cities do not only benefit their city governments, but bring many advantages to the academic, economic, and tourism sectors as well.
The Palmy delegation visit to Missoula commemorates the 40th anniversary celebration. Mayor Grant Smith, Mr. Jerry Shearman, Chief Executive Officer of the Central Economic Development Agency, Mr. Roly Fitzgerald, Māori Ward Councilor and Rangitāne representative, Mrs. Gabrielle Logo, the International Relations Manager, and Ms. Kate Harridge, International Relations and Education Advisor for the Palmerston North City Council. Hear from each one of the delegation members, about their interactions during their stay in the Garden City, how they benefited from their experience and what they are taking back to their community, half-way around the globe.
This podcast also set a record for the most studio guests in one podcast recording!
Udo talks with Dr. Callaway, an internationally renowned plant and community ecologist, who was one of three Montanans on a prestigious short-list of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds”. Callaway has focused his international research of the past three decades on the interactions within plant communities and ecosystems. Research from his UM laboratory indicates that when humans introduce some plant species to new regions they force together species with different evolutionary trajectories from different continents, disrupting communities but also providing opportunities to test long held ecological paradigms. The conversation provides insight into how plants have moved across the globe, resulting in direct and indirect interactions between plants and with other organisms, including resource competition, and interactions with invasive species, as well as soil microbe, herbivore and competitor-mediated interactions. Callaway shares how other countries deal with invasive plant species and why it is important for a community to have an ecological knowledge base and talks about how his laboratory at UM developed ideas that have been a game changer in plant ecology and ending with some mysteries that remain in the field of global ecology.
After exactly a year, Mike Smith and Udo Fluck are doing it again for the May podcast! Turning the Tables and Switching the Microphones. Mike is talking to Udo in this special episode, about the GROW – Global Respect of Others in the World Outreach Program in K-12 schools. GROW has expanded consistently, over the years, and nearly doubled its seminar delivery in four local school districts in the 2022-2023 academic year, teaching 580 seminars in the 3rd, 7th and 11th grade curriculum. GROW’s unique pedagogical approach, age-appropriateness, and engaging content, creates a fun learning atmosphere, and, to our knowledge, makes it the only educational K-12 outreach program, of its kind, in the United States. GROW offers very unique learning opportunities that can transform students to not only be “global-ready” but to be “future-ready”. This is part two of a two-part series.
This is the third and final episode in a three-part series, on organizations, services and products that have aided Missoula in becoming a more diverse community. In this episode, Udo is joined in the studio by Latisha Buck Elk Thunder and Dacia Griego, Co-Founders of Indigenous Made Missoula (IMM). They visit with Udo about turning their dream into reality in 2022, when they founded IMM, in response to a lack of resources and economic opportunities for Indigenous artists in Missoula. Indigenous art is an untapped viable industry and that this deficit creates a barrier to economic success for Indigenous community members as well as a lack of representation at community events and in public spaces. The IMM is changing that! Today, IMM is a central point of communication for artists and those seeking art and talent produced by Indigenous people. Latisha, Dacia and their team support their community directly through the Indigenous Art & Talent Network, hosting First Peoples’ Markets, promotion, and providing a communication center with entrepreneurial resources and professional development.
This is the second episode in a three-part series, on organizations, services and products that have aided Missoula in becoming a more diverse community. Listen to Udo talking to several leaders in our community that have done exactly that. In this second episode of 2023, his guest is Susan Hay Patrick, Chief Executive Officer of United Way of Missoula County. Susan talks to Udo about the 90-year history of the United Way, which is the nation’s largest privately supported nonprofit organization, its mission, how it has changed and adjusted over time, the importance of fostering diversity in our community and our society as a whole, the Missoula Nonprofit Center, the United Way Day of Action, and what she is most proud of at United Way.
We hope you join us again for the April episode, featuring Latisha Buck Elk Thunder and Dacia Griego, co-founders of Indigenous Made Missoula.
This is the first episode in a three-part series, on organizations, services and products that have aided Missoula in becoming a more diverse community. Udo talks to several leaders in our community that have done exactly that. In this first episode of 2023, his guest is Eamon Fahey, Deputy Director of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) Missoula branch. He talks with Udo about the 90-year history of the IRC, the over 40 IRC program locations around the world and the 28 US cities that are involved in refugee resettlement, the IRC programming, services and how the community can get engaged.
This is the 3rd and final episode of a series focusing on “Managing Cultural Adjustment and Culture Shock”. In this last episode of 2022, Udo visits with Paul Mwingwa, a resettled refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who wears many different hats, in addition to being the Refugee Congress Delegate for Montana. Paul is also a Caseworker Assistant at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Missoula, a member of the Refugees Advisory Council (RAC) for the IRC, a Swahili language instructor and he works as a private contractor at the Lifelong Learning Center in Missoula. Please join Udo for this interesting conversation about resettlement as an invaluable protection tool, that the support for refugees in their resettling process is critical and the importance of making refugees feel that they are part of a new community . Successfully resettled refugees help enrich their local communities, creating a cultural diversity within the local population and helping nurture understanding and appreciation for social diversity. If your interests are in global and intercultural education, programming, cultural and global competence, and international affairs, we hope you join the International Voices podcast series after a short winter break. There will be no podcast in January, please reconnect in February 2023, for a new episode of International Voices.
This is the 2nd part of a multi-part series, focusing on “Managing Cultural Adjustment and Culture Shock”. Last month Udo was fortunate to talk to Shiena Greata Medrano, a student at the University of Montana, but born and raised in the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, which is also where she started her education. Shiena first settled in Philipsburg, Montana, a city of under a thousand individuals, before moving to Missoula, to attend UM. This November episode is dedicated to all the brave students in high schools around the world who started their education in one country and finish it in another. Who left their comforts, their culture, their traditions and customs behind, and had to re-discover, re-learn and re-build it all in another country and culture. Join Udo to learn about the cultural adjustment of four high school students in Missoula, Sandrine , from Congo, who lived in Uganda for most of her life before coming to Missoula, Tantine and Magnifique from Burundi, and Salim from Syria. Salim moved to Jordan when he was 7. .Listen in, to find out, how these courageous students managed to adjust to a new country, a new culture, a new city and a community they were not familiar with and what they found particularly challenging and what was easy for them to adjust to.
October 2022: Managing Cultural Adjustment and Culture Shock – From Manila to Missoula
Udo is joined by Shiena Greata Medrano, an Accounting and Management Information System Major at the University of Montana, and, if that was not enough for a full-time student, she is also the Indigenous/Rural Outreach Ambassador at Accelerate Montana, an Executive at the UM Pacific Islanders Club and the International Student Association. Shien was born and raised in the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, which is also where she started her education. She decided to continue her education in the United States and while study abroad is one of the best ways to acquire global skills, access personal and professional opportunities, by developing intercultural communication, foreign languages, adaptability, and problem-solving skills, it typically requires some cultural adjustment in the host culture and country as well. Coming from Manila, a city with several million people to Philipsburg, Montana, a city of under a thousand individuals is a major change, which includes the shock of a new environment, meeting lots of new people and learning the customs, traditions and values of the new country and its people. An adjustment that many international students are going through, when they decide to leave their rural hometowns and move to another country, and often much more urban settlements, to continue and/or complete their educational journey, just like Shien did. Her journey has been fun, exciting, educational, rewarding, eye-opening, but sometimes also stressful and even frustrating. Listen in, to find out how you can reduce the impact of culture shock and how you can help others going through it. This is PART I, of a multi-part series about individuals managing cultural adjustment and culture shock.
Tune in this episode and learn more about the 40th anniversary of the sister city connection between Missoula and Palmerston North, New Zealand through Gabrielle Nguyen, the International Relations Manager and Kate Harridge, the Education Advisor, in Palmerston North. Find out how “education” and “international relations” are connected, how students in both locations can benefit from that bond, and how our two communities can learn from each other locally. Learn about the beginning of the twinned city relationship, the benefits that four-decade long tie has positively impacted education, business, commerce, tourism and recreation, the advantages to art and culture and how the two city governments can learn from each other’s experiences in managing common challenges, including public transportation and affordable housing. Udo will also talk to Gabrielle and Kate about how the anniversary has been celebrated so far this year and which programming highlights are still planned until the end of 2022.
August 2022: Introducing the new Executive Director of Arts Missoula – Heather Adams
Join Udo, as he is visiting with Heather Adams, who founded and was Executive Director of the Downtown Dance Collective for 13 years, has danced, taught, directed, choreographed, organized, and produced, and started in June, after Tom Bensen’s retirement, as the new Executive Director of Arts Missoula. Heather has been involved in the art scene since her arrival in the Garden City, in 1999, and continues to be inspired by Missoulians love for the arts, culture and community. She has dedicated her professional career to arts education, performance and advocacy. In her conversation with Udo, she talks about Arts Missoula and its annual programming highlights, the importance of art for communities and societies, her cultural and professional experiences, nationally and internationally, and her shifting role, from being an “artist” to being a “leader” and a “manager”. Get inspired by her vision, energy and creativity and learn about how she plans to “shake up a few things” and increase visibility of Missoula’s designated arts and culture agency.
Join Udo, as he is talking, to Dr. Coreen Duffy, Conductor of UM’s Chamber Chorale, Dr. James Randall, Director of UM’s School of Music, Chorale Member Saxon Holbrook, and UM Chorale Students: Mira Smith, Spencer Price, Kylar Sprenger, and Sophia Boughey, about their local community voices being heard by international audiences, as they are touring England and Germany this month, their feelings of being musical ambassadors, their expectations and anticipations and about their excitement of performing in Missoula’s sister city Neckargemünd, Germany. Next year, 2023, will be the 30th anniversary of the Missoula and Neckargemünd global connection. While of a musical nature, the participants interviewed hope their impact will not be limited to being an audio delight. Listen to this newest episode, to find out about the others powers of music! This episode is part one, of a three-part series, focusing on “Music as Cultural Diplomacy”.
Mike Smith is talking to Udo Fluck in this special episode, celebrating more than two years of International Voices podcasts. Enjoy their conversation about why and how Udo settled in Missoula, what inspires him, the importance of friends near and far, his passion for the arts and education, his connection to his Alma Mater, the importance of family, and some surprises too. This is part one of a two-part series.
Join Udo, as he speaks with six individuals in one episode for the first time. His guests are: Dr. Thomas Gallagher, Dean and Professor of the Missoula College, Katie Dalessio, Director of Fiscal and Personnel Services, Amy Nack, Chef and Faculty in the Culinary Arts Program, Matt Parkey, Manager of the Blackfoot Café on the Missoula College campus and two students, currently enrolled in the Big Sky Culinary Institute, the leading hospitality and culinary arts school in Montana, housed in the Missoula College, where the French salutation “Bon Appetit” can be heard when the bell rings, at the end of class, and as an encouragement to enjoy a finished class project. This is the third part, of a three-part series.
March 2022: Food as Cultural Diplomacy – United We Eat in the Missoula Community
In part 2 of a 3 part series on Food As Cultural Diplomacy, Udo is joined by Beth Baker, program manager, and Rozan Shbib, kitchen assistant of Missoula’s Soft Landing United We Eat (UWE) Program. Beth grew up in Germany and Syria. She learned Arabic, lived in a small Palestinian village for two and a half years, and is excited to work with Missoula’s refugee and immigrant communities, combining her delight in delicious food with the joys of building community. Rozan is from Damascus, Syria, and lived for seven years in Cairo, Egypt, before arriving in Missoula in the fall of 2020. Rozan hopes her cooking will encourage people to sit down and enjoy food together. UWE provides a platform for refugee chefs to feel valued by sharing their food with their new community. UWE offers weekly international meals cooked by a rotating team of refugee and immigrant chefs, as well as virtual cooking classes. As the United We Eat website states: “In a World Divided, we believe it is United We Eat!” May this episode inspire the listener to discover, enjoy, and learn about international cuisine. Available with captions on Youtube here
Join Udo, as he is talking, for the first time with two guests in one episode, that is all about international cuisine. Meet Silvia Wirick and Wisam Raheem, two foreign-born chefs who are cooking under the Big Sky, in their local kitchens, running restaurants and food trucks, preparing meals inspired by recipes and spices from their homelands. Both culinary artists are dedicated to the authenticity of their food and to creating experiences that go beyond providing nourishment for the body. The “side dishes” they serve include history, customs and traditions from their countries of origin, that compliment their “main dishes”, in this first part of a new, three-part series, kicking off 2022. May this episode inform, perhaps surprise, and hopefully stimulate your taste buds. Available with captions on YouTube here.
December 2021: Matan Zamir, Deputy Consul General of the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco
Deputy Consul General Zamir talks about Israel’s leadership role in technology, innovation, and the arts, how they have impacted the country and how other countries in the region have benefitted from Israel’s investments. Reducing the carbon footprint, while simultaneously benefitting from innovations made in the medical field, in solar and wind energy, as well as in ocean desalinization are discussed, as well as the importance of the arts, as a tool to communicate culture, are addressed in this podcast. Part two, of a three-part series, titled: Fostering Cultural Understanding and Diplomacy. Available with captions on YouTube here.
Join Udo for his conversation with Ms. Sandhu, as she talks about the British Government’s mission in the US, the United Kingdom hosting the United Nations Climate Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow, and what it means for the UK to lead on such a global issue. How climate actions impact indigenous communities, how cultural engagement is important for policy and how diversity values translate into real change, are also addressed in this podcast. Part one, of a two part series titled: Fostering Cultural Understanding and Diplomacy. Available with captions on YouTube here.
Udo talks with geochemist Dr. Rachold, from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), which serves as an information and cooperation platform between German stakeholders from science, politics and industry. Dr. Rachold’s research focuses on land-ocean interactions in the Siberian Arctic and he led several land- and ship-based Russian-German expeditions. Their conversation ranges from climate models, current status, to future predictions of climate change, and rising ocean levels, to the impact on the Arctic Indigenous Peoples. Part three, of a three-part series, focusing on “Cultures and Environment”. Available with captions on YouTube here.
This month’s podcast with guest Nathan Rott, NPR journalist, focuses on international reporting on wildfires and how recent fires have burned areas flames aren’t usually able to penetrate, like rainforests in Australia. The conversation also addresses the bigger issue scientists have been warning about for a while with wildfire: That a warming climate means parts of the world that used to NOT burn are now susceptible to fire. Part two, of a three-part series, focusing on “Cultures and Environment”. Available with captions on YouTube here.
August 2021: Jake Kreilick, co-owner of Lake Missoula Tea Company, talks about creating global connections through tea
Jake Kreilick, from Lake Missoula Tea Company in Missoula, MT, talks about his interactions with small tea producers in Indonesia and Kenya and how their artisan loose leaves have contributed to the diversification of tea. Listen to Udo’s conversation with Jake about his passion for tea, environmental sustainability and social responsibility, how the tea industry has transformed, how climate change has impacted tea and tea growers, and why eco-activism is now more important than ever before. Part one, of a three-part series, focusing on “Cultures and Environment”. Available with captions on YouTube here.
Join Udo for his conversation with the artist, known for his highly colorful acrylic paintings of horses and cowboy figures in western landscapes, about how the “Red Rider” started his fascination with the West, meeting Norman Rockwell, leaving corporate America, and going from earthy to vibrant colors, so recognizable in his artwork today. Part three, of a three-part series titled: “Creativity During COVID.” Available with captions on YouTube here.
June 2021: Willow Kipp, Native American Artist with International Reach and Environmental Researcher
Udo is joined by Willow Kipp, who shares with him who inspired her as an artist and how her passion for Native American dance regalia design, beadwork, ledger art, and her large-scale murals have been both, a way for her to create something of her own and continue her peoples’ traditions. Part two of a three-part series titled: “Creativity During COVID“, featuring professional artists from various fields and how they managed through this past pandemic year. Recording with captions available on YouTube here!
Udo visits with Dennis Kozeluh, in Vienna, Austria, where he lives and has been active in the theater, music, and musical theater world throughout central Europe since 1997, about his origins in Missoula, Montana, life, work, and his passion for the performing arts. In addition to playing in most of the major musicals in Vienna, he has performed in light and contemporary opera and operetta, has directed shows, and written and directed two musicals for children. Part of a three-part series titled: “Creativity During COVID“, featuring professional artists from various fields and how they managed through this past pandemic year. Recording with captions available on YouTube here.
April 2021: Annita Lucchesi, founding Executive Director of the Sovereign Bodies Institute
Annita Lucchesi, founding Executive Director of the Sovereign Bodies Institute, started the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement. This dialogue is being presented by two women with Indigenous heritage. The guest host for this special edition of International Voices, is Michelle Guzman, the Director of American Indian Student Services at the University of Montana, and Arts Missoula GLOBAL Advisory Committee Member. Recording with captions available on YouTube here.
Honoring Women’s History Month, Udo is joined by Melissa Kilby, from Girl Up headquarters in Washington D.C., to discuss the global efforts in transforming a generation of girls to be a force for gender equality and social change, following the motto:” When girls rise, we all rise!”. Recording with captions available on YouTube here.
In this first podcast of 2021, Udo virtually travels to Missoula’s sister city Palmerston North in New Zealand to have a conversation discussing the idea of democracy itself, what strengthens and weakens democracy and how the concept of democracy relates to indigenous communities, like Chief Te Awe Awe’s tribal family, which has an 800-year history. Recording with captions available on YouTube here.
In this last episode of 2020, Udo talks with Ulrich Kamp, a glaciologist with an interest in environmental studies and climate change, who has researched and taught at the University of Montana and currently researches and teaches at the University of Michigan in Dearborn. Their conversation focuses on climate change and its impact on societies and cultures, among other talking points. Recording with Captions available on YouTube here.
For the complete list of episodes visit
International Voices with Udo Fluck
on Transistor.fm
Radio Interviews
In 2019, Missoula radio station, The Trail 103.3, invited Udo Fluck to talk about the World View Films Series at the Roxy Theater, for a few minutes on their Monday Morning Radio Program.
The interviews are posted below on Spotify.
Sign up for free Spotify account here to listen in!
Radio Interview: February 7, 2023
Radio Interview: December 15, 2019
Radio Interview: November 7, 2019
Radio Interview: October 14, 2019
Radio Interview: September 6, 2019