Northern Soundings: Alaska in Conversation

This episode, I’m joined by Bil Paul, author of Awaiting the Sun. Paul’s book considers the often-overlooked Aleutian Campaign of World War II. With his father having served in this conflict, he brings a personal connection to the story, viewing it from the service-members perspective. As a seasoned freelance writer, he also drew from historical … Continue reading Awaiting the Sun: Bil Paul

In the three months following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the Anti-Defamation League reports Anti-Semitic incidents in our country leapt 360%. Despite the rising tensions and their past experiences of anti-Jewish riots in Libya, my guests this episode, Penina Solomon and Dr. David Gerbi, insist they are hopeful for a more peaceful future. … Continue reading If I Forget You, Libya: Penina Solomon & Dr. David Gerbi

My guest this show is University of Alaska Fairbanks historian Tyler C. Kirk. His book After the Gulag: A History of Memory in Russia’s Far North, was recently published by Indiana University Press. Kirk will be talking about the people and policies featured in his book Thursday evening. 

You are what you eat. Just ask Dr. Matthew Wooller, a paleoecologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The eating habits of a mammoth some 14 millennia ago allowed Wooller and his colleagues to map the animal’s journey across Alaska. Wooller also shares how his concerns for student mental and emotional health stirred him to … Continue reading Matthew Wooller: A Life’s Subtle Path

I continue my conversation with Jon Holmgren. Besides being an inventor, machinist, geophysicist and mountaineer, Jon is something of a philosopher. So says his friend and colleague Matthew Sturm in his book Finding the Arctic. Jon’s shop is the site for great discussions. To stimulate the conversations, one of the books Jon often hands out to … Continue reading Jon Holmgren Pt.2