Book cover of “Black History in the Last Frontier” by University of Alaska Anchorage history professor Ian Hartman. It’s February and Black History month is in full effect in Alaska. But what if educators here emphasized Black achievements and observed our darker history all year around? How would that affect economic diversity in Alaska, and raise the standard for how we observe and celebrate black culture? Hear this discussion on Black history and education in Alaska. HOST: Justin Williams GUE...
Feb 28, 2022•59 min
Former high school seniors Kayden King, Shaun Peter, and Thomas Phelan in Bethel. (Katie Basile/KYUK) On this week’s Hometown Alaska, Anchorage teens describe how they have suffered, endured, and even grown through living under the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll hear from teens at the Alaska Teen Media Institute, Covenant House and MHATS, which stands for Mental Health Advocacy Through Storytelling, a student-founded and student-run non-profit in Anchorage. ATMI students began creating a series called...
Feb 18, 2022•59 min
Seawolf, logo for UAA athletics,courtesy of UAA. The UAA Women’s basketball program is elite. Conference champs, sweet 16 appearances, perennial national championship contender, and of course – mayhem! What makes them so successful? How much attention are they getting locally, and nationally? Should they be getting more attention given their success? And what does the future hold for UAA basketball? This episode answers these questions and more as we chat with Head Coach Ryan McCarthy and senior...
Feb 14, 2022•59 min
Andrea Noble, executive director of the Alaska State Council on the Arts, has one word for the Alaska artists and arts organizations now tackling Year Three of life under Covid: “Resilient. They just don’t quit.” On today’s Hometown Alaska, we’ll hear from five arts groups on how they have adapted and persisted. What lessons did they learn? How did they change their process? What worked, what didn’t work? Were there unexpected silver linings? Unexpected disasters? How has their attitude shifted ...
Feb 04, 2022•59 min
Anchorage-based entrepreneur LeeAnna Chronister is a mother and artist who has operated several small businesses and community projects (Image provided by LeeAnna Chronister) The gig economy isn’t exactly a new income stream for individuals, but the paradigm shift of the market due to COVID and other factors have launched gig work and entrepreneurship into an undeniable macrolevel behemoth. One artist and businesswoman shares her story of how she established her brand to The Last Frontier and ho...
Jan 31, 2022•59 min
The opening image to a slideshow in Spanish aimed at providing accurate information to the Latin community on Covid and vaccinations. Find the full slideshow here . January 2022 marks the world’s third year working to overcome the Coronavirus pandemic. For many different and valid reasons, people hesitate to get vaccinated. Yet broad and successful vaccination rates are necessary to avoid giving the virus time to mutate and create another variant, as it has done with Omicron. Alaska Public Media...
Jan 24, 2022•59 min
In this 2007 photo, a sailor shares his Thanksgiving meal with his baby son at a special event aboard the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan in San Diego. Storekeeper 1st Class Andy Zhang serves his son alongside 500 of his fellow crew members and their families during the special holiday event. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Camarynn Miller. Arguments over mandates, pandemic death, disruptive politics, climate change disasters. We’ve seen them all this year; we’re worn out....
Dec 19, 2021•59 min
Red Cross nurses in the Philippines. (Photo via WikimediaCommons) If you’ve ever been to a hospital or a medical clinic or some type of medical facility, which most of us probably have, you may have noticed that a lot of health care workers are Filipino. They can be doctors, or home care providers, or some type of health care worker, but most of them are nurses. This is not just your imagination, as statistics show that Filipino nurses do compose the largest share of immigrant nurses in the Unit...
Dec 06, 2021•59 min
The Anchorage landfill countdown on the municipality’s web page shows less than 50 years of capacity. Recycling and composting keeps reusable items out of the landfill. What do you need to know, and where can you find out? UPDATE: Since the recycling/composting program aired Monday morning, here’s a bit of useful info for Mat-Su Valley residents interested in curbside recycling. Alaska Waste began curbside recycling in the Valley last February, including within the city of Palmer, in an effort t...
Nov 04, 2021•59 min
Taquka’aq B-Duk Took Drum Group at the Alaska Native Heritage Center (Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media) Since 1990, federal, state, and local governments have recognized November as Native Heritage Month to celebrate and honor America’s Indigenous Peoples. November is such an interesting time for Native peoples, though, as it is right after Halloween when folks still commonly dress up in stereotypical Native costumes, and it is also when Thanksgiving happens, a holiday that is fraught with many pro...
Nov 01, 2021•59 min
Cosplayers at Senshi Con, Alaska’s largest fandom convention, spent the day as their favorite comic book and anime characters last weekend at the Dena’ina Center. (Photo by Ammon Swenson) In Alaska pop culture and entertainment serve as a means to escape the dark, chilly winters that conquer the final months of each year. The politics and popularity of film, comic, game, and novel franchises have brought folks together in ways we did not know possible, bringing a sense of irony to the isolated L...
Oct 26, 2021•59 min
The Tagiumiut Dancers perform at the 2019 Alaska Federation of Natives Conference at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks. (Zachariah Hughes/Alaska Public Media) Indigenous Peoples’ Day strikes the intersection of beauty and triumph, controversy and pain. Many have fought to reclaim its purpose and name from Columbus, to the people of the land he claimed to discover. The history of this day has shown the power of the voices of the marginalized as we largely no longer recognize this day as Columbus Da...
Oct 12, 2021•59 min
The month of October has been recognized by the U.S. Congress and by several state legislatures as Filipino American History Month, to celebrate the long history of Filipinos in the United States. When we think about Filipino Americans, however, the states that people most easily think of are California and Hawaii; very few think of Alaska. But Filipino Alaskans have just as long and just as rich of a history as any other Filipino American community. On this week’s episode of Hometown Alaska, we...
Oct 04, 2021•59 min
(Image from Flickr ) Addiction and recovery are two sides of a heavy coin. September is National Recovery Month, so this week on Hometown Alaska, we’ll learn how substance addiction contributes to recidivism and how to celebrate recovery and support sobriety and sober-curious lifestyles. HOST: Justin Williams GUEST: ” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Sarah Crum , Alaska Addiction Rehabilitation Services LINKS: Recover Alaska resources and frequently asked questions Anchorage Health Depa...
Sep 27, 2021•59 min
Jeff Bumagat-Hidalgo, co-owner-manager at Jeepney Filipino Hawaiian Fusion Food, prepares an order of butter garlic shrimp on a weekday afternoon in April. (Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media) Alaska’s food and restaurant culture is a massive and ever-shifting adhesive for the local economy, serving and effecting both customers and business owners alike. But why is it so crucial? And how are local restaurant and food truck owners riding the wave back to success during COVID? Join host, Justin William...
Sep 20, 2021•59 min
Cover of Welcoming Anchorage’s roadmap manual. (Courtesy of Welcoming Anchorage) Alaska’s ethnic and cultural diversity has grown significantly as more immigrants and refugees make Alaska their home. How are new Alaskans adjusting? How can the government help in their transition? What are the ways through which immigrants and refugees enrich Alaska? Join host E.J. David for conversation about a collaborative community project called “Untapped Talent.” HOST: E.J. David GUESTS: Nyabony Gat , Healt...
Sep 13, 2021•59 min
This cover of the new “Alaska Women Speak” anthology is artwork by Teresa Ascone that first graced the cover of the WINTER 2014 journal. Ember Press, a Palmer-based small independent publisher specializing in Alaska non-fiction, adventure, conservation and history, has just released an anthology collecting the first 25 years of the journal “Alaska Women Speak,” from 1992 to 2017. The journal is still publishing today. Find out more about the contemporary journal here . But this week’s Hometown A...
Aug 27, 2021•59 min
‘One Headlight’ by Matt Caprioli and ‘Pluto Cove’ by Arran Forbes. UPDATE: Writer Matt Caprioli, featured in this episode, has changed his last name to Frye Castillo. His website can be found here . Hometown Alaska is back after its short summer hiatus, and we return Aug. 23 at 10 am with a program featuring two Alaska writers with first books. In the first half of the program, we’ll meet Matt Caprioli, author of “One Headlight,” a memoir of growing up gay in Alaska, a story that captures his re...
Aug 19, 2021•59 min
The Juneteenth flag was raised on June 11, 2021, at Anchorage City Hall. (Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media) Juneteenth has been called America’s second Independence Day. But surveys show only about half of Americans know what Juneteenth is. What exactly is Juneteenth? Why is it important, and how should it be celebrated? With community leaders Jasmin Smith and Dino Allen, we will discuss Juneteenth’s history and modern-day significance on the next episode of Hometown Alaska. HOST: E.J. David GUESTS...
Jun 14, 2021•59 min
What if our latest conversations about Alaska didn’t lodge on the dollar amount of a PFD, or how much a budget should be cut? What if we leaped over these sticking points and employed our collective imagination to envision an Alaska of the future? What kind of place do we want Alaska to be? What kind of place do we want the next generation to experience? These are the questions that moved Ky Holland, an educator, community organizer and a start-up kind of guy. Read: Entrepreneur. His LinkedIn “A...
Jun 12, 2021•59 min
The stand of a bouquiniste , the French term for second-hand books resellers, in Paris, near the Cathedral Notre-Dame of Paris. Books are as popular in Alaska and in Anchorage as they are in Paris, thanks to public libraries, bookstores and the Alaska Center for the Book. (Benh Lieu Son g/ Wikimediia Creative Commons ) For three decades, the Alaska Center for the Book has promoted literacy throughout Alaska by celebrating books, creative writing, poetry and author outreach. On this edition of Ho...
May 22, 2021•59 min
Acting Anchorage Police Chief Ken McCoy poses for a photo in the Anchorage Police headquarters in downtown on May 7, 2021. (Hannah Lies/Alaska Public Media) On this edition of Justice Alaska on Hometown Alaska , the Anchorage Police Department’s Acting Chief Ken McCoy joins host Kathleen McCoy for a conversation on APD’s work in Anchorage and on modern policing, a public safety field that has come under increasing scrutiny as social media and video cameras have captured police at work. Chief McC...
May 14, 2021•59 min
Guests Nithya Thiru (left) and Joshua Albeza Branstetter (right) discuss anti-Asian racism on Hometown Alaska. (Images courtesy of guests) Recent events have put a spotlight on anti-Asian racism. Many Americans even seem shocked & surprised that it’s happening. But is anti-Asian racism new? Is anti-Asian racism rare? What does it look like? Where does it happen? And how does it impact Asian Americans? Join us as we discuss the complexities of anti-Asian racism on this episode of Hometown, Al...
May 10, 2021•59 min
Dave Bronson and Forrest Dunbar head to a runoff election on May 11. (Photos courtesy Bronson and Dunbar campaigns) Hometown Alaska will host RUNNING 2021: Runoff Candidates for Mayor Monday May 3 from 10-11 am. Both candidates will join us for the program. Questions are welcome from the listening audience (see format below). The program will air again at 8 pm Monday evening and will be podcast on this page afterward. FORMAT: Hometown Alaska has three segments and we’ll use those segments to org...
May 02, 2021•59 min
Students play during recess at Dena’ina Elementary School in Wasilla in September. (Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media) Today’s question came from a listener, a father who has weathered and completed his own family’s journey through expensive childcare, for which he’s grateful. But his own success don’t solve the huge challenge in our community, and he asked us to share with listeners the scope of the issue here in Anchorage. We invited panelists who work everyday to define what quality early childho...
Apr 26, 2021•59 min
A listener posed a question for Justice Alaska o n Hometown Alaska and we tackled it on this week’s show. Where are the Alaska Native defenders, prosecutors and judges in our state’s judicial system? What would justice in Alaska look like if there were more robust representation of Alaska Natives throughout the process? Sigvanna (Megan) Topkok, staff attorney for Kawerak in Nome. In conversations with local attorneys to prepare for the show, some said the pipeline of Alaska Native lawyers is jus...
Apr 18, 2021•59 min
The nuclear-generated power industry is taking off. Among the latest developments are microreactors that might have advantages for remote communities in Alaska struggling with high energy costs, or military bases, or remote mining operations. It’s time to find out more. (Image courtesy of Office of Nuclear Energy, US Department of Energy.) It’s probably time for everyday Alaskans to learn more about new developments in nuclear technology that may have potential benefits for Alaska—an energy-prod...
Apr 08, 2021•59 min
Indigenous Peoples and Languages of Alaska. (Alaska Native Language Center) Over the past few years, acknowledging the Indigenous roots of the places we call home has become more common. This is especially true in Alaska, a state rich with Indigenous history and the state with the highest percentage of Native people in its population. Alaska, however, also has a rapidly growing non-Native population that may not completely and accurately understand that this state has been and always will be a N...
Mar 30, 2021•59 min
Tying different colored ribbons to a tree to remember victims of crimes is an annual event across the nation, including in Anchorage, during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 18-24. The focus on victims is an opportunity to review and evaluate how victims’ rights are being observed, and what changes still need to happen. (Photo courtesy of Victims for Justice, Alaska.) One week in the month of April 2021, the 18th-24th, is set aside to remember victims of violent crimes in communities a...
Mar 27, 2021•59 min
Bunny ears image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Host images by Alaska Public Media. The arrival of a new host to Hometown Alaska is a good opportunity to open the phone lines to hear what topics you want us to work on. We call it “all ears” because we’re listening for the ideas you want us to pursue. Joining the Hometown Alaska team is EJ David. You may have heard him co-host the RUNNING program for school board candidates on March 8. In 2020, he came on as a “pop-up” co-host on a show that look...
Mar 20, 2021•59 min
