Systemic racism, prejudice and misconceptions are an everyday occurrence for Blacks and other people of color in America. This week on Culture Rich Conversations, Christina Michelle asks this question: Could understanding the truth of living Black in a white community provide enough insight to create a spark that leads to racial equity? Her panelists this…
Guests: Dr. Rose Moten, Tahkaja McRay, Ahmir Parker and Alicia Stettler.
For the past few months, Vera Starbard and Andrew Okpeaha MacLean have been sequestered in what they call “The Writing Room” in New York City, where they work with producers and writers they say are some of the best in the business.
Ever since Vera Starbard was tapped for the hit PBS TV series, Molly of Denali, the Lingít writer’s career has taken off. On this Friday’s Juneau Afternoon, she talks about her role as a writer and consultant for Alaska Daily, a new ABC drama starring Hilary Swank as an investigative reporter, looking into…
Guests: Vera Starbard and Andrew Okpeaha MacLean, screenwriters for Alaska Daily.
Vera Starbard and Andrew MacLean talk about the challenges and the opportunities for Alaska Natives to tell their stories on ABC’s new drama, Alaska Daily. In a conversation with Rhonda McBride, both say they’ve tapped family and friends for help in keeping the show authentic as possible.
Guests: Joaqlin Estus, national correspondent for Indian Country today.
The late Walter Soboleff has said very little about how he felt, when Presbyterian church officials closed down Memorial Presbyterian Church in Juneau. But those who knew the Lingít minister said he kept his anguish to himself, after his mostly Alaska Native congregation was told they’d after to worship somewhere else. That was back…
Guests: Brenda Wright, programs manager for the Juneau Audubon Society.
The Northern Harrier stays a little longer in Juneau than cruise ship passengers, but there’s not much time to see them during their fall migration. So keep your eye out for a bird that flies close to the ground and has a white rump.
Guests: Stacy Diouf, Juneau Soccer Club President.
The Juneau Soccer Club keeps the ball moving through the winter with games at an indoor soccer field. A look at how kids can join and can get help paying their expenses, if they need it.
On this Thursday’s Juneau Afternoon, a musical time capsule from the year 1781, when a Spanish ship called the Malespina, sailed into Yakutat. After Lingít singers sang to the Spaniards, one of its crew members, wrote down the notes to the song. A trio of scholars believes this sheet music is proof that the Lingít…
Guests: Maria Shakka Tláa Williams, musical ethnologist. Judith Daxootsu Ramos, language Steven Langdon. anthropologist.
Three scholars have triangulated the sounds of Lingít singing through sheet music written down by Tadeo Haenke and recordings of elders singing. Haenke, a Czech botanist on the Malaspina expedition, was also an artist and a harpsichord player.
Guests: Tim Bradner, Alaska Legislative Digest. James Brooks, Alaska Beacon.
The U.S. House Race and the debate over Alaska’s new system of ranked choice voting seems to be sucking up all the political oxygen, which means a measure asking Alaska voters to approve a constitutional convention is getting very little attention. If this measure passes, it could open a Pandora’s box of issues. Rhonda…
On Juneau Afternoon today, a taste of Beth Short Rhoad’s kitchen philosophy. The simpler the better. And above all, keep it fresh. From her home in Sitka, Short-Rhoads produces “The Savory Moment,” a radio feature that brings dinner ideas to life. Also, on this program: From start to finish, the journey of a healing totem,…
Guests: Beth Short-Rhoads, a Sitka-based chef, writer and host of “The Savory Moment.”
Ideas for dinner are just part of the recipe for Beth Short-Rhoad’s series, “The Savory Moment.” She hopes to give public radio listeners a break from their “to do lists” and worries.
Guests: Britteny Cioni-Haywood, Juneau Community Charter School academic policy committee member. Makiah Jensen and Tera Hicks, middle school students.
Many parents are drawn to charter schools, because they not only offer different options, but allow them to take a more active role in their child’s education. A look at how Juneau Community Charter School tries to serve its families.
Guests: Sarah Lynn Tabachnick
AWARE will unveil the Healing Totem pole it commissioned in partnership with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska at Twin Lakes on Saturday at noon. A reception at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall will follow.
It’s hard to believe that an orange shirt sparked an international movement to honor survivors of abuse at government schools for Indigenous children. The story behind that orange shirt on this Tuesday’s Juneau Afternoon, and what lead to Orange Shirt Day, which will be observed this Friday, September 30th. You’ll also hear about opportunities this…
Guests: Jamiann Hasselquist, Vice President, Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp 2.Ati Nasiah, AWARE.
It began with one shirt — one that staffers at a Canadian boarding school for Indigenous students took away from Phyllis Jack Webstad, when she was a small child. Although the shirt disappeared, you’ll see orange shirts everywhere this Friday in solidarity with Webstad and other boarding school survivors and their descendants. In Juneau, two…
Guests: Paige Sparks &Javiers Camacho, ReVision Alaska producers. Jeana Varney, KTOO Marketing Director.
Most Alaskans recognize that reality TV shows about their state are, well, not very real. But a new TV series, ReVision Alaska, aims to bring television viewers across the state the real deal, with a series of documentaries that feature Alaskans telling their own stories. Re-Vision Alaska debuts on Thursday, September 29th at 8:00 p.m.…
The nation’s eyes are on Alaskans, as they take up a new system of choosing candidates. On this Friday’ s Juneau Afternoon today, a preview of tonight’s Evening at Egan lecture, which explores how ranked choice voting is changing Alaska’s political landscape. Gail Fenumiai, head of the state elections divison, and Jason Grenn from Alaskans…
Guests: Gail Fenumiai, Alaska Division of Elections Director. Jason Grenn, Alaskans for Better Elections
A look at how this new system of voting is changing the way Alaskans vote and, possibly, its political landscape.
Guests: Dave Ringle, executive Director, St. Vincent de Paul.
All it takes is a pair of tennis shoes and a commitment to walk or run, a simple way to help St. Vincent de Paul raise money for the those in need. In this conversation with Andy Kline, Dave Ringle gives an update on St. Vincent de Paul’s community services.
Guests: Tristan Knutson-Lombardo, JNSC Youth Programs Co-Coordinator. Riley Soboleff, Middle School Skier.
Flying with your friends across Juneau’s snowy trails, something Juneau students look forward to every winter, thanks to the Junior Nordic Ski Club.
Guests: Brenda Wright, Juneau Audubon Society program manager.
If you can spot them, Cedar Waxwings are easy to identify. With a rakish black mask over their eyes, they look like little bird bandits. But it’s that bright spot of yellow, on the tips of their tails, that’s the giveaway. They’re one of the favorites of Juneau birders, especially in the fall when…
The string trio, Simply Three, is perhaps one of the best-known performers at the Juneau Jazz and Classics fall festival. They’re a crossover group that’s become a YouTube sensation, mixing classics, pop and rock and roll. On this Thursday’s Juneau Afternoon, the trio will talk about their genre-hopping style. Also on this program, Cellist Zuill…
Guests: Zack Clark, cellist. Nick Villalobos, bassist. Glen McDaniel, violinist.
Simply Three makes it all sound simple, but the string trio’s music is a sophisticated blend of genres. Zack Clark and Nick Villalobos, who co-founded the group, say the secret sauce is to use the bass as both a solo and percussion instrument. In a conversation with Rhonda McBride, the group talks about how…
Guests: Zuill Bailey, Juneau Jazz and Classics Artistic Director.
Zuill Bailey, the artistic director of the Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival, says he excited by the performers at this year’s festival, because they’re pushing classical music in new directions. Bailey says groups like Simply Three are showing that the techniques for playing classical instruments like the bass, cello and violin “literally have no bounds.”…
Guests: Officer Jim Quinto and Chief Ed Mercer
Officer Jim Quinto was not your typical police officer. He spent most of his 25 years on the Juneau Police Department on patrol duty. And although he had a chance to work in drug enforcement and other areas of the department, he says he liked patrolling the streets best of all — because it…
A New York Times critic called Shelly Watson a rambunctious, over-the-top soprano of considerable charm – charm that is sure to bubble over at the Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival this week. Watson is likely to tell a few jokes on Juneau Afternoon, maybe even burst into song, as she explains how she seesaws back…
Guests: Shelly Watson, entertainer who mixes opera, burlesque and comedy.
Cartoons are what inspired Shelly Watson to learn opera, the first step in a musical journey that took her to Juilliard and then onto other artistic adventures that were unconventional for a vocalist with her training. In a conversation with Sheli DeLaney, Watson tells the story of how she branched out into comedy and…
Guests: Joyce Parry Moore, performing artist, writer and community advocate.
In a benefit for Cancer Connection, Joyce Parry Moore draws on her experience as both a cancer survivor and as a performing artist. Her one-woman opera is 26 minutes, exactly how long it takes for an MRI to scan the body for cancer. In a conversation with Sheli DeLaney, Parry Moore explains how she uses…
Guests: Cori and Andy Mills, Captial City Brewfest organizers.
Capital Brewfest features 18 booths this year, with lots of local beers to sample. Two different groups have teamed up for Capital Brewfest — the Rotary Club of Juneau and the Rotary Club of Juneau 58º Innovators. The proceeds from the sales help t0 fund community service projects. Captial Brewfest takes place at Tracey’s…
One of the headliners at this week’s Juneau Jazz and Classics festival says it all started when he was only two years old, begging his mom to play Van Cliburn records, over and over. On Tuesday’s Juneau Afternoon, pianist Matt Herskowitz explains how he mixes his classical training with his passion for jazz – a…
Guests: Matt Herskowitz, pianist.
Like father, like son. So it seems with Matt Herskowitz and his two-year-old son, Raphaël. When Matt was a toddler, he embraced the piano. And likewise, Raphaël seems to have already chosen his instrument — the violin. In this conversation with Rhonda McBride, Herskowitz talks about fatherhood, the two musical languages of jazz and…
Guests: Sally Schlichting, Juneau flutist and founder of Con Brio. Jim Noel, composer.
Juneau may have more musicians per capita than many communities. And the same might be said for composers. This weekend, the Con Brio Chamber Series will showcase the new work of seven local composers during two performances of its Small Wonders Concert.
Guests: David Keith, CEO of Bartlett Regional Hospital.
David Keith may be new to Juneau, but not to Alaska. The new CEO of Bartlett Regional Hospital has worked at two Anchorage Hospitals — Providence Alaska Medical Center and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. In this conversation with Rhonda McBride, Keith talks about how his Alaska experience will help him in his new…
