Talk of Alaska
Alaska’s only statewide call-in forum for discussing the issues impacting life on the Last Frontier. Politics, science, culture and current events are covered by host Lori Townsend and members of the Alaska Public Media news team along with guests and callers.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 57 minutes
- Episodes
- 192
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Cold Mountain Path and the stories behind one of Alaska’s most scenic ghost towns
What stories do Alaska’s ghost towns have to tell? In his newest book, longtime Alaska writer Tom Kizzia explores that question in McCarthy, digging into the bygone days of the tiny community nestled…
LISTEN: What do low chum returns mean for Yukon River subsistence?
Two people pick up donations of chum and king salmon that will be distributed to villages along the lower Yukon river. (Olivia Ebertz/KYUK)
The Chinook salmon fishery on the Yukon has been in decline …
LISTEN: Hospitals are filling up thanks to COVID-19
A nearly empty critical care unit at Bartlett Hospital on April 7, 2020, in Juneau, Alaska. on (Photo by Rashah McChesney/KTOO)
Alaska hospitals are in crisis. The state is setting new records for COV…
LISTEN: Labor, supply lines and economic outlook
Food runner Amanda prepares to deliver entrées at 49th State Brewing in downtown Anchorage. The wait to be seated on a Wednesday evening in July was roughly 1.5- to 2-hours, according to staff and pa…
LISTEN: There will be shrooms
Photo: Mark Byzewski
For many Alaskans, fall’s cooler temperatures and wet weather signal the peak of mushroom season. Two regional fungus festivals are happening this month, and whether you’re a vete…
LISTEN: Kids and COVID-19 — what do parents need to know?
Avery Barnaby dances on the playground during her first day back to school as a first-grader at Sayéik Gastineau Community School on Jan. 14, 2021, in Juneau. (Rashah McChesney/KTOO)
Students are back…
LISTEN: Housing concerns persist as another pandemic winter approaches
Two people and a dog curl up near a boiler room on Shattuck Way on Jan. 20, 2017 in downtown Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
For Alaskans who experience homelessness, …
LISTEN: Gov. Dunleavy makes his case for constitutional amendments
Gov. Mike Dunleavy (Dunleavy Flckr)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy wants to amend the state constitution to enshrine an annual Permanent Fund earnings amount to use for government spending and dividends, impose a…
LISTEN: The challenge of child care
Childcare workers interact with infants at Gold Creek Child Development Center in Juneau in May, 2018. (Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)
Reliable and affordable child care continues to be a challenge for many famil…
LISTEN: Addressing the COVID delta variant spike in Alaska
A sign for a COVID-19 vaccine clinic adminstered by Visit Healthcare at Tikahtnu Commons in Anchorage on Aug. 2, 2021 (Lex Treinen/Alaska Public Media)
The delta variant of COVID-19 is more contagious…
LISTEN: Alaska’s fiscal future
Members of the Alaska House of Representatives prepare for a floor session on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire via AP, Pool)
The state’s fiscal situation is growing more precari…
LISTEN: Celebrating Disability Pride in Alaska
President Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act on the South Lawn of the White House. (Photo courtesy of George Bush Presidential Library and Museum)
It’s been 31 years since the Americans wi…