“Forgotten Murders from Alaska’s Capital” was author Betsy Longenbaugh’s first book.
On this episode of Juneau Afternoon’s Rainy Day Conversations, true crime enthusiast and author Betsy Longenbaugh shares her lifelong passion for mystery and how she and her husband, Ed Schoenfeld, uncovered a long history of murder and mayhem in Southeast Alaska.
Host Bostin Christopher talks with Longenbaugh about her origins in Sitka, finding a love of mystery from her mother and grandmother, working for her aunt at the Sitka Sentinel, and how, after retiring from a career in journalism and social work, she and her husband began finding tales of murder in Juneau and continue to share them in presentations, history walks, and two books, with a third on the way.
Bostin Christopher hosts the conversation. Juneau Afternoon airs at 3:00 p.m. on KTOO and KAUK with a rebroadcast at 7:00 p.m. Listen online or subscribe to the podcast at ktoo.org/juneauafternoon.
Dr. X̱’unei Lance Twitchell is welcomed home at the airport after his historic Emmy Award win for “Molly of Denali.” (Photo by Xáalnook Erin Tripp)
On Saturday, March 15, 2025, Dr. X̱’unei Lance Twitchell won an Emmy Award for his writing on the episode “Not a Mascot” for the PBS Kids show “Molly of Denali.” It’s the first Emmy for Twitchell and the children’s program after receiving Emmy nominations years prior for his writing on the first national children’s program to feature an Alaska Native child as a lead character.
Juneau Afternoon’s Rainy Day Conversations featured University of Alaska Southeast Professor and Emmy winner Dr. X̱’unei Lance Twitchell the day before the ceremony. This interview aired on KTOO on Friday, March 14.
In the hour-long conversation, Twitchell discusses his time working on “Molly of Denali,” the inspiration for the “Not a Mascot” episode, and how Indigenous storytelling is gaining traction in mainstream media.
Twitchell also discusses his work in language revitalization and decolonization, and he shares two poems from his recently released book, “G̱agaan X̱ʼusyee / Below the Foot of the Sun.”
Twitchell is Lingít, Haida, Yupʼik, and Sami. He is a professor of Alaska Native Languages at the University of Alaska Southeast, and he lives in Juneau with his wife and bilingual children. Twitchell is an author of poems, stories, and screenplays, as well as a filmmaker, musician, and Northwest Coast Artist. He has been a writer and cultural consultant for “Molly of Denali,” the Emmy-winning children’s show on PBS that features a female Alaska Native child as the lead character. His first book of poetry, “G̱agaan X̱ʼusyee / Below the Foot of the Sun,” is available from the University of Alaska Press and the University Press of Colorado.
You can find and follow Twitchell online via Facebook and find the references and resources for his language work at tlingitlanguage.com.
Bostin Christopher hosts the conversation. Juneau Afternoon airs Wednesday through Friday at 3:00 p.m. on KTOO and KAUK with a rebroadcast at 7:00 p.m. Listen online or subscribe to the podcast at ktoo.org/juneauafternoon. You can view livestreams of the program on the KTOO YouTube Channel.
RAINY DAY OVERFLOW Occasionally, the broadcast lacks enough time to include the full conversation. We will soon post extended portions of the discussion with Dr. Twitchell. Subscribe to the podcast feeds below to be notified.
Vera Starbard will serve as Alaska State Writer Laureate through 2026. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)
Juneau Afternoon’s Rainy Day Conversations features Alaska State Writer Laureate and three-time Emmy-nominated writer Vera Starbard. Starbard will serve through 2026 and replaces outgoing State Writer Laureate Heather Lende.
Starbard, who is Lingít and Dena’ina, was born in Craig and lived throughout Alaska before settling into her “forever” home on Douglas Island in Juneau with her husband, Joe.
Starbard taught herself to read at age four and knew she wanted to be a writer by kindergarten. In high school, she began reading “how-to” business books. Right out of high school, she started working in journalism as an editor and found work in public relations. She was the editor of First Alaskans magazine. She was working on a novel but wanted to improve her dialogue skills, so she participated in a playwrighting workshop. That work led to her play “Our Voices Will Be Heard” and changed the course of her career. Now a full-time screenwriter, Starbard has worked on “Molly of Denali” and “Alaska Daily” and has many projects in various stages of development.
Host Bostin Christopher talks with Starbard about her plans and ideas for her time as Alaska State Writer Laureate. She speaks about her desire to uplift Alaska Native storytelling and believes everyone has a story to share. She credits her family as her biggest inspiration and most incredible supporter of her work. She also discusses getting those first jobs, the state of native representation in film and television, and teases a novel in the works.
Bostin Christopher hosts the conversation. Juneau Afternoon airs at 3:00 p.m. on KTOO and KAUK with a rebroadcast at 7:00 p.m. Listen online or subscribe to the podcast at ktoo.org/juneauafternoon.
RAINY DAY OVERFLOW Occasionally, the broadcast lacks enough time to include the full conversation. Below are a few bonus questions with Vera Starbard covering decolonization, the state of native storytelling in books vs films, her thoughts on AI, and her advice for those beginning a writing career.
Juneau Afternoon’s new series, Rainy Day Conversations, features Alaska author Eowyn Ivey. Ivey’s first novel, “The Snow Child,” was a New York Times bestseller and a Pulitzer Prize finalist.
Ivey lives in Alaska with her husband and two daughters. She previously worked as a journalist and for nearly a decade as a bookseller at Fireside Books in Palmer before writing her first novel, “The Snow Child,” in 2013.
Her new novel, “Black Woods, Blue Sky,” tells the story of a single mother, Birdie, and her daughter, Emmaleen. Birdie meets and falls in love with Arthur, a soft-spoken recluse. But soon after moving to his isolated cabin, Birdie and Emmaleen discover Arthur is much more than he appears and hides a secret that is as dangerous as the Alaska wilderness.
Host Bostin Christopher talks with Ivey about this novel being her most personal story yet. She shares about writing into her fears and how, ultimately, the book is about love. She also discusses the nerves on the eve of its launch, her writing process, how she began writing, and her longing for independent books to garner more recognition.
“Black Woods, Blue Sky” is on sale now. Find out more about Eowyn Ivey and her work at http://www.eowynivey.com.
Bostin Christopher hosts the conversation. Juneau Afternoon airs at 3:00 p.m. on KTOO and KAUK with a rebroadcast at 7:00 p.m. Listen online or subscribe to the podcast at ktoo.org/juneauafternoon.
