The National Weather Service says February was a wetter and warmer month than normal for Juneau, with some new records for precipitation set. And while there might be a break from the rain later this weekend, Kimberly Vaughan, a forecaster in the Juneau office, says it’ll be short lived. Listen to her interview with Rhonda…
B Programs
Thursday, February 17, 2022: Telling the story of racism in America
Natasha Boozer’s family is well known in Juneau. Her younger brother, Carlos, grew up to play professional basketball and win an Olympic Gold medal in 2008. Today, Natasha is carving out her own success as a writer in Las Vegas, where she homeschools her children. The lessons, she says, include important conversations about racism and…
Listen to the Program: Critical Race Theory as a tool to address systemic racism
Guests: Natasha Boozer, author of The Palmer Women.
Natasha Boozer says Black parents need to talk with their children about the history of racism in America and how to protect themselves against it — a subject too important to trust to the schools alone, which rarely do a good job of telling the whole story. In this conversation with Christina Michelle, Boozer explains…
Wednesday, February 16, 2022: Lessons from Elizabeth Peratrovich. Alaska Folk Festival update. Moderna’s HIV vaccine impact on Alaska.
Many classrooms across the state will take time out this Wednesday to mark Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, in honor of a Lingít woman who was one of Alaska’s earliest civil rights leaders. On Juneau Afternoon, Vera Starbard will talk about how her story is also being shared with children everywhere through PBS’s Molly of Denali series.…
Part 1: Alaska Folk Festival application deadline approaches: Feb. 25th, 5:00 p.m.
Guests: Andrew Heist, President of the Alaska Folk Festival
Plans for the Alaska Folk Festival’s return to in-person performances are firming up.
Part 2: Celebrating Elizabeth Peratrovich Day
Guests: Vera Starbard, screenwriter for Molly of Denali. Michelle Martin and Cora Bontrager, co-teachers at Harborview Elementary’s TCLL (Tlingit Culture Language and Literacy) program.
How the story of Alaska Native civil rights activist Elizabeth Peratrovich is being used to inspire a new generation.
Part 3: Moderna HIV vaccine
Guests: KTOO’s Yvonne Krumrey interviews Robin Lutz, head of the 4 A’s — the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association
What the prospect of an HIV vaccine means to Alaska and some of the challenges along the way.
Tuesday, February 15, 2022: Romeo Wolf Song Concert. Prince Gomolvilas on playwriting. Qacung Stephen Blanchett wins national fellowship.
As an orchestra plays in the backdrop and dancers swirl across the stage, the audience is invited to picture, Romeo the wolf, a dark and mysterious but welcome presence, against the backdrop of Mendenhall Glacier. On this Tuesday’s Juneau Afternoon, a preview of this weekend’s Wolf Songs Concert, which features two musical scores, commissioned as…
Part 1: Telling Romeo’s story with music and dance
Guests: David Hunsaker, writer. Todd Hunt, composer. Genevieve Carson, choreographer.
Romeo, oh, Romeo. Wherefore art thou Romeo? Although it’s been more than a dozen years since the wolf’s death, he lives again in musical and dance performances, recapturing the magic of Romeo’s encounters with the people of Juneau.
Part 2: Theatre: The triumph of imagination over reality.
Guests: Prince Gomolvilas, Playwright.
Prince Gomolvilas, who believes he may be the first and only Thai playwright in America, talks about pushing past the rigid constructs of realism and against the boundaries of imagination. His play, Brothers Paranormal, is currently being performed by Peseverance Theatre.
Part 3: National fellowship brings new opportunity
Guests: Qacung Stephen Blanchett
As they say, when it rains it pours. And for Qacung Stephen Blanchett, it’s been a downpour of awards and honors, including a national United States Artists fellowship, as well as recognition from the Kennedy Center. This comes on the heels of helping to launch Rock Aaw’k, Alaska’s first Indigenous Music Festival and the release…
Friday, February 11th, 2022: Nick Jans remembers Romeo, Juneau’s friendly wolf. Juneau Nordic Ski Club’s “Romeo Trot.” Coppa ice cream featured on Foodie Friday. Jessica Hood, a veteran Wearable Arts Show designer.
Nick Jans says his book, “A Wolf Called Romeo,” was one of the most difficult books he’s ever written — a tale of wonder, but also at the end of Romeo’s life, a tale of woe. Jans is also one of the organizers of the Orpheus Project, a month-long tribute to Romeo, as well…
Part 1: Why Romeo is more than just a wolf
Guests: Nick Jans, Writer
Nick Jans believes the story of Romeo and his relationship with Juneau is one of the great human and wild animal interactions in history, the quintessential Alaskan Story.
Part 2: Inaugural Romeo Trot
Guests: Jordan Tanguay, Juneau Nordic Ski Club board member and ski team coach and coordinator.
In collaboration with the Orpheus Project, the Juneau Nordic Ski Club is launching its first ever Romeo Trot.
Part 3: Foodie Friday: Coppa’s new ice cream flavors
Guests: Marc Wheeler, Owner of Coppa
On Juneau Afternoon’s Foodie Friday feature, Marc Wheeler talks about two new flavors of ice cream he’s created — Cardamom with orange-honey caramel and Bergamot with Ceylon Assam caramel.
Part 4: Jessica Hood’s nine years in Juneau’s Wearable Art Extravaganza
Guests: Jessica Hood, Wearable Arts Designer
Every dress at Juneau’s annual Wearable Arts Extravaganza has a story — and after nine years designing outfits for the show, Jessica Hood has many stories to tell. This year’s dress weighs about forty pounds and is made from trash bags, to bring awareness about plastic pollution in the oceans.
Thursday, February 10th: Juneau weekend weather outlook
After a long stretch of hiding out, an old friend stepped out of the shadows and shed some light on Juneau’s mountain tops on Thursday. Grant Smith, a meteorologist with the Juneau National Weather Service office, says to enjoy the sunshine while it lasts, because this break from the rain will be fairly short lived.…