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Send us Fan Mail Ryan Buchholdt is the Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Although we talk about his role at UAA including organizing the emergency housing of the residents of Kipnuk following Typhoon Halong, as well as the emergency housing of Russian and American diplomats for the Anchorage summit last year between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, we focus on Ryan’s grandmother Thelma Buchholdt. She was elected to represent West Anchorage in the Alaska State house in 1974 making her the first Asian American elected to the Alaska legislature and actually the first Filipino elected to any state legislature in the country outside of Hawaii. She held office until 1982 and later served in Governor Tony Knowles' Administration.  This episode is in honor of Filipino American History Month.  Previous Filipino Episodes: Rep. Genevieve MinaAnchorage Assembly Chair Anna BrawleyUAA Faculty EJR David & Gabriel GarciaWorkers' Rights (in Filipino language): Ang iyong mga karapatan bilang isang manggagawa

Send us Fan Mail Ecomomist Mike Jones, PhD, of UAA’s Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) focuses his research on food security and food transportation in Alaska. He recently organized the Food Affordability Forum at UAA that brought together some of America and Canada’s experts on Food affordability. We discuss some of the takeaways from that forum on the show today.  Listen to Mike Jones' previous podcast appearance here.

Send us Fan Mail Paxson Woelber is the founder of Ermine Nordic Skates, the only Nordic skate company in North America. Ermine is based in Anchorage where Paxson was born and raised. He started his career doing graphic and web design, often for political campaigns (his graphic and web design clients included former state senator Republican Lora Reinbold, Representative Mia Costello, Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell, Senator Chris Birch, US Senator Lisa Murkowski, Independent Governor Bill Walker, and progressive assembly members Christopher Constant and Sydney Scout). He also was the designer for the No on 2 campaign that legalized recreational marijuana use in Alaska. He then accidentally became part owner of the Alaska Landmine, a political news site, where he found himself engaged in investigative journalism and photography.  Ermine will hold the grand opening of its storefront on Oct 21, 2026, 6-8 pm, at 520 W. 58th Avenue. Read Paxson's ADN editorial: "Anchorage is becoming an international destination for wild ice skating"Watch Paxson's viral video from 20 years ago, "Reflection"Watch his and Cale Green's award-winning video, "Wild Ice: Backcountry Skating Alaska" Read his and Jeff Landfield's story, "The bizarre story of Campbell Lake, the private lake that isn't"Read Paxson's, "One Man's Mountain: How decades of dysfunction on the Anchorage Hillside allowed one man to gate Stewart Trail and sieze control of upper Potter Valley"

Send us Fan Mail Eric Wohlforth served as Governor Bill Egan's Commissioner of Revenue from 1970 to 1972 and was responsible for the $900 million in state receipts for the oil lease sales on the North Slope initial investment. He also created the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC). He moved to Anchorage in 1966 with his wife Caroline and their two young sons, one of which, Charles Wohlforth, has been a guest on this podcast.  In 1966, Eric moved to work on a lawsuit related to the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake. In 1967 he helped found the law firm Wohlforth, Brecht, and Cartledge in Anchorage. He sat on the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation Board of Trustees from 1995 to 2006, serving as the president twice. He has also served on the University of Alaska Foundation Investment Committee and on the Alaska Pacific University Board of Trustees. This interview took place in my office in Anchorage with his wife Nancy at his side.

Send us Fan Mail Jon Bittner is the Executive Director the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation (AEDC). Immediately prior to taking that position earlier this year, he was the Executive Director of the Alaska Small Business Development Center at UAA. Despite his history working with small businesses and economic development, his degree is in geology and before finishing that degree at UAA, he worked as staff in the state legislature for several different Republican House members: Cheryll Heinze, Tom Anderson, and Craig Johnson.

Send us Fan Mail Amy Sorrells is the Founder and Executive Director of Reframe Rethink Restore, a nonprofit dedicated to reframing alcohol use beyond the “problem or not” myth and toward a spectrum-based understanding of risk. The question we explore today is at a time when the science is overwhelmingly clear that alcohol increases the risk of seven different types of cancer even when consumed in moderation, when we know that alcohol has a negative impact on brain health impairing our memory, mood, and ability to cope with anxiety, when it disrupts our sleep, when we know that alcohol consumption is responsible for more deaths globally than for all other drugs combined, and according to the latest research: THERE IS NO SAFE LEVEL OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION, PERIOD, why are so many of us still drinking?  For over 25 years Amy has worked in media and communications. She has held senior leadership roles at Oracle, CNN, and Fox Cable Networks. She currently serves as a strategic marketing and communications consultant to MERGE, a health and wellness marketing and technology agency.  Amy holds a master’s degree in psychology. Her graduate research into the psychology of alcohol ultimately led to the founding of Reframe Rethink Restore and the development of The Alcohol Use Spectrum. This interview is part of a series called Fighting Big Alcohol which started last week with the director of Recover Alaska Tiffany Hall's episode. I met Amy in Washington DC at the US Alcohol Policy Alliance conference in late September 2026. This epsiode was recorded via Zoom from Amy's home in Atlanta, Georgia. Andrew Hubermen's Huberman Lab podcast episode entitled: "What Alcohol Does to your Body, Brain, & Health."

Send us Fan Mail Tiffany Hall has been the the CEO of Recover Alaska for ten years. Recover Alaska is a multi-sector action group working to reduce the harm of alcohol use across our state. Tiffany is also the current chair of the US Alcohol Policy Alliance and was the co-chair of the 2026 Alcohol Policy Alliance's conference held in Washington, DC, last week.  If you need help with alcohol, call (907) 249-6647. This episode is a re-broadcast of the interview I did with Tiffany in 2023. It has been re-edited with the sound quality improved. It is part of a series called, "Fighting Big Alcohol," about the way alcohol has managed to escape the scrutiny given to other drugs and how alcohol has been marketed to Alaska in a way that causes profound harm.

Send us Fan Mail Economics professor Dr. Kevin Berry is the chair of the Economics and Public Policy Department at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Today we discuss his upcoming paper quantifying the value of personal use dipnet fishing. Last week he participated in the University of Alaska Statewide AI Symposium so we also discuss the risks and benefits of AI in research, academia, and beyond. Finally, we end by talking about the upcoming Covenant House Corporate Sleep Out taking place on November 19. Kevin will be participating for the fifth year in a row at this annual fundraiser that helps Alaska's center for homeless youth stay open 24/7 365 days a year. Dr. Berry's Covenant House Sleep Out Account is here. Listen to his previous appearances on this podcast: November 2, 2022June 24, 2024Anchorage Daily News article: "University of Alaska regents weigh AI policy as student misuse increases", by Tim Rockey. Ezra Klein Show interview with Bill Gates Sept. 29, 2026 Rachel Maddow Show, Sept. 28, 2026

Send us Fan Mail Jay Brause and Gene Dugan met at the Alaska Gay Community Center in Anchorage in 1978. In 1979 Jay's father, a Lutheran minister, presided over their holy union at Joy Lutheran Church in Eagle River. In 1994 they attempted to register their marriage and were denied. This led to litigation that ultimately was decided in Jay and Gene's favor in 1996, but Alaska changed its constitution in 1998 to only recognize marriages between a man and a woman.  They were legally married in Portland in 2004, but that marriage was nullified by Oregon shortly afterwards. In 2006, they got married in South Africa; in 2007 in the Yukon Territory; and finally, in 2015 they were legally married in Anchorage.  Jay & Gene were instrumental in the LGBTQ rights movement in Anchorage for decades. Jay was responsible for changing the name of the Gay and Lesbian Center to Identity, the organization he served as the director of for many years. He was a researcher on the 1985 "One In Ten" study of LGB issues in Alaska and the 1989 "Identity Reports" discrimination study.  Gene founded Out North in 1985 which is an award-winning progressive multidisciplinary arts organization that still has a footprint in Alaska.  Jakob Dugan-Brause and Eugene Dugan-Brause (their names today) moved to the UK in 2006. This interview took place via Zoom from their home in Northern Ireland. Listen to previous episode with Jim Obergefell here.

Send us Fan Mail Lauree Morton is the Deputy Director of the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. ANDVSA is a federally funded coalition of all the domestic violence and sexual assault programs in Alaska. Lauree helps facilitate sexual assault response support for the 24 member organizations of the network. She is well known in the state capitol for driving legislative action around sexual assault and domestic violence for over 30 years.  Listen to previous related episodes here: Brenda Stanfill, director of ANDVSARandi Braeger, director of AWAIC Keeley Olson, director of STAR Laura Booch, DV survivor and activistDr. Ingrid Johnson, gender-based violence expert

Send us Fan Mail Jim Lottsfeldt was born and raised in Anchorage. Known for decades as the go-to campaign mastermind for Republican candidates, in recent years he has become a political guru on the Left. We discuss how that came to be as well as his unwavering support of Matt Schultz for US house, his lack of enthusiasm for Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), and the need for a brave new governor & legislature willing to make bold changes even if they result in losses at the ballot box in future elections.  Listen to podcast interviews mentioned in the show here: Mountain City Church Lead Pastor Ron Hoffmanformer US house candidate Matt Schultzcurrent US house Candidate Bill Hill

Send us Fan Mail Ed Littlefield is the composer of  “Ḵutulagaaw: The Tlingit-Russian Battles”—the world’s first Lingít opera premiering tonight at Thunder Mountain Middle School in Juneau.  This opera was born of an idea from Sealaska Heritage Institute President, Dr. Rosita Ḵaaháni Worl, with a libretto by Vera Starbard, orchestrations by Rory Stitt, directed by Madeline Sayet, and translations by X’unei Lance Twitchell. The opera's score is grounded in Tlingit musical and performing arts traditions that our guest has been immersed in since his childhood in Sitka. Ed Littlefield is a freelance percussionist, educator, and composer based out of Seattle, WA. He is Lingít and has released three albums featuring traditional native melodies. Although he has been composing music since his youth, this is his first opera. The show runs from September 11 - 20, 2026 in Juneau. Buy tickets here. Read KTOO's: "Why we are using ‘Lingít’ instead of ‘Tlingit.’

Send us Fan Mail Congressman Jared Huffman represents California's second US congressional district which stretches from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border. Representative Huffman is a Humanist and the only member of Congress to publicly admit that he does not believe in gods.  This episode was recorded in Anchorage while Rep. Huffman was visiting his older brother Tim Huffman who has been living here with his family for decades. An environmental lawyer by training, he is the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee. Together with his colleague Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland), he founded the Congressional Free Thought Caucus which promotes public policy based on reason, science, and moral values. Today we are discussing Rep. Huffman's recently published book, No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism. Paul Weyrich's 1999 Letter to Conservatives"Uncivil Religion," a website documenting the religious dimensions of Jan. 6my previous podcast episode with Senator Lisa Murkowski

Send us Fan Mail Lucas F. Schleusener is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Out in National Security (ONS). Lucas is a writer, educator, and national security strategist whose work examines service, institutional trust, democratic legitimacy, and LGBTQIA+ inclusion in national security institutions. He is a former speech writer for Secretaries of Defense Leon Panetta, Chuck Hagel, and Ashton Carter. ONS unites a global community to advance LGBTQIA+ inclusion across defense, diplomacy, intelligence, and foreign policy. At the Anchorage Assembly's September 1 meeting, September 20th will be declared LGBTQ Veterans Day as that date this year marks the 15th anniversary of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell;" the repeal of that 1993 policy allowed for LGB folks to openly serve in the military.  During today's conversation, you will hear the name, "Obergefell." This refers to the landmark 2015 US Supreme Court decision, Obergefell v Hodges, that legalized same sex marriage across the country and in the military. The lead plaintiff in that case, Jim Obergefell, is a previous guest on this podcast.    Read a history of LGBTQ service in the CIA, here.  Listen to my previous episode with Alaska attorney & LGBTQ rights advocate Cate Shortell, here.

Send us Fan Mail Jim Duncan is a former Alaska state senator and Speaker of the House. He first moved to Alaska to attend Sheldon Jackson College where he earned his associates degree in 1962. After earning his Bachelor's degree from Illinois State University, he returned to Alaska as a school teacher and originally got involved in politics by serving on the Juneau Assembly. He then served in the legislature for 24 years (12 years in each body) and had over 70 bills pass into law.  We talk about some of his most significant legislation today including his bills to grow the Permanent Fund, establish the Mental Health Trust, and to allow teachers and school employees to go on strike. We also talk about his unsuccessful but valiant effort to establish a single-payer healthcare plan.  What Jim may be most remembered for by history is his losing of his speakership in a dramatic coup that occurred on the House floor in 1981. All of the stories today are covered vividly in Jim's 2024 book, Making Sausage, including the events that led to the coup and what motivated them.  In large part, the Democratic majority that Jim was leading stood in the way of the removal of separate accounting, which was the way that the state was preventing oil companies from using expenses incurred outside of Alaska to reduce their tax burden inside Alaska. So a small group of Democrats broke away from the existing majority led by Duncan and joined the Republican minority establishing a new majority that gave oil companies what they wanted.   After leaving the legislature, Jim served as Commissioner of Administration for Governor Tony Knowles. He then led the Alaska State Employees Association as their director from 2003 - 2017.