My Summer Sessions series continues with former University of Alaska Fairbanks Dean Phyllis Morrow. Phyllis is a cultural anthropologist who has spent a good part of her career helping one culture understand and fruitfully work with another, not just between Alaska Native communities and the dominant culture, but between various groups and the legal profession. … Continue reading Bridging Cultures

Like several of the guests of this Summer Sessions series, Doug Goering has a multifaceted connection to the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Doug’s father taught marine sciences here and Doug attended UAF as an undergraduate before receiving two bachelors of science degrees from the University of Washington, one in mechanical engineering the other in physics. … Continue reading Building Enduring Roads

My “Down Memory Lane” series continues with a friend, mentor and splendid writer Frank Soos. Frank was not only the guy I tapped to be my first guest on Northern Soundings, but regular listeners will know he frequently contributes book reviews here. This episode’s title refers to Frank’s abilities to not only write gracefully and … Continue reading Creating and Cultivating

My UAF Summer Sessions series continues with Pete Pinney. Pete has a long and multi-faceted history with the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The school awarded him an MFA in Creative Writing in 1988. He taught English for years, becoming a full professor in 2005. He received the Emil Usibelli Distinguished Service Award in 2006 and … Continue reading Putting Students First

My guest this week is a linguist and champion for the preservation of Alaska Native languages. In fact, Dr Lawrence D. Kaplan is concerned about the loss of all indigenous tongues. Larry is the former director of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Native Language Center. But as you’ll hear in this interview, he admits … Continue reading Speaking Out of Mystery

I continue my University of Alaska Fairbanks Summer Sessions series of conversations with microbiologist and oceanographer Dr Joan Braddock. She spent years examining the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Much of that research looked at bioremediation. But she also played an important role in leadership at UAF. And she is one of the … Continue reading From the Small, Great Things

Every year UAF’s Summer Sessions puts on a wide range of free events for the public, including concerts and talks. By luck, I have an opportunity to play a small part in the programs, by talking with interesting people about their lives and passions.  Every Monday night in a series called “Down Memory Lane” I … Continue reading Art, Science and Animals

On the show this week: Rev. Dr Nancy James is an Episcopal priest who serves as chaplain at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. She’s also a scholar and author specializing in the 17th-century mystic Madame Jeanne Guyon. James says while Guyon is not well known today, in the late 17th and early 18th centuries she was popular … Continue reading A Provocative Quietist

On this week’s show, I talk with Dorli McWayne, a faculty member of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Music Department, principle flutist for the Fairbanks Symphony and Arctic Chamber Orchestras, and founder and director of the Fairbanks Flutists. She explains the history of her instrument and the range of compositions her ensemble performs. The Fairbanks … Continue reading The Metal Woodwind

Seventy years ago, almost exactly to this day, secret police spotted a young Czech publically distributing anti-communist pamphlets in his country. As a result, Rudy Krejci was forced into hiding for five years and into a daring escape to Austria. On this Northern Soundings we pay tribute to Rudy who earned a doctorate in philosophy … Continue reading An Examined Life