RANGE

By RangeSociety & Culture News

RANGE episodes

February 20 The POD: Team RANGE is growing!
Reporter Daisy Zavala Magaña and freelance reporter Daniel Walters were welcomed by Aaron for this week’s episode!
They talk about their hopes, goals, and values in journalism, plus previous stories they’ve covered.
Meet Daisy Zavala Magaña:
Daisy previously covered immigrant labor for RANGE as a freelancer, and now she’s our newest full-time reporter! You can read her introduction in both English and Spanish.
Meet Daniel Walters:
As a longtime reporter, Daniel isn’t new to the journalism field… or RANGE. He’s currently working for us in a freelance capacity, but you may have read his InvestigateWest stories that we’ve republished or heard him on an early podcast episode.
Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!
55 min
February 17 The POD: What goes into legislative lobbying?
This week’s episode is all about the Housing and Homeless Advocacy Day, or “HHAD” for short.
HHAD is organized by the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance (WLIHA) and the Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund. They bring people across Washington state to Olympia to advocate for housing justice by meeting with their district’s representatives.
This episode has 3 parts, and you’re going to hear from organizers, participants, lawmakers, and more.
Further, relevant reading:
‘This city is turning into an eviction mill.’ (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)
More info on the WLIHA and HHAD
51 min
February 06 The POD: What's new with RANGE news?
This week, Val interviewed Erin and Aaron about their recent stories.
Erin talks about their story on a new eviction prevention program that was passed by Spokane City Council. The ordinance passed by a vote of 5-2 and will create this new program by June 1, 2026. Find the story here.

Aaron talks about a story he and Luke co-wrote about two masked SPD officers who stood in on a healthcare workers’ vigil for Alex Pretti, who was killed by ICE agents. The vigil attendees thought they were ICE agents at first, up until it was confirmed that they were SPD officers. Find the story here.
54 min
January 30 The POD: The Housing Conversation
Erin and Luke were joined by two guests this week!
Dawn Kinder is the Director of Housing and Human Services for the City of Spokane.
Carl Segerstrom is the Communications and Storytelling Manager of Waters Meet.
The four of them talked about housing insecurity, the impacts of homelessness, and how Spokane is fighting against it.
52 min
January 23 The POD: New Year, More News
Aaron, Erin, Val, and Luke went on the air this week! The four of them talked about two stories they’re working on:
The first story stemmed from a conversation Hedge had with a local police accountability advocate who put in a public records request for photos generated from Automated License Plate Readers — AKA FLOCK cameras — using the license plate number of a van used by ICE. The van is owned by Geo Group, who not only is contracted to take immigrants to the Tacoma Detention Center, but also runs the center. Along with the single – and only – photo he got back, he also got a call from an attorney representing Geo Group: Joan Mell. She wanted to make sure he didn’t want to hurt – and she actually used this phrase – “her peeps.”

The second story is a rundown of rumors swirling around the United States Post Office thanks to a vague “Essential Services” letter given to postal workers all over the country, including in Spokane. Val explains how she’s been trying to track down the reasoning behind issuing the letter and how it’s been contributing to online fears of martial law.
55 min
January 16 The POD: The Kids are Alright
On Tuesday, Jan. 13, reporter Erin Sellers and producer Pascal Bostic went to Lewis and Clark High School to cover one of the six student-led walkouts planned in the area.
These students were rallying to protest ICE’s harm and call for humane treatment of immigrants in our communities.
Erin spoke with organizers from Spokane Students for Human Decency – who brought over 1,200 students together across the six schools – about their planning process and why they’re organizing.
35 min
January 09 The POD: Analyzing Christian Nationalism
This week, reporter Aaron Hedge and producer Pascal Bostic are joined by guest Joan Braune (Gonzaga University) to talk about a new book she co-edited with David M. Gides, On Christian Nationalism: Critical and Theological Perspectives.
Joan Braune discusses Christian nationalism, fascism, and some ways people can recognize and intervene against it.

Charlie Kirk’s Pacific Northwest ground game (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)SpoVal pastor helps push initiatives to erode student privacy (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media and Cassy Benefield, Fāvs News)The battle for a North Idaho city’s identity (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media and Jenny Davis, Gonzaga University)Conservative think tank: Immigration ‘undermined Christianity’ (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media and Cassy Benefield, Fāvs News)Uncivil Disobedience: Theological Perspectives (David M. Gides, Nick Braune, Joan Braune, Joshua W. Carpenter)Understanding and Countering Fascist Movements: From Void to Hope (Joan Braune)
54 min
January 02 The POD: Welcome to the 2026 NEWS Year
It's 2026!
Last year, we released an episode about our NEWS Year Resolutions.
This year, we decided to set another set of resolutions!
We also reviewed our top coverage from 2025 and got a bit nerdy about the data. Read on!
Dear Gonzaga: A Letter from Assistant Professor Andrea Brower (Andrea Brower, RANGE Media)
The State of Surveillance in Spokane (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)
Queer BIPOC organizer arrested on their way to Spokane Pride (Erin Sellers and Luke Baumgarten, RANGE Media)
Immigration officials are arresting people in Washington and warehousing them in Idaho (Aaron Hedge and Luke Baumgarten, RANGE Media)
CIVICS: Spokane could become the first city to ‘Ban the Address’ (Erin Sellers and Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)
Congressman Michael Baumgartner’s Spokane Town Hall: The wildest meeting we’ve ever attended (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)
Everything we know about the Spokane ICE protests (RANGE Media team)
9 Spokanites arrested by federal agents in connection to ICE protests (Luke Baumgarten, Erin Sellers, and Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)
ICE agents with no warrant violently arrest migrants (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)
56 min
December 24, 2025 The POD: A 2025 RANGE News Review
It’s the last Free RANGE episode of 2025!
On this week’s episode, the team talked about our favorite stories and projects from this year. Take a look at them below!
Immigration officials are arresting people in Washington and warehousing them in Idaho (Aaron Hedge and Luke Baumgarten, RANGE Media)Deputies killed Donald Hegel a year ago. His sister is still looking for answers. (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)The people want safer streets — and the electeds are listening (Lauren Pangborn, RANGE Media)I laid myself off this week (Luke Baumgarten, RANGE Media)How to take action against injustice today (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)Q&A with SPD Chief Kevin Hall on ICE and the protests (Luke Baumgarten and Val Osier, RANGE Media)Jordin v. Brayman: Spokane’s first right-to-counsel eviction trial by jury (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)The POD: Community Organizing in Spokane (Free RANGE episode)Food Resource MapRANGE’s Flock Reporting
53 min
December 19, 2025 The POD: Reporting on the Family Policy Institute of WA
Once again, reporter Aaron Hedge was joined by Cassy Benefield – a reporter and associate editor with Fāvs News – to discuss their recent story on the Family Policy Institute of Washington. Read it below:
Conservative think tank: Immigration ‘undermined Christianity’ (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media and Cassy Benefield, Fāvs News)
55 min

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News, analysis, and conversations for people who love the Inland Northwest and want to make it better. Thinking about how to imagine and build a significantly better world than the one we live in. Equal parts mad & funny.