PODCAST · news
Northern Journal
by Nathaniel Herz
Alaska is defined by its environment and its natural resources — the fish in its rivers, the oil and minerals buried underground. The Northern Journal podcast digs into those subjects, with interviews with those who know them best.
Episodes
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Behind the scenes at the Anchorage Trump-Putin summit
Two of the most powerful political leaders in the world met in Anchorage last week. Northern Journal staff was out of town, but Anchorage Daily News reporter Zach Hughes was on site. In this episode, he gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how the Trump-Putin summit developed, and how it all went...
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Lisa Murkowski: 'The problem with standing on principle is when your constituents get hurt'
Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has been in the news in recent weeks for her decisive vote on President Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill." She's also been featured prominently on national television shows, radio and podcasts, as part of a promotional tour for her new book: Far From…
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What happens when the trans-Alaska pipeline shuts down? And who pays to remove it?
This episode delves into a secret corner of Alaska's oil and gas industry — an obscure, complicated but important realm where there are billions of dollars at stake. Our two guests have written a newly published paper for the Alaska Law Review that examines the future of the trans-Alaska pipeline…
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Captain Cook's name is everywhere in Alaska. A new book retells his story.
If you live in Alaska, you likely have some awareness of Captain James Cook — at least because his name is on one of Anchorage's largest hotels, along with the body of water just offshore of the city, Cook Inlet. A new biography, The Wide Wide Sea, recounts the entirety of Cook's expedition that...
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Is there light at the tunnel for Alaska's fishing industry?
It's been a rough few years for Alaska's fishing industry. Oversupply, competition from farmed and Russian salmon, inflation and rising interest rates — all of these things have combined to put a real hurt on fishermen and processing companies. As the summer salmon season kicks off, there are…
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The Alaska LNG project: Is it real?
We're excited to revive the Northern Journal podcast for its second season. Have ideas for guests and subjects? Email host Nat Herz at nat[at]northernjournal.com. If you like what you hear, please consider a paid Northern Journal membership. Now, for the good stuff: If you're listening to this...
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An hour with Anchorage's new mayor, Suzanne LaFrance
Anchorage's new mayor, Suzanne LaFrance, has pledged to fix what she describes as a broken city hall. The team that she's hired so far is a group of technocratic policy nerd all-stars, and their three year term will function as a kind of test: Can an administration rooted in professional…
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A truly mammoth podcast
There may not be any subject as serious as the one the last episode of this podcast covered — the emotional issue of salmon bycatch. So, now it's time to balance out that seriousness with frivolousness. And we mean serious frivolousness. To be precise: This episode is about mammoth resurrection....
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The trawlers speak — another side of the Bering Sea bycatch debate
If you listen to this podcast, you probably know about "bycatch," the accidental harvest of fish that aren't boats' target species. The issue — specifically, of salmon bycatch by Bering Sea whitefish trawlers — has become an all-consuming debate for some Alaska commercial and subsistence…
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Inside Alaska's natural gas crisis, with a natural gas executive
For the past two years, we've been hearing about the impending shortage of the locally produced natural gas that we use to heat our homes and generate our electricity in Southcentral Alaska. But there's been little concrete information about how utilities plan to solve the problem. Now, we're...
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Eklutna 2.0: A robust defense from the dam owners
Last month, we heard outrage from conservation advocate Brad Meiklejohn and tribal leader Aaron Leggett; those two guests thought utilities' new proposed plans to fix the Anchorage-area Eklutna hydroelectric project's harms to salmon were inadequate. Now, it's time to hear directly from those...
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How the state is letting oil platforms "rust away" into the ocean near Anchorage
Alaska regulators first said it was time for the Spurr platform, offshore from Anchorage in Cook Inlet, to be removed in 1992. Then, they backed down, and 30 years later, it remains in the water, where it hasn't produced a single drop of oil since. The history of Spurr and five other shuttered…
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The Bering Sea whale hunters and the East Coast filmmaker
This episode features Pete Chelkowski, one of the two directors of One with the Whale — a new documentary that features the story of Chris Apassingok, a Yup'ik whale hunter from St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. Apassingok was 16 when he caught a bowhead and was subsequently subjected to a...
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What the heck is happening with the Eklutna River?
Eklutna Lake is a jewel of Anchorage recreation. It's also the source of some of the electricity used by city residents. A major policymaking process has been underway for the past several years to address the Eklutna hydroelectric project's effects on salmon, and it's now coming to its…
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"I cannot introduce my son to salmon": A conversation with a Yukon River salmon advocate
Brooke Woods is a longtime Yukon River salmon advocate. She is Koyukon Athabascan and a tribal member of the community of Rampart, which is on the Yukon in Interior Alaska, about 80 miles northwest of Fairbanks. She joins the Northern Journal podcast to share a personal perspective on Yukon River...
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The wind doesn't always blow and the sun doesn't always shine. And?
Researchers Paul Denholm and Marty Schwarz just published a new study that says urban Alaska could save a lot of money by using much more wind and solar power to generate its electricity. The interesting part: They don't ignore the fact that it would take a lot of effort to make sure the system...
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A trip down the Yukon River with historian Bathsheba Demuth
Bathsheba Demuth is an environmental historian. Her book Floating Coast explored the Bering Strait region from both the Alaska and Russian sides. Now, she's writing a book about the Yukon River, and recently co-wrote a piece for Northern Journal about salmon declines and how fishing — and fishing...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Alaska is defined by its environment and its natural resources — the fish in its rivers, the oil and minerals buried underground. The Northern Journal podcast digs into those subjects, with interviews with those who know them best.
HOSTED BY
Nathaniel Herz
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Northern Journal have?
Northern Journal currently has 17 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Northern Journal about?
Alaska is defined by its environment and its natural resources — the fish in its rivers, the oil and minerals buried underground. The Northern Journal podcast digs into those subjects, with interviews with those who know them best.
How often does Northern Journal release new episodes?
Northern Journal has 17 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Northern Journal?
You can listen to Northern Journal on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Northern Journal?
Northern Journal is created and hosted by Nathaniel Herz.
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