All Episodes - Zachariah Hughes, Alaska Public Media, Author at Alaska Public Media
Life Informed.
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LISTEN: Healthy Futures: Physical Activity And Children’s Health
An important part of helping kids develop these critical attitudes of mind is helping them develop the habit of engaging in daily physical activity
LISTEN: In a holiday season like no other, gratitude in the medical field
With COVID-19 continuing to ravage the country, we'll be speaking with medical professionals about what they are grateful for as we head into the holiday season.
LISTEN: What’s it like to have COVID-19? Doctors and callers explain.
As COVID-19 spreads freely through the state, more Alaskans have either had it or know someone who has. We want to know what your experience has been.
LISTEN: ‘It Will Never Happen To Me’:Growing Up with Addiction
Growing up to become an addict is never part of anyone's plan. Yet despite witnessing firsthand, children who grow up around substance abuse often go on to experience addiction as adults themselves. What can be done to break this cycle?
LISTEN: PTSD and Veteran Mental Health Care Resources
Over a million veteran’s a year receive mental health services. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is one of the most common reasons. What are the symptoms? Causes? How is it treated? Can it be prevented? Join host Dr Justin Clark this Veteran’s Day on Line One, as we discusses the latest updates on PTSD and VA […]
LISTEN: What do you want to know about animals?
On Election Day this year, we're focusing on something completely different: animals in Alaska. What questions or stories do you have about wildlife in the state?
LISTEN: Election Anxiety, Conflict, Social Division, And Reasons To Hope
Americans are experiencing more stress than ever from a combination of factors: the coronavirus, social unrest, and a contentious election season. What are strategies for diminishing and controlling anxiety we can use to help us manage uncertain times?
LISTEN: What’s behind dry, irritated eyes, and can it be fixed?
Do you have red eyes, itching, burning, or irritation of the eyes, a gritty feeling in the eyes, or contact lens discomfort? You may be experiencing dry eyes. Dry eyes is an actual medical condition which is caused by a deficiency in one or more areas of the tear film. There are multiple treatment options available, but can this be prevented?
How did politics around reopening Anchorage get so heated?
The politics around reopening Alaska’s economy are getting contentious. But blame isn’t spread uniformly. And in Anchorage, a vocal contingent is faulting the mayor over policies that are largely in lockstep with the governors.
Assembly demands more aggressive camp clearing in Anchorage
Residents in the area say there has been increased “drug use, excessive litter, violence and neighborhood vandalism," as well as inadequate measures to curb coronavirus spread.
Mayor outlines plans for re-opening Anchorage businesses this Monday
The move represents a shift in the city's plan to go from a "hunkering down" phase to an "easing" period on the road toward recovery.
Amid some confusion, Anchorage is putting protocols in place that will allow businesses to open
A discrepancy between the state and local timelines for allowing previously shuttered businesses to begin opening up is creating some confusion.
New mobile prototype kills virus with heat to extend the life of critical gear
A medical group in Anchorage wants to make sure it has surge capacity if there are shortages in essential equipment like masks. So they built a large, anti-viral sauna in a trailer.
Anchorage releases gradual roadmap for reopening of the economy
The document is not a timetable, but a series of public health conditions officials say they need to see in order to ease current restrictions.
Experts warn of a “dark cloud” for kids’ mental health amid pandemic
During a press conference in Anchorage, mental health professionals offered advice for families on how to mitigate distress and long-term problems created by the unique social situation.
Anchorage emergency declaration extended to June, some measures to relax in coming weeks
The move allows the administration to keep using special powers to more swiftly respond to the coronavirus, but does not mean that all of the current “hunker down” orders will remain in place that long.
Yoga by Zoom. Facebook fitness classes. Local gyms sprint to stay open online
A month into closures, gyms and fitness facilities are getting creative try retain clients. But many worry their businesses will shrink and remain hobbled into the foreseeable future.
Mayor says emergency orders could last til May, as city tries to help businesses get relief
Anchorage might not begin relaxing its emergency orders until May. And in the meantime, it may task municipal workers with assisting their state counterparts processing the deluge of unemployment and small business claims pouring in as a way to get relief to residents more quickly.  The information was shared at a press briefing Friday, where […]
Anchorage votes down on-site pot consumption, taxes alcohol and keeps most of the Assembly
A majority of incumbents appear to have kept their seats, with a tax on alcohol voted down last year on track to pass.
Anchorage officials say COVID measures are helping stem disease transmissions
Incident Commander Bill Falsey spoke at a weekly briefing from the city’s Emergency Operation Center, saying that according to municipal and third-party figures, residents are complying with orders to hunker down.
In a state where distancing comes easy, Alaskans flee virus to remote camps and cabins
Instead of riding out the coronavirus in towns or cities, some Alaskans are opting out: Relocating to cabins, second homes, or remote locales.
Don’t forget: Anchorage elections are still happening (right now)
Candidates, bonds, and on-site cannabis consumption are all on the ballot, with a Tuesday deadline for submitting votes.
Anchorage suspends bus service to prevent coronavirus spread
City will move to an "on demand" system for essential trips, waiving fares for riders on "curb to curb" service.
Curbside growlers? Industry groups push for change to alcohol sales rules to accommodate coronavirus
In an effort to help desperate businesses, regulators and lobbyists are asking the governor to relax rules barring take out and curbside pickup of alcoholic beverages.
Planners in Anchorage brace for surge of COVID cases with more hospital space, mortuary preparation
Anticipating more coronavirus cases, officials in Anchorage are racing to bring more medical beds online, scrounging for equipment, and even preparing potential mortuary spaces.
UAA study: To prevent deaths, Alaska will need strict interventions for many months
A new academic study of the coronavirus’s likely impacts on Alaska is clear: to prevent thousands of deaths, strict interventions will be necessary for months.
Hair stylists, barbers, tattooists among those with fewest options amid coronavirus closures
Industry structure means many workers are uniquely ill-equipped for the mass closures now in place for the foreseeable future.
Anchorage to house hundreds of homeless in unused ice rinks
Anchorage is rushing to open a new emergency shelter to try and curb the spread of the coronavirus among the homeless.
Berkowitz issues an emergency ‘hunker down’ order for Anchorage residents, effective Sunday
Standing next to leaders from the state’s largest hospitals, Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz issued the city’s most sweeping emergency order yet Friday evening, asking residents to minimize social contact and limit movement in the city to essential errands.
This Yukon River village is on lockdown and has already approved its own small coronavirus stimulus
Tribes are scrambling to order supplies and step up local measures designed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus
Defending Iditarod champ Pete Kaiser says his race isn’t going as planned
The Bethel musher said sickness slowed him down.
With unfamiliar checkpoints and wet weather, mushers swap advice about the trail ahead
This weekend, as race officials changed checkpoints over coronavirus concerns, there was a lot of advice being swapped between mushers, including Jessica Klejka and Linwood Fiedler, a musher in the middle of her second Iditarod and another who had just ended his 26th race early.
LISTEN: Iditarod front-runner Jessie Royer tells the story of how her sled caught fire
Jessie Royer has been running at the front of the pack in this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, even with a sled fire.
‘Well that’s a little different’: Iditarod mushers learn about moved checkpoints, closed schools as coronavirus concerns grow
Schools, towns and checkpoints along the final third of the trail, including in Shaktoolik and Nulato, are limiting their involvement with the event.
For those mushing the Iditarod trail, the ultimate form of social distancing, coronavirus news begins to trickle in
As news of emergency measures and coronavirus closures spreads, there’s at least one group of people that is almost totally in the dark: Iditarod mushers.
Iditarod mushers say the trail to Nikolai was so smooth that it even put some of them to sleep
The roughly 80-mile stretch from Rohn to Nikolai usually has has some of the worst trail conditions anywhere along the 1,000-mile route. But not this year.
‘The best trail I’ve ever seen’: Iditarod teams rest in the sun at Rainy Pass as they settle into the competition
Although they battled storms and deep snow the first dozen miles, many mushers said the trail ascending the Alaska Range to the Rainy Pass checkpoint was as good as they ever remember it.
Musher Jeff King pulls out of Iditarod because of health emergency, rookie handler will run his team
Hours after a live event in Anchorage, the veteran musher was in the ER for what looked like a hernia, but turned out to be much more serious.
Illegal for decades, many Anchorage homes still have covenants that prohibit sale to blacks and Alaska Natives
A nascent effort by local officials is grappling with thousands of discriminatory contracts still written into deeds all over town, part of Anchorage's legacy on race as it grew.
Feds nab 82 illegal guns after months of investigating traffickers
Federal officials say an investigation into drug and weapons traffickers has led to charges against more than a dozen individuals in the Anchorage area.
The ACLU is suing Nome, alleging a pattern of civil rights violations against Native women
The lawsuit alleges violation of state and federal civil rights protections stemming from mishandled police investigations of sexual assaults.
Did Anthony Pisano kill three men or did an armed altercation turn deadly? An Anchorage jury will decide.
Prosecutors allege a triple murder during a botched robbery, but defense attorneys paint a completely different picture.
Another bump in federal cash coming to Alaska’s corroding port
Combined with an earlier grant from the U.S. Deptartment of Transportation, $45 million in federal grants will offset tariffs to pay for upgrades officials say are desperately needed.
Berkowitz endorses Bloomberg, whose foundation gave more than $1M to Anchorage
The former New York City mayor has racked up endorsements from other local executives around the country, many of whom have benefited from his philanthropic support of civic projects.
Here’s what experts in Alaska want you to know about the new coronavirus
Speaking on Talk of Alaska this week, officials with the CDC and state weighed in on how Alaskans can be prepared for the novel coronavirus.
Two gun incidents reported in a week at Anchorage schools
One case involved a replica at an elementary school, another led to the discovery of two handguns and ammunition on a school campus.
There will be more flights from Wuhan, but Alaska has no plans to receive more virus evacuees, officials say
Citizens who stopped briefly in Anchorage are now in a two-week quarantine at a military base in California.
Cargo flights into Anchorage from Wuhan suspended, no additional Chinese medical flights planned, officials say
Officials in Alaska say everything went as planned with a flight stopping briefly in Anchorage overnight returning 201 Americans from Wuhan, China, amid the spread of the coronavirus. At this point, there are no similar efforts planned for the Ted Stevens International Airport, although cargo flights from Wuhan have been suspended.
Anchorage to decide again on an alcohol tax
Anchorage voters will get another chance to vote on an alcohol tax this April. In a meeting Tuesday night, the Anchorage Assembly opted to put forward a ballot proposition to raise money for dealing with homelessness, public safety, and substance abuse treatment. The measure is similar to one residents voted down last year, but this […]
Passengers from China will land in Anchorage Tuesday night, undergo coronavirus screen in closed north terminal, state says
Around 200 passengers are scheduled to briefly land at Ted Stevens International in Anchorage to refuel, clear customs, and undergo health screenings.