Talk of Alaska Alaska Public Media

Wildfire is inevitable, but weather conditions and human behavior have a lot to do with how big a fire season will be and how much acreage is burned. What is the outlook for this year’s fire season in Alaska, and what are the best ways to protect your property and community from fire? Are state and federal managers preparing for an average or big year for firefighting? We discuss the 2024 wildfire seasonal outlook on this Talk of Alaska.

Who should decide how public education dollars are allocated? An Anchorage Superior court judge recently threw out the laws supporting Alaska’s correspondence education program, ruling it unconstitutional and leaving the future of homeschooling options in limbo. The decision affects more than 20,000 homeschool students in the state. What’s the right path forward, a legislative fix or the Supreme Court? We discuss the future of where and how state education funds can be spent on this Talk of Alaska.

Putting on a touring Broadway Musical in the Lower 48 is an expensive, complicated, and difficult process. When bringing one to Alaska though, it starts to cross the line from difficult, to logistical nightmare. However, over the last year not one, but four Broadway shows, counting hundreds among their cast and crew, came to Alaska to perform. How is it that shows like Hamilton and Six brought not just their people, but their massive, complicated sets, up to the 49th state? We answer that question and more about Broadway Alaska’s very first season on this Talk of Alaska.

Governor Mike Dunleavy is approaching the halfway mark in his second term as the 12th top government executive in Alaska. His recent veto of a bipartisan education bill and a failed override has left education funding in limbo while the legislature works on operating and capital budget plans. What does the governor think of those budgets and what would he agree to for an education spending plan? Governor Dunleavy joins us on this Talk of Alaska.

How do political campaigns know what issues resonate with the public? How do researchers learn about social and political beliefs? Often, that work is done through surveys or polling. What goes into building a poll to ensure a good reflection of differing beliefs? Well hear from people who create polls and those who use them in different campaigns, on this Talk of Alaska.

As state lawmakers begin the last two months of the session, there is a lot of work to get done. Lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan education bill, but failed to override the Governor’s veto of it, and now there is growing tension around trying to pass another bill that the Governor would accept. The perennial fight over the size of the Permanent Fund Dividend has yet to be settled, as has the state's budget. What is the current tone of debate at the capitol? We talk with reporters covering the legislative session on this Talk of Alaska.