Out Here tells stories of life in rural Alaska.
About the podcast
SEASON ONE
Focused on the end-of-the-road community of McCarthy, Alaska, and the surrounding area, it explores off-the-grid living, raising children in the wilderness, bucking the nine-to-five lifestyle, subsistence living (or not) and life in a community of individuals with little official governance.
Oh yeah. And a bear story or two.
Think of it like a book with an intro and seven chapters. All of the episodes are derived from personal experience and interviews with 18 residents of the McCarthy area.
In a community of individuals, there are so many more stories and perspectives. This podcast represents only a sliver of this place.
Acknowledgements
This season of Out Here is supported in part by a Duffy Fund Grant and financial assistance from the University of Missouri. Music comes from Galen Huckins and Blue Dot Sessions. Ian Gyori created the logo and episode artwork. Thanks to the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Scott Swafford, Sara Shahriari and Dr. Cristina Mislan for the support.
And to all those who agreed to be interviewed. In no particular order: Martin Morrison, Carole Morrison, Tamara Harper, Stephens Harper, Greg Fensterman, Greg Runyan, Kristin Link, Hannah Rowland, David Rowland, Laurie Rowland, Karla Freivalds, Ali Towers, Scott Anthony, Malcolm Vance, Mark Vail, Gary Green, John Adams and Ian Gyori.
SEASON TWO
Alaska and agriculture have more in common than you might think. On this season, we meet Alaska farmers using all the persistence and optimism they can muster to get growing operations off the ground.
Here you’ll get some of the complicated story of Alaska agriculture from the perspective of Alaska farmers. It’s a story full of failure and innovation, one that defies stereotypes and looks quite a bit different from the mono-crop agriculture that dominates the lower 48.
We’ll fly to the Arctic to meet an Inupiaq woman who’s mixing Western agriculture with Native traditions. We’ll meet an apple grower, a cattle rancher and a seed grower. And we’ll talk about where we’ve been, where we’re going and what climate change could mean for farming here.
It’s in no way a complete representation of Alaska’s agricultural scene or history, thanks to funding and time constraints. But it is a window into an industry that doesn’t receive as much attention as it deserves.
This season of Out Here is supported by an individual artist grant from the Rasmuson Foundation. Thanks to Ian Gyori for the logo and episode artwork.
And thanks to those who agreed to be interviewed: Mike Emers of Rosie Creek Farm, Kevin Irvin of Sundog Orchard, Rainey Nasuġraq Hopson of Gardens in the Arctic, Leah Wagner of Foundroot, Ina Jones of Alaska Homestead Peonies, Sally Boisvert of Four Winds Farm, Tenley Nelson of Wood Frog Farm, Scott & Justin Mugrage of Mugrage Cattle & Hay, Brian Olson of Alaska Berries, Pete & Lynn Mayo of Spinach Creek Farm, Rita Jo Shoultz of Alaska Perfect Peony, Dr. Mingchu Zhang & Alan Tonne of the Fairbanks Experiment Farm and Alaska climate scientist Rick Thoman.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Erin McKinstry has a master’s from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She has reported stories for Alaska Public Media, Edible Alaska, Harvest Public Media, The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, The Trace, KBIA and The Columbia Missourian. You can find more of her work at www.erinmckinstry.com. You can read her thoughts about her first winter in McCarthy at www.lifewithoutasphalt.weebly.com.
Erin first came to Alaska in May 2013 to drive a shuttle in Denali National Park. She fell in love with the scenery and the people and moved to McCarthy in 2015, where she stayed through her first winter, struggling with the dark and the cold but making it through thanks to the beauty, the help of her partner and the community. She and her partner live with their dog Benny in a cabin they built there. In the summer, she loves trying to grow things in her soil-less backyard.
She hopes you can learn a bit about taking the path less traveled and good, old-fashioned Alaskan grit.
If you want to contact her, you can send an email to emckinstry8 at gmail dot com. Follow her on twitter at @erinmckinst.