Hear how Alaskans are coping with coronavirus on our new podcast, Alaska Interrupted

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended Alaskans’ lives in ways that would have seemed unthinkable a month ago.

Now we’re all trying to navigate a new normal of social distancing, canceled school and frenetic home offices.

At Alaska Public Media, we wanted to hear from people about how they’re handling the array of challenges — domestic, psychological, medical — that the coronavirus has thrown at them. So we’ve launched a new podcast: Alaska Interrupted.

Athletes compete in the 2020 Alaska Mountain Wilderness Ski Classic (Courtesy Eric Parsons)

In this first episode, we hear from John Wros, an Anchorage adventurer who left on a week-long wilderness trip in Interior Alaska just as elected officials began instituting some of the most serious efforts to counter COVID-19. Then, we talk with Rita Aleck, a 35-year-old cocktail server who lost her job at a downtown Anchorage pub when Mayor Ethan Berkowitz closed bars and restaurants to in-person service.

If you have a story you’d like to share on the podcast, or an idea you’d like us to explore, email us at coronavirus@alaskapublic.org.

Explore more of Alaska Public Media’s coronavirus coverage

Nathaniel Herz is an Anchorage-based journalist. He's been a reporter in Alaska for a decade, and is currently reporting for Alaska Public Media. Find more of his work by subscribing to his newsletter, Northern Journal, at natherz.substack.com. Reach him at natherz@gmail.com.

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