A Light in the Dark

We break our ten month hiatus with an update on vaccines and the path forward, and we visit with a previous guest from London as well as the host's 81-year-old parents to see what's changed in the year since the pandemic started. Just two episodes left of A Light in the Dark!

On today's show, we celebrate national nurse's week by featuring...ta-da--nurses! We start by talking with Moira Andrews, Homeless Outreach RN for Neighborcare in Seattle, and we finish we Ricky Ewell, a nurse anaesthetist for Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, CT, just outside of New York City. Both work with COVID patients in their work on a daily basis and have been at the center at the American response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

In this week's episode of A Light in the Dark, we look at FOOD in the time of COVID-19. From chefs to fast food restaurants to homeless folks to fine dining to farms and farmer's markets, lovers of food (all of us) and the people who make that food for us have been impacted. We talk to Feed the People chef Tarik Abdullah, Dick's Drive-in Restaurant's president Jasmine Donovan, Canlis's co-owner, Brian Canlis, who has pivoted from fine dining to home delivery during the crisis, one of the organizers of Seattle's farmer's markets, Jennifer Antos, and farmer John Huschle. All fascinating interviews about the thing we all need every day of our lives: food.

Any examination of Washington State's response to COVID19 will reveal a strong, swift response by our leaders that saved countless lives. The difference between our politicians and ones from some other states is that in Washington, public health experts and science were the guides for our response. They've been training for this their entire career. Today, we talk to Hilary Godwin, Dean of UW's School of Public Health, about all the different pieces of the public health puzzle and what tools we have going forward. Data. Science. Testing. And hope.

It’s the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, and on the show we wanted to talk about where there is possibility and hope in tackling climate change—so we’re focusing on youth voices and science. Those are the two places that give us the most hope. Today, we’re featuring Time’s 2019 Person of the Year, Greta Thunberg, and her powerful, urgent speech at the United Nations last fall. Then we encore an interview with Becky Alexander, Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences Director and Program on Climate Change at the University of Washington, who explains the difference between pollution and carbon emissions and what it’ll take to get a hold on the runaway crisis of climate change.

Not even taxes are as sure birth and death in the lives of humans. Today, we tackle both. First, we talk with expecting mother Laura Edelstein, due in July, about being pregnant during a global pandemic. Then, for the interview, Dr. Karen Wyatt, a hospice doctor, discusses with Egan how to prepare for death, the impact of so many dying patients on healthcare workers, and what really matters for the rest of us during the difficult time. A cathartic episode about the beginning and end of life that you won't want to miss. 

Today, for Earth Day, we take a journey to Alaska, exploring the Inside Passage of SE Alaska with our tour guide Sue Rooney (who has been working on small ships there for nearly 30 years) as well as visiting with Bob and Leslie Bell in Homer, Alaska, who host Egan Orion built houses with in Thailand back in February, just as the coronavirus began to spill out of Wuhan, China. They provide a picture of small-town Alaska and the implications of opening up Homer to fishing boats and tourists. (also: humpbacks, bears, and glaciers...because Alaska!)

Today Egan returns with PrideCast co-host and drag legend Aleksa Manila to discuss dogs, cats, and the postponement of Pride in Seattle. They talk with Seattle Pride Executive Director Krystal Marx about the postponement of Seattle's Pride events in June and what a "virtual pride" will look like. They also chat with artist Kaleb Dameron of the BeautyBoiz about moving his performance group's performances to virtual and what they have planned for Pride this year. Pride comes every Sunday on the PrideCast!

Today, in our "phone a friend" segment, we talk with dancer/pilates instructor Emily and her husband Cody, who works as a software engineer, just as Gov. Abbott of Texas is floating ideas to re-opening the state to business and far-right activists are marching on the state house in that city. Find out the state of things in Austin, why it may be totally okay to take up hacky-sack again though you haven't been in college for several years, and whether Austinites are doing well with social distancing and wearing face masks.

Follow host Egan Orion as he goes to Arcpoint Labs in Renton, WA to take one of the first available antibody tests available. Since he'd been to Asia during the coronovirus outbreak there, he thought he might have been exposed. Find out what his results were, after just fifteen minutes! Also, remdesivir from Gilead is showing some early signs of success. We have a long way to go, but there are ways for us to contain the outbreak and possible treatments to get us out of the dark.