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.

Today on the show we explore the impacts of humans on the earth and how that's been reduced during the COVID-19 outbreak. We answer some *really* important questions like: Are birds singing louder now than they were before? Why do crows dive-bomb humans? How can you learn to be an urban birder during this time/space intermission? What's the difference between pollution and greenhouse gases? How much is the earth really getting a "breath" right now and what more can be done? To answer these and other questions, I welcome Seattle Audubon's Urban Conservation Manager, Josh Morris, and Becky Alexander, Professor of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences and Director of the Program on Climate Change at the University of Washington. It's time to go to school and trust me, you're going to learn something on today's episode of A Light in the Dark.

Leadership is normally challenging, but during a crisis it really gets tested. Today for our chat, we talk with Seattle Councilmember Andrew Lewis (in his first year in office) about challenges around the homelessness crisis, city and county budget, and on a path forward out of the crisis. For the interview, we take a deep dive with former state representative and mayoral candidate Jessyn Farrell (who is the current Senior VP of Civic Ventures) to discuss challenges and opportunities with the COVID-19 crisis, with a focus on housing, transit, and the environment. A thrilling hour of policy and possibility with two of Seattle's civic leaders.

Today, we speak with local press to see how they're covering the COVID-19 outbreak. Specifically, we talk to Jason Carder, the publisher of the Capitol Hill Blog, an extremely popular local institution. Most of the blog's posts recently have been about COVID-19 or crime (crime that comes out of empty streets, for the most part). This is a great local take on how reporters are covering the crisis.More on the Capitol Hill Blog at www.capitolhillseattle.com

We all know that the hospitals are full of heroes, the grocery stores replete with people putting themselves at risk to make sure we're all fed...but beyond the front-line, what are other people doing to help keep people safe from COVID-19 and to make sure folks can pay their rent, their utilities, and to keep their bellies full? Today we explore several stories to amplify how people are finding purpose during this time, whether it's Gayle making face masks, Robin who is helping to raise money to cover utilities and rents for vulnerable families, or Kevin who is putting artists on furlough back into the spotlight. If it proves anything, today's episode shows us that we are truly all in this together.To donate to Concord elementary rent assistance:https://www.gofundme.com/f/concord-families-rent-assistance

Today, Egan is joined by hostess and celebrity drag queen Aleksa Manila for the beginning of their every Sunday special series "PrideCast" featuring all things good in the LGBTQ+ world. Egan and Aleksa take a deep dive into Easter and Passover and the stories from those holy days might relate to the current pandemic and resulting isolation, and then they welcome musician Xander Corbett (who made his debut on the PrideFest main stage last year) and influencer Ve'ondre Mitchell (and Mom Teva), who through her hundreds of thousands of followers and fans is changing the world for young trans people.

Today we travel to Milan, Italy, the longstanding epicenter of the European coronavirus epidemic, to meet Scott Green, who's been living there since before the severe lockdown there. We talk about his Italian partner's baking and cooking, the difference between cats and dogs during a pandemic, and smiling and waving at strangers. Scott is clear-eyed about the slow re-opening of Milan, Italy, and the world, but embraces the Italian motto "Andra tutto bene"--Everything is going to be okay. He tells the story of a tiny, elderly woman who, at the grocery store, truly embodies that motto.

In a former life, host Egan Orion was one of America's most prolific flash mob producers, and today is the 10th anniversary of one of the country's biggest flash mobs, the 2010 Glee Flash Mob in Seattle, with 1000 participants. Choreographers and participants talk with Egan in a VERY extended conversation about the impact of flash mobs on their lives (newsflash: it's had a huge impact, with marriages, babies, lifelong friends, and endless artistic opportunity coming as a results of the flash mobs they've been a part of). Meet choreographers Bobby Bonsey, Beth Meberg, and Jared Jones, and scores of participants who have had their lives changed by being part of flash mobs.

Today, we take you into the heart of the American pandemic to find out how people are coping. We talk to Claudine and learn about puzzles with friends over coffee. An engaged couple, Scot and Evan, discover the ups and downs of living with your fiance for such extended periods. And we visit with Deora on Roosevelt Island who has been working from home for the last month and, with the help of online dance parties and classes, has found ways to make it cheerfully through. The first in our series from New York City.

Today is another chapter in our "first person COVID-19" series, featuring Annie from Bodega Bay, California. She'd been to Asia, she'd been around people who had been deathly sick with symptoms that mirror those of COVID-19, and on top of it had a minor heart attack. And yet she couldn't get a test for what was almost certainly the virus. Annie is back in better form today. As a professional organizer, she even offers a few tips for those wanting to organize in quarantine.

We all need food. Our local farmers provide a lot of that food. But during the time of COVID-19, farmers are having a more difficult time getting their food to your table, with many restaurants closed, all farmers' markets in Seattle closed, and farms are unsure of how to plan for the uncertain road ahead. Today we talk with a farmer, a restaurant owner, and the director of one of Seattle's farmers' markets organizations to get an idea of what's going on and what comes next. We even be making some news. With Chef Tamara Murphy (Terra Plata), Linda Neunzig (Ninety Farms), and Jennifer Antos (Neighborhood Farmers Markets).

What’s it like to have a birthday during the time of COVID-19? Get two stories on today’s show, one in the city and one in the country. Very different experiences of birthdays during this time but perspectives that will give you hope in humanity. With Anjuli Tal'Kora and Jessi Loomis.

Today we're previewing our new Sunday LITD format, PrideFest, with hosts Egan Orion and Aleksa Manila. We discuss what we're hoping to do every Sunday with the PrideCast and how we can connect the LGBTQ community during this isolating time. We don't know if Pride is happening the last Sunday of June, but we do know that Pride happens every Sunday for weeks to come here on a Light In the Dark.

Today, Egan talks with Rachel Bentley in London, UK about their lockdown, challenges for people living outside (called "sleeping rough" in the UK), the joys of songbirds, and what she hopes for after all of this is over. A candid, casual conversation filled with laughs and tenderness from another of Egan's friends around the globe.

Today, we explore all the nooks and crannies of the Seattle-based program "Food is Love Project" that gets restaurants cooking and gets meals to vulnerable families and people experiencing homelessness. The three founders of the program, Egan Orion, Marina Gray, and Linda Di Lello Morton, discuss how it was founded and what's next for the Food is Love Project. We meet local volunteers delivering food to families and people living outside, and talk to a community leader in Lake City to take about the project's expansion. Food is Love solves two problems with one solution, raising money from the community to put restaurant workers back in the kitchen to put food on the tables (or in the tents) of people who need the food most during this very vulnerable time.

On today's show, we meet a young man who waits for a COVID-19 test result as his mom lies a world away in Tennessee in critical care on a ventilator. And a local Seattle institution, the Seattle Folklife Festival, decides to postpone its event. We talk to the event's Executive Artistic Director about the decision and the way forward.

Today, we meet local drag legend Gaysha Starr and hear how she found herself smack-dab in the middle of an international pandemic. How she got through and why getting tested and figuring out that you have the coronavirus isn't as simple as you would think. Also, tips on finding your right angles on Zoom and how best to flirt with male nurses when they want to stick a nasal swab into the deep recesses of your nose.

Seattle's Red Dress Party traditionally happens this time of year, but not this year. So instead we thought we'd talk to a beneficiary of the Red Dress Party (Jason Plourde from the AIDS Memorial Pathway, launching later this year in August) and one of Red Dress's headliners from 3 years ago TODAY, multiple Billboard charting singer/songwriter Debby Holiday. Love, light, and giving is the theme today. You will be inspired and you will dance! (don't forget your red dress)

If you interviewed a couple of legendary drag queens, you might also have been forced to change the title of the episode of your podcast. Heklina and Darcy Drollinger join us today to talk about their San Francisco venue Oasis, their show Golden Girls Live, how Betty White needs to be locked up in Fort Knox during the coronavirus outbreak, and the joy of breathing fresh air. Also joining us is Jason Brotman of Five Senses Reeling, who produces the traveling show of Golden Girls Live. It's a hard time for venues, performers, and local and touring shows. Here, we find the light in the dark for these tough times and learn that everything you need to know about sheltering in place you can learn from a drag queen.

In today's episode, as we do every Sunday, we hear dispatches from across the country and around the world, from the high desert of Arizona to a bush town in the snowy mountains of Alaska.

Every Saturday, Egan will be phoning one of his friends from around the world to see how things are going in their neck of the woods and find out how their adapting to the COVID-19 crisis. This week, he talks to Alaska native Heather Hardcastle who is currently in lockdown with her husband, daughter, and two dogs just outside of Santa Rosa in the bay area Sonoma County, California, which has had one of the longest lockdowns of anyplace in the United States. She's an activist for salmon, indigenous people, and climate, and this is one friend you'll be glad you made. (chocolate chip cookies included)

Today's show is about how families are coping and adapting in the time of coronavirus. We meet Irina Croix, a mother with two kids balancing play, school, and home life. We also have an extended conversation with Heather Anderson and Matt Peterson, co-founders of Imagination Band who sings songs and tells imaginative stories to kids all over the region. We even get a cameo of a couple of their favorite characters. Fun and great ideas about to creatively engage kids while respecting stay-at-home orders.

Today's show focuses on drug and alcohol recovery during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our first guest, Jason Farmer (my barber), is in recovery and speaks to isolation (and his dog being a key part of his daily joy) and the echoes of isolation in his past with his addiction. Then we talk to a program manager, Dana Francis, for PEER Seattle who, among other things, helps run support groups for people in recovery, talking about the challenges of this stressful time and tools people in recovery can use to get through this crisis.

Today we welcome Tekla Waterfield and Jeff Fielder to the show to talk about the musician’s challenge in the current crisis and some hacks to get your music heard, as well as the story of Artist Home’s “Virtual Concerts” explained by Kevin Sur, its founder, and how its program, “Songs of Healing and Hope,” made such a big impact in recent days for artists visibility and their bottom line, and what the challenges are ahead.

In today's episode, we talk to Dr. Rob Killian on the front lines of community and COVID-19 with his family practice in Seattle. We also meet Jim Elliott, who acquired the virus and recovered from it and went back to work yesterday. Learn what he went through and get all the news from the day in the coronavirus and always, always, a silver lining.

This is our "Pride" show! We're featuring an artist impacted by the crisis, Ron Gatsby of Purple Lemonade, and my fellow LGBTQ+ executive directors Elayne Wylie of Gender Justice League, who produces the Trans Pride event during Pride, as well as Krystal Marx from Seattle Pride, the producers of the Seattle Pride Parade. Plus voice dispatches from people around the world to tell us how they're adjusting to isolation.

Today, we talk with a mental health counselor about how to cope in difficult times and then have a deep dive with Rex Hohlbein from Facing Homelessness about the challenges of our most vulnerable neighbors. An inspirational episode for all.

Tonight we chat with a Doggie Daycare owner about her efforts to help those on the front lines of the medical crisis ahead of us, and we dive deep with storytelling master Brian McDonald about the essentials of stories and how they relay survival information to us in critical times. And we get messages from listeners about what's good in your lives because in the dark, there is always a light.

Host Egan Orion shows us that there is hope and optimism during the dark times of the coronavirus outbreak, where people rally behind each other to create community and give a glimpse into their daily lives in isolation that aren't dark or morbid, but full of moments of joy and yes, moments of worry, too. A Light in the Dark reveals that we are truly all in this together, from artists to scientists, storytellers and workers, and to those most at risk and those who feel invulnerable to the current pandemic.