Podcast explores Alaska’s climate change through sound

Images and data representing climate change are ubiquitous, but Theresa Soley asks what climate change sounds like.

In a new podcast series called “Ice and Fire,” Soley, a University of Alaska Fairbanks alumna, takes listeners on an audio tour of climate change in Alaska, weaving together a place-based narrative from soundscapes and sonic textures intertwined with scientific and personal accounts.

Each episode defines a climate change concept and introduces Alaskans like glaciologists, long-time residents and traditional Indigenous knowledge bearers. Notable guests have included glaciologist Eric Petersen, Tlingit Indigenous science expert Judy Dax̱ootsú Ramos and marine biology student Court Pegas.

The newest episode, “Acoustic Refuge,” is being released June 16. This will be the fifth episode of Season One, which has focused on climate change impacts to glacial landscapes. “Acoustic Refuge” homes in on how auditory changes affect animals living in tidewater glacier environments.

Soley earned a master’s degree through UAF’s One Health program. The podcast was inspired in part by the program’s approach to studying health in the circumpolar North. One Health is an approach to public policy and research that focuses on the ways that environmental, animal and human health are interconnected

“It’s simple really — in order to optimize our health, we need to be aware of what’s happening to other animals and the environment we all share,” said Dr. Laurie Meythaler-Mullins, a veterinarian and fellow One Health alumna who is featured in “Acoustic Refuge.”

“Ice and Fire” embodies this holistic outlook by examining how climate change affects environments and, by extension, the animals and humans living within them.

Future “Ice and Fire” seasons will explore other areas of climate change in Alaska. Season Two focuses on thawing permafrost.

Episodes are available for listening through podcast services, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and Google Podcasts.

Soley created “Ice and Fire” with support from the Alaska National Science Foundation Established Program for Stimulating Competitive Research, the Alaska Center for Innovation, Commercialization, and Entrepreneurship, and the Wrangell Mountain Center. The series is produced by Mary Auld, assistant director at the Montana Media Lab.

Listeners can support the continued production of the “Ice and Fire” podcast by listening, subscribing,  sharing episodes, following on Instagram and participating in a feedback survey on the “Ice and Fire” website.

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