They talked about ethics in journalism, their reporting processes, the months-long, complicated nature of recent investigative reporting, and more.

Find relevant articles below:

The Work Isn't For Everyone (English) (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)

Why we investigated Latinos en Spokane (English) (Luke Baumgarten, RANGE Media)

Este trabajo no es para todos (Spanish) (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)

¿Por qué investigamos a Latinos en Spokane? (Spanish) (Luke Baumgarten, RANGE Media)

Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!

They talked about some items from this week’s CIVICS agenda, including:

• A $120,000 contract for Mujeres in Action to provide SPD with cultural competency training and language access services (which passed);
• Info on the Spokane County sheriff’s proposal to charge fees for requesting body camera footage from law enforcement.

$120,000 for Mujeres in Action to train cops (March 23, 2026 CIVICS)

They also talked about PFAS clean-up updates, reopening the STA double decker bus crash investigation, and the March 20th memorial for Otto Zehm, who was killed by police 20 years ago.

Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!

On this week’s episode, Erin Sellers and Daniel Walters went on the air to talk about Daniel’s most recent article: John Stockton’s Not Dead.

Daniel’s article title is a play on the clickbait “news headlines” from fake AI fan pages that have recently appeared on Facebook. More specifically, it’s a reference to a fake headline that claims John Stockton – a former NBA player and Gonzaga alum – died. (He didn’t.)

Because some of these headlines use real info with slight changes, it’s important to use a critical eye when viewing news, social media posts, and other forms of media. One example of this is a headline claiming that Netflix announced a documentary on Gonzaga. The reality? There is a documentary on Gonzaga basketball, but it’s through Tubi.

Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!

During the first hour, Aaron Hedge and Daniel Walters joined to talk about their reporting processes. Daniel told a story about an interesting letter he found and how that led to him doing some journalistic work, while Aaron talked about his reporting processes for some of his early RANGE stories.

During the second hour, Luke joined to talk about his career in journalism, how he’s seen the journalism field shift over time, and more.

Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!

The three talked about far-right extremism in Idaho, how the new strain of Kootenai County white nationalism differs from the Aryan Nations of the past, and the big fracture points within the North Idaho fringe.

Michael is a former senior investigative reporter for the Southern Poverty Law Center. His first book – Strange People on the Hill – focuses on how extremist ideology changed a small, West Virginia town and comes out in April 2026. His recently published story with Mother Jones – called “Who the F Are These Men?” – is an in-depth investigation on far-right extremism in Idaho.

Founded in 1976, Mother Jones is a newsroom that “investigates the big stories that may be ignored or overlooked by other news outlets, including about democracy and voting rights, racial justice, reproductive rights, and food and agriculture.”

Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!

The three of them talked about some recent news:

The first was about an item on the East Valley School District’s Board of Directors agenda, which was included in our February 23rd CIVICS. They held a first reading of a revised board policy that would eliminate the district’s Affirmative Action Program.

The second was all about the West Plains PFAS crisis. They talked about Hedge’s recent article, where after almost a decade the airport found PFAS in the groundwater, the state is requiring both Spokane County and City to provide affected well owners with safe water.

Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!

They talk about their hopes, goals, and values in journalism, plus previous stories they’ve covered.

Meet Daisy Zavala Magaña:

Daisy previously covered immigrant labor for RANGE as a freelancer, and now she’s our newest full-time reporter! You can read her introduction in both English and Spanish.

Meet Daniel Walters:

As a longtime reporter, Daniel isn’t new to the journalism field… or RANGE. He’s currently working for us in a freelance capacity, but you may have read his InvestigateWest stories that we’ve republished or heard him on an early podcast episode.

Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on YouTube!

HHAD is organized by the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance (WLIHA) and the Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund. They bring people across Washington state to Olympia to advocate for housing justice by meeting with their district’s representatives.

This episode has 3 parts, and you’re going to hear from organizers, participants, lawmakers, and more.

Further, relevant reading:

‘This city is turning into an eviction mill.’ (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)

More info on the WLIHA and HHAD

Erin talks about their story on a new eviction prevention program that was passed by Spokane City Council. The ordinance passed by a vote of 5-2 and will create this new program by June 1, 2026. Find the story here.

Aaron talks about a story he and Luke co-wrote about two masked SPD officers who stood in on a healthcare workers’ vigil for Alex Pretti, who was killed by ICE agents. The vigil attendees thought they were ICE agents at first, up until it was confirmed that they were SPD officers. Find the story here.

Dawn Kinder is the Director of Housing and Human Services for the City of Spokane.

Carl Segerstrom is the Communications and Storytelling Manager of Waters Meet.

The four of them talked about housing insecurity, the impacts of homelessness, and how Spokane is fighting against it.

The first story stemmed from a conversation Hedge had with a local police accountability advocate who put in a public records request for photos generated from Automated License Plate Readers — AKA FLOCK cameras — using the license plate number of a van used by ICE. The van is owned by Geo Group, who not only is contracted to take immigrants to the Tacoma Detention Center, but also runs the center.

Along with the single – and only – photo he got back, he also got a call from an attorney representing Geo Group: Joan Mell. She wanted to make sure he didn’t want to hurt – and she actually used this phrase – “her peeps.”

The second story is a rundown of rumors swirling around the United States Post Office thanks to a vague “Essential Services” letter given to postal workers all over the country, including in Spokane. Val explains how she’s been trying to track down the reasoning behind issuing the letter and how it’s been contributing to online fears of martial law.

These students were rallying to protest ICE’s harm and call for humane treatment of immigrants in our communities.

Erin spoke with organizers from Spokane Students for Human Decency – who brought over 1,200 students together across the six schools – about their planning process and why they’re organizing.

Joan Braune discusses Christian nationalism, fascism, and some ways people can recognize and intervene against it.

Charlie Kirk’s Pacific Northwest ground game (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)

SpoVal pastor helps push initiatives to erode student privacy (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media and Cassy Benefield, Fāvs News)

The battle for a North Idaho city’s identity (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media and Jenny Davis, Gonzaga University)

Conservative think tank: Immigration ‘undermined Christianity’ (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media and Cassy Benefield, Fāvs News)

Uncivil Disobedience: Theological Perspectives (David M. Gides, Nick Braune, Joan Braune, Joshua W. Carpenter)

Understanding and Countering Fascist Movements: From Void to Hope (Joan Braune)

Last year, we released an episode about our NEWS Year Resolutions.

This year, we decided to set another set of resolutions!

We also reviewed our top coverage from 2025 and got a bit nerdy about the data. Read on!

Dear Gonzaga: A Letter from Assistant Professor Andrea Brower (Andrea Brower, RANGE Media)

The State of Surveillance in Spokane (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)

Queer BIPOC organizer arrested on their way to Spokane Pride (Erin Sellers and Luke Baumgarten, RANGE Media)

Immigration officials are arresting people in Washington and warehousing them in Idaho (Aaron Hedge and Luke Baumgarten, RANGE Media)

CIVICS: Spokane could become the first city to ‘Ban the Address’ (Erin Sellers and Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)

Congressman Michael Baumgartner’s Spokane Town Hall: The wildest meeting we’ve ever attended (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)

Everything we know about the Spokane ICE protests (RANGE Media team)

9 Spokanites arrested by federal agents in connection to ICE protests (Luke Baumgarten, Erin Sellers, and Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)

ICE agents with no warrant violently arrest migrants (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)

On this week’s episode, the team talked about our favorite stories and projects from this year. Take a look at them below!

Immigration officials are arresting people in Washington and warehousing them in Idaho (Aaron Hedge and Luke Baumgarten, RANGE Media)

Deputies killed Donald Hegel a year ago. His sister is still looking for answers. (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)

The people want safer streets — and the electeds are listening (Lauren Pangborn, RANGE Media)

I laid myself off this week (Luke Baumgarten, RANGE Media)

How to take action against injustice today (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)

Q&A with SPD Chief Kevin Hall on ICE and the protests (Luke Baumgarten and Val Osier, RANGE Media)

Jordin v. Brayman: Spokane’s first right-to-counsel eviction trial by jury (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)

The POD: Community Organizing in Spokane (Free RANGE episode)

Food Resource Map

RANGE’s Flock Reporting

Conservative think tank: Immigration ‘undermined Christianity’ (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media and Cassy Benefield, Fāvs News)

As the Research Coordinator at the University of Washington’s Center for Human Rights, Phil is well-versed in all things Flock camera-related.

The three of them discuss how these cameras work, what they do, and the effects they’re having on the people in our communities.

Plus, at the end of the episode, Aaron also gives a brief update on what’s happening in the trials of 9 protestors from Spokane.

Find our recent coverage (and last week's episode) below:

“Alien.” “Ice pick-up.” “immigration violation.” (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)

COLUMN: Flock-enheit 451 (Lauren Pangborn, RANGE Media)

Four of the Spokane 9 accept plea deals (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)

The POD: A FLOCK Deep Dive (Last week's Free RANGE episode)

Automated License Plate Readers – or FLOCK cameras – have been used to search for people who might’ve been at these protests.

On this week’s episode, Erin, Aaron, and Val talk about these cameras, Erin’s months-long investigative reporting on them, and the recent stories we’ve published.

Find the recent coverage (and a previous FLOCK-related episode) below:

Did you go to a protest this year? Local cops might’ve been searching for you on Flock cameras. (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)

‘Had an abortion, search for female.’ Texas deputy searched Spokane County Flock cameras (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)

The POD: All the FLOCK things (August 22, 2025 Free RANGE episode)

They discussed Aaron's trip to Moscow, Idaho, where him and co-author Jenny Davis (Gonzaga University) visited the town as they did some reporting for their recent story. Compared to its larger, national media coverage of dominionist pastor Doug Wilson and Christian nationalism, the co-authors' day in Moscow told a different story: one about the Idaho town's politics, culture, and the folks who live there. Read the story here:

The battle for a North Idaho city’s identity (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media and Jenny Davis, Gonzaga University)

The first ballot initiative is IL26-001, otherwise known as “Strength and Communication Between Parents and Schools.” This would allow parents to access their child’s school records, including any disciplinary, medical, and mental health related records.

The second initiative is IL26-368, also called “Protecting Fairness in Girls’ Sports.” This would require female students who want to participate in their school’s sports to go through a medical examination and obtain documentation that “verifies” they’re a girl. Not only is this incredibly transphobic and tries to ban trans girls from girls’ sports, but it’s also hugely invasive to all students.

SpoVal pastor helps push initiatives to erode student privacy (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media and Cassy Benefield, FāVS News)

This week, the team debriefed on the elections. They discussed the District 1 Spokane city council race, Spokane Prop 1 (“Together Spokane”), and other local coverage. They also zoomed out and talked about national elections, including the results of the New York City mayoral race (which candidate Zohran Mamdani won).

(Our podcast episodes are aired live with KYRS on Thursdays from 3-4pm. Because of this, please note that when the team talks about elections, the results and data were current as of Thursday, Nov. 6th.)

To view the most current election results, you can follow this link to Spokane County’s election results page.

Plus, in the wake of the federal government shutdown and the Trump administration refusing to fully disburse SNAP benefits, RANGE has partnered with Waters Meet and SCAR to create a food resource map. Covering seven counties, three Sovereign Tribal Nations and beyond, this map shows where you can get or give help. Find the map here.

WA state Republicans are trying to turn school districts red (Sophia Mattice-Aldous, RANGE Media)

A peek in the pocketbooks of Spokane City Council candidates (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)

Last minute pocketbook-peeking of city council candidates (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)

Resolution 8201: Should the WA Cares Fund play the stock market? (Sophia Mattice-Aldous, RANGE Media)

Spokane’s Prop 1(s): What they’ll do for parks and schools and how much they’ll cost (Erin Sellers and Clarinne Kirk, RANGE Media)

Spokane City Council candidate Alejandro Barrientos may be ineligible to represent District 2 (Erin Sellers, RANGE Media)

Ad attacking Bingle falsely attributes wrong committee in apparent violation of state law (Emry Dinman, the Spokesman-Review)

PAC responds to complaint over mislabeled mailer (Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media)

The first segment is a short audio story RANGE Producer Pascal worked on. They spoke with participants during an organizing summit in Spokane last month, which was hosted by re:power. Organizers from groups such as the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, Asians for Collective Liberation in Spokane, re:power, and Waters Meet all spoke about hope, movement building, and action.

For the second segment, reporter Erin Sellers read their recent investigative story out loud, titled “Jordin v. Brayman: Spokane’s first right-to-counsel eviction trial by jury.” You can find the story linked below:

Jordin v. Brayman: Spokane’s first right-to-counsel eviction trial by jury (Content warning: This story contains description of and reference to sexual assault.)

This conversation was part of last month’s Grassroots Radio Conference, which was a collaboration between Sprouts Radio, Pacifica Network, and KYRS. 

The panel – which was hosted at the Spokane Public Library – included Luke Baumgarten (RANGE Media) and Stephanie Schubert (Pacifica Network).

The first segment is from Spokane’s Spiciest candidate forum, featuring District 3 incumbent Zack Zappone and challenger Christopher Savage. Reporter Erin Sellers asked them the spiciest of questions as they powered through even spicier wings!

For the second segment, we had reporter Aaron Hedge read his recent essay – titled “Charlie Kirk’s Pacific Northwest ground game” – out loud, in his own words. You can find the essay linked below:

Charlie Kirk’s Pacific Northwest ground game

20 Questions with District 3 Spokane City Council Candidates

Meet the District 3 Spokane City Council candidates

Spokane's Spiciest Event Livestream (courtesy of KXLY)

The first segment is from Spokane's Spiciest candidate forum, featuring District 2 candidates Kate Tellis and Alejandro Barrientos. Reporter Erin Sellers asked them questions as they all powered through some spicy wings! (Keep an eye out for the District 3 segment!)

The second segment includes a conversation between RANGE Producer Pascal and Elina – a local student who participated in the College Success Foundation – about how its programming impacted her. This came after $12 million dollars of state funding – which was around 80% of their budget – was cut in May, Spokane’s College Success Foundation (CSF) office was forced to close in July.

20 Questions with District 2 Spokane City Council candidates

Spokane's Spiciest Event Livestream (courtesy of KXLY)

This episode features candidate Sarah Dixit as reporter Erin Sellers asks her questions! 

Current council member Jonathan Bingle – who is running for re-election – had a prior commitment, so he wasn’t able to participate. You can hear from him in our July 25th episode (linked below).

Keep an eye out for the District 2 and 3 segments!

The POD: A (Conservative) City Council Candidate Forum

Spokane's Spiciest Event Livestream (courtesy of KXLY)

You can read the articles – which were originally published in 2024 – at the links below:

Airport CEO: Lawmakers should ‘wait and see’ before banning toxic PFAS

Community demands solutions as Fairchild reckons with new PFAS contamination rule

Further reading:



• FLOCK camera map – https://deflock.me/
• 404 Media’s FLOCK coverage – https://www.404media.co/tag/flock/

If you witnessed law enforcement violence at protests in June and want to file an OPO complaint but don’t know where to start, you can email hadley at hello@hadley.consulting for help.

PLUS: On Tuesday, Aug. 19th at 5:30 PM, the Office of Police Ombuds Commission will be meeting in the City Council Chamber. Like City Council meetings, this is a public meeting with an open forum. Make your voices heard!

Further reading:

Where are the protesters’ phones?

Everything we know about the Spokane ICE protests

Cody Arguelles, a third candidate running for the seat, couldn’t make it to this debate, but don’t worry! You can read about his platform (along with the other candidates') in our two articles linked below:

Meet the District 3 Spokane City Council Candidates

20 Questions with District 3 Spokane City Council Candidates

As a warning, the candidates in this forum do use language and make comments that are harmful to queer and trans communities.

Additional reading:

Uncertainty for Spokane’s Haitian migrants — and for employers

We got the answers to some of those questions and more when Luke and Val sat down with Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall this week. 

Read the full analysis here.

Ben shares the emotional and community-driven journey to support and advocate for the detained men, discussing the legal challenges, the supportive roles of various community members, and the broader implications of immigration policies.

01:00 Meet Cesar and Josar and the asylum process

10:00 Challenges and injustices

15:30 Protests and political context

31:00 The spontaneous protest begins

37:30 Arrest and jail conditions

50:31 Solidarity and community support

Read more:

Everything we know about the Spokane ICE protests

Queer BIPOC organizer arrested on their way to Spokane Pride

Faith leaders plan prayer vigil at Spokane ICE Center to support immigrants June 24

Read the story here. 

We have an interview with Christopher Blackwell, an incarcerated journalist in Washington discussing with Val and Hedge the challenges and dynamics of reporting from prison. The conversation covers a lot of ground: the limited technology available to even type and research stories, the dehumanization of incarcerated folks, how we can build community in prison and outside and more.

Then Erin fills us in on the latest news this week, including an update on union busting at Planned Parenthood, the new rent stabilization laws in Washington and the Strippers' Bill of Rights.

03:20 Interview with Christopher Blackwell Begins

31:59 The official cost of Union Busting at Planned Parenthood

38:46 Rent Stabilization Legislation

45:27 Strippers' Bill of Rights

Relevant reading:

• Immigration officials are arresting people in Washington and warehousing them in Idaho
• Spokane city reaffirmed its support of the Keep WA working Act
• Spokane Valley did the opposite
• Ghanaian immigrant, Bismarck Avornu, was detained after church; He’s one of few to get out on bond and he shared about what it’s like in the Northwest ICE Processing Center
• ICE agents with no warrant violently arrest migrants in Spokane Valley - Jeison and Cesar Ruiz Rodriguez
• Martin Diaz arrested without warrant.
• That arrest revealed to us that ICE is reportedly surveilling immigration activists 

Relevant reading:

• ‘Be explicit in your advocacy or risk complicity.’
• 4/28/2025 City Council Live Log: 2SLGBTQIA+ Protection Ordinance

Relevant reading:

• Want out of prison early? Navigate the drug treatment labyrinth: Dept. of Corrections says people who tested positive for illicit substances decades ago still require treatment if they want early release. Some of them don’t even have a history of addiction, but the prison’s behavioral health contractor places the inmates into their treatment program anyway.
• Doomscroll rapid headlines: Ban the Address passed, unemployment insurance for striking workers is headed to Gov. Ferguson's desk and next week the Spokane City Council will vote on an ordinance to protect LGBTQIA2S+ people.
• Teresa Borrenpohl update: our initial coverage, recent coverage by The Spokesman on the noninvestigation into the sheriff, Borrenpohl's lawsuit and the charges filed against the private security firm members.

Relevant reading:

• Spokane Prop 1 overturned by Washington Supreme Court: Camping ban ballot initiative “exceeds the proper scope of the local initiative power,” court decided this morning.
• Spokane could soon become a shield city for queer people: A new ordinance would include Two-Spirit people in the city’s human rights code, double up on state shield protections and ensure city employees’ insurance covers gender-affirming and reproductive healthcare.
• The people want safer streets — and the electeds are listening: Restricted turns on red, a traffic police unit (finally!) and a plan to get to the root causes of crash fatalities announced at Mayor Brown’s street safety press conference this week.

Relevant reading:

50 new bike racks coming to a spot near you, by Lauren Pangborn at RANGE Media

• Request a location for a bike rack
• Submit an existing bike rack to the community-generated list of racks across the city.

 What we know after three months of reporting on the local Planned Parenthood:

A track record of poor labor conditions, a deep dive into executive compensation, ghosted donors, an upcoming merger and a 20-year-old discrimination case.

In the second part, we covered this week’s Spokane Valley City Council discussions, including a proposed sales tax to fund more police officers and a resolution reaffirming the city’s desire to not be a Sanctuary City and desire for Valley police officers to help federal immigration officers deport people. Hedge shared with us the public’s sentiment to the somewhat opposing goals.

Relevant reading:

Deputies killed Donald Hegel a year ago. His sister is still looking for answers.

Spokane Valley wants to break state law and direct their cops to help ICE and Border Patrol

00:57 Discussing the Latest Story

01:43 Background on Police Accountability

03:54 Details of the Police Shooting and Aftermath

11:51 Legislation and Police Accountability Efforts

19:34 Current Legislative Proposals and Budget Issues

25:20 The Case of Donald Hagle

32:51 Spokane Valley’s Police Funding Proposal

38:24 Sanctuary City Resolution in Spokane Valley

42:19 Public Sentiment and Council Decisions 

• Migrant detained by ICE back with family: RANGE caught up with Bismark Avornu, who’s lived in the Spokane area for 15 years, where he met his wife and is raising two American children, about his 45 days in a Tacoma processing facility.
• Congressman Michael Baumgartner’s Spokane Town Hall: The wildest meeting we’ve ever attended
• How a Washington city’s war with its own council member could chip away at public records access: Legislative proposal would allow agencies to withhold the occupations of whistleblowers in investigations from public records.
• Spokane and Bonner county sheriff’s offices can no longer hide or delete critical Facebook comments after First Amendment concerns, judges rule

Refugees in Spokane at risk as World Relief navigates changing U.S. policies

•  Red states could preview gender-affirming care under Trump: An Idaho law banning state insurance from covering gender-affirming care could foreshadow a national ban on Medicaid spending for transgender care, by Erin Sellers
• A debrief of the now-infamous CDA town hall: A local extremism reporter’s guide to what happened in the viral video of a woman being dragged out of an Idaho town hall by a group of men with no official uniforms, by Aaron Hedge

• ‘Scissors, scissors’: Washington patients could soon have informed consent for IUD insertions, by Erin Sellers
• 20+ WA state bills to keep an eye on: Workers’ rights, protections for undocumented immigrants and queer kids, reproductive justice, voting access for incarcerated people, and a whole lot more this Washington legislative session, by the RANGE staff

Do you have questions about local government? Wondering who to complain to about an issue in your neighborhood? Wondering which agency governs certain things? Wondering why something is happening or how much it costs? Email us at freerange@kyrs.org with your questions, and we’ll try and answer them next week!

• Spokane’s Community Court handles most nonviolent offenses downtown. While arrests increase, founders say improving quality of life is “not an easy fix.” – Eliza Billingham, The Inlander.
• Solidarity, if not sanctuary: The Spokane City Council showed their solidarity with the immigrant community by promising to continue to follow state law, but opposition feared it created a false sense of security. – Erin Sellers, RANGE

• Know your immigration rights: Spokane is within 100 miles of a border, which puts our community at greater risk of mass deportations. It’s time to brush up on your rights, and how to protect your neighbors.
• Immigration officials are arresting people in Washington and warehousing them in Idaho: At least four people arrested in Spokane County, one for unlawful border crossing, were transported and held for several days at the Kootenai County Jail.
• ‘Daunting’: Uncertainty in Spokane as Trump threatens local officials who don’t aid deportations, but state law is clear for schools, hospitals and police
• Hundreds of refugees set to resettle in Spokane could be stopped by day-one executive orders from Trump administration.
• ‘Our communities are truly at risk’: Washington advocacy groups urge state leaders to defy federal deportation policies following surprise immigration raids in California.
• Commissioner French pledges to sell family stock in ‘forever chemicals’ manufacturers: The county commissioner, who says the investments belonged to his mother and were willed to him, has been the target of outcry in public meetings over nondisclosure of PFAS contamination.

Do you have questions about local government? Wondering who to complain to about an issue in your neighborhood? Wondering which agency governs certain things? Wondering why something is happening or how much it costs? Email us at freerange@kyrs.org with your questions, and we’ll try and answer them next week!

• Know your immigration rights: Spokane is within 100 miles of a border, which puts our community at greater risk of mass deportations. It’s time to brush up on your rights, and how to protect your neighbors.
• On day one, Trump pits his administration against transgender people: Trump’s administration will likely run into legal trouble as it implements policies on federal identity documents and housing in federal prisons.
• The teens are alright: Five local teens made the long trek down to Olympia to lobby state legislators for policies to shield transgender students, update reproductive care Medicaid rates and protect people who lose pregnancies from criminal prosecution.
• ‘Daunting’: Uncertainty in Spokane as Trump threatens local officials who don’t aid deportations, but state law is clear for schools, hospitals and police
• Hundreds of refugees set to resettle in Spokane could be stopped by day-one executive orders from Trump administration
• ‘Our communities are truly at risk’: Washington advocacy groups urge state leaders to defy federal deportation policies following surprise immigration raids in California

03:49 Brief overview of the latest TikTok news

07:16 Defining Deconstruction in Christianity

13:26 Personal Stories of Faith and Doubt

25:20 Navigating Faith and Doubt Without Social Media

32:00 Community in Rural Spaces

37:12 Political Influence in Church

42:06 Discovering TikTok and New Perspectives

47:28 Challenges and Reflections on Deconstruction

Additional reading:

BBC: What does Trump's executive order mean for TikTok and who might buy it?

AP News: How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat

User Mag: The Great Creator Reset

If you’re not a big fan of reading 4k word stories, but you want to know about how Spokane’s police force — the third deadliest per capita in the nation — thinks about use-of-force and deescalation techniques, listen now!

00:00 Intro

01:03 Holiday Break Recap

04:33 Personal and Team Goals for the Year

06:39 Labor Reporting and Community Engagement

21:05 Connecting community desires with coverage

27:38 Focusing on police accountability

30:02 Forever Chemicals

31:19 Rural reporting, union busting, and rural union busting reporting

38:22 Engaging with Art and Culture

40:24 Once more re: community connections and support

48:28 Final Thoughts

Editor's Note: The Faviola Lopez working at UFCW 3000 is actually a different Faviola Lopez than who worked at PPGWNI. Additionally, Paul Dillon was demoted from his role at PPGWNI shortly before going on parental leave, not after.

And, shameless plug, we just launched a merch line, which you should shop! Help us get sustainable, show your commitment to civic engagement, and look hot doing it.

Do you have questions about local government? Wondering who to complain to about an issue in your neighborhood? Wondering which agency governs certain things? Wondering why something is happening or how much it costs? Email us at freerange@kyrs.org with your questions, and we’ll try and answer them next week!

• Erin’s write-up for RANGE of Spokane City Council rule changes and what they mean
• Aaron and Erin’s stories on the Liberty Lake Library saga, and the national context of obscenity
• The new homelessness data dashboard
• Our coverage on the Spokane Regional Health District’s Feasibility Study on privatizing opioid treatment
• Stories on the downtown fires from The Spokesman’s Alexandra Duggan and Nick Gibson

Do you have questions about local government? Wondering who to complain to about an issue in your neighborhood? Wondering which agency governs certain things? Wondering why something is happening or how much it costs? Email us at freerange@kyrs.org with your questions, and we’ll try and answer them next week!

Political Engagement Challenges

• Working-class individuals often feel disconnected from political processes
• Service industry workers face scheduling barriers to traditional civic participation
• Many people are unaware of local political developments that affect them directly
• There's a perception that political engagement doesn't lead to material improvements

Renter Rights Web Tool Concept

• Proposed tool would allow renters to check if landlords are registered and compliant with local laws
• Features could include:
• Form letters for renters to use when communicating with landlords
• Explanations of next steps if landlords don't comply
• City Council contact information for further assistance
• Optional data collection on rent prices and housing conditions
• Tool aims to provide tangible benefits while potentially increasing civic engagement

Outreach Strategies

• Utilize existing community spaces and events (e.g., bars, trivia nights)
• Create physical flyers and place them strategically around the city
• Partner with local businesses to display information
• Host launch parties or social events to introduce the tool
• Leverage word-of-mouth and personal networks for distribution

Building Community and Solidarity

• Focus on creating "third spaces" that are neither work nor home
• Avoid demonizing those with different political views
• Recognize the importance of coalition-building in worker movements
• Address root causes of political disengagement rather than symptoms

Next Steps

• Develop the renter rights web tool with suggested features
• Plan outreach strategy using multiple channels (events, flyers, partnerships)
• Consider hosting a launch party or series of events to introduce the tool
• Explore ways to create more "third spaces" for community building in Spokane

• Our live post thread on Bluesky of the Spokane City Council meeting, including comments from C.O.P.S. volunteers
• Eliza Billingham’s story for The Inlander on the C.O.P.S. contract
• Aaron Hedge’s story for Spokane FAVS on Tactical CIVICS, the group one of the C.O.P.S. volunteers coordinates.
• Thomas Clause’s story for the Spokesman on Larry Krauter leaving the Spokane airport.
• Aaron Hedge’s coverage on Larry Krauter’s involvement with PFAS nondisclosure.
• Our weekly CIVICS coverage, which you can sign up to receive every Monday!
• Elena Perry’s story for the Spokesman on the CVSD’s decision to advocate against transgender athletes.
• Nick Gibson’s story for the Spokesman on Spokane Valley’s decision to further criminalize homelessness.
• Emry Dinman’s story for the Spokesman on the delay of the parks levy.
• Erin Sellers story for RANGE Media on the details of STA’s Connect 2035 plan.

Join them Thursdays at 3 pm on KYRS Thin Air Community Radio for a round-up of the serious (and not so serious) local news of the week, behind the scenes drama at public meetings and deeper dives on important stories with the journalists who broke them.

If you want to learn more about RANGE Media (or support us financially!) click here!

~ON THIS WEEK’S EPISODE~

Luke and Erin discussed the closure of City Hall due to threats of violence, the most recent Spokane election results (and what they actually MEAN) and an update on gender-affirming healthcare options in Idaho. If you listened to our episode and want to learn more, here are the stories we referenced:

• Emry Dinman’s story for The Spokesman on the closure of City Hall and the threats that caused it.
• KUOW’s podcast Lost Patients that Luke referenced.
• Ellen Dennis’ story for The Spokesman on the Democrat legislative majority
• Ellen Dennis’ (now out-of-date) story for The Spokesman on Washington’s leftward shift
• Luke Baumgarten’s story for RANGE on the wealth tax initiative
• Erin Sellers’ story for RANGE on being queer in Idaho
• A story from The Idaho Capital Sun on the law in Idaho banning state funds for gender affirming care
• A story on Trump’s campaign promises to end federal funding for gender affirming care.

Hosts Luke Baumgarten and Erin Sellers are joined by Aaron Hedge to talk about the week in news.

The process, which began last spring has been a tense one led by SRHD Administrative Officer Dr. Alicia Thompson. Thompson recently completed Phase One of the Feasibility Study, which is what they're calling the process to determine if the division should move forward towards privatization. During phase one, Thompson gathered and analyzed feedback from a variety of stakeholders, including patients, employees, and service providers identifying the impacts privatization could have on them.

At the September board meeting, Thompson presented her findings and two separate recommendations: One to end the process now and keep the division, establishing a designated fund for it within SRHD to ensure it can save and invest money in its future to grow. And another to continue the process and start looking into the legal ramifications and physical process of converting the division to private or selling it off to a private provider.

The board of health was scheduled to vote on those recommendations during the September board meeting, but after community feedback against privatization and a robust discussion among board members, they decided to postpone the ultimate decision until the October board meeting, which is set for Thursday, October 31.

Prior to the September board meeting, we sat down for a Q&A with Susie Saunders, the representative of Protec 17, the union for SRHD’s Treatment Services Employees. We asked Saunders to weigh in on the potential privatization of the division and what it could mean for employees. What follows is that conversation lightly edited for clarity and time.

Join host Luke Baumgarten and reporter Erin Sellers as they explore the vital role of public records in holding our electeds accountable. 

First we have a lively roundtable with local reporters Nate Sanford of the Inlander and Daniel Walters of InvestigateWest (but formerly at the Inlander too!), who both submit a ton of records requests. We learned their best tips and tricks and how they use records to crack open stories that are crucial to our community. We also get to hear their stories from the journalism trenches. Walters recently finished an investigation into just how long 15 different Northwest governments take to respond to public records and — spoiler — it turns out the city of Spokane is the slowest. 

Next we talk to local dad (and Spokane Reimagined founder) Erik Lowe, who shares how public records play into his work as a traffic safety and urban planning advocate. 

Plus, in this episode we celebrate Sellers’ one year RANGE-iversary! Be sure to congratulate them on an absolutely stellar year in journalism and support their work!

12:44 Journalist roundtable with Nate Sanford & Daniel Walters

54:41 Public records with local Dad (and transit advocate!) Erik Lowe

01:10:00 Outtakes

This is now our THIRD episode in this new season of RANGE (see we can be consistent) and we’re still taking feedback. We’re the press for the people, and the pod for the people so you tell us: what do you want to hear? Submit feedback here! 

We’re also still taking voicemails at 509-508-1055.

We’re still nailing down our format and process, so in the future, you can expect the pod a little earlier than 8 pm whatever time Luke actually gets this uploaded to the website…

Join host Luke Baumgarten and some of the RANGE team, Val Osier, Erin Sellers & our intern Holly VanVoorhis. Luke plays nature documentary voiceover artist to narrate a day in the life of a journalist navigating the treacherous waters of ethical audio use, then switches hats to lead a bit of reporter therapy. Unfortunately, it was virtual, so no one really knows what his couch looks like yet. 

Next, we did a bit of self-plagiarism and stole a segment from our Wide Range newsletter: Luke, Val and Erin each brought in a piece of good news, a piece of bad news and a piece of embarrassing news. We all learned about: 

• Statewide AI oversight 
• Local transportation and traffic calming 
• Some Idaho reproductive health news
• and Ellen Degeneres’ visit to Spokane (whether that one is good, bad or embarrassing is a bit subjective, but Val has thoughts.) 

Finally, Luke sat down for a short interview with our intern Holly, who wrote a story this week about the facts and fiction of fentanyl. She debunked some myths, gave some additional context and answered some burning questions on the top of our minds like, can cops actually get a contact high?

We’re just starting to get our wobbly baby deer legs under us, but we’re still taking feedback. We’re the press for the people, and the pod for the people so you tell us: what do you want to hear? Submit a feedback form here! 

We’re also still taking voicemails at 509-508-1055.

And we continue to want to take your questions about civic government, rumors you may have heard that you want us to fact check or inquiries about our reporting (or reporting in general), send them to us at team@rangemedia.co with “Mailbox” in the subject line. We may answer your questions or fact check your rumors on upcoming segments of the pod 👀

The old format was a lot to pull off each week, so we’re brainstorming ways to make it happen consistently.

Join host Luke Baumgarten and the rest of the RANGE crew, Val Osier, Erin Sellers & Aaron Hedge, as they go on a fantastic voyage into the life of the journalistic mind, brainstorming new segment ideas and discussing the unique powers of audio journalism to engage with listeners, inform our community and do atmospheric storytelling — which is to say we talk about podcast stuff we like and how to make it happen with the small, mighty team we have. 

We also discuss a shift we’re trying to make across everything we do at RANGE to get more reader and listener engagement, and more directly let your questions and concerns shape our reporting. Scroll down for more on that. 

Next, we tested out one of our segment ideas, The Fact Check, before concluding with a quick interview with Howl Hall on the Mifepristone Supreme Court case and what it’s been like for Hall, a graduating senior at The Community School to team up with RANGE to produce journalism that is important to him and his classmates. 

This episode is half brainstorm, half experimentation, two-thirds Luke remembers how to edit audio and 3/5ths he learns a new software. We aren’t mathematicians, but that’s like over 2 podcasts for the price (free) of 1.

It turned out … better than expected? We’ll let you be the judge.

LET US KNOW

Seriously: we really want to know what you think of the new ideas and plan. 

• Send us an email (or a voice clip!) at team@rangemedia.co
• Leave Luke a voicemail at 509-508-1055. 
• Fill out our survey in the show notes RIGHT HERE. 

We cannot stress this enough: We want your ideas for segments. We want you to ask us questions. We will answer them. We might even turn them into stories. We want to know what you want to know. 

If we know about what you want to know, we'll tell you about it. If we don't know about it, we might report it out!

We're a small team, but we care about the things that you care about. And we're going to do it all. We're going to talk about it all because from here on out, Range is living out loud.

CHAPTERS

• 00:00 Cold Open 
• 00:09 Intro
• 05:18 Segment 1: How do we want to do this thing?
• 08:17 Belated Introductions
• 36:06 Segment 2: Pride mural good-faith fact check
• 43:43 Segment 3: Mifepristone explainer feat. Howl Hall
• 44:52 Segment 3
• 01:06:53 Outro
• 01:07:52 ???

The Open Forum period at Spokane City Council meetings is a land of contrasts, playing host to a number of topics that, at first glance, might seem random or irrelevant.

But for some activists and community members, the open forum period exists as a critical method of engagement with the city officials who hold power in Spokane.

Last Monday, the council voted through a new set of rules for 2024, which included some sweeping changes to the way open forum is conducted. Council members say the goal of these changes is to prioritize time-sensitive city business and increase civic engagement, but activists fear they will limit free speech.

Join host Luke Baumgarten as he interviews two city hall journalists, The Inlander's Nate Sanford and RANGE's own Erin Sellers, about the ins-and-outs of the controversial new rules and their possible implications.

So, RANGE out to Dr. Brian G. Henning, the Director of Gonzaga Center for Climate, Society, and the Environment and a professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies at Gonzaga University.

You’ll hear Dr. Henning talk about the importance of a healthy urban canopy — a dense urban canopy — to reduce what scientists call heat islands. Heat islands are hotspots in cities where rather than sunlight being absorbed by trees and used to power photosynthesis, which creates oxygen, and keeps ground temperatures cool, there are fewer or perhaps zero trees. So the heat reaches the ground, is absorbed by the concrete and asphalt, and that heat radiates, creating temperatures that are 14 degrees hotter in say, Hillyard than the tree-lined streets of the South Hill. 

Trees in Spokane will not fix climate change. Climate change is a global crisis that will require a global solution. But trees can help mitigate the local effects of that global crisis. And we need to do it now, because trees don’t grow to maturity over night. 

So then the obvious question is: what can we do today to help our neighbors survive and make our neighborhoods more resilient while we wait 20 years for that tree cover to grow? And what other steps can we take?

All that and more in this episode.

Gov. Inslee repeatedly called for increased investment in home building from the state legislature and even direct housing development by the state.

He also touted his connections to Eastern Washington, called for additional investments and initiatives to bolster the state’s behavioral health workforce, and called attention to conflict with neighboring Idaho over the state’s support of the women’s right to abortion.

In November, we hosted our first-ever live podcast recording at the Central Library, where we got a panel together to talk about Ranked Choice Voting, and the attendees got to ask questions. 

Marilyn Darilek from League of Women Voters Spokane and Trenton Miller from FairVote WA joined Luke on stage to explain the ins and outs of Ranked Choice Voting and share about the process to get it adopted in municipalities all over the state. We even held a mock Ranked Choice Vote election on quality seasonal pies. 

Given how strongly people feel about pumpkin, apple and pecan, it was remarkably civil!

Real quick: what is Ranked Choice Voting?

In our current voting system, you get to place one vote for one person in any given election. Your only alternative to voting for one person is to vote for no one. Plenty of political scientists believe this system all but guarantees a two-party dominant system — and that is certainly how it has played out in America. 

In ranked choice voting, though, as we’ll hear explained in detail, you get to pick several candidates in order from the person you like the most to the person you like the least. And if you loathe someone so much, you can just not rank them at all.

If your top choice has a chance of winning, that vote stays. If your top choice gets eliminated, your second choice gets your vote and so on, until one candidate has 50% plus 1 vote. 

It’s up to each of us to decide if RCV is something we want to fight for, but at the very least we should recognize the shortcomings of our current system. 

If you hear yourself saying “I like this person, but they can’t win, so I won’t vote for them” — then our system of voting is not working for you. 

Of course that doesn’t mean your candidate will always win. But shouldn’t we have a system where the best thing you can possibly do as a citizen is say, “I believe this is the best person to lead us, and that’s who I’m going to vote for?”

People who study ranked choice voting elsewhere believe that it leads to more pluralistic elections: there’s room for more parties and more political viewpoints when you can rank your favorites rather than voting for just one.

And even if the two parties stick around for a while, the immediate benefit of ranked choice voting is that you still get to have a vote be a truer and more nuanced representation of your opinion about a race — and therefore a more nuanced representation of how you think this city, this county, this state, this nation, ought to be run — without feeling like you’re throwing away your vote on a candidate who is too good to be elected. 

The event went off without a hitch, and we look forward to doing many more.

MASSIVE THANKS to our guests Marilyn Darilek from League of Women Voters and Trenton Miller from FairVote WA, and our friends at the Spokane Public Library who made this event possible: Shane Gronholz, Vanessa Strange, Andy Rumsey and Jason Johnson.

This began as a conversation about how to have productive disagreements and quickly became a discussion about how do we change our criminal legal system, and maybe on our way to that needing to change our entire society and how we relate to each other—a small order, right?

Meg and Luke are joined again by Inga Laurent, Professor of Law at Gonzaga who studies, theorizes and helps implement restorative justice practices in court systems and schools.

Inga and Meg talk about tools we can use in order to reconcile with one another and keep ourselves mentally safe.

Last week we spent a lot of time breaking down the chronology of how the June 11 anti-Pride event was conceived and initially promoted locally, but how “local” in the case of North Idaho now includes an increasing number of far-right celebrities.

This week we discuss how, just as the pot seemed likely to boil over, all sides took a step back — tweaking their plans to de-escalate — and how that might have been the difference between what actually happened and something deadlier. 

We also discuss the way these things get covered by the media: does the far-right get over-covered? Or do larger outlets only pay attention to the Inland Northwest when people like Matt Shea are involved? 

Read Daniel’s story here.

There’s A LOT to unpack here, so we’re cutting the discussion up into two parts. 

We wanted to go through it methodically as an opportunity to document not just the people actively shaping politics in Kootenai County and the broader Inland Northwest, but the people who are promoting the region to hundreds of thousands of people nationwide. 

So buckle up for part one of a discussion of all the connections, alliances and squabbles of a region that has real importance for many different ideologies and groups across the spectrum: from conservative to libertarian to far-right. 

Read Daniel’s story here.

In one sense, it’s journalism on easy mode — the stories literally come to you — and in that sense, it’s understandable to put a young reporter on it. But that inexperience creates a real imbalance between the journalist and power, asking the least experienced writers to hold their own against career law enforcement bureaucrats and professional communicators. And because there’s so much to cover, new reporters often only have time to get the police account of things, and rarely get a chance to actually follow up to see if the person arrested actually ends up facing trial.

You’re going to hear from two different young reporters, Rebecca White from KPBX and Valerie Osier, on the effects of this, and why, for the health of our communities and the mental health of young reporters, the crime beat has to go.

This is because there already aren’t any abortion clinics in North Idaho, so many abortion-seekers as far away as western Montana need to go over the border to Eastern Washington clinics. For years, over 40% of patients seeking abortions at border clinics run by Planned Parenthood have been from out of state. Recently, that number has jumped to over 50%. 

We talked to friend of the pod & Inlander reporter Samantha Wohlfeil about her recent cover story, "My Body, State's Choice?" what additional work Washington abortion clinics are preparing for the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

Follow Samantha on Twitter.

A couple weeks ago we talked to Justin Baldwin, Creative Lead & Cofounder at Moonlight Kids. He’s one of the creators of a pretty popular indie game called The Wild at Heart. It’s described as cute and cozy, but it introduces important themes to kids and other users, like working through childhood trauma.

Trailer

Follow Justin on Twitter: @butttoots 

Or Instagram: @themoonlightkid 

Follow Moonlight Kids: @moonlightkids_

So how does the conversation from our last episode on productive disagreements in interpersonal relationships tie into a legal framework like restorative justice?

It’s in the name: restorative. The point isn’t to cast a person out of society or community. The point is to encourage a conversation in which the person or people who were harmed can gain closure and those who did harm can make amends.

If you want more of Inga’s insight, she’s an occasional columnist at The Inlander.

Don’t forget to share this with a friend and if you’re able, become a member of RANGE for $10 per month.

The majority of those events were put on by a coalition led by two organizations: APIC Spokane, whose mission is advocating for racial, social, and economic justice for Asians & Asian Americans in solidarity with Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and other systematically oppressed communities, and the Pacific Islander Community Association of WA an organization dedicated to establishing a cultural home, centering community power, and furthering the wellness of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities physically, culturally, socially and spiritually.

These two partner organizations rallied around using this month to draw attention to their criticisms of the imposed category “Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.”

The category groups wildly different cultures that span literally 40% of the globe, lumping together the American diaspora of over 60% of the world’s population – everything from Bangladeshi-Americans to Tahitians — in one category. 

So it’s like, are we really spotlighting this incredible individual and cultural diversity by smashing them all into one month? And beyond that, you’ll hear our guests, Ryann Louie and Sarah Dixit of APIC talk about how statistical aggregation papers over legacies of colonial violence and completely obscures real disparities in health outcomes and death for many Pacific Islander communities. 

There is a lot of excess death – unnecessary death, preventable death – happening that is not truly understood because of how we lump people together statistically. 

In this podcast, you’ll hear about their efforts to push for race data disaggregation and why it’s important. You’ll also hear what you can do to help, like not using aggregated terms, asking aggregated organizations if they do have NH/PI representation and simply following APIC and PICA on social media. 

ALSO, don’t miss the companion art show called “Hidden in Plain Sight” that is only open for three more days, through May 28 at the new Terrain Gallery at 628 N. Monroe.

This is a problem across America, and we’ve covered it extensively on RANGE (see links below), but here’s a new wrinkle, courtesy of our friends at InvestigateWest.

Whether or not you get access to pretrial services, which often requires home monitoring, drug testing and other costly programs, largely depends on the jurisdiction you’re in. Some counties have no services at all. In others, the defendant is responsible for the cost of those services — such as ankle monitors, which can run $500 per month — effectively keeping the most destitute people in jail. 

Even in counties where services are offered, the costs can be drastically different depending on what part of the county you’re arrested in. That’s the situation in Spokane, where getting arrested in the City of Spokane gives defendants free access to many more services than people arrested for the same crime in other parts of the county. 

We talked to Wilson Criscione, a reporter from InvestigateWest, who covered this issue extensively in the first article for their project called “Justice by Geography.”

In it, he told us the story of Amber Letchworth, a Washington woman who was pulled over and arrested after a police officer found a dirty baggy containing meth on her car floor. 

She couldn’t pay for bail, so while waiting in jail for the next few weeks, she lost her home and access to a car. She pleaded guilty to felony drug possession in an effort to get out of jail sooner. But she still left jail homeless and lost her financial aid for college because of her felony record. 

Amber had been mourning the death of her grandmother and was not in a good place. On paper, she was a good candidate for pretrial diversion, but no diversion took place, and she spiraled, for a time, to an even darker place.

Had she been diverted to mental health or addiction treatment, her arrest may not have started her on a path to drug and alcohol addiction, homelessness, and more arrests. 

There are two bitter ironies in this case, one personal, one systemic: The drug charge that set this whole chain of events in motion has since been vacated after State v. Blake — a State Supreme Court decision last year that ruled Washington’s simple possession law  unconstitutional. 

But the real kicker is that Asotin County is one of the counties that actually HAS pretrial services — on paper anyway — but the program administrator had retired and the remote, rural county hadn’t been able to find a replacement. 

This story is crucial as we examine the disproportionate effects of our criminal legal system and what can be done to lift more people out of it.

Wilson and Luke talk about the current patchwork system of pretrial services in Washington and how they play out differently in Spokane compared to the rest of Spokane County. 

Read the full story, republished with permission from InvestigateWest, here.

Previous Coverage of Pre-Trial Inequalities:

• EPISODE 010 | Independence Day
• EPISODE 011 | Independence Day (cont)
• EPISODE 025 | No New Jail feat. Jim Dawson
• And Justice for Some feat. Cam Zorrozua & Virla Spencer

References: 

Season 3 of Serial, where a reporter sits inside a Cleveland courtroom to highlight the ins and outs of the criminal legal system. (It’s worth a listen, we promise)

It’s not whether or not we agree or disagree that is the issue, but how we do it and how we teach the next generations how they can disagree productively and empathetically. 

Meg and Ingrid talk about some of our first experiences with disagreements from a developmental perspective: toddlers who disagree with their parents on eating their peas or going to bed, kids who disagree with their classmates that pink is the best when they really like yellow, and teenagers who disagree with their parents that 9 p.m. is a reasonable curfew.

What we learn at a developmental level at those ages– what our parents teach us on how much our voice matters and how to have empathy– shapes how we approach disagreements on much bigger issues when we’re older. It shapes if we feel safe disagreeing with others or if we feel safe going against the grain. 

Disagreement is a fundamental part of our government and democracy. And our ability to disagree directly correlates with our ability to advocate. 

To be clear: we’re not ever saying that people’s humanity is up for disagreement. Nor are we saying that people of marginalized communities and identities need to be doing this work or subject themselves to being the object of someone’s anger. It’s those in the dominant culture– white, cisgender folks– who’s responsibility it is to be leading this bigger change.

Meg and Ingrid talk about a few ways to do this on a micro level. Here are a few, but be sure to listen to the episode to get the full picture:

• Teach your children how to disagree safely and hold space for disagreements. 
• Start monitoring your own physical and emotional reactions to things you disagree with.
• Start small, with people you already feel safe with. 
• Take a pause if you start to recognize deregulation in your body.

References: 

“The Dying Art of Disagreement” by neo-conservative Bret Stevens https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/24/opinion/dying-art-of-disagreement.html

Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown https://brenebrown.com/book/braving-the-wilderness/

RANGE of Care is a series of conversations on the intersections between mental health, the biology of human emotion, our bodies response and the social, cultural and political happenings in our communities. It’s hosted by Meg Curtain Rey-Bear, a Spokane psychotherapist, and Ingrid Price, a Spokane child psychotherapist. Luke usually chimes in too because he can’t help himself. 

You can support RANGE by becoming a member by going to rangemedia.co and clicking the subscribe link.

We asked you, dear readers/listeners, to send us your questions for our very first reader mailbag– and you all delivered!

We got questions about wildfires, climate change, county commissioners, the housing market, crime, and a lot more. We did our best to answer as many as we could in the time we had, but some will need their own original reporting.

In this episode, we also shared with you what’s been going on with RANGE, formally introduced our Audience and Membership Editor Valerie Osier and what the heck she does, and told you all about our hopes and dreams for this fledgling publication.

Additional reading/listening:

• Agtastrophe
• The More Climate Changes
• Faith Some More feat. Chris Bovey and Bryce Neusse
• Housing in Crisis feat. Terri Anderson
• House Money feat. Ben Stuckart

That’s the sort of resume that Deb had been on our list of people to talk to for RANGE because of her justice work in Spokane, and she got bumped to the front of the queue when she declared her intention late last week to run for Spokane County Prosecutor as a non-partisan candidate.

We discussed competing models of justice between retributive and restorative theories of justice, and beyond that, you’ll also hear some pretty big differences between how Deb was trained as a prosecutor – only charging people with crimes you’re certain you can get convictions on – and the way we’re used to we’re used to hearing prosecutorial decisions being made in Spokane. If you think back to our Bail Project episodes and the episode with Cam Zorrozua and Virla Spencer, of the Way to Justice, you’ll remember those advocates talking about prosecutors throwing every charge possible at an accused person as a way of heightening bail and heightening pressure to take a plea.

Take a listen and let us know what you think of our first candidate interview.

Brooke's recent TEDxSpokane talk is a great primer for this episode.

• “ADHD Redefined | Brooke Matson | TEDxSpokane”

If you want to support Spark Central, April 15th is “Amplify Us,” Spark Central’s annual salon and benefit show. This year’s gala will be a hybrid online and in-person event held at The Knitting Factory. The evening features an interview with best-selling author Jess Walter and a silent auction, plus live musical performances by T.S. The Solution, Atari Ferrari, and other music acts — including one of Spark’s own Girls Rock Lab bands.  

“We are tired of change. We are pandemic fatigued, we crave predictability, we want connection unfettered by mandates and limitations. We want to be done. But if the question is, how in the world is everyone at the same time unpack from a pandemic? Then the answer is they don't,” says RANGE of Care host and psychotherapist Meg Curtain Rey-Bear. 

Meg and Ingrid gather again to chat through this endless pandemic, chronic trauma, how to build resiliency, and the journey back: what happens for all of us when the world starts lifting mandates and shifting from pandemic to endemic. 

They also talk about how adults with kids and teens, who have had crucial developmental moments interrupted for the past two years, might help hold space for processing this pandemic.

This is RANGE of Care, a series of conversations exploring the intersections of our mental health, the biology of human emotion, our body's responses, and the social, cultural, political and environmental happenings in our communities. It’s hosted by Meg Curtain Rey-Bear, co-owner of Wellness Therapy Spokane and a longtime mental health advocate. Meg is joined by Ingrid Price, child psychotherapist and owner of the Giving Tree Wellness. Luke occasionally chimes in too.

This is a first of its kind state law anywhere in the United States and Heidi walks us through how these protections are supposed to work. 

• A landlord can’t file an eviction until they have offered a tenant a chance at mediation through an Eviction Resolution Program with a “reasonable repayment plan.” This program can help connect the tenant with rental assistance programs too. 
• If the case makes it to court, the tenant has the right to an attorney even if they can’t afford one. 

Most importantly, if you are a renter and need If you need help staying in your home, contact the Tenants Union of Washington.

SHOW NOTES

Western States Center's Kate Bitz joins us to talk about the ever-percolating threat of white nationalism, it's roots stretching back to the founding of our nation and the settling of the Inland Northwest, why it's such a uniquely pernicious problem here, and how this history of hate might affect the election and how a Biden victory might embolden extremists the way the Clinton presidency did. 

Stay safe, y'all, take care of each other this week, and oh yeah:

IN CASE OF ELECTION FUCKERY, CLICK HERE (Election protection hotline)

GOOFS

• I'm walkin' here!
• Sometimes there's a [person], and I won't say hero, because what's a hero?
• Tiger repelling rock

SHOW NOTES

Profoundly happy to welcome Jess Walter on to talk about his brand new book, The Cold Millions, which you can buy starting TODAY from literally anywhere books are sold because the man is a damn phenomenon. 

And while you CAN buy this book anywhere, I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Wishing Tree Books for lending me their advance copy to make this review happen. When you buy this book, for the love of God, buy it from a local independent seller like Wishing Tree or Aunties or -- ideally, both. Buy one from each place and give one to a friend!

SUPPLEMENTS

• Book Trailer by Factory Town
• Show Town: Theater and Culture in the Pacific Northwest by Holly George
• Harry McClintock “Hallelujah! I’m a Bum” Early recording
• Little Red Songbook first published in Spokane in 1909
• Citations Needed episode discussing "Hallelujah!..." in the context of populist folk and country contrasted with Country's reactionary turn

TRUE CRIME

• Dashiell Hammett’s Spokane detour in The Maltese Falcon.
• Hammett claimed to have been offered $5,000 dollars to murder IWW leader Frank Little.
• Little was later lynched in Butte Montana. 10,000 people walked in his funeral procession.

Logan also shares the story of the last decade of his life and just how hard it is to pull yourself out of poverty, especially when you've previously been in the system.

BACKGROUND

• Huffington Post article about Jeremy's arrest -- the one that set Ozzie off
• Ozzie's resulting press conference (watch at your own risk)
• Two big questions about the arrest of Jeremy Logan (Inlander)
• How local law enforcement uses social media to surveil protesters (Inlander)
• Ozzie's podcast about Jeremy Logan (Different from the press conference!)

TOPICS DISCUSSED

• East-coast bias
• National correspondents helicoptering into protests
• (Lack of) newsroom diversity
• On believing the children young journalists are our future

SUPPLEMENTS

• The Truth Does not Change According to Our Ability to Stomach It -- Leah's poppin' fresh newsletter 
• Shawn's columns

Leah Sottile is a writer based in Oregon whose work focuses on extremist ideologies, the anti-government movement and fringe cultures. She is the host and reporter for the podcast “Bundyville,” which has been nominated twice for a National Magazine Award.

I should have outlined it better in my intro, but I'll do it now: Bundyville is an absolutely essential look at extremism in the West and season two drills down specifically into our little nook of the Inland Northwest. Check it out.

She’s back in Oregon now but she’s lived in Spokane on and off for a good chunk of her life. I can’t think of anyone better to help look at the Boogaloo specifically and extremism more generally, both taking the national view and pulling some of the local threads.

Tremendously proud of this interview and grateful to Leah for carving two frickin' hours out of her busy schedule to hang out.

SUPPLEMENTS

• Inside the Boogaloo - Leah's story for NYT Mag
• Bundyville seasons 1 & 2 - absolute required listening

GOOFS

• So hot right now
• Abe Simpson is sometimes anti-fascist, always anti-Missouri

Spurred by a column Shawn wrote about the backlash from a video posted by Catholic Charities CEO Rob McCann, which led to a sharp (and gross) rebuke from Thomas Daly, Spokane’s Catholic bishop.

SUPPLEMENTS

• Rob McCann video
• The Backlash
• Shawn's Column

Just a reminder: there's a supplement to these episodes outlining what happened to crime rates when Spokane let a bunch of people out of jail due to COVID. Really gives some extra urgency to the work.

If you feel moved by this work, make sure to ask to join the Bail Project Spokane's Facebook community. Lots of information and solidarity happens in that space.  

And at Sabrina's request: it's not too late to sign the anti-Killology training petitions. There are two. Here's the first and the second.

Photo illustration by Connor Bacon

SUPPLEMENTS

• Spokane let people out of jail; Crime went down.
• The story of a 72-year-old man who was locked up for 33-months pre-trial. 
• The Bail Project website
• Bryan Stevenson's 2014 interview on Fresh Air about how "we have a criminal justice system that treats you better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent."

As a supplement to this episode make sure to check out my essay on what happened to crime rates when Spokane let a bunch of people out of jail due to COVID. Really gives some extra urgency to the work. 

Photo illustration by Connor Bacon

SUPPLEMENTS

• Spokane let people out of jail; Crime went down.
• The story of a 72-year-old man who was locked up for 33-months pre-trial. 
• The Bail Project website
• Bryan Stevenson's 2014 interview on Fresh Air about how "we have a criminal justice system that treats you better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent."

GOOFS

• Why yes, that is a mash-up of a climactic scene from 1996 blockbuster Independence Day and the Spokane County Jail.
• With this one sound effect you too can make stupid Law & Order spoofs.

• PART 1 | A Letter to My City Council Members | Offers a little background on the soon to be voted-upon police contract as a warm up for a dramatic reading of a letter Luke wrote this week asking Spokane City Council to tear it up with extreme prejudice. 

• PART 2 | Our Borders, Ourselves | We reach the conclusion of the awesome interview with Yakima immigration attorney Stephen Robbins, where the conversation turns toward some of the more mundane, overlooked atrocities of Trump's immigration policy and also some (infuriatingly) hilarious reflections on our dumb, dehumanizing border policy. 

SUPPLEMENTS

• Spokane City Council Directory -- has a nice map in case if you want to send directly to your district's commissioners, but I'm sure they'd ALL love to hear from you. 
• Check out Stephen Robbins' podcast Redirect. The latest episode dives into the thousand cuts of an avalanche of a bunch of bad new Trump immigration policies
• Follow Robbins on Twitter 

GOOFS

• I've never seen Mr Smith Goes to Washington, but for some reason that image of Jimmy Stewart staring mournfully up at a broken system is seared into my memory. 
• Apparently the movie was loosely based on a Montana Senator.

We cover the demographic and political environment in the county and how pre-existing sanitation and other abysmal conditions in the agricultural industry might be contributing to a public health crisis in a placewhere half the population sees not wearing masks as a patriotic statement and the other half works in an industry that is 50%-70% undocumented and lives very close to the edge in the best of times.

So yeah, it gets a little dark in this ep, but there's a labor fight that's actually going kinda well, so it ends on a hopeful note! 

SUPPLEMENTS

• "DACA Survives" latest episode of Stephen's great immigration law podcast
• Robbins on Twitter 
• Spokesman story about Luis Cortes Romero, the U of Idaho Law grad who just saved DACA
• Episode image of backbreaking Yakima farm labor courtesy of the Library of Congress 

GOOFS

• None because I'm perfect.

Jac Archer dials in to talk protest, big white supremacy (murder), little white supremacies (the gutting of EWU's gender and ethnic studies programs) and how you can't just support black liberation when it makes you comfortable.

Oh, and Luke and Jac also talk Scandal (the show) and trade James Baldwin quotes like total badasses. This talk fired Luke the hell up, and he wanted to get it out in time for Sunday's protest so you could get fired up, too. Smash white supremacy, Rangers!

LITERAL NAZI ALERT If you do attend the rally, be on the look out for this POS, a Neo-Nazi who has pledged to come to Spokane and "make history." Be safe.

SUPPLEMENTS

• The Anti Defamation League Pyramid of Hate
• James Baldwin, "To be in a rage, almost all of the time"
• James Baldwin on the myth of outside agitators from The Price of the Ticket
• Citations Needed "Cops push "Outside Agitator" line, exploit fears of Far Right Violence to delegitimaze protests"
• This week's episode art is from an incredible photo series of last week's protest by Eugene Mu

GOOFS

• The Girl from Ipanema, elevator edition

Among Grossman's more infamous pupils: the guy who killed Philando Castile in Minneapolis in 2016, a precursor killing that laid the groundwork for the nationwide unrest that sprang up after the murder of George Floyd. 

Ask Sheriff Knezovich and Police Chief Meidl to disinvite this merchant of death: oknezovich@spokanesheriff.org cmeidl@spokanepolice.org

GROSSMAN BACKGROUND

• "Conditioned Response" short doc 2017
• "George Floyd death puts spotlight on 'warrior training' for police" 2020
• "Teaching officers how to kill with fear-based warrior tactics" Insider 2020
• "2 Departments Quit Controversial Police Training" CBS Minnesota
• "Militarizing the Minds of Police Officers," The New Yorker 2017
• The “Killologist” Training America’s Cops, Men's Journal 2017

OTHER SUPPLEMENTS

• 2020 "Mindset Bootcamp" web page and flier
• ‘If I Would Have Been Here, George Floyd May Still Be Alive’ The Cut 2020
• "Email reveals deep sympathies to officer convicted of excessive force," Inlander 2016
• "Spokane Cops Salute Karl Thompson" Spokesman 2011

SUPPLEMENTS

• "The unluckiest generation in U.S history" by Andrew Van Dam / WaPo
• Strauss-Howe Generational Theory -- in case you want to go where I didn't dare
• The Gilded Age part 1 | American Experience | PBS
• UC Berkeley Study on inequality 1913-2014
• Income inequality fact sheet | inequality.org
• Episode art is from an extremely cursed essay in the failing Time Magazine 

CURIOSITIES

• Behold the first millennial | True Detective S01
• Definition of Black Pill (besides the video above)
• A deadly new fighting style
• A little nibble of how much weirder and cooler protestants used to be. 

All this and a couple little confessions from yours truly.

EPISODE SUPPLEMENTS

• New Yorker Interview with Tunde Wey by Helen Rosner 
• Wey's essay "Let it Die"
• Let It Die | Episode 1 | "How Much Did the Devil Pay You?"
• GQ Profile of Wey by Brett Martin

CURIOSITIES

• The New Yorker hell joke is from Good Place S02E11*
• And of course the source of that iconic devil quote*

*Yikes on all the Luciferian references. That kind of week.

Then, at the end of the show (right as Luke was about to go to bed), Dr. Bob Lutz, Spokane regional health officer, drops by to break a little news. 

EPISODE SUPPLEMENTS

• Department of Homeland Security Covid Projections (May 1)
• The story that broke that document
• A whole bunch of data around people's anxieties
• And a bunch about their behavior pre-lockdown.

CURIOSITIES

• An absolutely iconic piece of art
• In case you want to hear Rossini or Grieg without my shenanigans over top.
• In case you want to hear Guns & Roses cover Paul McCartney without Trump's shenanigans over top. 
• Bill Murray is a god on earth. 
• A little extra context for Alex Jones' cannibalism fantasy

Housekeeping:

• Here's a link to the editorial in question. 
• Our badass theme music is by Simmentall

It's been an almost indescribably dark time for many people across the world, and there isn't currently an end in sight. But maybe there's something to be found in this utterly brutal but also unprecedented month that can give us some hope for the future and, more importantly, a path to get there.

Not a lot is clear right now, but one thing seems clear: we can't just return to normal. We have to imagine something much, much better.

Writer, organizer and occasional journalist Luke Baumgarten locks himself in his attic for a week or so and emerges with ... whatever this is.

NOTE: Luke is definitely a professional audio technician and natural vocal performer. You should 100% assume that any sound issues or gross/strange vocalizations are completely intentional.