When fiction borrows from real life: the Alaskan behind London’s ‘Burning Daylight’
Real people appear in fiction frequently — sometimes under their own name, sometimes not.
When does a person become a god?
How would three men who claimed to be the son of God (or God himself) respond to others making the same claim?
Remembering Tom Fink, an old-school Alaska conservative as constant as the North Star
You always knew where you stood with Fink. He was a man in opposition — even when in the majority.
Exploring 1974, an unexpectedly seminal year in America
You want to live in the fast lane? This was what it was like in 1974.
Chronicling the unpleasant truths of the Chinese Revolution and its aftermath
The Chinese government has never released statistics — and may not know the true number. Two million dead is a low estimate.
The Chauvin trial and the tenacity of racism
The history of prejudice in Minnesota didn’t start or end with George Floyd — and encompasses groups many don’t remember.
Many of us are low-information voters, at least sometimes
Yes, I did follow the campaign for mayor. But this was a pandemic campaign, and I wasn’t willing to go to a gathering.
The incidents that broaden our worldview — sometimes in unexpected ways
Life is so much bigger than the world I was born into. I learned that after a fuel truck hit a power pole in Fairbanks.
Principles and grandstanding sometimes look awfully similar
Sen. Reinbold is not passing the ball to anyone. She’s too principled.
Pandemic reading: Mamet examines what a man is, and what he needs
Henry David Thoreau said, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Mamet’s salesmen lead lives of loud desperation.
Alaska’s personal Groundhog Day: The gas line is looking good, as always
Yes, my fellow Alaskans, we are going to build the gas line. Just ask the governor. Or any of his predecessors: They all believed in the gas line.
The ANWR fight continues across generations
The refuge has been in the news since I was a boy, and much of the news has been about a custody dispute. ANWR belongs to whom?