RANGE

This week, reporter Aaron Hedge and producer Pascal Bostic are joined by guest Joan Braune (Gonzaga University) to talk about a new book she co-edited with David M. Gides, On Christian Nationalism: Critical and Theological Perspectives . Joan Braune discusses Christian nationalism, fascism, and some ways people can recognize and intervene against it. Charlie Kirk’s Pacific Northwest ground game (...

It's 2026! 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 orga...

It’s the last Free RANGE episode of 2025! 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, RA...

Once again, reporter Aaron Hedge was joined by Cassy Benefield – a reporter and associate editor with Fāvs News – to discuss their recent story on the Family Policy Institute of Washington. Read it below: Conservative think tank: Immigration ‘undermined Christianity’ ( Aaron Hedge, RANGE Media and Cassy Benefield, Fāvs News )

On this week’s episode, Erin and Aaron are joined by a guest, Phil Neff! 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 br...

There’s been a lot of protests this year, both nationally and in Spokane.  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...

The Aaron and Erin Dream Team took over Free RANGE this week! 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...

This week, Aaron and Val talked about two ballot initiatives from Let’s Go Washington , a political organization who backs ballot initiatives. 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. Th...

Another week, another episode! 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...

The RANGE team all went on the show again! There's always news to catch up on, which is why Val, Erin, and Aaron did just that: they caught Luke up on (even more) local news. Read the articles below: 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 minu...

It’s been awhile since the RANGE team has all been on the show! Val, Erin, and Aaron chat as they catch Luke up on local news. Read the articles below: 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,...

Reporter Aaron Hedge was joined by Cassy Benefield – a reporter and associate editor with Fāvs News – as they talked about Charlie Kirk and his impact in the PNW.

We have two segments this week. 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...

This week, we’re bringing you a conversation on the state of local journalism.  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).

From prison, convicted rapist Arlin Jordin has easily evicted tenants for decades. With Washington’s right-to-counsel laws, that’s all changing.

We have two segments this week! 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...

This week, we’re back with two segments!  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 –...

This week, we’re playing audio from our city council candidate forum, Spokane’s Spiciest! 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...

This week, Aaron Hedge flew solo and revisited two of his articles on the “forever chemicals” contamination on the West Plains. 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

As Erin works on an upcoming story about FLOCK cameras — aka Automated License Plate Readers — they and Val talked about all things FLOCK-related. These aren’t the red-light or speeding cameras that issue tickets, these are recording and logging vehicles throughout Spokane County at all times. From the costs to the concerns, these cameras are causing worry in local advocates about surveillance by...

This week, Erin and Val sat down with local organizer hadley morrow to talk about their thoughts on protest safety, filing a complaint with the Office of Police Ombuds (OPO) and community organizing in Spokane. 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...

This week, we’re playing audio from a City Council District 3 candidate forum that was hosted recently by Spokane Braver Angels. Incumbent Zack Zappone and challenger Christopher Savage were asked questions about law enforcement, homelessness, housing, neighborhood infrastructure, political division and leadership styles. Cody Arguelles, a third candidate running for the seat, couldn’t make it to...

This week, Aaron Hedge and intern Clarinne Kirk attended a candidate forum hosted by the East Washington Freedom Alliance at Calvary Spokane, at which conservatives running for city council — District 1 incumbent Jonathan Bingle and District 3 challengers Christopher Savage and Cody Arguelles — pitched the audience on their visions for the direction of the city. We’re playing (mostly) raw audio fr...

Anwar Peace, a police accountability expert, former chair of the Spokane Human Rights Commission and a current HRC commissioner joined Hedge to discuss the US Marshals arrests of several Spokanites who participated in the June 11 ICE protests.

This week, Luke and Val talked to Katia Jasmin and Thamar Sauveuer of Creole Resources , an organization supporting Haitian immigrants in Spokane, about an emergency fundraiser they launched this week. According to the organization, dozens of Spokane Haitian immigrants with legal work permits were fired from their jobs this week because of the Trump administration’s revocation of the Temporary Pro...