Poems and Stories with AJ Slagle

January 30, 2026·52 min·4 clips

John Glenn, a culinary arts teacher A.J. introduced to hunting, told him 'I'm as scared as a kid' before dying of brain cancer — and his ashes were spread at Lucky Cove among a million pink salmon.

It starts loose and local. Joe Williams brings A.J. Slagle into the KTKN studio as a Friday guest, someone he describes as an Alaskan wild man with plenty of work and outdoor stories. The room never disappears from the episode. Joe keeps the phones open at 907-247-2000, offers Raven's Brew Coffee to the first caller, and lets the broadcast feel like a Ketchikan morning where people can drop in. A.J. is not slick radio, which is part of the appeal. He sounds like someone trying to hand over the useful parts of outdoor life, especially the mistakes he would rather other people skip. Diane calls in, and that pulls A.J. into the sweet, sideways story of how cribbage helped a connection turn serious. Joe clearly enjoys the detail. He gives Diane a shoutout, then brings listeners back without treating the digression like a wrong turn. A rescue story has already given the conversation some weight. Joe reminds everyone that A.J. once talked about saving a young man's life and being thanked decades later, so the show carries that memory into the next stretch. Then the focus turns to fire. A.J. starts with the plain rule that anyone outdoors should carry an ignition source. Joe asks the cartoon-rocks question plenty of listeners might have in the back of their mind. Flint gets its time. The advice stays practical without turning stiff, with A.J. naming simple ground rules and Joe turning the details into everyday curiosity. Poetry waits near the end. The episode has a very First City Forum shape: guest, caller, memory, outdoor lesson, then the local calendar before goodbye. Creek Street Cabaret gets the sendoff. Joe mentions the Sunday open mic from 6 until 9, Austin Hayes on piano, five dollars at the door, soup from Bush Pilots Lounge, and a first-performer prize from Ketchikandies. Those details do real work. They make the episode feel less like a packaged interview and more like a nearby room where stories, survival tips, poetry, and weekend plans can sit together.

As heard by us

Local woods talk, practical fire advice, and a poetic close.

Joe Williams and A.J. Slagle keep the episode rooted in place, moving from woods stories to practical fire-starting advice before ending on poetry. The best moments come when they settle into an easy back-and-forth, with memory and know-how carrying more weight than polish.

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Why you'd press play

For when you want Ketchikan stories, practical woods sense, and a poem at the end.

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