Washington State Magazine webisodes

Washington State Magazine has a podcast, and it works much like a good magazine feature. It finds someone connected to Washington State University and asks them to explain their work plainly. Larry Clark, the magazine's editor, opens each episode with a short introduction that sets the scene before the conversation starts. Sometimes a colleague does the interviewing. In 'Rain, Wind, Heat: 2025 Weather in Review', science writer Becky Kramer talks with Josh Ward and John Kontuzak, field meteorologists for WSU's AgWeatherNet. Their review of the year runs from destructive wind-driven wildfires in California to a December atmospheric river that fell on already saturated ground and brought record flooding to northwest Washington. The explanations come in plain steps: what an atmospheric river is, and why winds coming down off mountains raise the temperature and dry the air. Plant science gets its turn too. Gary Chastagner, a WSU professor emeritus and plant pathologist widely known as Dr. Christmas Tree, has spent more than four decades helping Northwest growers. In 'The Christmas tree doctor is in.' he describes an experimental retail lot where trees were displayed with and without water stands, some under grocery-style micromisters, to see which held moisture best. The profile episodes put the person first. Dawn Daniels started at WSU as a student, joined its police department after graduating and was sworn in as chief in August 2025. She says she wrote few tickets over her career and treats a traffic stop as a moment to teach. Philip Meech, a coffee roaster and entrepreneur for more than 25 years, talks candidly about how hard building a business has been, and about the grit that kept it going. Public health comes in through outreach. 'Facing opioids with facts and education' features WSU faculty and staff, among them Nicole Rodin of the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the discussion covers getting accurate information to people and removing the stigma around overdose reversal medication. Then there is baseball. In 'The art of baseball: Dick Perez, Marq Evans, and The Diamond King', director Marq Evans discusses his documentary about Perez, who spent more than 20 years as official artist of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Evans talks about the creative freedom Perez gave him and the subtle movement he added to the paintings. School pride shows up lightly, in a 'Go Cougs' at sign-off and a mention of Cougar grit. Episodes end with thanks, a request for story ideas and a credit to Greg Yazanitsky, a WSU emeritus music professor and composer, for the music. A listener who wants explanation can start with the weather review. One who prefers a life story can try the coffee or police chief episodes. Taken together, the episodes show a university at work: a weather network, a test lot of Christmas trees, a traffic stop, a small coffee company and a documentary's visual effects.