Steve Parker’s Rock Garden

Few would deny we seem to live in a very contentious political period. This can make the average person, angry, pensive and distressed. Which is why I invited Jungian psychologist Steve Parker to discuss the psychology of our times. Parker has been a practicing therapist in Fairbanks for decades. As you’ll hear, he also works with stone and blogs.

Earlier this month, years of legal wrangling about sulfolane contamination coming from the North Pole oil refinery resulted in a multimillion-dollar judgment against former owner Williams Alaska Petroleum. A superior court judge ordered Williams to pay over 20 million dollars. What many may not know is that research led by University of Alaska Fairbanks microbiologist Mary Beth Leigh played a role in the trial. Leigh and her team looked at possible bioremediation of a miles-long plume of sulfolane that has contaminated groundwater in parts of North Pole. I talked with Leigh about her research and what it was like to testify at the trial.

And Frank Soos is in with a review of Janet Malcolm’s latest book of essays.

Music by Jukedeck