On Tuesday, June 23, CHUM linked up in the middle of Washington state with RANGE Media, a worker-owned newsroom based in Spokane. If you don’t already follow RANGE, now’s the time to sign up, and, if you feel so compelled, support them: Covering everything from climate change to civil rights, RANGE’s intrepid, integral work is a canary in the coal mine for the political strategies and ecological realities that will no doubt crawl westward over the Cascades in the coming months and years, and come to roost in your own backyard (and beyond).

When our two monosyllabically monikered newsrooms joined forces in Wenatchee, we swapped stories from our respective sides of the state, sharing underreported local news that will inevitably impact everyone across Washington. (Some things find a start Western Washington and spread eastward, too.) Huddled in our camping chairs in a lovely park along the banks of the Columbia River, we discussed timely topics spanning the realms of homelessness policy, immigration enforcement, and sports. You can listen to our conversation below, recorded and edited by Steven Smith: