In this episode, we sat down with Anne Lutz Fernandez—former investment banker, retired teacher, and co-author of Schooled—to discuss education’s role in the 2024 election. We discussed Trump’s first-term policies, Biden and Harris’s records on education, and how the next administration could shape public education going forward. Anne also talked a…

The Civil War in Sudan is arguably the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. The fight to control the government in Khartoum has reportedly claimed upwards of 150,000 lives and conditions for people on the ground are dire but the conflict rarely makes headlines in Western media. Our guest this week is Professor Sherifa Zuhur. She’s a national sec…

This is Part One of a Tacoma Audio Voters’ Guide. In this conversation, we talked through the Congressional races, statewide initiatives, statewide offices, Pierce County judges, and a proposed fire and safety levy for the City of Tacoma. In this episode, we were joined by Evelyn Lopez, host of Channel 253 show Crossing Division and Nathe Lawver, w…

In spite of an avalanche of outside money, Tacoma voters recently adopted a sweeping Bill of Rights for tenants that provides relocation assistance to families, in the case of steep increases in rent, and bans evictions during the winter. The organizers of that campaign, Tacoma for All, are now undertaking a follow-up campaign aimed at helping hour…

Mario Amaya is the owner and operator of Balcon X, a taco and pupusa (and putaco) restaurant located on Sixth Ave. Balcon X is named after his balcony where he got his start selling meals off 100th & Pac Ave. Mario’s life in inspirational, a true story of overcoming obstacles and all the mess life threw his way. Hit Balcon X up at 3102 6th Ave. The…

Quincy Henry is the co-owner and proprietor of Campfire Coffee, located at 1554 Market Street. He joined us for Part 4 of our ongoing series on running a small business in Tacoma. We talked about starting the shop and roasting business in Downtown Tacoma, the business climate in the city, and his mission to get more kids from the area out in nature…

Last week Tacoma lost one of its brightest lights. Matt Driscoll was a columnist for The News Tribune and the editor for the paper’s Opinion Section. But he was so much more than that. Rather than being a gatekeeper, he was an advocate for the less fortunate and less politically connected in our community. He made his column a forum for voices acro…

Chase Hutchinson is a Tacoma-based freelance journalist and movie critic. He came on the show to talk about the year in movies. For our conversation, we tried to focus on films not based on pre-existing IP or sequels. So we’re mostly discussing smaller films — a mix of wide release, some available via video on demand (VOD), and others on various st…

In today’s irregular edition of the podcast, we discussed Saturday’s attempted assassination of former President Trump and the political fallout from it. I was joined in studio by Producer Doug and Evelyn Lopez, host of Channel 253 Podcast Crossing Division. BBC Reporting on the ShootingOleh Channel 253

Dave and Carol are longtime Seattle Sounders season ticket holders and former hosts of the Hands-Free Footy podcast. They decided, for a host of reasons, this would be their last year with season tickets. I asked them to join me for conversation about the state of the football club and its changing relationship with their fanbase. This is a two-par…

Cameron Harwick is a professor at State University of New York Brockport. He previously joined us in 2022 for a conversation about the causes and impacts of the inflationary crisis in 2022. My goal in this episode was to help listeners better understand the various economic data and indicators that we encounter on a daily basis. There’s often a gap…

Emmett O’Connell is a recovering journalist, who writes the blog Olympia Time and hosts the podcast Olympia Standard. He recently published an article examining the hoovering up of homes by corporate and institutional landlords and the impact this is having on communities. Cast of Characters Emmett O’Connell – Olympia Time & Olympia Standard Going …

In this episode, we are joined by Randy Girdner, an educator, filmmaker, and the comic artist creator of the web comic Maurice the Beaver. This is a conversation about AI and my trepidation about its mainstreaming. I don’t have many answers but I have a ton of concerns. At the same time Randy and I are both regularly using AI programs despite our s…