You'll never believe this, folks... we're back(sort of, kind of, not really)to introduce our friend Tony Vega and his exciting new podcast: Transmissions from Hawaii! Each episode features a new storytelling adventure, with special attention to the weird, wacky, and wonderful. If you like what he has to say about the mac nut (starting at 5:01), the…

Folks, like Boyz II Men said... it's SO hard to say goodbye. Please join us, dear listeners, for (probably) one final journey into the weird and wonderful world of The Blue Hawaii Podcast.As a preview, here's what it would sound like if some of this episode's highlights were newspaper headlines:- Proud MAN Adrian Tam Crushes Trumpy Ochs at Ballot B…

Wait, we still have a podcast? Wasn't there a primary election like three months ago or something? Where am I? Who is this? How did you get this number?Oleh Blue Hawaii Media

By popular demand, we give to you, our 2020 Primary Recommendations! We've been getting inundated with DMs and texts from listeners wanting to know who they should vote for. We can't tell you who to vote for, but we can tell you who *we're* likely voting for. So, that's what we do. We give our final thoughts on the OHA races, the Honolulu mayoral r…

92! Ryan and Josh hop on the phone to reunite with long-time friend of the show Colleen Hanabusa, who has decided to get back into the arena and run to be the next mayor of Honolulu! We find out about her plans for rail, homelessness, and police reform; go behind the scenes of Hawaii News Now's "The Job Interview" (we don't like to give our competi…

🎶We had a call with Becky with the good plans 🎶This episode we get to know Becky Gardner! A self-described wonk who's never met a problem she couldn't tackle, Becky's running for state rep in Hawaii's 20th congressional district -- which just so happens to be the district that your two favorite podcast hosts (not Joe Rogan and Ben Shapiro) call hom…

90! Ryan and Josh dial-up friend of the show Adrian Tam, who has decided to throw his hat into the ring and run to represent Waikiki-Ala Moana in the Hawaii State House! Hear about Adrian's vision for the densest urban district in our islands -- part tourist paradise, part concrete jungle -- and see how he fares at everyone's favorite new Blue Hawa…

89 and feelin' fine! Josh and Ryan welcome Patrick Branco to the show, a Kailua boy and former US State Department diplomat who is back home and running for office for the first time. Hear about his tours of duty in Pakistan, Colombia, and (Trump voice) VENEZUELA!!!!!! -- as well as why he thinks he's the best candidate to represent District 50 in …

It wouldn’t be an election season unless we interviewed all the good ones! This episode we interview Keith Amemiya, a leading candidate to be the next Mayor of Honolulu. You probably know Keith as the friendly smiling face on all those banners around town, or maybe you know him as the guy that single-handedly saved high school sports in Hawaii; but…

Ryan and Josh have a #zoom chat with two young, inspiring Native Hawaiian community leaders and changemakers seeking political office for the first time: Kailua's Alan Akao and Kaneohe's Kau'i Pratt-Aquino. Hear their stories, what makes the Windward Side of Oahu unique, why this election is so crucial for Kanaka Maoli, and so much more! Tune in no…

Hello again! Judge Steve Alm (ret.) joins us on this episode, as wrap up our interviews with the candidates to be Honolulu's next prosecutor -- at this point, we've interviewed all the good ones.Judge Alm talked with us about life, his long career in the law, and HOPE probation, a program Judge Alm created that has been proven to keep people out of…

When the world's on fire, it's important to talk with people who are trying to put it out. This episode is an interview with one of those people. Her name is Jacquie Esser and she's a candidate to be Honolulu's next prosecutor. Jacquie sat down with us a few months ago to talk about her campaign, her values, and her vision for Honolulu. We've sat o…

New episode! In Part 2 of our two-part series featuring Canadian Consul General Rana Sarkar, Ryan and CG Sarkar discuss Canada's response to COVID-19 (hint: it's much better than the United States' response), what life will look like post-COVID, and the significance of Canada's #1 national treasure: Justin Bieber. Big Mahalo to CG Sarkar and his st…

What's that you said? You want Blue Hawaii to go international AND you want us to interview a high-ranking diplomatic official from our great neighbor to the north AND you want us to sit on the episode for 4 months because of a global pandemic. FINE. We did it. This episode, you'll hear the first of our two interviews with Canadian Consul General R…

The plagues keep coming and the next episode has risen! Ryan and Josh hopped on the phone yesterday evening to exchange Passover and Easter greetings and discuss the latest political, economic, social, and theological fallout from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in Hawaii and around the world.PS - They say that when the student is ready, the teach…

This episode Ryan checks in with our friends Lindsay Kukona Pakele and Brandon Maka‘awa‘awa, two young kanaka maoli (Native Hawaiian) community leaders and representatives of the Nation of Hawaii -- Hawaii's oldest independent Hawaiian sovereignty organization. Lindsay and Brandon talk about how their communities are responding to the COVID crisis,…

Josh is back (from a responsible social distance)! And he brought a friend: Dr. Thomas Lee, an epidemiologist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (Go 'Bows!). Dr. Lee talks with us about the spread of COVID-19 throughout the Hawaiian Islands, who you should listen to (Dr. Fauci), and the danger of removing Lt. Gov. (and actual medical doctor) Josh…

In our 2nd special interview on the Coronavirus crisis, Ryan talks with Kauai Prosecutor (and friend of the show) Justin Kollar about COVID-19's impact on Kauai.Oleh Blue Hawaii Media

Ryan talks with Senator Kai Kahele (SD-1, Hilo) about Hawai‘i's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Senator Kahele gives an honest appraisal of what we've done well and what we've done poorly, and talks about the difficulties facing Hawaii Island during this crisis. If you like what you hear, please rate us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, or whe…

Everything is cool! Everything is totally fine! We are both quarantined, but we called each other to talk about how totally cool and fine everything is! Come listen and see how cool and fine we sound!Oleh Blue Hawaii Media

*Recorded before COVID-19 completely upended every aspect of daily life*Third time's the charm, better late than never, we're back! To kick off season three, we sit down with FairVote's Maria Perez (17:15) to learn about Ranked Choice Voting -- the hot new political sensation sweeping the nation, coming soon to Hawaii's Presidential Preference Poll…

Oleh Blue Hawaii Media

In our season 2 finale, we're talking baseball, billionaires, booing, braddahs, bluster, and a whole bunch of other BS. What's in store for Season 3? Well, you'll just have to stay tuned to find out!Oleh Blue Hawaii Media

We're bringing out the heavy hitters! Our BFF @HawaiiDelilah joins us for a special interview with Senator Kai Kahele, who is running to be our next District 2 Congressman (representing rural Oahu and the neighbor islands). Hear his story and what inspired him to launch a primary run against Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, what's changed since she dro…

73! We're back from a very long hiatus and kicking off the 2020 election season by interviewing RJ Brown, who's running to be Honolulu's next prosecutor. (In case you haven't been watching the news, things over there are ....not great!) We talk about his vision for restoring integrity and accountability to the office, the importance of criminal jus…

This week, we're recapping all your need-to-know news and poking fun at a certain PBS classic (HEADS UP: IT'S WISHBONE, THE DOG THAT READS STORIES TO WHITE CHILDREN). Later, Kelly Dietrich, CEO of the National Democratic Training Committee ("NDTC") joins us via Skype to talk about the free in-person training that the NDTC is putting on in Honolulu …

Bem-vindo to another "podcast maravilhoso!" Ryan and Josh went to Hawaii Public Radio's Atherton Studio and sat down with the wonderful and inimitable Sandy Tsukiyama, host of Brazilian Experience on HPR-1. We talk about her travels in Brazil, what it's like to host a radio show, the passing of Joao Gilberto, the legacy of bossa nova, the tragedy o…

The world's eyes are on Mauna Kea and the battle over the Thirty Meter Telescope, but newspaper headlines and social media clicks only tell part of the story. To try and gain a deeper understanding, Josh sat down with dear friend of the show Kumu Hans Keoni Wilhelm, PhD, who teaches Hawaiian language, history, and culture at Kamehameha Schools. We …

SPECIAL EPISODE ALERT: DANE COOK IS IN THE STUDIO (by phone). Episode 69 (nice) is LIVE. We talk with world-famous comedian Dane Cook about his new "Tell It Like It Is" tour; his show THIS SATURDAY, JULY 20th, AT THE BLAISDELL CONCERT HALL; how his comedy's changed over the years; what he's been up to since we last saw him; and whether he'll follow…

HEY YOU GUYS LISTEN TO THIS ONE! In probably our most important (and fun) interview yet (ever?), we spoke by phone to Desmond Meade, Executive Director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World! Hear about his amazing story and the battle for voting rights and restorative justice…

Our most famous Twitter friend @HawaiiDelilah joins us to recap and unpack nights 1 and 2 of the first Democratic Primary debates. PLUS - US women's soccer continues to be epic and our boy Will Caron is sounding the environmental alarm in Civil Beat. Check it out -- and then like, rate, share, and subscribe wherever you get your podcast fix!…

Bombing #Iran. Concentration Camps. #Reparations. #Abortion. The #NBA Draft. And most controversial of all....we say something positive about Brett Kavanaugh? Mahalo to our dear friend Sarah Sumire for joining us and sharing her personal story -- and for saving you from having to listen to two dudes ignorantly rant about women's reproductive health…

This week: Our H.A.O.L.E. team of the year is dethroned and we congratulate the Toronto Raptors; the war against #Venezuela gets off to a rocky start; we survey the general state of the world (not great, but h/t to @dwdavison and @fx_newsletter anyway); the 2020 #Democrats get their groove on; Tiger Mom sells us out by lying about meritocracy; and …

Josh jinxes the Toronto Raptors, rich liberals are destroying our cities, and the decline of the American Republic continues apace -- but it has nothing to do with Donald Trump! In better news (at 30:20), we catch up with our dear friend (and fan favorite) Dr. Akiemi Glenn of The Popolo Project. Hear what she's been up to since we last spoke, and w…

It's short and sweet episode for you this week -- if you haven't heard, we were a little preoccupied with LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB WINNING THE GOSH DARN EUROPEAN CUP!!!We chat with Kauai Prosecutor and Twitter-friend Justin Kollar about criminal justice reform, rough-and-tumble neighbor island politics, and how excited we are for the continued devol…

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE INTERVIEW ALERT!Alright, gang. Today you're going to hear our chat with Senator Mike Gravel -- a statesman, icon, rabblerouser, and true O.G. We get into: how a group of young activists convinced him to run at 88 years young, his policy platform, what he hopes to accomplish with this run, and how he would implement his finer …

This week we put a bow on our way-too-long Lil Wayne/Weezerdiscussion. Spoiler alert: Ryan's opinions are still very white.Then, we jump into another #sharestoshouts challenge shout from a totally real, living, actual person. After that, we talk about who made the best decisions of their lives this week -- following us on Twitter!Then, we get into …

"If we can't do it, let's fail in the most beautiful way." - Jurgen KloppWhat. A. Week. After going down a Wikipedia rabbit hole about Sewanee University, we discuss Liverpool's triumph over Barcelona, Tiger Woods and the Red Sox visiting the White House, and True Confessions: Bernie Sanders edition. Then, because all the human news is depressing (…

*Recorded before Hawaii volleyball lost to Long Beach State :-(*Happy early Mother's Day to all the mamas and mamacitas out there! It's time for some more of that sweet podcast magic you've grown accustomed to: our favorite rants about Joe Biden, Indonesia moving its capital city before it falls into the ocean (definitely nothing to worry about in …

Another shooting at a synagogue, because we live in a normal, healthy, well-adjusted country. The Supreme Court looks set to help the GOP rig the census, make it legal to fire gay people, and keep screwing American workers. And our nation turns its lonely eyes to...Joe Biden?!?!?!Plus, continued fallout from the horrible Easter attack in Sri Lanka:…

Back by popular demand! After such a positive reaction to last year's epic sportschat (Episode 20 - Let's Go Bows!), we brought back friends of the show and UH aficionados Peter Boylan and Danny Cup Choy to help us do a review of the truly epic (and distressing) year it's been in the world of sports (and politics). After friend of the show Jon Scho…

We're definitely having another normal, stress-free week! Josh and Ryan discuss the daily deluge of bad-faith garbage streaming out of our nation's capital, with last week's kerfuffle over Ilhan Omar and "white nationalism" being the latest example. (PS: Stephen Miller is definitely a white nationalist, and Lee Zeldin is an embarassment). We also t…

Josh and Ryan sat down with an all-star team to talk about the KĀKOU App, which aims to increase civic engagement in #Hawaii by making it easy for users to contact elected officials, weigh in on hot button issues, and collaborate with community partners. Hear from State Representative Della Au Belatti, Laura Nevitt of the Hawaii Children's Action N…

Why are Josh and Ryan so worked up? Well, The Atlantic published a pearl-clutching #boomer screed about the so-called "radicalization" of the Democratic Party (by a #NeverTrump Republican who worked for Reagan, both Bushes, and now for a Koch-funded thinktank, so you know he really cares!), and we had to digest it line-by-line. From the #GreenNewDe…

BONUS SUPER SPECIAL SECRET PROMO EPISODE ALERT! Josh sat down with Cathy Lowenburg and Dave Hayakawa, the organizers of Rock for Justice III, a rip-roaring rager starring musical acts from all over Honolulu's legal community and the courthouse ohana. (https://www.facebook.com/events/590346724817468/). All proceeds will benefit Advocates for Public …

*Recorded before Auburn's win over Kentucky and Duke's loss to Michigan State*Surprise! It's been another insane week. We extol the virtues of Bruce Pearl, refer Devin Nunes to our favorite constitutional law scholar, and debate the merits of student loan forgiveness.Then, at 19:30, we sit down with Cindy Ng and Kaʻimi Cambern, two University of Ha…

Ryan is still on the continent, but Josh is taking us international with this week's news. Instead of telling you about New Zealand's reaction to the Christchurch tragedy, we decided to bring on an actual Kiwi on to share his perspective with us (starting at 13:00) -- Dr. Simon Gray of the University of Waikato, who specializes in international rel…

Have you ever thought about running for office? At 9:38, Josh sits down with Aria Juliet Castillo, who manages the Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action (HAPA)'s Kuleana Academy. We talk about some of the big issues facing our state and discuss how the Kuleana Academy is training the next generation of young leaders and advocates to help shape Haw…

Special Episode Alert!!! Aloha, listeners! Tommy Waters, a.k.a. Tommy Aloha, a.k.a. Braddah Tommy is in the studio this week to talk about the upcoming Special Election for City Council District VI (East Honolulu).He talks about why we're having this election at all, what the issues he cares about, and what separates him from his opponent. Be sure …

51! Ryan has some fightin' words for Grassroots Institute of Hawaii and the #Kochtopus, R. Kelly is doing his best Brett Kavanaugh impression, Hawaii's infrastructure gets a not-so-great report card, and we look at some bills that are definitely NOT passing the state legislature this year. Then, we sit down with author and journalist Melanie Warner…