Nerd Farmer Podcast

This week, for the first time, I’m sitting down for an episode with a current student. I’ll call her “T” since, as we all know, people on the internet can be strange. T is a Palestinian-American senior, raised in Texas, who has spent the past three years in the Bowling Dojo, taking Global Studies, US Government and Politics, and Comparative Government and Politics.

Her entire political life has unfolded in the era of Trump-era politics, so I invited her on to share her perspective on the corporate media environment, American political institutions, meme culture, and what it feels like to be heading to college in what she described as an emerging fascist state.

She’s got a great future ahead of her and I think her perspective is worth sharing ad taking seriously. T is headed to a Big Ten university this fall to study business.

Going Further & Related Episodes

• War Crimes and 4Chan Memes
• Grokipedia and the Musk Disinformation System

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This is our third special episode discussing the US war on Iran and the wider regional complications. 

Here are the headlines from the episode:

• We are safe and well
• We have secured a “good for now” apartment in Koh Lanta
• Our school is remote through at least April 17
• Despite the President’s claims the war is “winding down” we are seeing an escalatory cycle, including an increasing number of war crimes

This conversation refers to events on or before Friday, April 3, 2026, 10:00pm, Thai Standard Time.

Going Further & Related Episodes

• The War They Didn’t Plan For
• An Update from Gulf War III – #262
• A Dispatch from the US War on Iran – #260
• Iran nuclear deal – Wikipedia 

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This is our second special episode discussing the US war on Iran and the wider regional complications. 

On Friday, we departed Abu Dhabi for Thailand. We’ll be living out of our backpacks until it is deemed safe to return to the UAE.

Here are the headlines from the episode:

• We are safe and well
• Spring Break came at a great time!
• The Gulf Region is safe—the United States and its policies in the region are the issue
• This again is a US war of choice and is of no benefit to the American people

Going Further & Related Episodes

• Another American War of Choice
• A Dispatch from the US War on Iran – #260

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In preparation for the upcoming Academy Awards on March 16, this is our annual Oscars conversation. We ranked the ten Best Picture nominees and some films we wish would have been nominated.

Chase is a film critic based in Washington State. Andrew is the show’s favorite sports journalist and cinephile, currently doing time in Alabama. Both are three-time guests and now members of the Smoking Jacket Club, the not real society of three time guests.

Going Further & Related Episodes

• Halley’s Cancer Journey
• Previewing the 2025 Oscars – Chase Hutchinson and Andrew Hammond – 236
• The Movies of 2024 – Chase Hutchinson, Film Critic – #223

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This is a special episode, a conversation with Hope, about the situation here in Abu Dhabi and the broader Middle East thanks to the US war on Iran.

Here are the headlines from the discussion:

• First, we are safe and well
• The UAE emergency management authorities and air defenses have been amazing
• We intend to depart the region Friday, heading to SE Asia
• The US State Department is failing US citizens in the region 
• This US war of choice is foolish and is of zero benefit to the American people

Going Further & Related Episodes

• Another American War of Choice
• American teacher stuck in Abu Dhabi amid Iran conflict: “There are no flights”

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Tom Rademacher is a prior Minnesota State teacher of the Year, author, and parent to a really rad kid. Recently his family made the decision for the safety of their family to move to Spain. 

This is a conversation about what led him to leave and what’s happening in his native and beloved Minnesota. 

Going Further & Related Episodes

• A Letter from Minnesota 
• Erin in the Morning
• Tom’s Webpage
• The State of Teaching, Burnout, and His Latest Book, Raising Ollie – Tom Rademacher – #158

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I had the chance to sit down with Douglas Sackman, a history professor at the University of Puget Sound, for a conversation that feels especially timely.

Professor Sackman joined me to talk about the Gilded Age — that turbulent period of rapid industrialization, staggering wealth inequality, labor unrest, and political corruption that reshaped the US in the late 19th century. It’s a chapter of American history often reduced to robber barons and railroads, but as we discuss, it’s also a story about workers organizing, democracy straining, and ordinary people pushing back against concentrated power.

As we look around today  at our tech oligarchs, monopolistic  consolidation,, and battles over the meaning of democracy, it’s hard not to hear echoes of that era.

Going Further & Related Episodes

• Professor Sackman – Faculty Page
• Orange Empire: California and the Fruits of Eden by Professor Sackman
• Careless People – NF Reads Bookclub
• Halley’s Cancer Journey Newsletter

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Ramadan began this week. Somewhere around 2 billion Muslims around the world will be engaging in a day time fast for the next month. Living in the Gulf, Ramadan contorts my life in so many ways. Our work day is shortened, life slows way down, and there’s time with friends and chosen family. Ramadan has become my favorite religious holiday, even though I’m not a Muslim.

This Best Of episode is a conversation from 2022 with my colleague, Amy Daraiseh. Amy is a  special education teacher from Chicago and all around great human being.

Cast of Characters

• Amy – Twitter
• Muslims Around the World Are Fasting: A Ramadan Reflection – Jasmine El Shear – #216

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In December, I came across a post on the r/Tacoma subreddit that stopped me in my tracks. It was titled “Black Deported Veterans film screening” and invited people to a screening of the documentary, Bring Them Home.

As a veteran, it immediately caught my attention. I also noticed the screening was being held at my alma mater, The Evergreen State College’s Tacoma Campus. Although I wasn’t in a position to attend in person, I reached out to the organizers.

The short version is this: the U.S. military regularly recruits people with green cards into service, but often fails to help them navigate the naturalization process during and especially after their service. Instead, many are discarded after and often subjected to deportation. Unsurprisingly—given the reality of systemic racism—this happens at much higher rates to Black veterans.

This is that conversation.

James L. Smith is a journalist and the co-founder of BDVA (Black Deported Veterans of America).

Rob Young is a musician behind the song Excuse My Accent and the producer of the award-winning film Bring Them Home. Rob and James have collaborated to continue advocacy and uplift the issue.

Going Further & Related Episodes

• Black Deported Veterans of America – Website

• Bring Them Home

• Excuse My Accent.

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State Senator Marko Liias represents Washington’s 21st Legislative District in North Puget Sound, which includes parts of Edmonds, Everett, Lynnwood, and Mukilteo.

He currently chairs the State Senate’s Transportation Committee and previously served on the House Education Committee, where he and Nate first crossed paths.

Senator Liias joined us to discuss the legislative session that began on January 12. He offered a clear overview of the state’s fiscal outlook and outlined his priorities for the Transportation Committee.

Going Further & Related Episodes

• Senator Liias’ Webpage
• Email Senator Liias
• Senator Liias on Bluesky

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