Nerd Farmer Podcast

This week Nate hosted Crossing Division – Tacoma’s Talk Show, a sister podcast on the Channel 253 Network. He interviewed regular show host Evelyn Lopez about her recent discovery of the Tacoma Weekly’s pay-to-play endorsement scheme. This is a gobsmacking story and a great conversation. Don’t worry, we’ll be back with a regular episode of Nerd Farmer on next Monday; it will be our #NerdFarmReads conversation about Know My Name by Chanel Miller.

Show Notes

If you follow Evelyn Lopez on Twitter (and maybe you should), you probably saw a thread about local politics and the Tacoma Weekly paper. The Tacoma Weekly is a small, local, free publication that you might find in a Tacoma restaurant or office, or you might pick one up from one of their distribution boxes around town.

Recently, Evelyn found out that the Tacoma Weekly had emailed local candidates after the primary election to offer an advertising special to the first four candidates who responded. But they were not just offering ad space. For $2500 candidates could buy an ad package that included a Weekly Editorial, a Cover Story, and Tacoma Weekly Endorsement. That’s right, they offered their endorsement, plus news and editorial coverage for cash. This is a violation of one of our state’s campaign finance laws. RCW 42.17A.480 prohibits the solicitation of endorsement fees: “A person may not solicit from a candidate for public office … money or other property as a condition or consideration for an endorsement, article, or other communication in the news media promoting or opposing a candidate for public office …”

Sean Robinson, former reporter and current professor of journalism, explains how this activity violates the most basic ethics of journalism. And both Sean and Evelyn talk with guest host Nate Bowling about how this activity damages local elections, traps candidates into further campaign finance violations, and is bad for all of us.

Listen to the podcast for details on which candidates purchased the Tacoma Weekly package, and then let us know what you think.
Evelyn Lopez: @True_Tacoma
Sean Robinson: @seanrobinson1e4

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Derek Young is in his second term as a member of the Pierce County Council, representing District 7.

When I saw this article about police use of “vascular neck restraints” (an Orwellian law enforcement euphemism that attempts to skirt a ban on chokeholds) and a recent post from Dr. Anthony Chen from the Pierce County Health Department, I reached out to Derek to get his take. Both agencies fall under his oversight as a member of the County Council. He shared his thoughts and had some pointed comments about the performance of the current County Executive, Bruce Dammeier.

Even if you don’t live in Pierce County (I don’t at the moment), this is a fascinating conversation about local government and how the actions and inaction of local pols impact our lives.

Going Further 

• “We don’t choke people, but they pass out almost half the time we do the other thing”
• Derek’s prior appearance on the show

The Socials

• Derek on Twitter

Coming Up

• Fall & Back-to-School Book Recs on Libro FM
• Next Nerd Farm Reads: My Name by Chanel Miller
• A talk with food critic Sue Kidd

The Nerd Farmer Podcast is available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play and is brought to you by Alaska Airlines and TAPCO Credit Union

Please consider supporting the podcast by joining Channel 253 as a member

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Live sports are an important part of my life and this show. Before we departed the states we were season ticket holders to Tacoma Defiance, Sounders FC, and Husky football and had half season passes to Reign FC and the Rainier’s (I miss you Estadio Cheney). I was also the in-stadium announcer for Lincoln Football and back-up for basketball. In the past on this show, we’ve talked MLS, NWSL, Women’s World Cup, USL, and the NBA. But today, particularly in the US, life and sports are being upended by the Covid-19 outbreak.

There’s a lot to unpack in this situation. Americans in search of a feeling of normalcy are desperate for sports. But there are racial overtones to these demands, particularly in college sports, where the unpaid players are far more Black than the fans that cheer them on.

I don’t think America deserves sports right now, so I wanted to talk through all of this with some guests.

This is basically the US since March.

Starting Lineup

• Andrew Hammond, the TNT — three time show guest
• Michael-Shawn Dugar, the Athletic

The Socials

• Andrew
• Mike

Coming Up

• Next Nerd Farm Reads: My Name by Chanel Miller
• A talk with food critic Sue Kidd

The Nerd Farmer Podcast is available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play and is brought to you by Alaska Airlines

Please consider supporting the podcast by joining Channel 253 as a member

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Mohammed Kloub is the engagement editor at Crosscut, a Seattle based news outlet, in partnership with KCTS 9. Moh, who previously held a similar position at the Seattle Times Education Lab, is one of the most interesting journalists in the Seattle media scene and is razor sharp with his commentary, puns, and GIFs.

In this episode, we talked about media objectivity. In the pursuit of “objectivity” many media outlets elevate fringe or extreme perspectives. We’ve seen this time and time again with climate change denial, platforming violent white supremacists, and the publishing of the recent Tom Cotton op-ed in the New York Times.

In the back half of the show we batted around the recent open letter in Harper’s, the debates over “cancel culture” (heretofore public accountability), and the alleged free speech crisis in the US.

In place of the wind-down, we awarded the inaugural “Here, Hold this ‘L’ Award” but you have to listen to see who earned the prize.

The Socials

• @LessIsMoh
• @Crosscut

Coming Up

• Next Nerd Farm Reads: My Name by Chanel Miller

The Nerd Farmer Podcast is available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play and is brought to you by Alaska Airlines and TAPCO Credit Union

Please consider supporting the podcast by joining Channel 253 as a member

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T’wina Nobles is a member of the University Place School Board and a candidate for the State Senate in the 28th legislative district. She is challenging Senator Stave O’Ban, the long-time GOP incumbent.

T’wina is the co-founder of Ladies First, a school based mentor and education program for young ladies in the region. She is also the current president of the Tacoma Urban League.

In the first half of the show we rapped about why she is running and why she is the right person for the seat. In segment two we talked through the issues in depth: the state revenue forecast, school funding, transportation & infrastructure, and police-community relations.

Even if you don’t live in the 28th, you should listen to this and think about how you can support her race. She’s going to be a feature in state politics for a while.

The Socials

• Ladies First
• T’wina for Senate
• T’wina on Twitter

Coming Up

• Next Nerd Farm Reads: My Name by Chanel Miller
• A conversation about the usefulness of media objectivity and neutrality in 2020

The Nerd Farmer Podcast is available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play and is brought to you by Alaska Airlines and TAPCO Credit Union

Please consider supporting the podcast by joining Channel 253 as a member

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Sharlett Mena is challenging Representative Steve Kirby, the long-time Democratic incumbent, in the 29th legislative district. The 29th covers much of South & East Tacoma, Parkland, and Lakewood. If elected she would join past show guest Melanie Morgan in representing the district.

Sharlett is the daughter of immigrant agricultural workers and is the first in her family to graduate from university. Her opponent Steve Kirby has represented the district since 2001.

She is currently a special assistant to the Director the Washington State Department of Ecology. Previously she worked for Governor Inslee advising on interstate affairs, and was a staffer for Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ).

We rapped about her decision to run, her campaign, and the policies she thinks working people in Washington deserve.

The Socials

• Elect Sharlett on Twitter
• Donate to Sharlett’s Campaign

Coming Up

• Next Nerd Farm Reads: My Name by Chanel Miller
• A conversation about the usefulness of media objectivity and neutrality in 2020

The Nerd Farmer Podcast is available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play and is brought to you by Alaska Airlines and TAPCO Credit Union

Please consider supporting the podcast by joining Channel 253 as a member

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You can draw a fairly straight line from mass incarceration, to the war on drugs, to police militarization and misconduct, to the protests we are seeing across the US today. This episode traces that line.

On Episode 96 we discussed How to Fix a Drug Scandal, directed by Erin Lee Carr. It is a Netflix Docu-series about a drug lab scandal that rocked the State of Massachusetts in 2013. In the series we learn about two drug techs, Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan, who falsified drug test results in thousands of cases, sending tens of thousands of people to prison with tainted evidence.

Luke, a defense attorney, is a center-piece of the latter episodes of the series and is representing several people in the series in ongoing civil litigation against the State of Massachusetts. I really enjoyed rapping with him.

Don’t worry, you do not need to have watched the show in order to understand the episode.

The Socials

• Luke Ryan

Coming Up

• Next Nerd Farm Reads: Know My Name by Chanel Miller
• A conversation with Sharlett Mena, Democratic candidate – 29th LD

The Nerd Farmer Podcast is available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play and is brought to you by Alaska Airlines and TAPCO Credit Union

Please consider supporting the podcast by joining Channel 253 as a member

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While we are all rightfully paying attention to the protests against police violence, the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the State of Washington and the nation. The fastest growing outbreak in Washington is in Yakima County, largely among agricultural workers. Yakima, like Tacoma, is a Democratic leaning city in a red county, and there has been conflict between local governments over the response. Meanwhile, agriculture workers have organized strikes to demand PPE and other protections. All the while the number of infections climbs countywide day by day. What is happening in Yakima is a microcosm of what’s happening across the nation, so we assembled a roundtable to discuss it all.

Note, we opened this episode with a host commentary on the protest and police riots in the United States.

Cast of Characters:

• Soneya Lund – Yakima City Council, hates Twitter
• Sara Shields – Member of the Yakama Nation
• Greg Halling – Yakima Herald (subscribe to the newspaper FFS!)

The Socials

• Soneya – on Insta (stick around for the blooper on this one)
• Sara – @srskank
• Greg – @ghalling

Coming Up

• Next Nerd Farm Reads: Know My Name by Chanel Miller
• How to Fix a Drug Scandal, Part II with Luke Ryan

The Nerd Farmer Podcast is available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play and is brought to you by Alaska Airlines and TAPCO Credit Union

Please consider supporting the podcast by joining Channel 253 as a member

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

How to Fix a Drug Scandal, directed by Erin Lee Carr, is a Netflix Docu-series about a drug lab scandal that rocked the State of Massachusetts in 2013. In the series we learn about two drug techs, Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan, who falsified drug tests in tens of thousands of cases.

The series was the most compelling thing we’ve watched during quarantine, so we pulled together a roundtable with some all-time Nerd Farmer guests. Don’t worry, you do not need to have watched the show in order to understand the episode.

In two weeks we will be back with another episode about the show, featuring Luke Ryan, an attorney featured in the series. He is that dude.

The Socials

• Silong
• Katy
• Producer Doug

Coming Up

• Next Nerd Farm Reads: Know My Name by Chanel Miller
• A conversation about Covid-19 in Yakima County

The Nerd Farmer Podcast is available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play and is brought to you by Alaska Airlines and TAPCO Credit Union 

Please consider supporting the podcast by joining Channel 253 as a member

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS