Ep. 101: Media Objectivity, Both Sides-ism, and the Debate Over “Cancel Culture” – Mohammed Kloub, Crosscut   

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

Coming Up

 

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Ep. 100: Her Name is T’wina Nobles and She Deserves Your Vote

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

Coming Up

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

 

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Ep. 99: On Challenging a Democratic Incumbent from the Left – Sharlett Mena, Candidate WA-29th LD  

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

Coming Up

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

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Ep. 98: The US Drug War Targets Black Males and People of Color: a Continuing Discussion of “How to Fix a Drug Scandal” – Luke Ryan, Defense Attorney & Activist

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

Coming Up

 

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Ep. 97: Understanding the Covid-19 Pandemic and Agricultural Strikes in Central Washington

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

Coming Up

 

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Ep. 96: Watch With Us: Netflix’s “How to Fix a Drug Scandal,” Part I — Katy Evans, Silong Chhun, and Producer Doug

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

Coming Up

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Ep. 95: Covid-19’s Impact on the Class of 2020 — James Miller, Seattle University and Kim Thomas, Equal Opportunity Schools 

Cast of Characters

  • James Miller: Director of Admission, Seattle University
  • Kim Thomas: Equity facilitator, freelance college admissions consultant (First of Her Name)
  • Carinna Lee Tarvin: AP World History Teacher, Lincoln High School

The Covid-19 outbreak has impacted us all. In the US, at least 89,932 people (as of 5/18) have lost their lives. Millions of people are out of work. Teachers across the nation are working with cobbled together online systems with varied (at best) results.

But one population who we don’t hear much about are high school seniors. For many members of the Class of 2020, school closed right in the midst of their planning for next year. Imagine facing this dilemma: you worked hard for 13 years, got into your dream school, and now you don’t even know if the school is going to be open in the fall. Now, imagine navigating that as a low-income student with limited access to your school counselors, mentors, and advisers.

In addition, millions of other students are currently being dealt a brutal hand by the College Board, the multi-million dollar not-for-private that administers AP Exams, the SAT, and the PSAT, who has decided to administer this year’s high-stakes AP exams online.

Questions We Tackle:

  • University tuition is expensive, is it worth paying full price for your dream school if you’re likely to be online? Are you better or going to a community college?
  • Is it possible to have an equitable online standardized test during a pandemic (spoiler: hell no, it’s not).

It’s a rough time to be a high school senior and this episode is for them and the people that love them.

The Socials

Coming Up

Going Further

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Ep. 94: How American Democracy is Dying, a Continuing Conversation

In September, on NF Episode #73 we discussed the book “How Democracies Die” by Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky as part of our Nerd Farm Reads Book Club (#nerdfarmreads). This week in light of events in the news from Wisconsin and elsewhere, we decided to revisit the text and examine the further degradation of US democracy since we discussed the book.

 

Cast of Characters

  • Andrew Hammond: Tacoma News Tribune
  • Ingrid Walker: Professor University of Washington Tacoma (the Bad Academic)
  • Halley Knigge: Mistress of Books, Runner, and Rad Human

 

The Rundown

4:00: The ways our guests are watching democracy die

8:00: Why voting (and non-voting) and politics in a pandemic (and always) are so frustrating

25:00: Pre-Trump moments that led us to where we are today

35:00: The role of political violence in the decline of US democracy

45:00: Can informed-consumerism really replace democracy (spoiler: no)? Are we really voting with our dollars? What are actual impactful political acts?

50:00: The media obsession with “neutrality” will be the death of us all

57:00: Closing thoughts

 

The Wind Down

Guests have homework!! “How to Fix A Drug Scandal”

 

The Socials

Andrew Hammond: @ahammTNT

Ingrid Walker: @badacademic

Halley Knigge: @halleyrebecca

 

Coming Up

Next Nerd Farm Reads: Know My Name by Chanel Miller

 

Going Further

Stolen Justice by Lawrence Goldstone

The Red and the Blue by Steve Kornacki

“How to Fix A Drug Scandal”

 

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A New Channel 253 Show: Gimme the Mic 1.1: Stella Keating—PEEL (Peer Education Empowerment League)

This week Channel 253 is launching a new show called Gimme the Mic. They’re six-pack podcasts from folks in Tacoma sharing their unique stories and points of view on matters that impact all of us. Our first host is Stella Keating, a student in Tacoma Schools and a student activist. We’ll be back on Monday with our regularly scheduled episode chopping up “How Democracies Die” for the second time, looking at the further degradation in US democracy.

—————-

In this episode, Stella kicks off the series talking with Collin, Arizona, and Kellz about consent, youth led initiatives, the marginalization of queer youth, impact vs. intent, and the ways PEEL is empowering youth.

Guests: Collin Veenstra, Founder & Program Director, PEEL leaders Arizona and Kellz.

Intergenerational Community Organizing: Youth-Led, Adult Staff and & Volunteer Supported

As a volunteer-run organization with an anti-oppression framework, PEEL works differently than a lot of traditional youth programs.

Our staff team are 100% volunteer and include adult community members who serve the Tacoma area as teachers, youth advocates, school resource support, teen librarians and more in their day jobs, and support PEEL youth programming in their lives beyond.

Our adult staff team work collectively with PEEL youth leaders in planning meetings, organizing events, and leading trainings on trauma-informed topics both within the group and at area youth programs. We host a monthly PEEL Planning Session, which includes both youth leaders and volunteer staff to ensure programming is as youth-centered as possible.

Links

 

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Ep. 93: What it Means to Be a Teacher and an Activist During the Covid-19 Outbreak — Tom Rademacher, Minnesota Teacher of the Year

Tom Rademacher is loudmouth and I love him for it.

An author and activist, Rademacher is an outspoken, anti-racist educator, who was named the State Teacher of the Year a few years back. This bio should sound familiar. Tom is a writer and the author of “It Won’t Be Easy” one of the more vulnerable memoirs I’ve ever read. He is the 2014-2015 Minnesota Teacher of the Year and currently teaches middle school outside of Minneapolis.

“I sometimes feel like I’d be way more popular and have three times the Twitter followers, if I didn’t talk about race.”

We discussed what it’s like to be a teacher and an activist while the world (feels like it) is burning, to what extent do we think we’re making a difference as advocates in the profession, and Tom’s (loud) public anti-racist work.

 

The Wind Down

The Case of the Missing Hit, Reply-all Podcast

 

The Socials

@MrTomRad

 

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