Paw'd Defiance

A friend encouraged Jeffrey Bantay to come to a meeting of the Tacoma Community College student veteran's club. There Bantay met Thomas Di Giorgio. The two developed a bond. They regularly met at the small space reserved for the veteran's club. The space consisted of some chairs, a table and a communal microwave. Here Bantay and Di Giorgio got to talking about their experience in the mil...

In this episode of the podcast we hear from three members of the Class of 2021. Rachel Moyer, Raelynne Woo and Dennis Adjetey talk about their time at UW Tacoma including how they've changed during their time on campus. We'll also hear messages of congratulations from friends, family and colleagues of the Class of 2021.

Hoy en la cápsula, ayudando a las personas en el condado de Pierce a vacunarse con Emily López y Juana Gallegos. López y Gallegos son miembros del Grupo de Trabajo de Vacunas Husky. Hablaremos sobre la misión del grupo, incluidos sus esfuerzos para llegar a las comunidades de BIPOC, así como a aquellos que son reacios a vacunarse.

A group of UW Tacoma Healthcare Leadership students is working to get Pierce County residents vaccinated. The students created the UWT Husky Vaccine Task Force. The group recruits volunteers to work at vaccine clinics and it's also doing outreach to different communities to raise awareness and provide information about the vaccines. In this episode we talk with Task Force members Emily Lopez...

In this episode we speak with Kathleen Shannon Dorcy about vaccines. Shannon Dorcy is an Associate Teaching Professor at UW Tacoma. She’s also the Director of Research, Education and Clinical Practice at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance as well as a staff scientist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Shannon Dorcy discusses how vaccines work including how they work once inside the body....

There's a persistent myth that Japanese Americans willingly went along with the U.S. government policy during World War II. Frank Abe and Tamiko Nimura's new graphic novel "We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration" tells the real-life stories of Japanese Americans who pushed back against forced removal and relocation. In this episode, Nimura talks...

As part of Earth Day, we reached out to students, faculty and staff across all three University of Washington campuses.  We specifically wanted to know about how the pandemic impacted their ability to be sustainable. We asked participants the same three questions. Their responses are both deeply personal, insightful and offer us a way to think about sustainability in a post-pandemic world. Giving...

Naomi Wilson is a University of Washington alumna. She lives in Tacoma and works at the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. Wilson is also Korean American. In this episode, she talks about the tragedy in Atlanta that left eight dead, including six women of Asian descent. Wilson discusses how Asian women are stereotyped in the media and how that has impacted both her life and the life of her ch...

UW Tacoma School of Education Dean Rachel Endo returns to the podcast for a follow-up discussion. Endo came on the show in June of 2020 to talk about anti-Asian and anti-Asian-American sentiment during the pandemic. In this episode, Endo talks about the mass shooting in Atlanta that killed eight, including six women of Asian descent. We also talk about the idea that the alleged shooter was "h...

UW Tacoma Professor Laura Feuerborn joins us about race, equity and K-12 education. Feuerborn researches social emotional learning. This model focuses on a student's individual needs, feelings and emotions while shifting away from a more punitive approach to school discipline which has historically lead to disproportionally higher rates of suspension and explosions for BIPOC students. Feuerbo...

The Center for Business Analytics at the Milgard School of Business is creating a culture of innovation through the strategic use of data and analytics. In this episode, we talk with the CBA's Director Haluk Demirkan and the CBA's Assistant Director Michael Helser. We'll talk about big data and the role it plays in business. We'll also discuss how CBA students are helping organ...

Hilltop Action Coalition President Brendan Nelson has spent most of his life living in or near Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood. Nelson serves in a volunteer position with the Hilltop Action Coalition. In his regular job, Nelson works for Tacoma's Peace Lutheran Church. In this episode, Nelson talks about his love of the Hilltop. He also discusses the issues facing the neighborhood includin...

UW Tacoma Professor Carolyn Wes t has spent her career looking at issues affecting Black women. In her early career, she focused on domestic violence and how larger forces like historical trauma play a role in domestic violence perpetrated against Black women. In this episode, we talk about West's research into intimate partner violence. We also talk about her work as an expert witness in cou...

This mini-episode is part of a much longer episode we plan on airing during Earth Week in April. We asked faculty, students, and staff at all three University of Washington campuses to answer some questions related to sustainability. First, we asked folks to give their definition of sustainability. Next, how has the pandemic impacted their ability to be sustainable? And finally, in what ways are t...

Black Student Unions took root on college campuses across the country in the mid to late 1960s. These student organizations provided connection but they were also a potent force in the push to reform higher education. Students in Black Student Unions held sit-ins and protests to demand greater representation both in the classroom and in the curriculum. In this episode, we hear about the founding o...

"The Book of Andy" by playwright Michael J. Mejia is UW Tacoma's first virtual theater performance. The play will be presented as chapters on successive Saturdays starting on February 13. In this episode, five cast members, including four UW Tacoma students, talk about what it's like putting together a virtual performance. The group discusses the challenges and opportunities th...

This is the last in our series of reflections about 2020. In this episode, we’ll hear from UW Tacoma’s Lorraine Dinnel, Joel Larson, and Maria Tania Bandes B. Weingarden as they discuss everything from remodeling a home to building a home office, to organizing a virtual theater performance and completing a doctorate. 

In this episode, we discuss the thriving Japanese community that lived in Tacoma prior to World War II with UW Tacoma Professor Lisa Hoffman and UW Tacoma Associate Professor Mary Hanneman. Hoffman and Hanneman have written a new book called Becoming Nisei: Japanese American Urban Lives in Prewar Tacoma . The book is a result of a years-long project to document and preserve the experience of Japan...

Medicine has played a key role in the development of racist ideas, policies, and practices.  Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus developed a system of organizing plants and animals known as taxonomy. Linnaeus and other scientists used taxonomy to disseminate racist ideas about those who weren't white. In this episode, we talk about Linnaeus with University of Washington Assistant Dean Edwin Lindo...

2020 is over, but the impact of the chaotic, stressful, and challenging year remains. The University of Washington did something unique. Vice Provost and Dean of Academic Affairs Ed Taylor pulled together a course about 2020 that allowed students to analyze the year in real-time. The course was offered in the fall across all three campuses and featured lectures from UW Tacoma faculty.  Associate V...

2020 is over, but many of the issues we faced last year remain with us. In this episode, members of the UW Tacoma community reflect on their 2020. They talk about loss and loneliness but they also tell us about starting a new job, growing a garden, and reconnecting with friends and family. 

We're devoting the next few episodes to 2020. This has been a challenging year and we wanted to spend some time thinking about what we experienced during the past 12 months. In this episode, we hear from UW Tacoma Completion Coach TeyAnjulee Leon. Leon is frank in her assessment of 2020. She calls this the "hardest year of her life." Leon recounts with blunt honesty her struggle wit...

UW Tacoma alumna Hien Hong teaches yoga and meditation in the Tacoma area. Her courses are geared toward members of the BIPOC community. We’ll talk with Hong about the lack of diversity in the wellness community. We’ll also talk about how she’s tackling these issues head-on through the courses she offers.

In this episode members of the UW Tacoma community talk about why they vote and why they think voting is important. For some, it's civic duty, while for others voting is a way to honor those who've gone before.  Their stories take us to North Korea and to the Jim Crow era South and serve to remind us why voting is so important.

In this episode of the pod,  "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe. This relatively short piece, it’s only 100 lines, of narrative poetry was first published back in 1845.  "The Raven" was the 19th century equivalent of a viral sensation. There are stories that children would follow Poe around and flap their arms like wings until he turned and exclaimed “Nevermore.” The poem remains p...