Crude Conversations

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with spatial ecologist Ben Sullender. Spatial ecology is the study and understanding of a landscape using maps. Meaning, scientists like Ben use topography to look at how small differences in landscape affect every part of life. From the migratory patterns of birds, to the melting of the Arctic Ocean sea ice and how it significantly changes our ability to l...

In this episode of "lost anchorage," we look at domestic violence in Anchorage, Alaska from the perspective of Heidi Hill, the Grants and Program Director at Abused Women's Aid In Crisis (AWAIC). AWAIC services about 1,600 people across all of its programs, including shelters, legal advocacy, case management, transition housing, and substance abuse management. Heidi has worked at AWAIC, the only e...

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with Evan Philips, the creator and host of The Firn Line, a podcast about the lives of mountain climbers. Evan's path to becoming the storyteller he is today began when he was a teenager learning the basics of a sport that would, in time, define him. He was an avid mountain climber as a teenager and well into adulthood until a recurring injury led to multip...

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with longtime Alaska beer columnist Jim Roberts, better known as Dr. Fermento. Jim's been writing about and involved in the Alaska craft beer scene for over two decades. Back then, there were only about eight breweries in Alaska, today there are over forty. In an article he wrote for Crude last year, he called Alaska "the Beer Frontier."  They talk about ho...

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with Jason Borgstede, owner of the Anchorage-based snowboard and skateboard shop Blue & Gold Boardshop. They talk about how he went from being a professional snowboarder to a professional poker player to a waiter and now the owner of a local snow and skate shop. Jason's history with the Alaska snow and skate scene goes back twenty some odd years and include...

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with Andy Elsberg, an emergency room doctor at Providence Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska. They talk about how he went from being a ski bum to an ER doc, the idea of wilderness medicine, the pervasiveness of alcohol and opiate addiction in Anchorage, what a gunshot actually does to a human body, and the short but aggressive spice epidemic that hit Ancho...

Introducing Crude's new podcast, lost anchorage, where Crude investigates the mechanisms of crime and violence in Anchorage, Alaska. Through research and interviews with professionals, law enforcement and those affected by crime, we hope to build a better understanding of whether or not Anchorage is, in fact, becoming more dangerous.   In this episode of lost anchorage, we look at how childhood tr...

Introducing Crude's new podcast, lost anchorage, where Crude investigates the mechanisms of crime and violence in Anchorage, Alaska. Through research and interviews with professionals, law enforcement and those affected by crime, we hope to build a better understanding of whether or not Anchorage is, in fact, becoming more dangerous.  In this episode of lost anchorage, we look at crime in Anchorag...

Introducing Crude's new podcast, lost anchorage, where Crude investigates the mechanisms of crime and violence in Anchorage, Alaska. Through research and interviews with professionals, law enforcement and those affected by crime, we hope to build a better understanding of whether or not Anchorage is, in fact, becoming more dangerous.  In this episode, we look at crime from the perspective of a ret...

In this episode, we have a conversation with local filmmaker and King Technical High School teacher Jeremy Blake. We talk about how he first got into filmmaking and evolved into being one of the most sought-after sound guys in the local community, the short-lived film tax incentive, and how Alaska’s unique landscape is represented and often underutilized in movies.   With guest host John Kendall o...

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with Cliff Groh, a former Alaska Revenue Department official and longtime advocate for the Permanent Fund Dividend. Cliff was instrumental in the creation of the PFD in the early 1980s. From 1987 to 1990, he served as special assistant to Hugh Malone, the Commissioner of Revenue in the administration of then-governor of Alaska Steve Cowper. He was also invo...

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with his uncle, Jay Liska. Jay was the first professional snowboarder from Alaska to get his own pro-model. He also started Boarderline Alaska Snow and Skate with his brother, Scott Liska, and went on to start his own shop, Northern Boarder. They talk about the snowboard scene in the 80s and 90s, and Jay shares some of his most memorable stories from back i...

In this episode, we have a conversation with Keon McMillan, better known as Keezy, an Alaskan rapper and producer. We talk about the history and impact of the hip hop collective Sky Division—how it was the first large posse of young Alaskan rappers and producers—the influence hip hop music and culture has on society and political change, the implications of selling out, the responsibility that com...

In this episode, we have a conversation with Mike Thompson, a longtime high school teacher at East High in Anchorage, Alaska. We talk about moving from Chicago to rural Alaska—from a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood to one where he was the first black person they met—the lessons he learned about race and integrity from his dad, how civility is a leadership skill, the students who have made an i...

In this episode, we have a conversation with longtime Alaska journalist Julia O'Malley. We talk about being raised in a family of storytellers, how overcoming dyslexia got her into writing, the importance of local news and digital newspaper subscriptions, media literacy—being able to differentiate between false sources and credible sources—that being a journalist in Alaska doesn't mean resigning y...

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with Mike Gordon, the former owner of Chilkoot Charlies, a famous bar along Spenard road in Anchorage, Alaska. They talk about Mike's travels—the ones he did for work and the ones that have made the biggest impact on him — he explains the early days of Koots, the prevalence of cocaine in Alaska during the 70s and how the late night scene has changed since t...

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with James Storlie, better known as Tubby, an Alaskan rapper and hip hop commentator. They talk about how Crude Conversations got started, the Alaskan hip hop scene — how he was introduced to it through the 90s breakdancing scene in Fairbanks and how he eventually became a fixture within it — deadlines, how he cut his weed consumption from $1,000 a month to...

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with his dad, Scott Liska, the founder of Boarderline, an Alaskan snowboard and skateboard shop that nurtured, represented and influenced the Alaska snow and skate scene in the late 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. They talk about a lot of firsts: how Boarderline began and what it turned into, how King of the Hill—a three day snowboard competition in Thompson Pas...

In this episode, we have a conversation with Michelle Larissa, an ex-stripper from Alaska turned award-winning weed chef. We talk about the time Michelle saw a donkey show in Mexico, how she became a stripper at 18 and made $2,700 in two hours her first day on the job, the difference between the Alaska strip club scene in the 90s versus today, reasons people go to the strip club, pregnant stripper...

In this episode, we have a conversation with Lisa Sauder, the executive director of Bean's Cafe, a soup kitchen in Anchorage, Alaska. We talk about how she came to work at Bean's Cafe, her passion for food and big get-togethers—Sunday meals and how on a busy day at Bean's they'll see over 500 people and make over 1,000 meals—and how the foundation for humanitarianism starts with kindness, food and...

In this episode, we have a conversation with Alaskan author K Jered Mayer. We talk about comics — their history and the difference between a nerd and a pop culture enthusiast — comics as an important form of storytelling, being an author and his writing process. We also get into politics, accountability, gun control, and the repercussions of a president who doesn't play by the traditional rules of...

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with Jesse Burtner, a professional snowboarder and creator of Think Thank films. They talk about what it means to be a father — providing your child with the tools they need to succeed and allowing them to follow their own path — what it meant to be a snowboarder in the late 80s and early 90s, snowboarding as a conversation not a competition, and how Jesse...

In this episode, we have a conversation with Melissa Mitchell of Hope Social Club. We talk about the influence an audience has on performers, the power of music and song, how she began performing for inmates at New Folsom Prison—what she learned from the experience and how she became friends with a few inmates in the process—what it's like having to wear a stab jacket, and performing at Spring Cre...

In this episode, we have a conversation with Victoria Petersen and Sam Davenport of The Spenardian, a hyperlocal zine dedicated to Anchorage's Spenard neighborhood. We talk about the history of Spenard, when it was its own town during Anchorage's infancy, and how now it's considered Anchorage's "hipster neighborhood." We discuss how a quarter of the small businesses in Anchorage are located in Spe...

In this episode, we talk to John Woodbury, publisher of Coast and Snowrider Magazines. John also recently became the new Executive Director of Iron Dog, the longest snowmachine race in the world. We talk about how you keep an organization alive by calling on its ardent supporters, new Iron Dog board members, how the best racers are most often the best all-around riders, and growing snowmachining a...