Crude Conversations

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...

In this episode, we have a conversation with Tim Davis, a history teacher and the head football coach at West High in Anchorage. We talk about technology — our addiction to it and how it shapes our youth — how to develop authentic relationships with your students both as a teacher and a coach, teaching in one of the most diverse high schools in America, what it's like to participate in an active s...

In this episode, we have a conversation with freelance journalist and Covenant House Alaska employee Aurora Ford. We talk about sex trafficking in Alaska—the people who get caught in it and the people who prey on them—how the Anchorage prostitution business is divided into gangs, making it virtually impossible to be a freelance prostitute without the possibility of repercussion, solutions journali...

In this episode, we have a conversation with stand-up comedian Richard Bowen. We talk about performing in all 50 states and how he used a job building skateparks to do it, winning $10,000 in a Laffy Taffy competition, the mechanics of joke writing, and being diagnosed with depression and how comedy helps him combat it. We also debate who would win in a fight, a Silverback Gorilla or a Kodiak Brown...

In this episode, we have a conversation with Alaskan rapper Michael Cofey, aka Starbuks. We talk about what it was like growing up and selling crack in Fairbanks, Alaska—the psychological impact, what he learned from it and how it shaped him as an adult—how the FEDS once took a hard drive of his music, how America's perception of white and black gun ownership is skewed, and what it's like being a...

In this episode, we have a conversation with Jana Weltzin, an Alaskan attorney with a focus on recreational marijuana business law and regulation compliance. We talk about moving back to Alaska and her newfound, intimate relationship with the community, the importance of independently owned businesses, and the Alaska weed industry—licensing, permits and regulations. Crude weed columnist Whitney Br...

In this episode, we have a conversation with long time Alaska journalist Craig Medred. We talk about the purchase of the Alaska Dispatch and the Anchorage Daily News by Alice Rogoff, Baby Boomers versus Millennials, news in a post-truth era, and the time he was attacked by a bear. 

In this episode, we have a conversation with Lyn and Lacey Hoffman of @the_hoffman_life, an Instagram account dedicated to hunting, snowmachining and the Alaska outdoors. We talk about being influencers on social media, death threats, moving to Alaska and living in the middle of nowhere, hunting—how it's a lifestyle, but there are inherit politics and controversy that come with it—and what it mean...

In this episode, we have a conversation with Dr. Alex James, an economics professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, with a research focus on resource economies. We talk about Alaska's economy—economic growth and our dependence on oil—whether or not we suffer from a "resource curse," and everybody's new favorite Alaskan, Chad Brad.

In this episode, we have a conversation with freelance reporter Michael Downey. We talk about reporting on war and revolutions in the middle east for New York Times, BBC, PBS NewsHour and Rolling Stone, what it means to be a millennial—how all generations look down on previous generations—and how artificial intelligence will soon take all our jobs. 

In this episode, we have a conversation with Aaron Leggett, the Curator of Alaska History and Culture at the Anchorage Museum. We talk about the identity of Alaskans—the history of the land and its people as a way to lend perspective to the present and the future—and the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, the history of it and why we have such a sense of entitlement about it.

Before Dustin was a host!    In this episode, Cody and Tubby have a conversation with Dustin H James of Tailgate Alaska, a freeride festival in the heart of Thompson Pass. They talk about how Dustin is currently "living in an 80s ski movie," what it really means to be successful and his life after recently taking the reins of Tailgate. This episode was recorded with a USB mic.    

In this episode, we have a conversation with longtime alt-weekly journalist and documentarian David Holthouse. Holthouse has worked for the Anchorage Daily News, the Anchorage Press, and the Village Voice in Phoenix. This episode was recorded in a studio.