Paw'd Defiance

In this episode of the podcast, we discuss identity, perfectionism, and higher education with UW Tacoma Academic Advisor Ashley Walker. A self-described, "multi-racial mother of two," Walker holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree from UW Tacoma.  Her success wasn't easy. Walker had to overcome societal expectations and lingering self-doubt to get to where she is tod...

From villains with razorblade gloves to mad scientists and everything in between, the monstrous, or monsters, are big business. The horror genre is very popular but behind the jump-out-of-your-seat scares and the gore lies something else. In this episode, we'll talk about the monstrous with UW Tacoma Associate Professor Ingrid Walker and UW Tacoma alumnus Dustin Annis. Walker teaches a course...

The 2020 election is fast approaching. As the race heats up, so too does the level of disinformation. In this episode, we talk with Jevin West. West is the director of the University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public . West and his team study misinformation. We'll discuss the misinformation surrounding mail-in voting. We'll also talk about deep fakes and the very real po...

Katrina Johnson planned on becoming a nurse. Instead, she's become a public figure in the movement to bring more accountability to policing. In 2017, Johnson's cousin Charleena Lyles was shot and killed by Seattle Police who were responding to a burglary call made by Ms. Lyles. The shooting prompted Johnson to get involved in police reform. In this episode Johnson talks about her role in...

Omari Amili earned a bachelor's and a master's degree from UW Tacoma. He's the author of three books - a memoir and two children's books. Amili is a sought after speaker and reguarly gives talks through Humanities Washington. Amili grew up in poverty. His parents struggled with drug addiction. The young Amili bounced around from place to place. He attended 15 different schools...

The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the inequities built into the U.S. healthcare system. In this episode of the podcast we continue our conversation with UW Tacoma Assistant Professor Sharon Laing and UW Associate Profesor Wendy Barrington. We talk specifically about how the pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color. Laing and Barrington also discuss the health impacts of racism a...

On this episode of the podcast we talk about the social determinants of health with UW Tacoma Assistant Professor Sharon Laing and UW Associate Professor Wendy Barrington. Laing and Barrington research how different factors, including racism, impact a person's health. We'll talk about how racist policies and practicies negatively impact health outcomes for people of color. These outcomes...

Pro Bono means 'for the good.' In this sense we're talking about the public good or the common good. In this episode of the podcast we talk UW Tacoma Legal Pathways Director Patricia Sully and Tacomaprobono 's Ashley Duckworth. Tacomaprobono provides free legal services to Pierce County residents. We'll talk about those services and as well as the different career opportun...

UW Tacoma Associate Professor Jane Compson joins us to talk about mindfulness. Compson researches mindfulness and has created a program to help caregivers manage stress. We'll talk about her work and her efforts to incorporate mindfulness into the classroom. Compson will also walk us through a short mindfulness meditation.

The Tacoma Urban League has been serving the Grit City for more than 50 years. The Urban League's mission is "to assist African Americans and other underserved urban residents in the achievement of social equality and economic independence." In this episode we talk with the Urban League's President & CEO T'wina Nobles about differrent programs and services the organiza...

Harold Moss is a local icon. The civil rights advocate and businessman became Tacoma's first African-American mayor in 1994. Moss recently sat down with UW Tacoma part-time lecturer Kim Davenport to talk about his life, including his experiences with racism in Tacoma and the death of George Floyd.

In this episode we hear from three members of the class of 2020. Raihab Baig, Aaron Johnson and Stacey Fernandez reflect on their time at UWT. They also discuss the challenges of this past quarter as COVID-19 forced all instruction to go online. Finally, the three talk about graduating from college at a time of so much uncertainty.

This is a special episode of the podcast. We asked the UW Tacoma community to help us congratulate the class of 2020. A number of faculty, staff and even some parents responded with their messages. Enjoy!

The COVID-19 pandemic brought out the best in people and the worst. In this episode we talk about racism directed at members of the Asian American community. We spoke with students, faculty and staff at UW Tacoma to get their perspectives on racist insults and attacks targeting Asian Americans. Rachel Endo, the Dean of UW Tacoma’s School of Education helps put what we’re seeing now into a larger h...

Jeff Rice is the Managing Editor at the Puget Sound Institute at the University of Washington Tacoma. As a wildlife sound recordist, he serves as the program director for the Acoustic Atlas, one of the largest online archives of sounds of the American West. Rice has a background in journalism and public radio, as well as an MFA in Electronic Music and Recording Media. Rice has successfully found a...

In this episode we chat with Riki Thompson. Thompson is an Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Writing Studies at UW Tacoma. We talk with Thompson about her research into online dating, specifically what makes a "good" profile as well as the differences between how men and women use online dates sites and apps. In the second part of the conversation we talk about how "survival datin...

A follow up to the episode " Finding a Silver Lining In a Time of Pandemic ," host Sarah Smith reconnects with friends overseas in Spain, Australia and Norway again to find out what's changed in their country, how they've adapted to life during a pandemic, and their perceptions of what's happening here in America.  A big thanks to Nick Roden, Ph. D., Leslie Ihnot, Raul Mor...

Like a lot of people, UW Tacoma Lecturer Maria-Tania Bandes-Becerra Weingarden is working from home right now. And, like a lot of us, Bandes-Becerra Weingarden is figuring out how to find a work-life balance when work and life happen all in the same space. In this episode she talks about living in a house with six other people. Bandes-Becerra Weingarden also discusses her thoughts about the future...

The COVID-19 pandemic has created what the World Health Organization calls an "infodemic." Technology has made it possible for information to travel quickly around the world. Combine that with a virus that isn't fully understood and you get a information ecosystem where it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. In this episode we talk with Dr. Jevin West. West is the Direct...

In this episode we hand over the microphone to UW Tacoma Lecturer Tony Perone and his mom Magda. Madga is a nurse in Yonkers, New York. She's spent the past few months helping patients with COVID-19. The conversation between mother and son is, at times, sad but it's also loving and even joyful. Magda talks about what it's like to be with a person during their final hours and she ref...

On this episode of the podcast with UW Tacoma Associate Professor Robin Evans-Agnew. Evans-Agnew researches asthma and environmental justice. He's part of a project along with Assistant Professor Christopher Schell called Voices Unbound . Voices Unbound uses different methods, including post cards and podcasts to get input about environmental issues from groups that are often ignored by polic...

Over the past few weeks, we've collectively experience a pandemic that's required a strength and resourcefulness many of us didn't know we were capable of. We've made sacrifices, moved our lives indoors, and we're still unsure of what's to come.  "Since I started at UWT, life has become busier, and as a result, I've lost touch with some friends. But when the...

Rosa Franklin is a local icon.  She was the first black woman elected to the Washington State Senate, serving the 29th Legislative District in the Tacoma area. Born in the Jim Crow era South, Franklin moved to Tacoma in the 1950s. Franklin holds bachelor's degrees in biology and English and a master's in social science and human relations. She worked as a nurse for 40 years before joinin...

UW Tacoma Ed. D. Director Robin Starr Zape-tah-hol-ah Minthorn (Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, Apache, Nez Perce, Umatilla and Assiniboine) recently wrote an article for Higher Education Today where she discussed ways colleges and universities can better meet the needs of its Indigenous students. We'll talk about her recommendations. We'll also discuss a paper Minthorn co-wrote about a theoret...

We're joined by UW Tacoma Associate Professor David Coon and Destiny City Film Festival's Executive Director Emily Nakada-Alm to discuss how movies play a part in shaping our culture, and the way our social identities are reflected in and affected by the movies we watch. We'll also talk about film festivals as an important format for storytelling outside of the media industry, as we...