Crude Conversations

EP 056 with John Norris

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with Anchorage comedian John Norris. John’s parents were pastors for the Salvation Army, so a good portion of his upbringing was spent moving around. He says that in order to make friends in these new places, you could either be good at sports or be funny. John chose to be funny. He says that he doesn’t exactly remember a defining moment that really pushed him toward comedy, but that he listened to a lot of comedy albums as a kid and watched a lot of stand-up on Comedy Central. Then, when he was about 23, he did his first open mic at the Wood Shed, a bar in Anchorage that has since closed. It’s been about 10 years since that first open mic and he’s still at it, the difference being he’s now an integral part of the local comedy scene.
John likes to make people laugh, but more importantly he likes to watch his friends make people laugh. His experience in the Alaska stand-up scene—telling jokes, hanging out and laughing with friends, and opening up for headliners—is something he wants to share with other fans of comedy. So, he started Bear Bones Comedy, a small promotion company that’s trying to bring comedians up to Alaska. The idea is to establish a consistently funny show that features headliners and local comedians.

EP 055 with Ben Bogart

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with professional snowboarder Ben Bogart. Ben grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, he played hockey for Bartlett high school, but mainly he snowboarded. Cody has known Ben for most of his life, and has always known him to be a fast learner. So, it wasn’t long after he started snowboarding that he was getting shots in JB Deuce snowboard and skateboard videos in the 90s and early 2000s. He later became a fixture in the Think Thank films. He credits, among others, Jesse Burtner of Think Thank and Sean Genovese of Dinosaurs Will Die snowboards, for always believing in him. Ben's 36 years old now, he’s still snowboarding, still coaching, and still the happy guy he’s always been.  
 
For those listeners who grew up during those old Boarderline Alaska snow and skate days, this conversation is a trip down memory lane. If you still recall years of your childhood based on what snowboard videos came out that year, then you’ll be right at home. If you weren’t a part of that time, then all you really need to know is that those days symbolize a period of great adventure and growth in the Alaska snowboard and skateboard scene. And Ben represents how so many kids felt during that time, and how it continues to affect them well into adulthood.

EP 054 with Kate Trefry

In this one, Cody has a conversation with Stranger Things staff writer and story editor Kate Trefry. When she was a kid growing up in Anchorage, Alaska Kate says she was an obsessive reader and writer. That those two things have always been part of who she is. The need to express herself and to leave a mark was imprinted on her at a young age when her parents took her to Italy and she saw all the timeless pieces of art. From that point on, she's been interested in leaving a legacy. Although the specifics of that idea have changed throughout her life, especially after the birth of her daughter, it remains just as important now as it did then. 
 
It’s no surprise that the road to Hollywood success is turbulent. It’s something many pursue, but very few achieve. For those few, it usually comes in the form of the illusive big break, such was the case with Kate. After years of pursuing a career in show business and working odd jobs to make ends meet, she landed an interview with The Duffer Brothers—the creators of Stranger Things. This opportunity didn’t just come out nowhere though, it was the culmination of years of hard work and false starts and bad meetings and rejection letters. But that’s what she realized separates the successful from the unsuccessful in Hollywood—the ability to endure the hardships and not give up.

EP 053 with Roger Sparks

In this episode, Cody and guest host Whitney Branshaw have a conversation with retired marine and pararescueman Roger Sparks. In 2010, Roger was part of operation Bulldog Bite 2 Charlie, a heavy firefight with insurgents in the Watapur Valley in Afghanistan. The fight was, as Roger puts it, surreal. He talks about how, after the fight, he was in such disbelief that he checked Wikipedia for proof that the fight actually happened. For his part, he was awarded the Silver Star, one of the highest awards for valor in combat you can receive from the United States Armed Forces.
 
 
After a 25-year-long career in special forces, Roger is now a tattoo artist and author. It’s taken him a long time to be where he is now—with the understanding and the self-analysis that comes with soul searching. His perspective is a reflection of a life spent in uncomfortable situations, be it as a Recon Marine, an Air Force pararescueman, or a tattoo artist. Because, as he puts, “if you’re risking virtuously, it leads to better and more things.”

EP 052 with Kyle Clayton

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with Kyle Clayton, the owner of Chilkat Valley News. To understand how Kyle ended up in Haines, he starts with the four years he served in the army. He explains that his upbringing in Indiana instilled in him a feeling of isolation, like the rest of the world and the experiences it held always felt out of reach. That was, until the army opened up the world to him.
When Kyle left the army, the camaraderie of his friends, and the extreme experiences, he said civilian life made him feel alienated. So, he was constantly searching for those extreme environments and battle-born friendships. That’s how he eventually found himself in Alaska. Now, as a reporter and the owner of Chilkat Valley News, he does his part in helping to tell the story of Haines, Alaska.

EP051 with Rosie Mancari

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with professional snowboarder and Olympian Rosie Mancari. Rosie began snowboarding at Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska at 3-years-old. At 15, she was competing in local competitions, and at 17 she moved out of state to begin training full-time. At 21, she began racing for the U.S Ski and Snowboard Team. Her sport is boardercross, probably the closest discipline in snowboarding to a contact sport. Riders race down a course of banked turns, rollers, drops and jumps at high speeds. As you might imagine, the accidental, and also purposeful, shove or collision is not uncommon.
In 2018, Rosie tore both of her Achilles’ tendons during practice at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Three infections and eight surgeries later brings us to where she is now: daily rehab. If you’ve ever been badly injured, then you know that rehabbing an injury correctly takes patience. Otherwise you run the risk of injuring it again, and having to start the surgery-rehab process over. Rosie is all too familiar with this process. She’s been injured before and knows what it takes to get back on her board. She understands the importance of patience to physical and mental health, and that being happy always takes precedence over her athletic career.
Thanks to Elliott Condon for help with interview questions.

EP 050 with Philippa Hughes

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with Philippa Hughes, the founder of Curiosity Connects Us, an organization that connects people who would not typically associate with each other. Specifically democrats and republicans. The idea came about after the 2016 election didn’t turn out the way Philippa had hoped. So, she came up with an idea to learn why. She decided to host a dinner at her home in Washington D.C., where she invited liberals and conservatives. Her mission was to create a space where both sides of the aisle could meet in a setting conducive to meaningful conversation. Since that first dinner, Philippa has hosted many similar dinners, and says that the project is about sitting across from one another and having a nuanced conversation. 
This conversation came about by way of a LinkedIn message. Jeff Salzgeber, with New American Economy, a bipartisan immigration advocacy and reform organization, messaged Cody about a tour making a stop in Anchorage, Alaska called “Looking For America,” of which Philippa's organization Curiosity Connects Us is part of. The goal of the tour is to answer a fundamental question: “What does it mean to be American?” 
Philippa says that it’s impossible to universally answer that question because everyone’s American experience is unique. Which is why, throughout the conversation, she emphasizes the importance of face-to-face interaction and civil discourse. Because, she says, when we listen to each other, we learn more.

EP 049 with David Reamer

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with Anchorage public historian David Reamer. A public historian is concerned with including a public audience, while an academic historian is generally concerned with including an audience of their peers. Academic historians, David says, have a tendency to create an echo chamber of ideas that perpetuates and builds off of old and often prejudiced narratives. Whereas the purpose of the public historian is to deliver information to the people if affects. David calls this, "the democratization of knowledge."
A lot of David's work is concerned with Anchorage's historical relationship with race. Generally, how Anchorage has never been as tolerant as it likes to believe. He points to Alaska's self-identification of exceptionalism, the idea that Alaska is better than other places because our morals and our values have always been ahead of their time. David says this has never been the case because, unless you're Alaska Native, you or your family moved here from somewhere else, bringing with you the beliefs and disposition of your original home. However, above all, he believes in change and the power of self-determination. That precedent matters because change begets change. 

"lost anchorage" EP 05 with Claude "Muff" Butler

In this episode of "lost anchorage," we look at the Anchorage drug trade through the perspective of an ex drug dealer. Claude "Muff" Butler ran a crackhouse in late '80s. After he gave that up, he made deliveries all over town. Between dealing drugs, prison and tragedy, Muff's past was a turbulent one. Today, he is an ideal example of someone who turned their life around. He now teaches kids how to play basketball and emphasizes the importance of school. 

EP 048 with Libby Bakalar

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with Libby Bakalar, the creator of the One Hot Mess blog. Libby’s One Hot Mess originally began as a mommy-blog, where she wrote about things like recipes, make-up, and the trials and tribulations of parenting. She says it transformed into what it is now—a social justice blog—after President Trump was elected and especially after Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy was elected. She explains that, as a lawyer, she really had no choice but to speak truth to power because if she were to stay quiet in the compassionless government we’re currently living in, then she would be complicit in the repercussions. 
The transformation of One Hot Mess from a mommy blog to a social justice blog comes from Libby’s sense of a moral imperative—if she doesn’t call these people out, then who will? If she’s not critical of the powers that be and the injustices that they effectuate, then who will be? She believes that when push comes to shove, Alaskans will always band together for the greater good. For the values and the morals that make us who we are. Because, at the end of the day, she believes that we have a lot more common experiences than we think we do.