Nerd Farmer Podcast

This is a conversation about tariffs—with an economist who is an expert in making it plain. We’re starting with the basics: Tariffs are taxes on imports, and they’re usually passed on to consumers. So, in...

Marguerite Martin is a co-founder of Channel 253 and creator of Move to Tacoma. This is an update to her and my ongoing conversation about housing policy and real estate. You can find my previous...

Amanda Willams is a former teacher in Seattle Public Schools and is the creator of the Seattle Green Book, an online listing of Black Owned Businesses in the Seattle Area. She joined us to talk...

This week’s episode is a change of pace for the show.  Film critic Chase Hutchinson joined us for a conversation about the upcoming 97th Academy Awards. We talked through who we think will win each...

Following the inauguration of Donald Trump last month, reactions in the U.S. ranged from jubilation to alarm—depending on one’s political leanings and level of engagement. But how is the new admin being received beyond American...

In this episode, we discuss the US’ renewed expansionist ambitions with Zoltan Grossman, a professor of Geography and Indigenous Studies at Evergreen State College. Grossman helped me unpack some throughlines connecting 19th century Manifest Destiny...

One of the least discussed stories in US public education is our decision to walk away from what worked. School integration in the US peaked in 1987, coinciding with the achievement gap between Black and...

The war in Ukraine is a functional stalemate with the Russian death toll nearing 200k. Growth is down in the Russian economy and inflation and prices are up. Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia’s greatest...

Hundreds of fishermen laboring on U.S.-flagged ships in American waters face a harsh reality: wage theft, exploitative conditions, and little recourse. Cyrus Donato, one of over 140 inspectors for the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF),...

In this episode, we sat down with Anne Lutz Fernandez—former investment banker, retired teacher, and co-author of Schooled—to discuss education’s role in the 2024 election.  We discussed Trump’s first-term policies, Biden and Harris’s records on...