New Jersey Is The World

March Madness is upon us! And Jersey cares about basketball. Jersey style basketball also directly reflects the state and its attitude. In this episode, Chris talks with Jerry Carino from the Asbury Park Press, who knows more about Jersey basketball than maybe anyone else on earth. They talk about where things are at right now, as well as the bigger picture of how this sport and the state's relationship with it show off things about the Garden State's mindset. It's a good one!**PLEASE NOTE** that the intro was recorded on Sunday afternoon, and that evening there was a huge shock: Rutgers did *not* make the tournament. It's considered the biggest surprise snub in the sport. Both Rutgers and Seton Hall are in the less prestigious NIT tournament, and if both win two games they'll face each other there in what would be a weirdly contentious game for the NIT.Jersey fans, it looks like we now have to all rally behind the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights, who face off against Texas Southern in the NCAA tournament on March 15th. And maybe even... PRINCETON?! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's certain qualities that we all like to think of as "Jersey". And in the Garden State, we think of many great representatives of this state who demonstrate that grit, tenacity, and attitude. We love celebrating the people who embody "Jersey" as an adjective. But it does beg the question - when we're done celebrating NJ natives that nail it in a good way... who are the least Jersey Jersey people out there?We had fun making this one and can not wait to see who you all think should be added to the list of decidedly un-Jersey people from Jersey. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello fine people of New Jersey!Today on NJITW, Andrea and I are talking to Jim Brown, a professor at Rutgers Camden involved pretty heavily with unionization efforts at our state university. Not sure if you've heard about this, but things aren't going great on this front. In fact, there's a pending strike on the horizon at my (and many of yours') alma mater.Jim walks us through what professors are asking for, how the university can mess with Camden and Newark by creatively presenting the budget, how athletics tie into the big picture at the school financially, and so much more. It's a fascinating conversation and we hope things get settled the right way, without too much duress, and ideally without holdovers from the Christie administration at the wheel. That part's just weird.If you are interested in supporting after hearing this, there is a Rutgers Board of Governors' meeting TOMORROW, the 28th of February. Union actions will be held on all three Rutgers campuses, with a particular focus at the Newark campus, where said meeting is taking place.And here are some links if you'd like to learn more about what's going on:Alumni petition:https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/rutgers-you-need-to-negotiate-fair-union-contracts-2Rutgers AAUP-AFT Twitter:https://twitter.com/ruaaup"Not so fun facts" about the Rutgers Budget (infographics):https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HuBn5RCbWm8TmAKHn8vE4j2BYV4qA_uRUnions say Chris Christie's labor legacy playing out in Rutgers University contract talkshttps://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/01/chris-christie-labor-rutgers-university-contract-00079714  Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Old friend Jeremy Schneider returns to the show and this time he's brought his NJ.com editor Bobby Olivier with him. These two psychos spent a long time publishing articles detailing why New Jersey is better than every single other state. They went one by one. 49 articles, a compendium of which can be found here. We talked about what it's like to troll 49/50ths of the United States, which states got the most salty about it, which were surprisingly cool, which seem like kindred spirits to Jersey, and in which cases the rivalries felt most real.We also had some tangents about why journalism is vital in general, let alone in Jersey, and why we hope articles like this - the fun ones, the food writing, culture, music, all that stuff - remind people to support the entire efforts of the NJ journalism community. (Someone needs to keep an eye on Norcross, after all.) Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey you! Tomorrow's Valentine's Day. Did you forget? It's cool, we got your back.It's well known that Jersey has produced an embarrassment of riches when it comes to music. From pop to punk to hip hop to r&b, our small state has produced a ridiculous amount of good music relative to its size.This episode builds a perfect Valentine's Day playlist consisting solely of songs with a New Jersey connection. Buy some gas station roses, throw some chocolates down, and put this on for the ultimate Jersey celebration of love. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Months back we stumbled into the knowledge that baseball legend and Newark native Rick Cerone released a song in 1981 called "A Long Way Home". We made it a stated goal to someday talk to this Jersey sports icon about this strange blip in his history.Huge thanks to listener Erin, who was able to put us in touch with Mr. Cerone, and huge thanks to Rick himself, who is a charming ass dude with many stories to share. From the story behind the aforementioned song, to coming up in Essex County, he has no shortage of stories...... but perhaps most importantly, he reveals the existence of a New Jersey organization that is beyond our wildest imagination. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our series focusing on New Jersey's largest city continues, this time featuring an interview with one of the most badass people I've ever had the pleasure of talking to: Maria Lopez-Nunez of the Ironbound Community Corporation.She's done an amazing amount of work focusing on environmentalism in Newark. I've thought long and hard about the relationship between Newark and its suburbs (like the one I grew up in), but always from a social and economic sense. Until speaking with Maria, I never understood how Newark carries a burden directly from its suburbs in an environmental sense as well.This conversation is eye opening and mind blowing and I bet you're going to be as inspired by it as I am! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we continue our spotlight on small businesses around the Garden State, or more accurately, "Small businesses in or near Asbury Park", which I swear is not intentional but for some reason a lot of the coolest stuff happening focuses on that area!This episode features an interview with Michelle from Cat's Luck Vegan, who I think might be the coolest person in New Jersey? From accidentally stumbling into being a business owner, to integrating ones' business into a local community that might cast a wary eye, to the importance of making one's space a community center with a set of ethics... Michelle is just doing stuff the right way. I think a lot of people are going to want to head to Cat's Luck asap after hearing this, just to support what Michelle has built. Even if you're like "I don't want vegan food," you might find yourself saying, "If you're that willing to get the cops called on you for throwing hardcore shows in your parking lot, and you make your bakery a place where addicts can find help, I'm down with what you stand for." Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello all!Enjoy this episode of Garden State Gagootz, in which we listen to your voicemails and react to them. If you want to leave a voicemail about anything Jersey related, feel free to do so at 973-780-4660. We'd love to feature you on the show sometime!Gagootz is usually a Patreon exclusive, but we decided to pull it out from behind the paywall this month. If you'd like more episodes of peoples' insane voicemails (and a heckuva lot more exclusive content), sign up at www.patreon.com/newjerseyistheworld Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this very special episode, Chris interviews legendary NJ born and bred comedian Rich Vos about legends of New Jersey comedy. From the Peppermint Lounge in East Orange to almost getting murdered in Denville to the people long forgotten from the NJ scene to the relationship NJ comedy has always had with NYC, Rich has been doing this for a long time and has seen and done literally everything one can do in comedy. His tales of NJ are epic, and his tangents about topics far and wide even more so. His new album VII is out now! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.