East Anchorage Book Club with Andrew Gray

Andrew Gray
  • 4.8 (40)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED BIMONTHLY

The East Anchorage Book Club is an interview podcast where Alaskan leaders discuss politics and community issues. 

  1. 2D AGO

    Rep. Zack Fields (D-Anchorage): Dept. of Transportation (DOT) cuts millions from Anchorage road safety projects

    Send us a text  Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration in December 2025 revealed a Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) that omitted nearly $19 million that Anchorage officials expected to use for projects that would make our city's most dangerous roads safer. The Alaska Department of Transportation (DOT) allocated just $9 million for Anchorage projects out of the $77 million total for the state's program. On the show to comment is Alaska State House Representative Zack Fields whose district includes downtown Anchorage.

    14 min

  2. 3D AGO

    Dr. Shauna Birdsall: Naturopathic doctor on practicing in Alaska

    Send us a text Dr. Shauna Birdsall is a naturopathic doctor with over 25 years of experience in integrative oncology. She got her naturopathic medical degree in Oregon and then did her residency in oncology in Illinois. She later practiced in Arizona and then from there ventured to Alaska in 2019 where she practiced in several oncology practices along allopathic providers in the MatSu, Soldotna, and here in Anchorage.  Allopathic medicine is the medicine that most of us think of as traditional medicine; MDs, DOs, nurse practitioners and physician assistants like myself are part of the allopathic medical tradition while naturopaths are an alternative medical tradition. But as you will hear from our guest today the two are not mutually exclusive. During the course of today's conversation we will reference House Bill 147 sponsored by Representative Mike Prax of North Pole. This legislation would grant Alaska naturopaths the ability to write prescriptions for certain allopathic medications, among other things.

    51 min

  3. 4D AGO

    Kirk Rose: CEO of Anchorage Community Land Trust on the importance of Alaska's foreign-born entrepreneurs

    Send us a text Kirk Rose is the CEO of the Anchorage Community Land Trust (ACLT). ACLT started in Mountain View in 2003 and has supported new housing, public spaces, and businesses ever since. Kirk began as an intern at the organization 15 years ago and has never left. We discuss his journey to this work and the specific role that ACLT plays in supporting foreign-born entrepreneurs here in Anchorage.

    32 min

  4. 5D AGO

    Debra Corbett: archeologist & co-author of, "Culture and Archeology of the Ancestral Unangax̂/Aleut of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska"

    Send us a text Debbie Corbett is an archeologist who has been working in Alaska for over 40 years. After 7 years in the 1980s scouting ancient burial grounds all across Alaska for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, she got her master's degree at the University of Alaska Fairbanks where she specialized in Aleutian archeology. She had already spent time in the Aleutian islands and knew that this region and its people was her passion. Forty years later she and fellow archeologist Diane Hanson have written the definitive textbook on the Aleutian islands and its people, Culture and Archeology of the Ancestral Unangax/Aleut of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, published by Springer in 2025.

    1h 5m

  5. 6D AGO

    Bill Hill: former superintendent of Bristol Bay Borough School District

    Send us a text Bill Hill is the former superintendent of the Bristol Bay Borough School District. Raised in Kokhanok, his family moved to Naknek when he was a sophomore in high school. After earning his teaching credential, Bill returned to Naknek before moving with his wife and 4 kids to Juneau where he taught middle school. After his oldest two kids graduated from Juneau-Douglas High School, the family returned to Naknek where Bill became an administrator in the Lake and Peninsula School District (which had been founded by his uncle Frank Hill). In 2013, Bill became the superintendent of the Bristol Bay Borough School district, a post he held until his retirement in 2023.

    47 min

  6. JAN 9

    Harriet Drummond: former Alaska State House Representative, Anchorage Assembly Member, & Anchorage School Board Member

    Send us a text Harriet Drummond was first elected to the Anchorage School Board in 1994 where she served for nine years. She then represented West Anchorage on the Anchorage Assembly, leaving that post when she was elected to the Alaska State House in 2012 to represent Spenard, North Star, Forest Park, Huntington Park, north Midtown, Rogers Park and Geneva Woods for ten years. She chaired or co-chaired the House Education Committee for six years. In 2022, she lost her seat due to redistricting which left her in a largely new district and challenging another incumbent, Representative Zack Fields. Now, three years out of office, Harriet offers her reflections on her career and insight into issues that matter most to her, primarily public education. Her husband of 22 years, rural economic development consultant Elstun Lauesen, was yesterday's podcast guest; they have been integral members of the Alaska Democratic Party for many decades.

    1h 3m

  7. JAN 7

    Elstun Lauesen: Alaska rural economic developer & democratic champion

    Send us a text Elstun Lauesen grew up in Alaska and after dropping out of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1970, he managed former Alaska State Senator Joe Josephson's campaign for the US Senate to replace Bob Bartlett who had died in office; ultimately Joe lost the Democratic primary to Wendell Kay, and Republican Ted Stevens won that seat. After time at Harvard University (where he lived in Constitutional Law Professor Laurence Tribe's basement), Elstun returned to Alaska where he made a career in rural economic development. We discuss some of his projects on Saint Lawrence Island off the coast of western Alaska.  Elstun is known to many listeners as a progressive firebrand; he and his wife of 21 years, former Alaska State House Representative Harriet Drummond, have been at the heart of Alaska Democratic circles for decades. Elstun has a pulmonary disorder that requires him to use supplemental oxygen and makes extended conversation challenging.

    41 min

  8. JAN 6

    Steve Williams: director of Diversion Programming at APD & former CEO of the Alaska Mental Health Trust

    Send us a text Steve Williams is the director of Diversions Programming at the Anchorage Police Department. The Diversion Program allows officers to offer offenders a path to drug treatment instead of charges at the point of arrest. Previously, Steve was the CEO at the Alaska Mental Health Trust. And. prior to that, he worked for the mental health court. We discuss all three of those roles in detail on today's episode. To listen to APD Chief Sean Case's podcast episode, click here.

    56 min
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4.8
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The East Anchorage Book Club is an interview podcast where Alaskan leaders discuss politics and community issues. 

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