East Anchorage Book Club with Andrew Gray

Andrew Gray
  • 4.9 (34)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED BIMONTHLY
East Anchorage Book Club with Andrew Gray

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

  1. 1D AGO

    Genevieve Mina Revisited

    Send us a text This interview was originally published in March of 2023. Anchorage born Representative Genevieve Mina talks about growing up as part of a unique family business and how those experiences helped her when challenged with her own childhood trauma.  She also touches on forging her own professional path against cultural norms.

    24 min

  2. JUL 10

    Will Stapp Revisited

    Send us a text This episode originally aired in March of 2023. Will Stapp tells of his childhood being raised by his grandparents, going to war in Iraq and moving to Alaska to raise a family and ultimately become a member of the Alaska House of Representatives.

    36 min

  3. JUN 30

    Tom Hewitt: former Opinions Editor at the Anchorage Daily News & special assistant to Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Grier Hopkins

    Send us a text Journalist Tom Hewitt is the former opinions editor of the Anchorage Daily News from 2018 to 2024. He previously was editorial page editor of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and news director of KTVF and KXDF in Fairbanks. He is currently special assistant to Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Grier Hopkins.  This interview is part of a series regarding the media landscape in Alaska in 2025.

    1h 18m

  4. JUN 21

    Mara Kimmel: Director of the ACLU of Alaska discusses ICE detainees held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex

    Send us a text Dr. Mara Kimmel is the Executive Director of the ACLU of Alaska and former first lady of Anchorage. Prior to taking the helm of the ACLU of Alaska, She had a long career in Alaska public policy focused on rights and justice in northern communities. She has served on the faculty at the Seattle University School of Law, the University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University. Most relevant to our conversation today, Dr. Kimmel worked for over a decade as an immigration attorney and as an advocate for tribal subsistence rights. In her role as first lady of Anchorage, as wife to Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, she led the development of Welcoming and Resilience initiatives at the Municipality of Anchorage.  She serves on the national board of directors for Welcoming America, the regional advisory board for the Anti-Defamation League, and is a board member and co-founder of the Alaska Institute for Justice. Mara received her law degree from the University of Minnesota School of Law and her Master’s degree in Natural Resource Management at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She earned her PhD in Environmental Science and Policy from Central European University in Budapest in 2014.   To listen to the Alaska State House Judiciary Committee hearing on ICE detainees in DOC custody, click here.

    1 hr

  5. JUN 17

    PRIDE 2025: Rose O'Hara-Jolley, AK state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates

    Send us a text Rose O’Hara-Jolley is the Alaska State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. Planned Parenthood is a network of 600 health clinics across the country -- Alaska has two (one in Fairbanks and one in Anchorage) --  that provide reproductive and sexual health care including birth control, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, cancer screenings, well-woman exams and mental health care.  Planned Parenthood is the only provider of abortions in Alaska. Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates is separate from the health care clinics; it is an advocacy organization tasked with keeping the Planned Parenthood clinics open and accessible. As head of that organization, Rose directs all of their advocacy including legislative lobbying, electoral engagement, endorsed candidate programming, local organizing, and youth leadership development.

    57 min

  6. JUN 9

    PRIDE 2025: JJ Harrier, Chair of the Anchorage Pride Parade

    Send us a text  JJ Harrier is the 2025 chair of the Anchorage Pride Parade. After a childhood in Girdwood, he traveled around the lower 48 and Europe trying to find himself ultimately ending up homeless on the streets of Portland in his early 30s. His mother got him into rehab in Alaska and from there his life took a different direction. JJ is the former Vice President of Marketing for the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, the former Director of Development for Alaska Addiction Rehabilitation Services at Nugent’s Ranch, and is currently the Director of Development at Denali Family Services.

    41 min

  7. JUN 5

    Rep. Zack Fields (D-Anchorage) discusses the US Congressional Budget Reconciliation Act of 2025

    Send us a text Alaska State House Representative for Downtown Anchorage Zack Fields explains the budget reconciliation bill recently passed in the US House by a single vote. That bill is now in the US Senate, where if it is not substantially amended, it would adversely affect Alaska in many ways. One is cutting funding for SNAP – which is the federal food stamp program.  About 70,000 Alaskans receive SNAP benefits. The bill would also significantly affect Medicaid – which is government health insurance for low-income people and families. About 250,000 Alaskans are enrolled in Medicaid. The bill offers significant tax cuts that primarily benefit the ultra wealthy. Ultimately, if the 2025 budget reconciliation bill passes as is, it would massively increase the federal deficit which is already alarmingly high and has contributed to a reduction in America’s credit rating.  To listen to Rep. Zack Field's previous episode on the podcast (where we discuss him and his life), click here.

    28 min

  8. MAY 26

    Tessa Hulls: 2025 Pulitzer Prize winner for her graphic memoir, "Feeding Ghosts," & Alaska Legislative Lounge Staff

    Send us a text Tessa Hulls is the 2025 Pulitzer prize winner for her graphic  memoir Feeding Ghosts. Tessa is only the second graphic novelist to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize, the first being Art Speigleman for Maus in 1992. Tessa was kitchen staff for this past legislative session in Juneau. She worked in the legislative lounge every day making legislators' breakfasts and lunches. No one knew she was an author and certainly no one expected the woman serving us our soup to be announced as the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winner.  We discuss her incognito lounge staff role and how it helped her cope with her newfound international fame. Here is a description of Hulls' book which we will be discussing today: "Feeding Ghosts is a powerful graphic memoir that explores the enduring impact of history and generational trauma on three generations of Chinese women. The memoir follows Hulls' grandmother, Sun Yi, a journalist who fled Shanghai after the 1949 Communist victory, and the ways her experiences shaped her daughter and granddaughter. The book delves into themes of love, grief, exile, identity, and the haunting legacy of trauma."

    53 min
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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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