Advertise on podcast: East Anchorage Book Club with Andrew Gray

Send us a text Without additional funding, the Anchorage School District is facing a $90 million shortfall for the 2026-2027 school year. The pupil-to-teacher ratio is expected to increase by 4. Multiple positions will be cut all over the district, from vice-principals to teachers, from counselors to nurses, from clerks to custodians. Many sports will also be completely eliminated, including swimming, tennis, volleyball, and hockey. Some schools may close. Here to discuss the funding crisis are ASD School Board President Carl Jacobs, Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School teacher Janice Strickland, and ASD Superintendent Dr. Jharrett Bryantt. To listen to Dr. Bryantt's previous podcast episode, click here.

Send us a text Former US Senator Mark Begich was born in Anchorage in 1962 to, at the time, Alaska State Senator Nick Begich who would go on to become US House Representative in 1970 and whose plane would disappear in 1972. Mark opened the Mother Lode night club when he was 16, was appointed to the youth commission by Mayor George Sullivan in 1980 and served in Mayor Tony Knowles' administration, all that before being elected to the Anchorage Assembly at age 26 -- the youngest ever to serve on that body. He was sworn in as mayor of Anchorage on July 1, 2003, and elected to the US Senate in 2008 defeating Senator Ted Stevens. He served just one term before being defeated by Sen. Dan Sullivan in 2014. Listen to Mark's brother Tom Begich's podcast episode here. Listen to Mark's son Jacob Begich's appearance on the podcast here.

Send us a text Brian Fechter was the Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Revenue for the state of Alaska from 2021-2023. Brian grew up in Pennsylvania and moved to Alaska in 2012. He worked various financial positions in the state government before becoming Deputy Commissioner of Revenue. In 2023 he became the budget advisor for then Washington Governor Jay Inslee. Last year he moved to Idaho where he currently serves as the executive director for budget and financial planning for the College of Western Idaho. Much of today's conversation revolves around Brian's recent article published in the Alaska Landmine entitled, "The Alaska Legislature could learn a lot from Washington and Idaho."

Send us a text Immigration attorney Nicolas Olano was born and raised in Colombia. He moved to Florida for high school, but went back to Colombia for law school. After a short practice there, he decided to return to America where, due to Colombia's different legal education system, he had to attend law school a second time in Florida. He has been practicing immigration law for 24 years. He and his wife Lara Nations own Nations Law Group based in Anchorage where they exclusively practice immigration law. Nicolas discusses how his practice has changed during President Donald Trump’s second term and how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been functioning in Anchorage.

Send us a text Bolts Magazine Journalist Alex Burness discusses his article from January 8, 2026, “Americans by Name, Punished for Believing it.” The story is an in-depth look at the case of Tupe Smith, an American Samoan woman living in Whittier who was persuaded to run for school board in 2023 and was elected only to learn afterwards that she was unqualified and had actually committed a crime. Then, ten other American Samoans in Whittier were charged with voter fraud.  American Samoa is the only U.S. territory where residents are not automatically granted citizenship by being born on American soil and instead are considered U.S. nationals. Paths to citizenship exist, such as naturalization, though that process can be expensive and cumbersome. The American Samoans in this story are charged with felonies and face up to ten years in prison even though very few Alaskans understand American Samoans' status. Just a few days ago, on Thursday, January 15, 2026, the Alaska Court of Appeals heard arguments in the case against Tupe Smith. There’s a chance that the court might dismiss the charges against Ms Smith; however, the state could then bring different charges or could appeal to the Alaska Supreme Court.   

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.  

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.

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.

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.

Send us a text Anna Taylor is the executive director of the Alaska Institute for Justice which is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the rights of everyone living in Alaska regardless of immigration status. Anna is the daughter of a Vermont State House Rep father and a veterinarian mother. Anna got interested in law while living in Ghana, West Africa, and initially wanted to work in international law, but an experience in law school convinced her that she could do more good by helping folks navigate the American immigration system. Her work at AIJ has largely revolved around helping survivors of abuse acquire legal status in the United States.  Read: "ICE shift in tactics leads to a soaring number of at-large arrests," by Mairanne Levine, Emmanuel Martinez, & Alvaro Valino, here.

Send us a text Dr. Michael Livingston is an Unangax̂ historian. The Unangax̂ are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, also known by the Russian-given name Aleut. For many years it was thought that Benny Benson designed the Alaska state flag when he was 13 and that, because he had been born in Chignik, that he was Alutiiq. But thanks to the research and persistence of our guest today, Benny Benson’s birth certificate was posthumously corrected; we now know he was 14 when he designed the Alaska state flag. We also know that Benny’s maternal ancestors are from Unalaska making Benny Unangax̂, not Alutiiq. We discuss Dr. Michael Livingston’s own story, Unangax̂ history, and Benny Benson.