We’re closing out the summer with another edition of the Tacoma Small Business Series. This episode features Chris Langston of Proof, a new-ish cocktail lounge in Old Town. Chris was previously the mind behind en Rama, Hilltop Kitchen, and 1022 South J.

Chris is a great dude. He brings an apothecary approach to cocktails and has been serving up premium hooch in the city for nearly twenty years.

In this conversation he talks about the origins of Proof and some lessons learned from his time in the service industry.

Proof is located at 2312 N 30th in Old Town.

Cast of Characters

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Halley returned as our most frequent guest, joined by Trayton for his third book club appearance, to take on How to Stand Up to a Dictator by Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa. We started with our entry points: what drew each of us to the book, what readers should know about Ressa’s career and work, and why her story felt urgent in this moment. Trayton gave a concise overview for those who hadn’t read it, and from there we compared first impressions—where the book was most effective and where it came up short.

The discussion then turned to the details: the passages that stayed with us, the impact of Ressa choosing memoir as her form, and the ways her ideas connected to our own lives. We also explored the limits of the text and pointed listeners toward other works worth reading alongside it for anyone concerned with disinformation, democracy, and resisting authoritarianism. 

It is a thoughtful conversation about the stakes of truth and the courage required to defend it.

Cast of Characters

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Lisa Keating is an advocate for student well-being and making sure schools in Tacoma are welcoming to all students. This fall she is running for re-election. In this conversation, we looked back on her first campaign, how the pandemic has shaped the last half decade of schooling in Tacoma, the $30 million shortfall the district faced in the spring, and the work ahead for the school board.

Keating was elected to the Tacoma School Board in 2019. 

Cast of Characters: Lisa Keating – Campaign Website

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Jordan Harper is an award winning writer, born and raised in the Ozarks, now based in Los Angeles. 

Most widely known for award-winning novel She Rides Shotgun and his other crime fiction, he previously worked as a music and film critic. His works explore the LA underworld, its associated violence, and are populated with complex, nuanced characters.  

Other Works

Cast of Characters: Jordan Harper – Bluesky

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Senator Jessica Bateman represents the 22nd District in the Washington State Legislature. She is the chamber’s most outspoken housing advocate.

She joined us for a conversation about the wins, losses, and unfinished work on housing in the 2025 legislative session.

She is a champion for new housing (of all types) and was the lead sponsor of this year’s rent stabilization legislation. Senator Bateman’s prior appearances on the podcast are linked below.

Cast of Characters: Senator Bateman – Legislative Website

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Bill Fitzgerald is a privacy activist and vociferous critic of the data protection practices of Big Tech.

In this week’s episode Bill came on to talk about the data privacy implications of putting AI in everything (and putting everything, as in your data, into AI), and the wider societal implications.

Bill also did an episode of Off-the-Record about data privacy precautions to take when transiting through customs and immigration. Channel 253 Members can check the member only podcast feed and Member Slack for that conversation.

Cast of Characters: Bill – Mastodon

Going Further: Protecting Your Online Privacy — Bill Fitzgerald, Privacy Activist — #161

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After seventeen emails, dating back to December, we finally have the conversation I’ve been chasing with Diana Kuprych.

Diana is a Ukrainian student doing her graduate studies at the London School of Economics. Her thesis focuses on security guarantees between states, with an obvious emphasis on events in and around Kyiv. This is a conversation about the war, but also about the past, present, and future rebuilding of Ukraine.

She joined us on the recommendation of three time past show guest Jeff Hawn.

Cast of Characters: Diana – email

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Melissa Santos is a reporter for Axios covering Seattle and the State Legislature. We’ve been podding with Melissa since 2017. She is a regular on the show and one of our most requested and re-requested guests by listeners.  

She joined us to talk about the recently concluded Washington State Legislative session, the punt on the wealth tax, and the leadership of Governor Ferguson in his first term as governor.

Cast of Characters: Melissa – Bluesky

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Tori is an anti-racist educator and writer. She grew up in a deeply conservative evangelical family and is now an out-spoken critic of racism and misogyny that lurks within in some Christian communities.  

She joined us to talk about the influence of 90s far right religious ideology, now at the center of the current administration’s policies.

She also joined us in 2022 for a very prescient conversation about Black Conservatism and the Democratic Party.

Cast of Characters: Tori – Website

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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 plain terms, a tariff on China is really a tariff on you.

By the end of this episode, you’ll understand what tariffs are, how they affect trade, and why the current tariff policies in the US are shaping up to be a drag on both the American and global economies.

Our guest today is Abdullah Al Bahrani—better known as Dr. A. He’s a full professor of economics and associate dean at the Haile College of Business, where he leads graduate programs, research, and outreach initiatives. His own research focuses on household finance and how people make financial decisions.

He previously joined us in April 2021 to talk about personal finance education in schools.

Cast of Characters: Dr. A – Website

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The Nerd Farmer Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts and is brought to you by Libro FM 

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