Pacific Time: West Coast What-Ifs

What if protecting immigrants is the best way to protect American identity?

In towns and cities up and down the West Coast, immigrants arrived in search of safety and opportunity. But what happens after they cross the border? Who helps them navigate the broken promises—and the broken systems?

In this episode of Pacific Time, Greg speaks with an immigrant rights advocate who requested anonymity. This person sits with families, fills out their forms, attends their hearings, and looks after them when ICE shows up without warning.

Through our guest’s stories, we hear about the trauma families carry, the cultural resilience they bring, and the urgent need for the West Coast to do more than welcome—to protect. As federal systems collapse and fear spreads, our guest offers a vision of community, solidarity, and soul-saving moral clarity.

Highlights

• Why recent arrivals are grateful—and determined not to be a “public charge”
• How ICE raids, no-warrant arrests, and legal limbo are tearing families apart
• The hidden promise and process gap
• Stories from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cameroon, Syria, and Turkmenistan—and what they reveal
• Why cultural events matter as much as court appearances
• Our guest’s warning: “We are going to lose our souls if we don’t stand up.”

About Our Guest

Our guest leads an immigrant rights advocacy organization in the Pacific Northwest. For years, our guest has worked to ensure that immigrant families receive legal guidance, emotional support, English language education, and cultural affirmation. Due to threats and the sensitive nature of her work, our guest’s identity is protected in this interview.

Resources & References:

• Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
• California Immigrant Policy Center
• El Centro de la Raza
• Oregon for All
• Immigrants' Rights | American Civil Liberties Union
• Separated: Inside an American Tragedy: By Jacob Soboroff
• Asylum, Explained - Boundless
• Red Cards / Tarjetas Rojas | Immigrant Legal Resource Center | ILRC

Related Episodes:

• 15 What if Connection Was A Civic Responsibility? With Aaron Hurst
• 12 What if the Resistance was Funny? With Mark Fiore
• 07 A West Coast Wake-up Call as the US Scrambles the World Order? With John Zysman

Join the movement:

💬  Participate in active, civil conversations with your neighbors on the West Coast who are asking ‘What if…?’ For example, what if your ancestors were fleeing violence or persecution where they grew up today? How would that change the way you look at immigrant rights and processes? Subscribe (for free) and let’s discuss on Substack.

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🎧 Pacific Time Podcast is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms. Follow, share, and leave a review.

Thanks to:

• Sponsor: ShareIt Music
• Wise Counsel: Blair Carleton
• Moral Support: Kerry Reding
• Producers: Tim Wohlberg, Valerie McTavish

In a time of growing polarization and civic breakdown, Aaron Hurst is betting big on connection. The founder of the U.S. Chamber of Connection joins Pacific Time to explore how loneliness and disconnection are threatening our democracy—and what the West Coast can do about it. We talk about Seattle’s “bear hug” movement, the deeper meaning of friendship at work, and why purpose without belonging turns into rage.

Episode Highlights:

• Why purpose without connection can lead to political extremism
• The ROI of building social capital in cities
• “Best friend at work” as an overlooked civic metric
• How Seattle is flipping the “Seattle Freeze” into a “Seattle Bear Hug”
• Onboarding residents like we onboard employees
• Why the future of national service might be local
• The new frontier of pro-social localism

Guest Bio:
Aaron Hurst is a purpose economy pioneer, co-founder of Imperative, founder of Taproot Foundation, and now the architect behind the U.S. Chamber of Connection. He lives in Seattle and is leading a civic experiment to make cities more welcoming, connected, and humane.

Resources:

• uschamberofconnection.org
• Gallup research on workplace friendships
• "Bear hugs to thaw Seattle Freeze" (Q13 Fox/YouTube)

Related Episodes:

• Ep 13: What if National Service Jump Started the West Coast Workforce? With Nicole Trimble
• Ep 08: Leave America And Discover Ecotopia?
• Ep 10: What if Blue Cities Got It Together? With Sandeep Kaushik

Thanks to:

• Our sponsor: Share It Music and instant crush
• Producer: Tim Wohlberg

Portland was once a darling of American urban planning. Then came the protests, the pandemic, and the pundit pile-on. Is the city really in free fall—or just between chapters?

In this episode, we sit down with Nolan Lienhart, a principal at ZGF Architects and a leading voice in West Coast urban design. Based in Portland, Nolan offers a firsthand look at how perceptions of the city have been a rollercoaster ride over the last 10 years.

We talk about what Portland got right, what it lost along the way, and why public agencies across the country have lost their appetite for risk and experimentation. From the Portlandia effect to the myth of seamless civic collaboration, Nolan unpacks why cities that seem successful can suddenly seem stuck—and what they can do to move forward.

**Special thanks to Pacific Time's inaugural sponsor, Share It Music -- the independent, non-profit record label behind such bands as Cumulus. (Listen to the end of the episode for a taste)**

Highlights:

• The "Portlandia effect" and the myth of effortless success
• Why public-private partnerships require tolerance for risk—which is in short supply when everyone is a critic
• What Portland gets unfairly blamed for (and what it shouldn’t take credit for)
• How media coverage in 2020 distorted the reality on the ground
• What cities like Nashville and Austin are doing right—and why they might be the new models
• The limits of placemaking: when physical design isn’t enough
• Portland’s housing affordability crisis as a missing pillar in its planning legacy
• Where West Coast cities need to go next—and who needs to lead the way

Guest Bio:
Nolan Lienhart is a principal and director of planning and urban design at ZGF, a multidisciplinary design firm based in Portland, Oregon. He has led projects in Seattle, Los Angeles, and other West Coast cities, with a focus on transit, downtown revitalization, and equitable public space. Nolan is known for bringing honesty, humility, and historical perspective to conversations about what cities need now.

Suggested Resources:

• ZGF Architects’ design work on Portland’s transit mall, streetcar system, and PSU campus
• Nolan Lienhart, Principal and Director Planning & Urban Design at ZGF Architects on LinkedIn
• Portland’s Downtown Plan (1972) – the foundational policy document that informed much of Portland’s modern form
• The Death and Life of Great American Cities - Jane Jacobs’ seminal work in urban planning

Related Episodes:

• 10 What if Blue Cities Got it Together? With Sandeep Kaushik
• 09 Will California Bring the Unsexy Back? With Dan Walters
• 02 How Can the West Coast Redesign Itself? With Mickey McManus
• 08 Leave America and Discover Ecotopia? (Solo)
  
  

Join the movement:

💬  Participate in active, civil conversations with your neighbors on the West Coast who are asking ‘What if…?’  Come to the community center for Pacific Time at Substack.

Follow:

📲 Pacific Time is making good trouble asking questions about the future of the West Coast on BlueSky, Instagram, and Facebook

Listen:

🎧 Pacific Time Podcast is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms. Follow, share, and leave a review.

Thanks to these members of the Pacific Time Community: 

• Tim Wohlberg, Producer
• Valerie McTavish, Consultant
• Laura Goff, Sister (for putting up with me and introducing me to Nolan)
• Cayle Sharett, Founder, Share It Music
• Kara Mattani, Sub-Pop Records (for introducing me to Cayle)

What if service wasn’t just about giving back—but about moving forward?

Nicole Trimble has spent decades championing national service and workforce development—from helping launch AmeriCorps in the 1990s to reshaping how companies invest in their frontline employees. In this conversation, she makes a bold case for why the West Coast needs to double down on national service—not just as a patriotic duty, but as a jobs pipeline, a civic renewal strategy, and an antidote to polarization.

Key Takeaways

• Why the recent cuts to AmeriCorps and national service programs could have devastating ripple effects
• How community colleges and DEI initiatives are undercut by short-sighted federal rollbacks
• What the West Coast can do to build inclusive, locally-driven workforce systems
• Whether universal service could repair our frayed national identity

Guest Bio: Nicole Trimble is a national service alum, former Gates Foundation program officer, and social impact executive with deep expertise in workforce equity and corporate responsibility. She chaired Washington’s Commission for National and Community Service under two governors and currently advises companies and nonprofits on talent, inclusion, and purpose-driven strategy.

Resources:

• Nicole Trimble/LinkedIn
• Bill Clinton: National Service Address (Rutgers University, March 1993)
• AmeriCorps ROI

Related Episodes:

• Ep 01: Reclaiming Democracy: The Case for West Coast Independence (Solo)
• Ep 06: What if the West Coast Designed Healthcare from Scratch? (With Mike Hanlon)
• Ep 10: What if Blue Cities on the West Coast Got It Together? (With Sandeep Kaushik)
  
  

Join the movement:

💬  Participate in active, civil conversations with your neighbors on the West Coast who are asking ‘What if…?’  Come to the community center for Pacific Time at Substack.

Follow:

📲 Pacific Time is making good trouble asking questions about the future of the West Coast on BlueSky, Instagram, and Facebook

Listen:

🎧 Pacific Time Podcast is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms. Follow, share, and leave a review.

Is satire still effective when reality becomes a cartoon? Pulitzer-winning cartoonist Mark Fiore joins Pacific Time to talk buffoonery, burnout, and drawing the line on tyranny.

Pulitzer Prize–winning cartoonist Mark Fiore joins Pacific Time to talk about the absurdity of American politics, the moral range of satire, and why cartoonists are often the first to be jailed (or fired) when democracy erodes. We cover buffoons left and right, the limits of visual journalism, and what happens when Stanford cartoon labs meet AI-generated propaganda. If the West Coast ever got its own constitution, Mark might be the one to draw it—literally.

Key Takeaways:

✅ Satire remains powerful—but it's harder than ever when politics becomes self-parody
✅ Mark Fiore sees cartooning as both journalism and civic engagement
✅ Visual humor bypasses intellectual defenses and reaches emotional truth faster than op-eds
✅ AI could help satirists—not replace them—if it’s ethically deployed and style-controlled
✅ Fiore’s Stanford fellowship revealed striking warnings from global journalists who’ve seen democracy unravel and live through Orwell-like disinformation
✅ Satire can’t fix everything—but it reminds people they’re not crazy to see what’s happening
✅ The West Coast might just need its own constitution, drawn panel by panel

Guest Bio:

Mark Fiore is a political cartoonist and animator who has won the Pulitzer Price and the RFK Freedom Award. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Nation, KQED, and Mother Jones. He recently completed a John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University, focusing on AI and visual satire.

Related Resources:

• MarkFiore.com
• Mark Fiore’s Substack
• JSK Fellowship at Stanford: jsk.stanford.edu

Related Episodes:

• Ep 08: Leave America and Discover Ecotopia?
• Ep 02: How Can the West Coast Redesign Itself?
• Ep 10: What If Blue Cities on the West Coast Got It Together?
  
  

Join the movement:

💬  Participate in active, civil conversations with your neighbors on the West Coast who are asking ‘What if…?’  Come to the community center for Pacific Time at Substack.

Follow:

📲 Pacific Time is making good trouble asking questions about the future of the West Coast on BlueSky, Instagram, and Facebook

Listen:

🎧 Pacific Time Podcast is on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and many other platforms. Follow, share, and leave a review.

Silicon Valley used to dream of liberation. Now some of its loudest voices are cozying up to Trump and talking like monarchists. What happened? Is oligarchy the bug in our tech-friendly society we didn't anticipate and need to stem?

Once upon a time, Silicon Valley stood for idealism: personal freedom, creative rebellion, and maybe even the most fully realized form of democracy itself. But something shifted. In this episode of Pacific Time, host Greg Amrofell talks with historian Margaret O’Mara about how tech's brightest minds—and wealthiest billionaires—ended up funding and fueling an anti-democratic turn.

We trace the evolution from daydreams about Apple laptops in Yosemite to Elon’s DOGE-soaked disassembly of the public square. We explore what tech workers really believe, why West Coast universities matter more than ever, and what it will take to rebuild a shared civic foundation.

The West Coast is ready to resist. And the West Coast owes the rest of you an apology for its naughty billionaires.

In this episode:

• How Big Tech's politics fragmented post-Obama
• Why “tech workers” stayed liberal, even as their bosses flipped
• The rise of Curtis Yarvin, Peter Thiel, and the new techno-reactionaries
• Lessons from the origins of Silicon Valley
• What history tells us about moments like this one
• Why West Coast states (and their universities) could hold the line

Guest Bio:
Margaret O'Mara is a professor of history at the University of Washington and author of The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America. She's a New York Times Contributor and her research traces the deep links between government, innovation, and ideology in the rise of modern tech.

Related Episodes:

• Ep 07: What If the West Coast Actually Got Its Act Together? (With John Zysman)
• Ep 06: What If We Designed Healthcare from Scratch? (With Mike Hanlon)
• Ep 08: Leave America and Discover Ecotopia? (Solo)

 Blue cities are struggling—and it’s not MAGA’s fault.  What if Seattle, San Francisco, and LA became models of good governance?

Blue cities helped shape modern America. But they’ve been having a hard time—with homelessness, affordability, public safety, and internal political warfare. In this episode, political consultant and Blue City Blues co-host Sandeep Kaushik joins Greg to unpack why. Together, they ask: What if the West Coast’s most liberal cities actually figured out how to govern effectively?

We explore why progressive vs. liberal fights have taken over city halls, why governance is now a one-party problem, and how cities like San Francisco and Seattle can either become models—or warnings—for the rest of the country. From Ezra Klein’s “abundance” critique to San Francisco’s moderate backlash, from coalition-building to regional autonomy, this conversation isn’t just about what’s wrong. It’s about what could work.

Because if the West Coast wants more autonomy, maybe the first step is for our biggest cities to run well.

Highlights:

• Why the “urban archipelago” metaphor still matters—and what it misses
• How blue cities became laboratories of policy innovation and political dysfunction
• What most national media gets wrong about the West Coast left
• The surprising story of San Francisco’s moderate resurgence
• What Seattle can learn from its own legislative battles
• Why good governance might be the best resistance strategy of all

About Sandeep Kaushik:

Sandeep Kaushik is a Seattle-based political consultant, and commentator who co-hosts the podcasts Blue City Blues and Seattle Nice. He previously worked at The Stranger, advised mayors and campaigns across Washington, and brings decades of experience navigating the internal divides of liberal cities. His current work explores the tensions between movement progressives and center-left liberals—and what comes next.

Resources & Related Content:

• Blue City Blues – Sandeep’s podcast with David Hyde
• The Urban Archipelago (The Stranger, 2004)
• Sound View Strategies - Sandeep's political consulting firm

Related Pacific Time Episodes:

• Ep 08: Leave America and Discover Ecotopia? (Solo)
• Ep 06: What if the West Coast Designed Healthcare from Scratch? (with Mike Hanlon)
• Ep 07: What if California Had a Foreign Policy? (with John Zysman)
• Ep 03: What if the West Coast Reclaimed its Federal Taxes? (With Julie Dingley)
• Ep 02: How can the West Coast Redesign Itself? (With Mickey McManus)

Enjoying Pacific Time?
Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, PocketCast, Spotify, and leave us a review—it really helps us grow.
Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack for more conversations, community ideas, and West Coast “what ifs.” 

California pays more and receives less and less from DC. Could independence—or just grown-up governance—fix this imbalance?

Summary: California's relationship with the federal government is reaching a critical juncture. Esteemed political journalist Dan Walters joins Greg to discuss CalExit, the growing frustration with federal tax inequities, and the stark contrast between California’s progressive policies and Washington's increasingly (deep breath) regressive stances. But what if the biggest threat to California’s future isn’t DC—or even Donald Trump? What if California can’t but help continuing to ignore the unsexy basics of governing?

Walters calls for a reality check: more attention to budgets, infrastructure, housing, and water—and less to political theatrics. He makes the case that California has the means to solve its problems but lacks the will. Along the way, we explore the myth of West Coast exceptionalism, the impact of population stagnation and corporate flight, and the potential parallels between California today and the decline of Detroit.

What We Talk About:

✔️The practical and political realities of governing in California
✔️The persistent drag of housing, water, and energy challenges

✔️Why 'West Coast Exceptionalism' may be more myth than model

✔️Why MAGA may be gaining a strangle-hold on the national electoral map

✔️ Ezra Klein’s "abundance" critique and Dan’s response

✔️ Early analysis of the 2026 CA gubernatorial race (Kamala: will she or won’t she?)

Guest Bio: Dan Walters is one of California’s most respected political journalists, known for his insightful analysis on California's complex relationship with federal politics. Currently with CalMatters, Walters has spent decades dissecting California’s political landscape, providing critical context for understanding the state’s challenges and opportunities. With over 9000 columns to his name, he’s a veteran voice unafraid to challenge conventional wisdom.

Related Resources:

• Dan Walters on CalMatters
• Ezra Klein on Jon Stewart’s The Weekly Show (Apple Podcasts)
• This is Gavin Newsom (Apple Podcasts)
• CalExit Movement
  
  

Related Pacific Time Episodes:

• 04 Marcus Ruiz Evans on the viability of CalExit (Apple Podcasts)
• 03 Julie Dingley on West Coast taxation and governance (Apple Podcasts)

Follow:

📲 Pacific Time is making good trouble asking questions about the future of the West Coast on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and BlueSky. Chime in, share feedback, and offer ideas on perspectives we need to include.

Listen:

🎧 Follow, share, and leave a review. Pacific Time Podcast is on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and many other platforms. 

New episodes most Wednesdays at 6a – just in time for your sunrise walk, drive to the beach, or bike commute to work. Or save it up for your chill time in the coffeeshop or puttering around the garden. Pairs nicely with Sunset Magazine and a Corona in the hammock or adirondack chair. Whenever you listen, talk it over with neighbors, and let me know what you think.

Thanks for being together in Pacific Time. Keep asking the ‘what if?’ questions about the future of the West Coast.

Can the West Coast outgrow America? Greg explores Ecotopia, sovereignty, and the future of freedom—solo.

In this episode of Pacific Time, host Greg Amrofell trades guests for green tea, a dog-eared novel, and a mic, inviting listeners on a hike through political despair, ecological design, and West Coast sovereignty. The guidebook? A 1975 cult classic: Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach.

This isn’t just a book review. It’s a reframing of what independence really means. Greg weaves personal reflection with insights from past guests—exploring the paradox of building a region that’s both more self-directed and more interconnected.

Is Ecotopia just a retro fantasy? Or a prophetic prototype for a West Coast that’s already halfway out the door?

🔍 Episode Highlights

✅ Why Ecotopia still resonates 50 years later
✅ The difference between freedom and isolation
✅ A fictional interview between Greg and William Weston
✅ Callbacks to insights from recent guests
✅ What West Coast sovereignty might actually look like
✅ Independence and interdependence: Why we need both
✅ What we can learn from fiction—and how to turn it into policy
✅ A closing invitation: What if we stopped asking permission from DC?

📚 Related Resources

Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach
“What Is Bioregionalism?” – Cascadia Dept. of Bioregion

CalExit Campaign

🎧 Related Episodes

• 02: What If the West Coast Designed Itself? (with Mickey McManus)
• 03: What If We Took Back the Budget? (with Julie Dingley)
• 04: What If California Was Already a Nation? (with Marcus Ruiz Evans)
• 05: What If We Drew the Map Differently? (with Yogi Uriah)
• 06 If American Healthcare is Broken, What Can the West Coast Do? (with Mike Hanlon)
• 07: What If the World Doesn’t Need Us Anymore? (with John Zysman) 

👤 About the Host

Greg Amrofell is the host of Pacific Time, a podcast exploring the big 'what if' questions about the future of the West Coast. Greg is also an entrepreneur, writer and untrained thespian who believes we can challenge the broken systems around us without losing our curiosity, community, or sense of humor. Based in Seattle, Greg's work explores the intersection between personal and political sovereignty in the best places on Earth. Listener feedback and ideas welcome: [email protected]

Join the movement:

💬 Participate in active, civil conversations with your neighbors on the West Coast who are asking ‘What if…?’  Come to the community center for Pacific Time at Substack.

Follow:

📲 Pacific Time is making good trouble asking questions about the future of the West Coast on BlueSky, Instagram, and Facebook

Listen:

🎧 Pacific Time Podcast is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms. Please follow, share, and leave a review.

In the face of chaotic US economic policy, how can the West Coast insulate itself and cultivate cooperation across borders and build global leadership?

In this episode of Pacific Time, UC Berkeley political scientist and global economic expert John Zysman joins Greg Amrofell to unpack how U.S. trade and technology policy are unraveling—and what that means for the West Coast. From the decline of American dominance to the rise of China, the shift in European alliances, and the fragility of global supply chains, John paints a sobering picture. But he also sees opportunity. Could the West Coast lead in AI, Electric Vehicles, and biotech by building cross-state coalitions and pursuing its own international path?

What We Talk About:

✔️ The collapse of the post-WWII international order

✔️ Why tariffs might backfire—and how they could hurt West Coast tech and agriculture

✔️ The dangers of alienating allies and driving innovation away

✔️ Semiconductor sovereignty and the tech talent brain drain

✔️ Why West Coast autonomy is more realistic than full-on independence

✔️ What California, Oregon, and Washington could build together

Guest Bio:

John Zysman is a political science professor at UC Berkeley, co-founder of the Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE), and a leading thinker on global competition, innovation, and industrial transformation. His work explores how digital platforms, AI, and geopolitics intersect in shaping economic futures.

Professor Zysman received his B.A at Harvard and his Ph.D. at MIT. He has written extensively on European and Japanese policy and corporate strategy; his interests also include comparative politics, Western European politics, political economy and energy policy.

Resources & References:

John Zysman

The Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE) 

Pathways For A Green Transition To A Bio-Economy John Zysman; Dan Breznitz; David Zilberman – Working Paper, 2024

Generative AI and the Future of Work: Augmentation or Automation? John Zysman; Mark J. Nitzberg – Working Paper, 2024

The New Logic of Globalization: Uncertainty, Volatility, and the Digital Economy Laura Tyson; John Zysman; Brian Judge – Working Paper, 2023

Will National Sovereignty Splinter the Internet? Angela Garcia Calvo; Martin Kenney; John Zysman – Working Paper, 2023

The Mirage of Decentralized Finance Brian Judge; Barry Eichengreen; John Zysman – Working Paper, 2023

Listen:

🎧 Pacific Time Podcast is on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and many other platforms. Follow, share, and leave a review.

Follow:

📲 Pacific Time is making good trouble asking questions about the future of the West Coast on BlueSky, Instagram, and Facebook

Join the movement: Subscribe on Substack @PacificTimePodcast

💬  Participate in active, civil conversations with your neighbors on the West Coast who are asking ‘What if…?’  Come to the community center for Pacific Time at Substack.

Related Podcast Episodes:

• Ep 01 Making the Case for West Coast Independence (Greg Amrofell)
• Ep 04 Is California Ready for Independence? With Marcus Ruiz Evans