Podcasts about astorian

A new cast of characters adorn the quest of the local city Eldarthia to investigate the disappearance of their Duke Leon Hart Astorian, and the bizarre circumstances surrounding it, only to uncover a greater threat than they can imagine. CAST: DM: Sam Bethana: Joe Peter Petrol: Dan Juke Gremmer: Derek (Cheddar) Thirsty Howler IV: Bob Chronos Astrius: Alex --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/free-geek-rep/support

Romain Kapadia is a known entrepreneur and investor who in addition to his private equity work and success is an active Owner/Operator at several leading Texas-based events companies, The Astorian and Jackson & Company.Recently, the young, high energy, driven, thoughtful, marathon running, Romain...found himself with a quite serious battle on his hands. The fight for his life and health. When Warren read Romain's Nov 2023 Facebook post sharing his intense and immediate battle with cancer...and while doing so - eloquently expressed himself in a way that brought comfort, confidence, and positivity for those that love him...we knew this was an important interview to have.   How Romain framed his thinking on what was at hand with love, grace, and "his silver linings" was profound.Romain shares how much of his drive and  strength comes from how he was raised...watching his parent's who moved here to the USA with no money...and worked their way up to provide a good life for Romain and his family. Thank you to Romain and his willingness to "go there" with us in this conversation.   And if you are curious about the post from Romain that moved us all? Here it is:Extended Family, Friends, Acquaintances, and fellow Revelers from around the world...As you know, I'm not one to share negative news but I want to update you on a recent health scare that I've had to deal with. My aim is to make this an uplifting and positive message.Since late 2020, I had been having a nagging running pain in my hip and have seen numerous doctors, undergone dozens of tests and months of PT to resolve  the issue, but it never completely went away. Finally in late summer 2023, after undergoing yet another scan and looking for a muscle tear, the doctors came back with a totally unexpected diagnosis..."YOU HAVE CANCER".Given all the efforts I put into my health and well-being, this was a complete shock. I visited the nation's top 2 hospitals to discuss diagnosis and treatment protocols, ultimately deciding to get treated at Sloan Kettering in NYC. I am eternally grateful to have been connected to Dr. Sam Singer (https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/doctors/samuel-singer), likely the top Sarcoma surgeon in the world.---On October 23rd, I underwent a 16 hour surgery, requiring 4 surgical teams, to remove a 13cm liposarcoma tumor in my pelvis. The first few days were very tough but thankfully, I've been recovering well and have now almost regained my entire range of motion.After 2 weeks, I was released from the hospital but was readmitted last Tuesday, after having severe abdominal pain and vomiting for 48 hours. This was related to digestive inflammation from surgery. I was fitted with a tube through my nose and throat into my stomach.  I wasn't able to eat or drink any water for 6 days...every time I swallowed it felt as if I had a bout of strep throat.The good news is, I've largely recovered and should hopefully be going home soon (again). The doctors are optimistic about me making a full recovery over the coming weeks and months.HERE'S THE SILVER LINING....Despite the trials and tribulations over the past 90 days, and despite some of the work that will be required to get back to 100%, I am eternally grateful for this diagnosis as it has enlightened me in ways not possible through the monotony of everyday routine, but only through overcoming life's toughest challenges. Here's some of what I've learned.1) YOU are your advocate (for all things in life). When a health problem arises, DO NOT give up until you have an answer. Doctors are great, but only you have the ability to persist to find solutions.2) YOU choose to be happy. Thankfully I've started down this path for the past several years, giving me the ability to see the positive and largely eliminate negative thoughts. This mental fortitude has been hugely beneficial in getting through the darkest days.3) YOU must live in the present. Enjoying the present moment relieves you from worrying about the future or regretting the past. All anxiety is driven from these thought patterns.4) DON'T waste time. We all face our own unique battles that arise unexpectedly at any time. Life is short, go for what you want and intentionally pursue the things you want with 100% conviction.5) FAMILY, FRIENDS and RELATIONSHIPS are the most important things in life. Frankly, it would have been impossible to go through this experience alone. I especially want to thank my immediate family, and close friends (you know who you are) who have shouldered my emotional roller coasters and been by my side every day. And, of course, my mom who's been my rock.---I know this will be a platform for me to live a more successful, fulfilled and happy life and I plan to utilize the lessons learned towards the rebuilding of myself into a better, stronger, wiser and more balanced Romain 2.0.I've already set a goal of running the NYC marathon in 2025 (my 14th race) and surfing later this year in El Salvador.Love you all and hope to reconnect with each and every one of you in the near future. I'll also share more updates soon.F**K CANCER,RomainPS - Apologies for the long post. If anyone is going through a similar situation, PLEASE REACH OUT.Find ROMAIN ON LINKEDIN BY CLICKING HEREFind WARREN SPIWAK on LINKED IN BY CLICKING HEREThe Astorian Website HERE

A hundred years ago, a million adult chum salmon would return each autumn to spawn in tributaries and creeks along the Columbia River. But, like other varieties of salmon, overfishing, dams and loss of habitat decimated their numbers in Oregon and Washington. Columbia River chum salmon were listed as threatened nearly 25 years ago under the Endangered Species Act.   A team of biologists at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has been leading efforts to reintroduce chum salmon in the Columbia River basin. They include operating a hatchery near Astoria, relocating returning adults and juvenile fry to historic spawning sites and tracking their movement using DNA sampling in waterways. Kelcee Smith is the chum salmon reintroduction coordinator at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Astorian recently profiled her work and partnerships with nonprofits and landowners to recover chum salmon. Smith joins us to talk about those recovery efforts and the threats the fish face today, including climate change.  

Julie Brown is an English and humanities instructor at Clatsop Community College in Astoria. One of the most popular courses she teaches is on maritime culture, which takes students out of the classroom and onto the decks of ships to see firsthand what life is like working as a bar pilot on the Columbia River or as a deckhand on the Lady Washington, an exact replica of an 18th-century, 90-foot-tall ship that was the first recorded vessel to sail to the Oregon coast. Eight years ago, a former student encouraged Brown to train to work as a deckhand aboard the Lady Washington, which she did for two years, traveling from British Columbia to San Diego, while juggling her teaching duties. The Astorian recently previewed a lecture Brown gave to a packed audience on how cultures as diverse as Vikings and Chinook Indians used boats to bury their dead at sea or on land. Brown joins us to talk about these ancient practices, and how her love for writing, literature and maritime history has taken her from the halls of Oxford to the bars of Astoria.   

Charged with blazing a trail to the West Coast, the voyageurs in the party decided to paddle down a strange river, hoping for an easy ride to the sea. Only the charity of local Native American tribes saved them all from starvation. (Snake River wilderness; 1810s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1707b.marie-dorion-astorian-party-part2-451.html)

Prior to our Barbenheimer-filled weekend, we made to sure to pop in and see our boy T.C. in the new Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I.Our fellow Astorian and filmmaker-extraordinaire Chris Toro joins us in this episode as we discuss our thoughts on the latest movie in the MI franchise, and Rog and Dylan also rank the Mission Impossible movies after having seen all seven in a week's time. Chris is still working his way up the Ethan Hunt chain and has not seen the 5th and 6th films of the franchise, but if there is one thing Chris and the guys can all agree on: Tom Cruise is the greatest runner in cinema history!Chris also shares introspective insight on filming with Super 8 in this episode which is just as fun as it is educational for anyone interested in filmmaking, or if you just want to hear a cool M. Night Shyamalan story. So tune in!And don't forget to sip back and enjoy the show!Drink of choiceBronx Brewery Summer Pale AleCreated by upStreamhttps://www.upstreampix.com/the-wrap-beers-podcastFollow The Wrap Beers Podcast!https://www.instagram.com/thewrapbeers/https://twitter.com/TheWrapBeersDylan - https://www.instagram.com/dylan_john_murphy/Roger - https://www.instagram.com/rogerzworld/

Join Mister Storch for this extended minute talking about the legend Tony Bennet. As a fellow Astorian, Mister Storch has much to say about the last great saloon singer, Tony Bennet. City Room: Tony Bennett's 'Good Life' in Astoria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cc7fMi_7ZA

The Sunset Empire Transportation District recently resumed bus service on some of its routes in Clatsop County, including weekday service along Highway 101 between Astoria and Cannon Beach. The Astorian earlier reported that the transit district would restore some services after it had abruptly suspended operations and laid off workers due to a six-figure budget shortfall which first came to light at a district board meeting on April 27. The Oregon Department of Transportation provided a $505,000 emergency loan to the district to help it start operating again and bring back furloughed staff. It will also conduct an audit of the district's finances in the coming weeks, according to Paul Lewicki, the interim executive director of the Sunset Empire Transportation District. Lewicki joins us to talk about the upcoming audit, the current and long term challenges the district faces, and why he thinks it may take six months or longer for transit services to be fully restored.

Donna's guest is Rachel Jensen, a fourth generation Astorian and Executive Director of the Lower Columbia Preservation Society.  Updates on the Lower Columbia Preservation Society mission goals and offerings as well as information on ongoing and new projects.

John Jacob Astor came to the U.S. from Germany not long after the colonies gained their independence as a nation. He made his first fortune in the fur trade, and then diversified his income and built a legendary fortune. Research: Irving, Washington. “Astoria, Or, Anecdotes of an Enterprise Beyond the Rocky Mountains.” G.P. Putnams Sons. 1861. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Astoria/DAzBRmfcZloC?hl=en&gbpv=0 “ROMANCE OF THE HISTORIC EDEN FARM OWNED BY ASTOR FAMILY SINCE 1803.” New York Times. Feb. 29, 1920. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/02/29/118265256.html?pageNumber=80 Shachtman, Tom. “The Founding Fortunes: How the Wealthy Paid for and Profited from America's Revolution.” St. Martin's Press. 2020. “John Jay's Treaty, 1794–95.” U.S. Department of State. Office of the Historian. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/jay-treaty Youngman, Anna. “The Fortune of John Jacob Astor.” Journal of Political Economy, vol. 16, no. 6, 1908, pp. 345–68. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1820664 Youngman, Anna. “The Fortune of John Jacob Astor: II.” Journal of Political Economy, vol. 16, no. 7, 1908, pp. 436–41. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1820843 Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "John Jacob Astor". Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Jul. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Jacob-Astor-American-businessman-1763-1848 Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "American Fur Company". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Dec. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-Fur-Company Ziak, Rex. “The Astor Dynasty.” The Astorian. Dec. 7, 2018. https://www.dailyastorian.com/news/the-astor-dynasty/article_d9163297-dfb7-5c77-83d8-3db1340017f7.html Madsen, Axel. “John Jacob Astor: America's First Multimillionaire.” Wiley. 2001. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An early lowland tale from The Rams detailing Astorian's great discovery: the ore that would become Iron, the foundation of Ram civilization. Created by Jason Lew. From QCODE, makers of fantastic audio fiction. Visit QCODEMedia.com to learn more. And, check out some of our other shows including: From Now with Richard Madden and Brian Cox, The Left Right Game with Tessa Thompson, Borrasca with Cole Sprouse, Blackout with Rami Malek, and many more. -- Apple Card is the credit card created by Apple. Reboot your credit card with Apple Card and earn Daily Cash back up to 3%. Apply now in the Wallet app on iPhone. Subject to credit approval. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's episode of the Conquer Local Podcast has a bit of a twist - What if you could incorporate Creative Design into your branding? Join George Leith in welcoming Fritz Colinet, a creative director who has been in the industry since 2001.Fritz is the creative force behind Retna Media and has worked for over 25 years as a creative director, designer, and brand builder. His skills paved the way for opportunities to be the creative mind behind the rebranding of major brands such as Lady Foot Locker, Houston Open, Impact! Partners Financial, The Astorian, FullyRaw Kristina, and the Houston Dynamo.Today, Fritz leads a full-service branding and marketing agency, Retna Media, based in Houston where he has managed over 200 strategic marketing campaigns. Since 2005, Retna Media has built brands from blue-chip companies to small businesses in diverse industries. This unconventional advertising agency uses strategic communication principles to analyze, target, and create campaigns with unrivaled results.Conquer Local is presented by Vendasta. We have proudly served 5.5+ million local businesses through 60,000+ channel partners, agencies, and enterprise-level organizations. Learn more about Vendasta, and we can help your organization or learn more about Vendasta's Affiliate Program and how our listeners (like yourself) make up to $10,000 off referrals.Are you an entrepreneur, salesperson, or marketer? Then, keep the learning going in the Conquer Local Academy.

On the next Story Told, a splendid tribute to Larry Ziak, which was published anonymously to the Astorian newspaper. Also, in dedication to Ed and Verna Hellberg, “The Price of Fish,”  by Michael McCusker. Finally, a piece of poetry by Juanita Huebner titled “Cedar.”

There are no certified sexual assault nurse examiners who are based on Oregon's North Coast. Currently, there is one certified nurse who is based in Portland and works intermittently in Astoria. This means for those who choose to report their assault, they will likely need to travel to Portland for an examination when this nurse is unavailable. Survivors are often told to wait for several hours until a certified nurse is available and are also instructed not to shower or change clothes during this waiting period, discouraging many from continuing the process. Abbey McDonald is a reporter for the Astorian. She joins us to share more on her reporting and how the lack of these specialized nurses are affecting the North coast.

In 2019, the Port of Astoria began charging $300 to ocean-going vessels headed up the Columbia River. The port argues they offer a service, since they have the deepest berth for ships passing through during an emergency. In a recent lawsuit, federal courts ruled against the port since only a few ships have ever used the emergency service in the past 20 years. Ethan Myers, reporter for The Astorian, joins us to share details of the case and what this means for the future of the port.

On the next Story Told, celebrating Astoria’s Birthday in an original rant by Michael McCusker. Also, Julie Snyder’s open letter to the Astorian titled “Clearing the Streets.” Finally, Matt Bai states “I reject both parties’ idea of Americanism. And I’m not the only one.”  

Skip Hauke was as “Astorian” as they come.  Tonight, a special tribute to Skip as we share clips from our interviews with him in 2010, 2017, and 2019.  You made our community a better place Skip.  Thank you from all of us.

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series Veteran NYC Jazz Bassist Martin Wind on the 2021 CD My Astorian Queen .. This recording is an affectionate reminiscence of the bassist's quarter century in the New York scene and he opens up about it .. and he talks about COVID and the future .. Enjoy .. Click to listen.Neon Jazz is a radio program airing since 2011. Hosted by Joe Dimino and Engineered by John Christopher in Kansas City, Missouri giving listeners a journey into one of America's finest inventions. Take a listen on KCXL (102.9 FM / 1140 AM) out of Liberty, MO. Listen to KCXL on Tunein Radio at http://tunein.com/radio/Neon-Jazz-With-Joe-Dimino-p381685/. You can now catch Neon Jazz on KOJH 104.7 FM out of the Mutual Musicians Foundation from Noon - 1 p.m. CST Monday-Friday at https://www.kojhfm.org/. Check us out at All About Jazz @ https://kansascity.jazznearyou.com/neon-jazz.php. For all things Neon Jazz, visit http://theneonjazz.blogspot.com/If you like what you hear, please let us know. You can contribute a few bucks to keep Neon Jazz going strong into the future.   https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=ERA4C4TTVKLR4

by Jacob Lewin. Columbia Memorial Hospital says several patients have died there because they could not be transferred to larger, more specialized hospitals. These are not covid deaths, although it is overcrowding due to covid that kept them from getting treatment. In a brief statement made to the Astorian, Columbia Memorial's CEO—Erik Thorson– says that...

by Jacob Lewin. Columbia Memorial Hospital says several patients have died there because they could not be transferred to larger, more specialized hospitals. These are not covid deaths, although it is overcrowding due to covid that kept them from getting treatment. In a brief statement made to the Astorian, Columbia Memorial's CEO—Erik Thorson– says that...

Silly is season is here! Tyler breaks down the Duncan Keith trade to the Oilers, before talking about the Lightning's escapades. Then, Laura Astorian joins the show to talk about the Blues, particularly about Vladimir Tarasenko's trade request. Music: "Mondays" by Onlap MERCH: teespring.com/stores/the-kuehl-show

There is a shortage of affordable housing on the Oregon coast. This is not a new problem, and it only intensified with the COVID-19 pandemic, as coastal real estate became even more attractive to people who could afford to work remotely. A 2019 housing study in Clatsop County on Oregon's north coast flagged vacation rentals as one of the contributing factors to the lack of affordable housing in the area. Some coastal communities have come up with their own short-term rental regulations, with varying levels of success. Clatsop County commissioners are currently considering a temporary moratorium on new short-term rental licenses in order to give themselves more time to craft a county-wide policy. We talk with Astorian reporter Nicole Bales.

Charged with blazing a trail to the West Coast, the voyageurs in the party decided to paddle down a strange river, hoping for an easy ride to the sea. Only the charity of local Native American tribes saved them all from starvation. (Snake River, Columbia River; 1810s) (For text and pictures, see http://offbeatoregon.com/1707b.marie-dorion-astorian-party-part2-451.html)

Victor Hunt is the CEO and co-founder of Astorian, a contractor marketplace for building owners and managers. Victor worked in property management for over a decade at a 5000 tenant portfolio in The Bronx where he was inspired by his own challenges hiring contractors. He and his co-founder started the company from their dorm room at Yale and have raised over $2 million in funding from First Round Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Village Global.

Another fun show...with a lot of friends showing up! Tyler chats about the Panthers with Little Box Cats' Todd Little (13:30), followed up by the replay of last week's interview with TSN' Bryan Mudryk, talking about the Habs (41:15)! St. Louis Game Time's Laura Astorian stops by to talk about the Blues (1:12:20), before Tyler's wife, Kelly, and friend Cooper bombard the set celebrate Tyler's birthday, hilarity ensuses (1:54:45). Music: "Mondays" by Onlap MERCH: teespring.com/stores/the-kuehl-show

On the next Story Told, Michael chastises the pure white world reign, and elucidates that ethnic cleansing is not a stranger to America. Also “A Short History of the Millennium,” in an appropriately titled piece, followed by Timothy Egan’s “The Next Three Months Are Going to be Pure Hell.” Concluding is Astorian poet Jim Dott with “Birds Into Rain.”  ...

On the next Story Told, with an uncalled election left hanging in the air Michael reads “Divided We Fall,” and in a letter to The Astorian newspaper, plus an excerpt from Albert Einstein, an argument for socialism simply titled “Why Socialism.” Additionally, “The Fury Against Trump Has Begun a Democratic Awakening,” by Fahad Manjoo, and lastly, in a possible premature catharsis...

In honour and horror of Hiroshima Day, August 6th, Michael reads “Paper Cranes,” by a former Astorian, and “I Would be a Witness to Hiroshima,” by Sadako Kurihara. In addition, David Horrowitz discusses modern issues surrounding Portland in “City of Roses Coloured Glasses.”

Columbia Forum celebrates its 30th season and is a partnership between the Astorian, the Coast River Business Journal,  and KMUN. February’s talk features Columbia Forum co-founder Steve Forrester discussing his section of the forthcoming history “Eminent Oregonians.” Forrester will highlight his multiyear study of Richard Neuberger, who in 1954 became the first Democrat to win...

Here’s what Peter and Jay have for you this time (all time locations are without the opening ad): Let's Fix Hockey!: (00:00 - 27:52) We talk about Greg Wyshynski's article on how to make the fan experience better. Interview: (27:52 - 1:01:59) Laura Astorian from St. Louis Game Time joins us to talk about what it's like for long-suffering fans to win the Stanley Cup and what to expect from the Blues this season. NHL 20 Ratings: (1:011:59 - End) We talk a little bit about the NHL 20 player ratings, but not very much if you aren't into that whole thing. If you are using a podcast app, you can find both this podcast and WIIM Radio (our podcast devoted to the Red Wings) in the same channel - Winging it in Motown. As of right now, you can’t find it on Google Play, but an app like Stitcher should work if you use an Android device for your podcast listening. Here is the link to our merchandise store. You can get Fer Sure t-shirts in a variety of colors and styles, hoodies, notebooks, stickers, and much more. We also recently launched a Facebook page, through which we hope to increase our fan interaction. You can find that here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here. We. Go. It's time for the Stanley Cup Finals. Laura Astorian from SB Nation joins the brothers to talk about the Blues and the incredible roller coaster season they have had. The guys break down the match-up and pick who will lift Lord Stanley. They then talk about the big news out of Ottawa, and what effect DJ Smith will have on the Sens, before Tyler updates us on the World Championships and Memorial Cup. Music: "Seek Advice Elsewhere" by Off With Their Heads "Gloria" by Laura Branigan

In the wake of Davos 2019, the World Economic Forum, tensions are running high. Large companies are being scrutinized for reaping huge tax breaks while not giving back to the community. CEOs are trying to balance a board's expectation of making fiscally responsible decisions and also maintaining a culture of trust and creativity. Should tech entrepreneurs be tasked with fixing the world? Is it their responsibility?        TRANSCRIPT: [0:00:17] PJ Bruno: What's up guys? Welcome back to Braze for Impact, your weekly tech industry discuss digest. I'm PJ Bruno, and I'm thrilled to have with me today two very close buddies. Across from me is Boris Revechkis, product manager here at Braze, and also I believe descendant of Rasputin? Is that-   [0:00:34] Boris Revechkis: That's accurate, yes. What's up everybody?   [0:00:36] PJ Bruno: Cool. Here he is. And to my right, your left, we have also a good friend of mine, Ryan Doyle, who's recently become an AE here at Braze. He is the legitimate country boy turned bonafide city boy. How you doing here Ryan?   [0:00:50] Ryan Doyle: How y'all doing? Yeah, no. Only recently, seven months now.   [0:00:54] PJ Bruno: Wow.   [0:00:54] Ryan Doyle: Yes.   [0:00:54] PJ Bruno: What a turn.   [0:00:55] Boris Revechkis: Doyle Farms.   [0:00:57] Ryan Doyle: Doyle and Son Farms.   [0:00:58] Boris Revechkis: Doyle and Son Farms.   [0:00:58] Ryan Doyle: Remember where you came from.   [0:00:59] PJ Bruno: That's right.   [0:00:59] Boris Revechkis: Love it.   [0:01:00] PJ Bruno: How you guys doing? I know, Boris you're fighting a cold-   [0:01:03] Boris Revechkis: I'm getting some cold.   [0:01:03] PJ Bruno: And somehow you made it here today, I love that.   [0:01:05] Boris Revechkis: I'm hanging in there, doing it for the podcast.   [0:01:09] PJ Bruno: God, that's the commitment we need to see more of, kind of across the board.   [0:01:12] Boris Revechkis: I may faint. I may faint during the podcast, but if I do, just go on without me.   [0:01:16] Ryan Doyle: We'll keep going yeah.   [0:01:17] PJ Bruno: Yeah, we'll edit it out. We'll edit out your faint-   [0:01:19] Boris Revechkis: Perfect.   [0:01:19] Ryan Doyle: I can do your voice.   [0:01:21] PJ Bruno: Ryan, how you doing buddy?   [0:01:22] Ryan Doyle: I'm doing fantastic. Just meetings, meetings, meetings, deals, deals, deals.   [0:01:26] PJ Bruno: Cool.   [0:01:26] Ryan Doyle: They really crack that whip.   [0:01:27] PJ Bruno: They do, don't they?   [0:01:28] Ryan Doyle: Yes.   [0:01:30] PJ Bruno: You told me yesterday you had a cool little prospecting adventure and a weird experience.   [0:01:35] Ryan Doyle: Yeah, you want me to talk-   [0:01:36] PJ Bruno: Can you share? Yeah, yeah. Give a little splattering of it.   [0:01:39] Ryan Doyle: So, just the background on it was, I had a prospect who came to Braze because they were launching an app. That app had to do with paying with your face. It's a facial recognition technology. They wanted to put in coffee shops, so when you walked in you wouldn't swipe, tap, nod, whatever, you would just grab your drink and go. So I walk up to this guy's office, and there's a camera, and a screen that shows me my face, and it pulls down a match from the internet of my face. Like with a little rectangular box and some matrix-y numbers side by side, and it says, "Welcome Ryan Doyle." I'm like, "Oh, this is weird." So I go in, and he's telling me about the launch. They're talking about these pieces of third party data that they've been using at this coffee shop downstairs to test this out. Where someone will come in and they'll say, "Hey Boris, welcome back. Do you want this latte? Your significant other loves it too." Or, "Maybe you'd like to try this," or, "How's your dog?" or, "How's your child?" On the creepiness scale, they found that mentioning someone's dog was much creepier than mentioning how their children were.   [0:02:45] PJ Bruno: Yeah.   [0:02:46] Ryan Doyle: Yeah, but, they ran into the issue of, a couple of people they talked to about their dogs, their dogs had passed away.   [0:02:51] PJ Bruno: Oh God.   [0:02:52] Ryan Doyle: Doesn't happen as frequently with children I suppose.   [0:02:55] PJ Bruno: You hate to see that.   [0:02:56] Ryan Doyle: You hate to see it.   [0:02:57] Boris Revechkis: That's all very disheartening.   [0:02:59] PJ Bruno: I mean, you got to walk that line between personalizing and not going too personal.   [0:03:03] Ryan Doyle: Too personal.   [0:03:04] PJ Bruno: I feel like that's same thing goes for conversation in general. Anyways, thank you Ryan for that little tid bit.   [0:03:09] Ryan Doyle: Yeah. It was an interesting night on the live.   [0:03:12] PJ Bruno: That's good. That's good. So we got a lot to get to today. Really excited to jump in. Our first article, Amazon Isn't Interested in Making the World a Better Place by Kara Swisher from New York Times. This is, we all know that, I mean, most of us probably know at this point if you live in New York City that Amazon pulled out of their second HQ that they planned to have in Long Island city. Boris, you're a Long Island city boy.   [0:03:37] Boris Revechkis: I am. I'm a Long Island city resident.   [0:03:39] PJ Bruno: Were you excited to potentially have them move into the neighborhood?   [0:03:43] Boris Revechkis: Not particularly, and I don't think there were many in the neighborhood who were. Yeah, I have a lot of mixed feelings. Obviously, we working in tech, in some sense, have a horse in the race, but I don't know that they really considered the effect on the surrounding community. Obviously the backlash reflects that.   [0:04:04] PJ Bruno: Yeah.   [0:04:04] Ryan Doyle: Yeah.   [0:04:05] Boris Revechkis: I think they could've done a lot better job in laying the ground work for that. A few weeks ago, I tweeted, which seven I think, at least seven people read that Amazon should just take some of the benefit that they were getting in taxes and just plow that into the subway system. Just be like, "Here. Love us."   [0:04:24] PJ Bruno: Right.   [0:04:25] Boris Revechkis: Then, "Okay, fine. Now we have, okay, we have common interest."   [0:04:28] PJ Bruno: Exactly.   [0:04:28] Boris Revechkis: Be a part of the community. Contribute.   [0:04:30] Ryan Doyle: It's a corporate good will.   [0:04:30] PJ Bruno: It's as easy as that. Right?   [0:04:31] Boris Revechkis: Yeah. Kind of like get the public on your side, and it just didn't seem like they really cared what people thought about the whole situation.   [0:04:37] Ryan Doyle: They were shopping for a deal.   [0:04:38] Boris Revechkis: Yeah. Pretty much.   [0:04:38] PJ Bruno: I guess so. Yeah, I think a lot of the uproar came up, I think Miss Swisher put it so well in her article. "In an era when all kinds of public services are being cut in the city's infrastructure is crumbling, why is a trillion dollar corporation getting so much?" Then it was finally revealed how much, $3 billion in tax breaks.   [0:04:57] Boris Revechkis: Yeah.   [0:04:58] Ryan Doyle: I think-   [0:04:58] PJ Bruno: So people were kind of up in arms.   [0:05:00] Boris Revechkis: This is really reflective, I think, of the whole, and this second article we'll talk about later, the whole combination of these factors where you just have a system that's sort of out of wack. The incentives that drive progress are now driving outcomes that are clearly undesirable. Like, this article doesn't hold back in that regard, but like I love the phrase "modern [hellscape]". Like shooter for to San Francisco is a modern [hellscape], which is, that's strong language.   [0:05:24] Ryan Doyle: That's really strong.   [0:05:25] Boris Revechkis: That's strong language and-   [0:05:27] PJ Bruno: Pretty polarizing.   [0:05:29] Boris Revechkis: Yeah. Obviously she's talking about genuine problems, but is that direction we want to go in, or is that something we want to try and tweak the system so that we don't get pushed in these directions? I do think that the Amazon move into the city was something that would exacerbate the kind of issues that would push us in that direction, in the direction of problems like San Francisco has.   [0:05:50] Ryan Doyle: There was like an argument on the other side of it where the incentives that we were handing out as a city to get them here, we're far, far below what we would gain in economic incentives. Part of the argument was like, "Well, we're not giving them anything tangible. There's three billion in tax credits and what not," so it's not money that exists-   [0:06:07] Boris Revechkis: A future tax, yeah revenue.   [0:06:09] Ryan Doyle: And ready to put somewhere else, but I feel like my personal notion is that that money does come from somewhere. It comes from us in our future taxes, and part of it did come out of New York state incentives to bring new businesses here. It would've retired 1.5 billion out of a $2 billion grant that companies get for moving business to New York state. I just think part of the sentiment that I agree with is maybe people in general are tired of this trickle down notion where we put up a big amount of money, or some type of incentive with the hope that it would come back to us. I think we've just been fatigued with that type of situation over and over.   [0:06:45] PJ Bruno: Yeah. I think that's spot on.   [0:06:48] Boris Revechkis: In terms of concentrating the wealth too, we can, ideally, we would just replace that same activity by encouraging many other smaller companies to come to New York instead of one giant company. And trying to encourage the same type of outcome, but by spreading that tax revenue, or rather, break around to other companies and other industries.   [0:07:11] Ryan Doyle: I mean, Braze is here. We're about to move to a new office in New York City. Where's the incentive? You know?   [0:07:16] Boris Revechkis: That's true.   [0:07:17] PJ Bruno: Where's the tax breaks guys? I was surprised to see Amazon buckle so quickly. You know? It just seems like at the first sign of scrutiny, boom, they're out. Now it seems like they just want to bolster their office in D.C. I was very surprised that they didn't-   [0:07:33] Boris Revechkis: I think it becomes like a no-win scenario for them, because having to fight back all the negative attention if they tried to negotiate, the publicizing of the negotiations would probably be very damaging I think. So I think they decided it was just, "Why do this?"   [0:07:47] Ryan Doyle: Yeah, and I wonder if they'd had so little investment in New York already. I mean, it was just in word that they were coming here. So far, this deal is only how old that another city might've reached about, but, "Look, here's the incentive, we can provide. If New York doesn't want it, we'll give it to you."   [0:08:02] Boris Revechkis: Right.   [0:08:02] Ryan Doyle: Maybe that's yet to be announced. I thought I heard Nashville somewhere out in the ether that that might be the other location they go to.   [0:08:09] Boris Revechkis: But it's also, it's not like they're not here. Right? They have an office here. They have many employees here. They're going to continue hiring and expanding in New York and their existing office. So it's not like all or nothing. It's so-   [0:08:19] PJ Bruno: They have a foot hole.   [0:08:20] Boris Revechkis: Right.   [0:08:20] PJ Bruno: They didn't feel like they were losing much I guess.   [0:08:22] Boris Revechkis: Right.   [0:08:22] Ryan Doyle: Yep.   [0:08:23] PJ Bruno: Well, I for one, being an Astorian, and that's in Astoria for those of you who don't know.   [0:08:28] Boris Revechkis: Nice.   [0:08:28] PJ Bruno: I'm thrilled that there's not going to be so much congestion, and it's not going to turn into a complete circus on my train.   [0:08:35] Ryan Doyle: Your apartment's going to stay nice and cheap.   [0:08:37] PJ Bruno: You know what? Let's hope so. As long as I can not have a lease, and as long as my landlord just keeps all the stuff off the books, you didn't hear that here.   [0:08:47] Ryan Doyle: Yeah, we're going to cut that out.   [0:08:48] Boris Revechkis: Yeah, we'll take that out. We'll take that out in post.   [0:08:50] Ryan Doyle: That's fine.   [0:08:50] Boris Revechkis: Perfect.   [0:08:52] PJ Bruno: Perfect. All right, well let's move on to the big topic this week. As you guys know, Davos, which we all know at this point is the knight, former smuggler in service of Stannis Baratheon from Game of Thrones-   [0:09:06] Boris Revechkis: The onion knight. Man, I love the onion knight.   [0:09:07] PJ Bruno: I'm just so curious, like what's going to happen to him in the final season. That's what I really want to know.   [0:09:11] Ryan Doyle: I've never watched Game of Thrones, and you really lost me there for a second.   [0:09:15] Boris Revechkis: Wow.   [0:09:15] Ryan Doyle: I feel like I want to wait for it to all be released.   [0:09:18] Boris Revechkis: Can we just edit Ryan out of the entire podcast?   [0:09:19] Ryan Doyle: No, no, no. See, I've got the plan. They're going to release all of Game of Thrones. I'm not going to deal with all this anxiety and anticipation. I'm just going to watch it when I feel like it.   [0:09:27] PJ Bruno: You're really good at planning anxiety out of your life these days. Like, any time you identify it-   [0:09:31] Ryan Doyle: That's why I'm hanging out with you last.   [0:09:33] PJ Bruno: Wow. I noticed that. The patterns are starting to, this is a loaded moment.   [0:09:37] Boris Revechkis: This is a loaded moment. I'm not watching the last season, I'm just saying. I can't I refuse to watch it until the books come out.   [0:09:41] PJ Bruno: You can't do it?   [0:09:42] Boris Revechkis: I need the books. I need the books. Give me the books. Are you listening George R. R. Martin? You're out there, aren't you? I know you're listening to this podcast. Finish the damn book.   [0:09:52] PJ Bruno: Let me course correct a little bit. Davos, of course we're talking about the world economic forum that went down just last week I believe. There's this great article that Tim Leberecht did for Ink Magazine called Purpose Washing, Hustle Culture, and Automation: Business at a Crossroads. It's just a really good, I mean, I love his opening statement here, so let me just read it for you guys to get us in the zone. "Business leaders today must constantly wrestle with opposing forces. They must embrace data, and at the same time listen to their gut feelings. They must cater to efficiency pressures, and also create a culture of trust and creativity. They must ensure short-term profit, while thinking about the long-term impact of their business, acting as 'civic CEOs', stewarding 'woke brands'. Now some may call this ambidexterity, or others schizophrenia. At any rate, it's not surprising that being stuck in the middle of such dichotomy breeds uncomfortable tension and conflicting rhetoric. Double agendas can lead to double speak." You guys read this one, right?   [0:10:58] Ryan Doyle: Yeah, that's heavy.   [0:10:58] Boris Revechkis: Sure did.   [0:11:00] PJ Bruno: Oh, it's heavy. I mean, any initial thoughts? Ryan, you want to kick us off here? We're going to edit you out, but just go ahead.   [0:11:09] Ryan Doyle: Just on the whole topic of Davos, there was ... I just found it so interesting, like its kind of come to the head as like our own New York representative, who was kind of in this Amazon fight. Like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been talking about this certain type of marginal tax rate, and those things get brought up at Davos. People laugh at it, but it was the reality for a long time in America to have a very high tax rate marginally on a certain group of users. So, just to hear these topics brought back up right now, and then at Davos, it all just seems so timely. Then was kind of kicked off, I think again yesterday when that Tucker Carlson-   [0:11:50] PJ Bruno: Thing with Fox News.   [0:11:51] Boris Revechkis: So beautiful. Can I just call out how amazing it was that you said, "Users," instead of, "Tax payers"?   [0:11:56] PJ Bruno: Nice.   [0:11:56] Boris Revechkis: Love it. That's Braze life right there.   [0:12:00] Ryan Doyle: I just got out of a sales conversation, so let me reset. Let me reset.   [0:12:03] PJ Bruno: Rewire.   [0:12:04] Boris Revechkis: We have 300 million users in this country.   [0:12:07] PJ Bruno: You got any hot takes from the article here?   [0:12:09] Boris Revechkis: There were a lot of big ideas in this article. A lot of it was about inequality in general, which is, you know, that's a trip. We can spend a lot of time on that. A lot of it was about AI, and refers back to what we were talking about earlier with that company doing face recognition, and privacy, and responsibility. Like in the quote you read, the pressure, the tension between using data, and exploiting data, and making people uncomfortable. I thought it was interesting that the Microsoft CEO had come out in favor of a US version of a GDPR, which is very cool.   [0:12:38] PJ Bruno: Yeah.   [0:12:39] Boris Revechkis: I mean obviously, I think at Braze we're very much behind that idea.   [0:12:42] Ryan Doyle: We would love that.   [0:12:42] Boris Revechkis: We would love that idea.   [0:12:43] PJ Bruno: Yeah.   [0:12:44] Boris Revechkis: Yeah. I think that speaks to that sort of idea of responsibility. Right? Don't use data in ways that makes people uncomfortable when they're picking up coffee.   [0:12:52] Ryan Doyle: Don't mention their poor, dead dog.   [0:12:55] Boris Revechkis: Yeah, exactly. Maybe what we need is actually some legislation to create some barriers, some boundaries so that collectively we're not cringing when we walk by an advertisement and it's asking us about our last doctor's visit.   [0:13:09] Ryan Doyle: Jeez. Well, if I could just add in, I think one of the reasons we haven't had legislation is, this was in one of those articles that kind of attack myth that's been going on for a long time. That Silicon Valley is here to save the world. All these tech founders come in, and they have an idea that will not only benefit us in a business sense, but, "We are going to change the world to be a better place." Maybe that's why legislation has been so slow to get up behind it, because we not only know what people are doing with our data because it's such a new occurrence, but we kind of trust these people who say that they are going to change the world for the better. So, I think we're starting to see for the first time that might not be the case.   [0:13:49] PJ Bruno: But that's the thing. Does that mean that if you decide to start a company and become a tech entrepreneur, it is now on you to make the world a better place? Like, obviously I think if you have the means, you should try to give back, but does that mean it's just a given? It's inherent anytime a tech leader tries to start something new? Is it, "Well, you know, keep in mind you must be giving back"? You know, or is it just like, "You need to pretend to give back"?   [0:14:15] Boris Revechkis: Question for life.   [0:14:16] PJ Bruno: Question for life.   [0:14:17] Ryan Doyle: I think because, is it our duty as human beings to always try to make the world a little bit better of a place? Not just tech founders PJ.   [0:14:24] PJ Bruno: Jeez.   [0:14:26] Boris Revechkis: Jeez. Personally, I don't know whoever believed that the full T-tech industry would unequivocally and unambiguously make the world a better place without making profit first. Like, our society, corporations, businesses, are economy is structured around organization which are obligated to increase value to shareholders.   [0:14:49] PJ Bruno: Right.   [0:14:50] Boris Revechkis: Put the shareholders interests first. Like, that's how our society is organized. It's great that tech founders want to make the world a better place. Anyone who does want to, it's great, but the reality is that when a company becomes large enough, and then also becomes publicly traded, you are obligated to make certain kinds of decisions. That's the way our society is structured. An interesting counter pointer alternative to that approach would be something like a B corporation, which is something that's come up in like the last decade or so, which is kind of cool.   [0:15:22] Ryan Doyle: What's that?   [0:15:23] Boris Revechkis: It's like a non-profit that basically has come up with this, so they're like S corps and C corps. They're like the, C corps are the most common and all that. This is like a non-profit that says, "We'll certify you as a B corporation," which means you're not just looking out for your share duty to your shareholders, but you're also incorporating into every decision you make, you're impact on the community, on the environment, on society at large. It's very difficult, and not a lot of huge brands have done this yet.   [0:15:51] Ryan Doyle: Are their any examples?   [0:15:53] PJ Bruno: I was about to say-   [0:15:53] Boris Revechkis: Like Ben & Jerry's.   [0:15:54] Ryan Doyle: Like an honest corporation?   [0:15:54] Boris Revechkis: Kickstarter is a B corporation I think.   [0:15:56] PJ Bruno: Ben & Jerry's?   [0:15:58] Ryan Doyle: Of course they are.   [0:15:58] PJ Bruno: I knew I liked those.   [0:15:59] Ryan Doyle: Yeah.   [0:15:59] Boris Revechkis: It's not widely popular yet, but because it's really onerous, because you're now saddling like your board and your whole organization with this responsibility, because you're not just here to make us money. You're here to think about your impact on everyone, your employees, your customers, your surrounding community, the environment, etc., etc.   [0:16:14] Ryan Doyle: Right.   [0:16:15] Boris Revechkis: In conjunction with your financial responsibilities and interests. So it's not easy, but the idea being that we're trying to change the incentives, or this is an attempt to change the incentives corporations to do better.   [0:16:28] Ryan Doyle: We don't have to legislate that as a norm, but it would be cool to incentivize those types of bigs, just to have a little more people who are thinking in that mindset.   [0:16:37] Boris Revechkis: Yeah.   [0:16:37] Ryan Doyle: Yeah.   [0:16:39] PJ Bruno: Sorry. One of the things they picked out from this article, that I thought was an interesting thing, was the idea of reinventing capitalism. Is it a business or a government affair? I mean, I'm curious to know what you guys think, because my instinct is that it should be ... Maybe I'm just more regulation prone, because at this point, there's like a lot of bullies in the game with a lot of money and a lot to lose. We need to level the playing field a little bit, but yeah. I mean it just, I don't know. Who's it on?   [0:17:13] Ryan Doyle: I think that it has to be a dance, because it takes two to tangle. Right? Business is not going to have a direction without regulation, and regulation won't have anything to regulate without the growth of business.   [0:17:23] PJ Bruno: Yeah.   [0:17:23] Ryan Doyle: I just read this interesting book on Teddy Roosevelt, and some of his first run-ins with monopolistic industries, and how he really came to be known as the trust buster. It's just interesting this dance that happens where there might be a little give with business, and then government does a little take, but then government gives a little over here. Then there's a little more take by business. So, I think it's definitely something that happens in parallel. I just think that we might be asking it because business seems to be moving faster at the moment.   [0:17:52] Boris Revechkis: Yeah. I think there's sort of this ideal that is always pushed that from the very start of a company to the point where it's Amazon's size, it can operate under the assumption that growing is always good, and representing a larger share of your market is better always. But ultimately, we have to recognize that, in a purely mathematical dynamical system sense, when you get that big your constraints are now different. You're not just like a fish swimming through the sea. You can now touch the edges of the sea. Right? You're like, it's a fish tank now and you're a big fish, and every motion of yours, you're hitting the walls and you're crushing other fish.   [0:18:35] Ryan Doyle: That's a good way to put it.   [0:18:35] PJ Bruno: Yeah, it is.   [0:18:35] Boris Revechkis: Also, you have to, the rules of the game have now changed. The rules, as far as government is concerned, have to account for that. You can't just treat that big fish like a tiny fish in the ocean.   [0:18:46] PJ Bruno: Yeah.   [0:18:46] Boris Revechkis: With where the limits are, pretty much unreachable once you've started to actually hit the edges of the tank, like the rules of the game need to change. Otherwise, things will go wrong. I think that's just pretty much what monopolies are and why that happened 130 years ago, 140 years ago, and why we're running into it now with tech companies. Government is behind in this industry because we have people who ask Mark Zuckerberg in congressional hearings how his company makes money. They have no idea what they're talking about, and they're just completely out of their depth. Therefore, we're now in a situation where these companies are just occupying such a vast proportion of these industries, that their every decision rocks the boat, to use another ocean, water.   [0:19:28] Ryan Doyle: I like how it metaphors dude.   [0:19:29] PJ Bruno: Doesn't resonate with me.   [0:19:30] Ryan Doyle: I'm a big fish in a small tank.   [0:19:34] Boris Revechkis: So, yeah. I mean, we just have to, we have to come to the terms of the fact that we need to, and even the companies themselves need to realize like, "Hey, you're not just a company anymore that's striving to get more customers and generate more revenue. You have such an outsize influence on your surrounding society that you have to think ahead." It's like the same thing with climate change. You can't, not to invoke another massively complicated and heavy topic-   [0:19:58] Ryan Doyle: You're not getting deep enough here yet.   [0:19:59] PJ Bruno: We'll save it.   [0:19:59] Ryan Doyle: Yeah, we'll save it.   [0:20:00] Boris Revechkis: Like, you have to be aware of your outputs and what you're doing to the surrounding area. You can't just keep throwing poison into the river and assuming it'll wash away to the ocean, when now the whole river is tainted, and the ocean is tainted, and whatever, whatever.   [0:20:13] Ryan Doyle: Still talking about metaphors.   [0:20:14] Boris Revechkis: Total a metaphor.   [0:20:15] PJ Bruno: Yeah. A little real life too.   [0:20:18] Boris Revechkis: Yeah.   [0:20:18] PJ Bruno: Cool. I mean, any closing thoughts from you two before we wrap her up?   [0:20:23] Ryan Doyle: I mean, I just had one question in all of this to ask Boris, because we touched a little bit on AI and machine learning today. I wanted to ask with Boris, specifically his role here has to do with AI and machine learning. I guess, how do your moral obligations play into your day-to-day role or how you see yourself in the AI industry and learning industry? Do you ever think about the impact your decisions or your work has, and if so, how do you try to exercise judgment in the work you put out?   [0:20:53] Boris Revechkis: I mean, the short answer is absolutely. The more involved answer that we may or may not have time for-   [0:20:59] Ryan Doyle: It's a big closing question.   [0:21:00] Boris Revechkis: It is. It is.   [0:21:00] PJ Bruno: I love it.   [0:21:01] Boris Revechkis: The bottom line is that we have to, you know. Braze as a company, I think, embraces the idea that we have to be responsible with our choices and we have to consider their impacts on people. So, we have to be mindful of how we allow our own customers to use data to influence their relationships with their own end users in a way that is responsible. To use another analogy, here we go again, the way I like to think of it, if you were just like a general store owner in the old west. Your customers are coming in, and you have a business, and you're trying to see where you're making money, where you're losing money. You would find your best customers, you would try to figure out what they want, and you would cater your business to insure your own livelihood and well being. So in a lot of ways, our customers are trying to do the same thing, but they're trying to do it for millions of their own customers. So of course they can't do it, and they can't have an army of people trying to parse all the data and interactions that they have with all their customers. You need machines. You need algorithms to go and figure out what the patterns are so you can say, "Oh, this pool of customers like products x, y, z. We should focus in this area. We should cater to these customers. We should communicate with them more. Here are the customers that are disaffected. They're not interested in us anymore. Why are they not interested? We need to do better." Right? It's like those common sense questions that any business own would ask, we're now just using machine learning and AI. We're helping our own customers use machine learning and AI to answer those questions, just at a scale that's unmanageable to do without those tools. Again, long answer, but as long as we're doing that without using data in a way that would clearly make people uncomfortable and would leverage data that they don't want us-   [0:22:36] Ryan Doyle: We'll use data we didn't have the right to use.   [0:22:37] Boris Revechkis: Exactly. So I mean, GDPR is really like almost the shield for this. Right? Like, "Hey, we're just not going to use data in ways that is irresponsible or that people don't want us to do in order to further these ends." But when people are explicitly told what's going to happen to their data, and how we and our customers are going to use it, and they're okay with that, great. That's sort of what it comes down to.   [0:23:01] Ryan Doyle: Thank you for answering that.   [0:23:02] PJ Bruno: Yeah, I appreciate that too.   [0:23:03] Boris Revechkis: Yeah.   [0:23:04] PJ Bruno: I want to close it out real quick. I think this article is so good, and I really love the closing paragraphs. So this is how he summed it all up. "A perfect storm is brewing: the agony of old systems, the void left by less and less trustworthy tech platforms, the disruption of the labor markets by the fourth industrial revolution, and the critical importance of reinventing capitalism and redefining the meaning of meaningful work. In the middle of conflicting agendas, CEOs will have to make tough choices. The most responsible of them know they will have their role to place in tackling all these issues, but are also humble enough to realize that, now more than ever, business can't do it alone." Is that a cough drop?   [0:23:51] Boris Revechkis: Sorry. I had to get a cough drop.   [0:23:52] PJ Bruno: All right. Well, signing off, this is PJ Bruno.   [0:23:56] Ryan Doyle: This is Ryan Doyle.   [0:23:57] Boris Revechkis: And Boris Revechkis.   [0:23:58] PJ Bruno: You guys take care. Come see us again sometime. [0:24:00]

This is a bonus episode which goes outside the parameters of the main Second Decade show. Astoria, Oregon was founded in 1811 as an outpost for fur trapping and trading on the Northwest coast, and was intended to be a crucial part of a global empire of commerce envisioned by German-born New York City millionaire John Jacob Astor. It didn’t quite work out that way, but the long history of Astoria has involved a number of fascinating people, encounters and accidents that have shaped this small Oregon city throughout the two centuries of its existence. There’s no way the entire history of Astoria can be crammed into a single podcast episode, but a few colorful anecdotes from its past will give you a sense of what this place is like and how it came to be what it is. In this Off Topic episode, recorded partially on location in Astoria and neighboring areas, Dr. Munger will give a brief history of the town as a whole, focusing on its establishment in the Second Decade, and then you’ll journey through three stories of Astoria’s past. You’ll learn about the famous winter camp of Lewis and Clark, and why it was a particularly itchy place; you’ll travel with a famous Astorian named Ranald MacDonald, who deliberately marooned himself in Japan in 1848; and you’ll learn the history of the Oregon coast’s most famous shipwreck, which has been sitting there on the beach just south of the town since 1906. This is just a peek at the long tapestry of Astoria’s history. Additional Materials About This Episode Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode, we welcome friend and Instagrammer extraordinaire, @jeaniuseats AKA Jean Lee! Jean is one of Zagat's Top 100 Food Instagrammers and is an all around great person. She talks about her love for Korean food, the wonders of "banchan" (al of those amazing little dishes that you get with Korean BBQ), and how Korean food and Italian food have so much in common. If you don't follow her already, please do so. (and while you're at it, give us a follow @tmiale, @mikemiranti, and of course, @notafoodiepics. Again, special thanks to The Astorian for hosting this podcast recording. Listen for a special appearance by our favorite bartender, Paolo, who pops in to keep us drinking! 

In our first “on-location” recording, the Notafoodie team travels to The Astorian, a new bar set to open in, you guessed it, Astoria Queens. We speak with Robert Burns, the general manager, on what it’s like opening a new space. We also talk Queens, NY and play M/F/K with various cocktails. BONUS-If you’re around on 2/1/2018, Bobby has invited all of our listeners to the grand opening party of the new space. Enjoy! . . . . #notafoodie #queens #nyc #foodie #podcast #cocktails #booze #newbar #bars #astoria #nyeats

Oh boy! This is a great one if you are a whiskey nerd. This week, Mike and Tom welcome Robert "Bobby" Burns (from the Forest Hills Station House and the soon-to-be-opened Astorian) who is as passionate about whiskey as anyone we know. He brings a sampling of 7 different whiskeys- from scotches to bourbons to ryes. He even cracks open, for the first time, a 35-year-old bottle of Jim Beam commemorating D-day that he found in an antique shop. Bobby talks about how to properly drink whiskey, the differences between different types of scotch, rye, and bourbons. He talks about the American whiskey revolution and how whiskeys from the US are far more interesting and diverse than ones from more traditional distilling countries. Some of my favorite things from today's podcast are: "Bully Flavors" "One Sip? One sip is like one date! You need to get to know the whiskey before passing judgment" William Howard Taft was the one who gave us the modern whiskey industry (and the 7th inning stretch). By the way, it took me over 2 weeks to edit this. It got more and more "rambly" as we drank. The hardest part about editing was trying not to consume all of the whiskey in my house while doing it. Don't take it from me, within 20 minutes of listening, you'll be craving that aged, amber, woodsy, spirit. Cheers!    

In Episode 35, Astorian Stigmata vocalist and guitarist Dennis Condusta is our special guest. Originally from Wilkes-Barre, the goth rock band has spent the last two years living in California and recently returned home after signing with Standby Records and releasing a new album, “Bones and Memories.” With photographer Tom Bonomo of Eyedesignstudios filling in for Lauren this week, we discuss the formation of Astorian Stigmata, how and why they developed their throwback synth-driven sound and gothic Victorian fashion sense, playing in venues on the Sunset Strip and making it in big cities like Los Angeles, being asked to fly out and partner with YouTube to create a music video, handcrafting merchandise and establishing a personal connection with fans through websites and social media, the importance of marketing and business and how they affect creativity, and working with management and a label in 2015. We also ask for advice for local musicians striving to reach that next level. In The Last Word segment, we talk about NEPA PrideFest, the positive feedback we’ve received from our weekly LGBT column Living Your Truth (including one particular commenter’s kind words), and why it’s necessary to cover these issues frequently rather than just once a year or when celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner put them in the spotlight. Professionally recorded every Monday at The Stude in TwentyFiveEight Studios in Scranton and released exclusively on nepascene.com every Tuesday, the NEPA Scene Podcast is a free supplement to the website, expanding on the arts and entertainment stories covered on the site and going beyond them to discuss other news and entertainment topics. Each week, the unedited and uncensored podcast features Rich Howells, NEPA Scene founder and editor; Mark Dennebaum, president and owner of TwentyFiveEight Studios; and Lauren Quirolgico, commercial and content strategist at Lavelle Strategy Group and editor at TwentyFiveEight. Every episode streams on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

The Spirit of Giving Click here to download Reporter Chelsea Gorrow talks with Barb Roberts and Myrle Bruner about the Christmas basket program and the Astoria Wishing Tree project.

Culture is Alive and Well Click here to download Meryl Lipman talks about the Oregon Cultural Trust. Jan Mitchell talks about the Clatsop County Cultural Coalition. Host is Daily Astorian Editor Steve Forrester.

Astoria Downtown works for a bright future Click here to download Editor and Publisher of the Chinook Observer Matt Winters talks to Astoria Downtown Historic Association District (ADHDA) Executive Director Alana Garner about continuing efforts to ensure a thriving business … Continue reading →

Expanding during a challenging time Click here to download Kathy Kleczek of La Luna Loca and Karen Emmerling of Beach Books have increased the scope of their businesses. They talk about seeing opportunity and taking it. Host is Daily Astorian … Continue reading →

New Play at Coaster Click here to download South County reporter Nancy McCarthy talks to the Coaster Theatre’s Executive Director Patrick Lathrop and Marketing and Operations Manager Jenni Tronier about “White Christmas,” the holiday play opening at the Coaster Nov. … Continue reading →

All about levees Click here to download Reporter Chelsea Gorrow speaks with Warrenton Mayor Mark Kujala and City Manager Kurt Fritsch about the city’s efforts to get its levees certified – and the FEMA letter recently sent that raised a … Continue reading →

How local business thrives in 2013 Click here to download Neal Cummings of Video Horizons and Becky Johnson and Paul Tuter of Vintage Hardware talk about the challenge of being locally-owned businesses in the face of big box and Internet-based … Continue reading →

Schools seek support Click here to download Nancy McCarthy talks with Mary Blake and Doug Barker, co-chairmen of the campaign committee, and Steve Phillips, Seaside School Board member, about the upcoming Seaside school bond measure.

Helping teens makes good choices Click here to download Patrick Webb, managing editor of The Daily Astorian, talks with Janet Evans, director of the Juvenile Department, and Jill Quackenbush, prevention supervisor with the Clatsop County Juvenile Department, about efforts to … Continue reading →

How horticulture affects our towns Click here to download Beth Holland and Kris Saulsbury talk with Daily Astorian Editor Steve Forrester. Holland has designed a number of public landscapes. Saulsbury runs Tongue Point’s landscape gardening curriculum.

Changes for the armory Click here to download Astoria City Manager Paul Benoit and Columbia River Maritime Museum staff discuss their upcoming trade and sale of the armory building in Astoria on this week’s KMUN After Deadline.

Funding the school Click here to download South County reporter and Seaside Signal editor Nancy McCarthy will discuss the $128.8 million bond measure to build a new Seaside school campus with campaigners Mary Blake and Tom Horning and architect Keith … Continue reading →

History and Politics Click here to download Steve Rogers, Pacific County Commissioner and a leader with the Pacific County Historical Society, speaks about county and history issues with Matt Winters, editor of the Chinook Observer and Columbia River Business Journal.