East Anchorage Book Club with Andrew Gray

Henry is a 15 year old trans boy. He and his mother are the guests today discussing their experience in Alaska. No last names will be given in the interest of their safety.This episode is part of a series on trans rights. The inspiration for these interviews is three bills currently moving through the Alaska State House: HB 183 which bans trans girls from playing girls sports; HB 1

Jessica Kalarchik was an Army First Sergeant who deployed with me and the Alaska Army National Guard’s 1-297th infantry battalion to Kosovo 2019-2020. 1st Sergeant Kalarchik presented as a very masculine man, and I never suspected that she was a trans woman. She was medically retired after 31 years in the military during her next deployment to Poland. Leaving the military gave he

The Banning family consists of:Lindsey, clinical psychologist, momCharlie, age 15, non-binary trans masculineEzzy, age 12, sisterEarl, neuropsychologist in the Air Force at Elmendorf, dadThis episode is part of a series on trans rights. The inspiration for these interviews is three bills currently moving through the Alaska State House: HB 183 which bans trans girls from playing gir

Aaron Poe has been a wildlife biologist in Alaska since 1998. He is the father of a trans daughter in the Anchorage School District, and today we discuss that experience.This episode is the first in a series on trans rights. The inspiration for these interviews is three bills currently moving through the Alaska State House: HB 183 which bans trans girls from playing girls sports; H

Alaska State Senator James Kaufman represents the Abbott Loop and Hillside areas of Anchorage. Although in his teens and 20s he was a guitar player & song writer for several successful rock bands, James began earning real money as an aircraft mechanic in Houston, Texas. He quickly found himself taking on bigger and bigger management positions which ultimately led to him transit

Reggie Joule of Kotzebue is a former Alaska State House Representative and the former Northwest Arctic Borough Mayor. He is listed in the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame as: “the greatest practitioner of the blanket toss in the long history of the World Eskimo Indian Olympics.” His skill in that Alaska Native sport led to his appearance on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson twice.

Judge Sharon Gleason is the Chief Judge of the United State District Court for the District of Alaska. She was appointed by Barack Obama in 2012 after serving 11 years as a judge on the Alaska Superior Court. She is the first woman to serve as a federal judge for Alaska. On March 29, 2024, she released a 29-page decision against the fishing of the Kuskokwim River by urban fishermen

With over 20 years of experience in Alaska's guardianship system Lisa Warzonek has been our statewide guardianship compliance officer since the position was created four years ago. A guardian is a person that the court appoints to manage the affairs of another person. In spite of the sensationalized negative headlines we see, most guardians do a difficult job for the right rea

The Mobile Home Owner Town Hall EpisodeToday our show is about mobile home parks. As the state representative for house district 20, I have several mobile home parks in my district. Mobile home owners face unique challenges: they own their home but must rent the land on which their home sits. Every year that rent goes up – yet the value of their home tends to go down. This can cr

Charisse Millett is a born and raised Alaskan who represented the Abbott Loop area of Anchorage in the Alaska State House from 2009 to 2019. During her legislative career she served as both the House Republican majority and minority leaders. In this episode we discuss:growing up Alaska Native in Anchorageserving as chief of staff to Rep. Vic Kohring just before the FBI probe that s