Later, the hosts dive into deeper territory — exploring changes in media consumption, reflecting on politics and community engagement, and geeking out over a mysterious interstellar comet making its way through our solar system. With humor, honesty, and a dose of skepticism, this episode blends comedy, storytelling, and thought-provoking perspectives.

🔑 Highlights & Takeaways

Behind-the-scenes fun with the crew’s Labor Day intro mishaps (00:00–03:00)

Nostalgic throwbacks to game shows, SNL, In Living Color, and MADtv (04:00–07:00)

A wild detour into the VHS vs. Betamax wars and adult film industry impact (07:00–10:00)

Stories of 90s video dating and how it compares to modern apps (06:30–08:30)

Reflections on how media consumption has shifted with YouTube, TikTok, and categorized comedy (05:00–06:00, 10:00–12:00)

A personal tale about a coffee mishap at work that turns into comic gold (27:00–31:00)

In-depth discussion of the mysterious I3 ATLAS comet, its odd trajectory, and what it could mean (31:00–40:00+)

Honest and candid perspectives on politics, community, and personal values (17:00–25:00)

⏱️ Timestamped Guide

00:00–03:00 – Kicking off the Labor Day Spectacular intro

04:00–07:00 – Comedy nostalgia: SNL, In Living Color, MADtv

07:00–10:00 – VHS vs. Betamax, adult films, and weird 90s party stories

10:00–12:00 – Media shifts: from bad TV to curated YouTube clips

17:00–25:00 – Political reflections and community experiences

27:00–31:00 – Jeff’s hilarious coffee explosion story

31:00–40:00+ – Deep dive into the mysterious interstellar comet

Sponsored By:

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• The Union Club: The Union Club is a coworking space contributing to Tacoma's growing artistic and entrepreneurial communities. It combines a maker studio, event hall, and office coworking space, in a 15,000 square foot historic building in downtown Tacoma, Washington.

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Links:

• ACROSS AMERICA Full Documentary - YouTube
• 3I Atlas UPDATE! Signs of artificial metal detected! - YouTube
• Danny Jones - YouTube
• No Tax on Tips: Tax Exemption on Tips 2025 Updates | Paycom Blog

00:04 – Justin and Jeff kick off the episode by giving thanks to Scott for the amazing energy he brings to the team, Isaac gives his opinion on if he considers a high five a compliment, and Isaac shares what SENCo covers in addition to what they are about. He talks about the grants the company receives allowing them to uplift from the ground level, being at the forefront of neighborhood councils, and how people can get involved.

18:02 – Isaac talks about getting involved in SENCo, the amazing work Next Chapter does for the Tacoma community, and shares where people's voice matters most in terms of local government. Justin gives a shout-out to the Union Club, the paranormal activity there, and Isaac explains where Tacoma’s mega-warehouse is going to be.

36:24 – Isaac talks about the impact on traffic the warehouse will have on the area, , extra insane drivers in Tacoma, and what people can do if they want to voice against the warehouse. He talks about the rally and community cleanup happening on August 20th, the Tacoma Climate Leadership Cohort, and the resources in the area for people to take advantage of.

55:16 – Scott talks about real-estate cycles, how the interest rate will drive down the cost of houses, and Isaac talks about the systemic problems of homelessness. Jeff talks about the growth of Kazakhstan, Isaac talks about what he wants most for Tacoma, and Justin shares the reason why he voted for the Civil Service Member in this year's election.

Thank you, Isaac, for sharing your story and the amazing work you do in the community!

Special Guest: Isaac Pennoyer.

Sponsored By:

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Links:

• South End Neighborhood Council – Working Together to Make the South End Better!
• Tacoma SENCo Group | Facebook
• South End Neighborhood Council (@senco_tacoma) • Instagram — A Community Driven, Neighbor-led organization to make the South End amazing!
• Celebrating the South End Neighborhood Council's Transformative Project in Tacoma's South End
• The Grit City Podcast: Streetball Supe
• Next Chapter Pregnant Single Mothers Children Homeless Pierce County Tacoma — Empowering the women in our community and their children to thrive.
• Here are details of upcoming Tacoma warehouse appeals hearing | Tacoma News Tribune — A mega-warehouse proposed in South Tacoma will be the subject of a multi-day development appeal with the city’s hearing examiner starting Tuesday.
• Tacoma Climate Leadership Cohort — Tacoma Tree Foundation — The Climate Leadership Cohort is a program organized by Tacoma Tree Foundation on behalf of the City of Tacoma Office of Environmental Policy and Sustainability.
• Get Involved with Trees - City of Tacoma — Plant free trees in your right-of-way by participating in the Grit City Trees Program. Work with your neighbors to submit a Group Application, and the City will deliver the free trees to a designated nearby spot in your neighborhood.
• Community Invited to ‘Picture Pac Ave’ - City of Tacoma — The City of Tacoma is partnering with the community to create “Picture Pac Ave” – a long-term vision and plan for growth and development along Pacific Avenue from approximately I-5 to South 96th Street.
• Startup253
• Kazakhstan’s Economy Grows 5% in First Half of 2023 - The Astana Times — The growth of Kazakhstan’s economy reached 5 % in the first half of this year, with a 4. 8% increase in the real sector and 4.9 % – in the service sector, Ranking.kz reported on Aug. 9

01:28 – Justin welcomes Allison to the podcast, Scott shares how listeners can get hooked up with some GCP stickers, and Alison talks about joining the Tacoma News Tribune. She talks on starting to cover Tacoma and education news, Scott shares what led him to inviting her to chat with GCP, and Allison talks about getting information out to people to keep them connected to her work. She talks about growing up in the PNW, getting into freelancing, and into journalism.

10:33 – Justin talks on seeing the different side of Tacoma and Allison talks on the difference between Tacoma and Puyallup when it comes the stories she writes. They talk about the rising housing costs in Tacoma, Justin shares his frustration with his neighborhood, and Allison discusses how she differentiates her bias between reporting and the facts. She talks on her future story plans around housing, her resent story on school lock downs, and the equity gaps between different areas on Tacoma.

24:14 – Justin talks about how the bus rapid transit is a hot topic in his area, the concerns on how it would lower housing values, and encourages people to get involved with their local government. Justin and Scott kick off coaster questions, Allison talks on how technology has helped her with journalism, and Justin talks about going from audio editing to video edition.

36:38 – They kick off called shots, Justin talks on going to Pomodoro Italian Restaurant for Valentines Day, and Scott gives a shout out to King Street Bar and Oven in Seattle. He shares his favorite things to eat there, Allison talks about her recent visits to Happy Belly, and what her favorite soups are. Scott shares his favorite soup to eat, gives a shout out to his friends that listen from Nevada, and Justin shares where listeners can find Allison online. Allison talks on what it is like day to day in the office and Justin encourages listeners to be sure to submit Coaster Questions.

Thanks Allison for stopping by to talk about the haps in local politics and your career!

Special Guest: Allison Needles.

Sponsored By:

• The Union Club: The Union Club is a coworking space contributing to Tacoma's growing artistic and entrepreneurial communities. It combines a maker studio, event hall, and office coworking space, in a 15,000 square foot historic building in downtown Tacoma, Washington.

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Links:

• Allison Needles on Twitter — News reporter @thenewstribune.
• Allison Needles info - The News Tribune — Allison Needles covers city and education news for The News Tribune in Tacoma.
• Tacoma WA Breaking News, Sports, Weather & More
• School lockdowns most common in South Tacoma, Eastside — Which Tacoma schools are locked down most often?
• Pomodoro Italian Restaurant & Bar — Voted "Tacoma's Best Italian Restaurant" by the readers of the Tacoma Weekly.
• King Street Bar & Oven — Mondays can be rough. Let us help make yours a little better.
• Happy Belly Tacoma — feel. good. food.
• Basque cuisine - Wikipedia — Basque cuisine refers to the cuisine of the Basque Country.

0:57 – Justin gives introduces, Christina explains how Archway Consulting was created with her business partner Dorian Waller, Keith becoming Tacoma city councilman of District 3 in 2015, and when her and Dorian realized the need for political consultants for people of color when Keith ran. She talks of how the political landscape has changed over the years, how people are taking their statement past the protest and running for office, and the different candidates in the community they’ve helped get elected.

4:46 – Christina talks about the expansion of Archway Consulting that brought Keith and Dr. Caldwell on board and Justin explains how he sees diversity, equity, and inclusion as a complete life style change. Dr. Caldwell highlights the importance of understanding that our nation was setup for white men and that we’re just now starting to dismantle that, Justin talks about how they ran into Christina, Keith, and Dr. Caldwell, and Christina talks about how they came across Union Club.

10:05 – Christina explains what Tacoma Creates offers the community, Scott shares that the Museum of Glass has a nightly live stream of glassblowing, and Justin gives props to Art on the Ave. He also talks about the new community center in Tacoma that has recording studios which help kids build on their creativity and Scott talks about Real Arts all ages venue. Christina shares how people can get ahold of them, gives information on their upcoming monthly event ‘How To Recruit and Retain Diverse Talent’ (happening this month on the 27th), and their ‘Let’s Talk’ series they hold at the Evergreen Tacoma Campus.

Thanks Christina, Keith and Dr. Caldwell for the interesting and informative impromptu conversation with GCP!

Special Guests: Christina Blocker, Dr. Cindy Caldwell, and Keith Blocker.

Support The Grit City Podcast

Links:

• Archway Consulting Group on Facebook
• Archway Consulting Group — Effective advocacy and political strategy