Renoites- The Podcast about Reno Nevada

Abortion rights and abortion access have been issues at the forefront of the political world for decades, and especially so this year with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. One of the ways that abortion rights advocates work to maintain access is to help fund abortion services for people in need of assistance. These abortion funds have appeared and grown all over the country.
This week on Renoites we're joined by Jakki Durón, the current Vice President of the Wild West Access Fund, a Nevada abortion fund that has grown from a small mutual aid group into a non-profit that has distributed over $100,000.
Conor and Jakki discuss the Wild West Action Fund and abortion funds in general, the history of abortion stigmatization, financial restrictions like the Hyde Amendment, the intersection of abortion rights advocacy and liberation movements, modern and inclusive language around gender identity, and much more!
It was a very informative conversation and one that is very important for this moment. Thanks for listening.
This season of Renoites is produced by Conor McQuivey and Lynn Lazaro
Send guest suggestions to conor@renoites.com
Follow me on Instagram @Renoites and join the Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/renoites
 

October 22 is the first day of early voting here in Nevada, and today we have a special BONUS episode of Renoites with one of the candidates for Secretary of State, Cisco Aguilar.
On this episode, Conor and Cisco talk about the major responsibilities of the office of Secretary of State, the role the office plays in regulating our elections (which are run by each county), the differing campaign strategies of turnout and persuasion, the politicization of non-partisan offices, the open primary and ranked choice ballot initiative, and more!
Thanks for listening and please make a plan to vote!
If you have feedback or guest suggestions, email conor@renoites.com
Please consider supporting this project financially: http://www.patreon.com/renoites
 

This week on Renoites, we are joined by Kristoffer Polaha, an actor originally from Reno who has appeared in recurring roles on many TV shows including Mad Men, Castle, Get Shorty, Backstrom, as well as starring in a number of movies for the Hallmark channel and appearing in major films like Wonder Woman 1984.
We talked about growing up in Reno and moving away and into a career in film, the differences between working in film and television, how religious faith informs the way we approach our work, the writing process for his new series of books, and the upcoming event this weekend in Reno for the Down Syndrome Network of Northern Nevada. 
Follow Kris on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/polahaha
Check out his new book "Where the Sun Rises" on Amazon 
Learn more about the event for Down syndrome Network of Northern Nevada at this link: https://www.dsnnn.org/general-8-1
Next week, Renoites will be doing a LIVE EPISODE RECORDING in partnership with Black Rabbit Mead and Spoken Views Poetry Collective. That's Wednesday, October 26. The Renoites interview portion will start at 7:00 followed by the spooky themed poetry slam competition at 7:30. It is a free event, please join us!
Details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/450182300541261
Have suggestions for guests or topics? Email Conor at conor@renoites.com
This season of Renoites is produced by Conor McQuivey and Lynn Lazaro.
Thanks for listening!

Renoites host Conor grew up here in Reno, and has a lot of memories of the Shoppers Square Mall (and it’s gradual decline), as well as of the vacant lot where Park Lane Mall once stood. But things have changed in recent years and the southern end of Midtown is seeing a lot of new development, first with the Reno Experience District on the Park Lane site, and coming soon, the Reno Public Market in the former Shopper’s Square building. The Market will be a food hall, artist creation and performance space, and local retail market for independent makers, among other things.
Today’s guest on the show is Nettie Oliverio, one of the people behind that project, with a focus on the arts and culture elements. Nettie previously served on Reno’s arts and culture commission, and is the outgoing president of the board of the Pioneer Theater.
On this episode, Conor and Nettie talk about the development of the Reno Public Market, the importance of arts and culture in retail spaces, the goal of creating spontaneous or surprising connections, the growth of local theater in Northern Nevada, and much more!
Learn more about Reno Public Market and keep up to date about their opening on their Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/renopublicmarket/
Renoites is a listener-funded project! Please feel free to Venmo a tip to @Renoites or sign up as a recurring donor at http://www.patreon.com/renoites
Send you guest suggestions and feedback to Conor at conor@renoites.com
This episode was produced by Conor McQuivey and Lynn Lazaro (I'm sorry I forgot to say so on the actual episode recording! Lynn did a lot of work on this one!)

It’s no secret that schools in Northern Nevada are facing a lot of challenges. Washoe County is one of the most underfunded school districts in the country in terms of per-pupil spending, teachers are leaving the profession for more lucrative jobs, resulting in major staff shortages, and funding strategies like cannabis taxes have not been the cure-all some have hoped.
Joining Conor on the podcast today to talk about the issues facing our Northern Nevada schools is Calen Evans, founder of the grassroots teacher advocacy group Empower Nevada Teachers, and elected this year as President of the Washoe Education Association, the union representing Washoe County educators.
We had a great conversation about what has caused these issues over the years and decades, how to affect political change when politicians don’t follow through on their promises to support schools, the reason cannabis taxes often don’t actually go to schools, and much more. Thank you for listening and doing your part to advocate for quality education in Nevada.
Also be sure to check out Vibrant Voices on Instagram, it's our co-producer Lynn Lazaro's student-run newsroom at UNR and also features local podcasts and stories. Click here and give them a follow!
If you have any feedback or guest suggestions, email Conor at conor@renoites.com 
And be sure to check out http://www.patreon.com/renoites to help us make Renoites a financially sustainable project (and maybe get yourself some perks like merch or shout-outs on the show!)

What does it mean to be radical? Is it being an activist? Is it being a space for banned books, feminism, anti-racism and LGBT empowerment? This week, Co-Producer Lynn Lazaro met with Rosie Zuckerman, one of the owners of The Radical Cat. They talk about the store’s book selection, cat lounge, and how it functions as a community space. Rosie also tells us what the word “radical” means to her, and how they are involved with the activist community in Reno.
If you enjoy this episode, please consider sending a tip to @Renoites on Venmo or check out http://www.patreon.com/renoites
If you have guest or episode topic suggestions, or just want to get in touch, email me at conor@renoites.com 

When you think of busy nights out at local bars, there are a few obvious events. New Years Eve? Saint Patrick's Day? But here in Reno we have some additional nights throughout the year where everyone gets dressed up and all the bars are busy and full of energy. Themed bar crawls organized by Crawl Reno create the "epic night out" throughout the year.
This week on Renoites, we welcome Ed Adkins, the creator of Crawl Reno. Ed and Conor talk about the appeal of themed bar crawl events, the first iterations of the crawls, building relationships with local bars, what makes Reno such an ideal city for bar crawls, watching out for scam crawls that just sell tickets online but have no connection to the community, and much more!
The next major crawls are the Zombie Crawl in October and the Santa Crawl in December. See the full schedule and get information at http://www.crawlreno.com
Thanks Ed for coming on the show and it was great to get to chat with you!
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sending a tip to @Renoites on Venmo or check out http://www.patreon.com/renoites
If you have guest or episode topic suggestions, or just want to get in touch, email me at conor@renoites.com 

Shortly after starting this podcast, in the middle of the COVID pandemic, I met my friend Elizabeth for coffee because she had some great suggestions for Renoites guests. The first person she told me about was Dr Bayo Curry-Winchell, Medical Director for St. Mary's Urgent Care and Carbon Health. She told me that Dr. BCW (as she is often called) would be the perfect guest to discuss not only the pandemic but other hugely important issues of public health.
I am so glad to finally have Dr. BCW join me on the podcast. In this episode, we spoke about some of the challenges people of color face in receiving proper treatment from our medical systems, and the ways we can make things better.
Some of the topics include disparate diagnoses and treatment protocols based on race, distrust of the medical system and government, communication styles and credibility, developing trusted sources for medical information, and much much more.
This was an excellent conversation and I'm grateful to have had Dr. BCW on the show.
If you enjoy this episode, please consider sending a tip to @Renoites on Venmo or check out http://www.patreon.com/renoites
If you have guest or episode topic suggestions, or just want to get in touch, email me at conor@renoites.com