You do not have to be from the Northwest to listen to, and enjoy, NW NERD Podcast. But the small team of independent journalists who produce this geek news podcast are from that region, which they argue is among the nerdiest corners of the planet. NW NERD is for all who are interested in the stories behind nerd culture.
NW NERD is a magazine-style podcast focused on geek news. Its approach to nerd news is to present original features with in-depth reporting and interviews. These are the stories that make us nerds. These are the people who make up the geekonomy. And these are the issues important to us: pop culture, comics, film, TV, comic cons, cosplay, games, and beyond.
NW NERD is a podcast produced by a small team of independent journalists and creators, including First Officer Dyer Oxley, Ensign Brandon Haddix, and contributor Nick Jarin. Also featuring a rotating lineup of guest hosts.
An Origin Story
NW NERD began with two co-workers at a radio station. One was a journalist — Dyer Oxley. The other was trained in the ways of talk radio — Nick Jarin.
As Dyer was walking around Emerald City Comic Con one year, it occurred to the journalist in him that the geek community offered a wealth of stories that touched upon a range of topics. But no one was covering it. He brought the idea of a deeply-reported geek news podcast to Nick. With their powers combined, they created NW NERD — a podcast profiling the geek community, focused on nerd news, feature stories, and more.
Since then they have chronicled the region’s mermaid scene, local musicians inspired by pop culture, a Star Wars church, fan cars, a police department using Twitch, symphony’s embracing pop culture scores, the region’s film scene, cosplay backstories, the rise of nerdlesque, pinball subculture, comic con profiles, ghost stories, the science behind the fiction, and so much more. Along the way, they’ve been voted the region’s best podcast more than once, and have been featured on local radio and TV.
Nick and Dyer came from different corners of media, but both had a passion for geek culture. Both were nerds in their own way. And that’s partially the point of NW NERD — everyone is a nerd. There are no gatekeepers who get to determine who is more or less worthy. We’re all nerds, and these are our stories.
After four seasons of NW NERD, Nick embarked on a new adventure that took him to Texas. He continues to be involved in the podcast as a contributor.