🐶 Deep Dive into Tucson's Wake Up Radio Show: Systemic Challenges in Animal Welfare, Economic Barriers, and Privilege
Unearthing the Truth: 80% of Unhoused People Treat Their Dogs Well! - A deep dive into the systemic challenges behind animal welfare in Tucson, highlighting societal factors driving desperate decisi
Based on the Wake Up Live with Chris DeSimone with 2/25/25.
🙊 Notable quotes from the show
Lara Iacobucci Paris on Unhoused Dog Breeding:
"80% of people are treating their dogs well that are unhoused. It is the 20% of bad apples."
Context: Discussing how some unhoused individuals breed dogs to make money
Discussing Tucson's Challenges:
Chris DeSimone: "We throw up unnecessary obstacles to their ability to remake themselves."
Context: Critiquing city bureaucracy and economic barriers
On University Athletics NIL Funding:
Bruce Ash: "We're always going to be a small fish in the NIL" (Name, Image, Likeness)
Context: Discussing University of Arizona's athletic funding challenges
People Mentioned:
Show Hosts:
Chris DeSimone: Radio show host, Live the Dream Media
Bruce Ash: Co-host, conservative local media personality
Main Guests:
Lara Iacobucci Paris: Tucson Action Team activist
Bridget Kocsis: Backseat Thriver podcast host
Christina Johnston: Backseat Thriver podcast co-host
Ron Arenas: Southwest Flavor show host
Political/Local Figures:
Katie Hobbs: Arizona Governor (criticized in the show)
Joe Snell: Sun Corridor leader (criticized for high salary)
Michael Wisehart: Mentioned in context of government appointments
Dana Allmond: Government employee discussed in job appointment segment
Media/Community Figures:
Ed Alexander: Local broadcaster (mentioned for Hall of Fame nomination)
Howie Fischer: Journalist from Arizona Capital Times
Other Notable Mentions:
Emmanuel Macron: Briefly mentioned in passing
Stephen Miller: Political commentator discussed briefly
Mark Levin: Conservative media personality referenced
Memorable Quotes About People:
On Ed Alexander: Bruce Ash says he's been trying to get him inducted into the Arizona Broadcasters Hall of Fame
About Joe Snell: Criticized for making $400,000 to "manage three people at Sun Corridor"
On Katie Hobbs: Criticized for job appointments and using federal stimulus dollars
The list captures the key personalities and memorable moments from the radio show, highlighting its local conservative perspective and focus on Tucson community issues.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
The recent radio show featured important conversations about local issues in Tucson. Guests talked about how many people without homes care for their dogs but also face tough challenges that force some to make hard choices. They discussed how city rules can hold people back from improving their lives and how even student athletes deal with money problems. The hosts pointed out how some people talk about helping their community, but their views might not fully understand the real struggles others face every day.
🗝️ Takeaways
🐶 Activism Struggles: Lara Iacobucci Paris highlights systemic challenges in animal welfare, revealing that 80% of unhoused individuals care for their dogs well.
💼 Bureaucratic Challenges: Chris DeSimone critiques policy barriers that hinder community growth and self-empowerment.
📉 Economic Realities in Sports: Bruce Ash discusses the University of Arizona's challenges in the increasingly commercialized landscape of college athletics.
🍽️ Middle-Class Reflections: Bridget Kocsis and Christina Johnston navigate privilege in discussions on personal growth, emphasizing the disconnect between their narratives and broader societal issues.
🌍 Need for Transformative Dialogue: The show calls for a deeper examination of the narratives that shape our understanding of systemic problems rather than reducing them to individual choices.
Unpacking Local Conservatism: A Critical Look at Tucson's Wake Up Radio Show
On February 25, 2025, the Wake Up radio show on Live the Dream Media Network hosted a provocative morning broadcast featuring local personalities Bruce Ash and Chris DeSimone.
The show featured multiple guests, including Lara Iacobucci Paris from Tucson Action Team and Bridget Kocsis and Christina Johnston, hosts of the Backseat Thriver podcast.
The broadcast delved into local politics, community issues, and personal narratives, revealing deep-seated conservative perspectives on Tucson's social landscape.
Internal monologue: How many listeners are hearing these perspectives unchallenged this morning?
🐶 Lara Iacobucci Paris: Activism Constrained by Systemic Limitations
Lara Iacobucci Paris emerged as a complex figure, representing the Tucson Action Team with a passionate commitment to animal welfare. Her discussion of community animal issues laid bare the profound systemic challenges that local activism confronts daily.
When Iacobucci revealed the stark reality of animal control—"15 to 19 officers for 9,000 square miles"—the numbers spoke volumes about municipal neglect. This isn't just an animal problem, I thought, this is a fundamental breakdown of community infrastructure.
The most jarring moment came when she casually mentioned that some unhoused individuals breed dogs "to get more money". The statement hung in the air, a testament to the economic violence that forces individuals into desperate survival strategies.
"We have to be careful," Iacobucci noted, "80% of unhoused people are treating their animals well. It's just the 20% that are the problem."
Internal critique: Why are we always parsing percentages instead of addressing root causes?
The progressive listener cannot help but hear the unspoken narratives of economic precarity and systemic marginalization that reduce human and animal lives to transactional exchanges. Each breeding dog becomes a symbol of a community's failure to provide basic economic security.
🎙️ Backseat Thriver: Privilege Speaking to Privilege
Bridget and Christina's podcast segment represented a masterclass in middle-class narrative construction. Their conversation about personal reinvention and community engagement rang with the hollow tone of consumptive activism.
Christina's career trajectory—from potential law student to marketing professional—epitomized a certain type of professional mobility. "I wanted to be powerful and rich," she candidly admitted, "and then realized that wasn't the life I wanted."
Internal dialogue: The luxury of "realizing" one's path is itself a profound privilege.
Their restaurant recommendations became a microcosm of local elitism—Tumerico, a vegan restaurant, celebrated not for its political stance but for its culinary artistry. When Christina discovered a "carnitas taco" was actually made of jackfruit, it became a metaphor for the performative nature of liberal consumption.
"I felt like I could take on the world after eating there," Christina proclaimed.
Whispered critique: Taking on the world from a privileged plate is not revolution.
🏙️ Systemic Failures Masked as Individual Challenges
The hosts' discussion of Tucson's urban challenges revealed a deeply conservative framework of understanding social issues. Crime, infrastructure, economic development—all were framed as individual failures rather than systemic inequities.
Bruce Ash's commentary about "unnecessary obstacles" in city development spoke volumes. These aren't obstacles, the progressive listener understands, these are intentional barriers designed to maintain existing power structures.
The conversation about the University of Arizona's NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) funding exposed the commodification of student-athletes. Athletes as economic units, I thought, not as young people with complex lives and aspirations.
🌍 Beyond Representation: A Call for Transformative Dialogue
This broadcast was more than a radio show—it was a performance of local power dynamics. Conservative media doesn't just report narratives; it actively constructs them.
The most dangerous stories are those that seem neutral, the internal voice whispers.
Reflective Questions for Community Transformation:
How do we dismantle narratives that reduce complex social issues to individual behaviors?
What would true community dialogue look like if centered on those most marginalized?
How can we create media spaces that challenge, rather than reinforce, existing power structures?
Your silence is complicity. Your voice is resistance.
Share your insights, your critiques, your reimaginings in the comments below.
