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Sam Davenport

Alaskans featured on 'Shark Tank,' and I broke my dumb leg

We are so back, everybody. Sorry that I didn't publish AK IRL last week – I had a pretty bad fall, which resulted in surgery and a few nights in the hospital. I broke my left tib and fib, and tore the ligament tucked between those bones. I'

When Bristol Palin tangoed her way into the 'Dancing With the Stars' finale

I was in middle school when Sarah Palin announced her course correction from governor to VP nominee. She was smack dab in the middle of campaigning when news hit the tabloids that her teenage daughter, Bristol, was pregnant. Bristol was on an episode of The Secret Life of the American

Laura Cole's 'Top Chef' season, plus 'Summer House' drama in the Bravo-sphere

I have been making my way through the new season of Top Chef: Carolinas (23) that's currently airing. It felt fitting to go and watch Laura Cole's time on the show – she appeared on season 15, set in Colorado. I'm from Denali National Park,

'Alaska Mega Machines' is heavier than six blue whales

Do you want to watch Alaska Mega Machines with me? That sounds like my kind of show, Duncan answered. This was a two-season show from Discovery that I found on Tubi (which is free), with 10 episodes total. I guess there were only so many mega machines they could

TLDW: 'Age of Attraction' and 'Australia V The World'

Starting this month, AK IRL's paying subscribers will get a monthly roundup of what I'm watching that isn't Alaska-reality-tv-related. I'm aiming for this to be sent out on the last Thursday of each month. There are so many shows

Frankie Doom's competitive side comes to play in The Boulet Brothers' 'Dragula,' 'Resurrection' and 'Titans'

I am so sorry this newsletter comes out on Sundays, because last night was drag queen Frankie Doom's last performance 🥀 She's not dying, she's just moving out of Alaska. Think Monster High Doll meets The Exorcist. Frankie is one of my favorite Anchorage queens.

'The Great Food Truck Race:' True story, cantaloupe grows in Alaska

The Spenard Food Truck Carnival returns this week after its annual winter break, so of course I found a food truck reality tv show for us to gab about. Have you featured the Alaska season of that one Food Truck Race show? My beautiful and clever friend Jes asked me.

'Extinct or Alive: Jaws of Alaska' isn't accurate, but it does make me think (too much) about sharks

Sharks have always freaked me out. As a kid (definitely *not* as an adult), I had an irrational fear that a shark was going to swim up on me in any body of water. Good thing that never happened, right? I had never heard of Forrest Galente before watching his

'Port Protection Alaska,' plus everyone with an AK hometown on their title card in 'The Bachelor' universe

It took me too long to realize Port Protection Alaska is not about people who protect ports across the state. I put on an episode and waited a good five minutes before I thought, Maybe I should look up what this show is about. We've got ports all

A belated Valentine's Day gift from me to you: I watch 'Alaska Women Looking for Love' so you don't have to

The odds are good, but the goods are odd. Especially when your dating pool is Kodiak. We only got one season of Alaska Women Looking for Love on TLC, where six women head to Miami in search of the perfect parter (that sentence is an oxymoron). We only got six