In The Moment podcast
248 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsListen in on the latest Town Hall conversation, wherever you are! In the Moment is a weekly podcast featuring in-depth interviews curated by Town Hall’s Digital Media Manager, Jini Palmer. Senior Correspondent Steve Scher, along with a host of Seattle journalists and thought leaders, take on topics ranging from science and health, civics and culture, to the arts—and beyond! Join us, In the Moment, for expansive talks from Town Hall’s digital stage.
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Episodes
141. Max Holleran with Marcus Harrison Green: Millennials and the Fight for Affordable Housing
June 27, 2022 20:20 - 46 minutes - 44.6 MBIt’s no secret that housing costs are climbing and income is struggling to keep up. It’s a complex problem with a lot of loud voices. One of the newest voices, however, is the YIMBY (“Yes In My Backyard”) movement. This growing number of influential activists are calling for more construction and denser cities in order to increase affordability. Max Holleran’s book, Yes to the City, offers an in-depth look at the movement and how it fits into the larger debate of how we shape where we live...
140. R. Douglas Arnold with Sally James: Can Social Security Be Fixed?
June 20, 2022 20:37 - 48 minutes - 46.1 MBSince it started, Social Security has been a cornerstone for retirement in America. But Americans are living longer and having fewer children, which means that this popular program now pays more in benefits than it collects in revenue. There’s less going into the pot than there is going out. Without reforms, 83 million Americans will face an immediate benefit cut of 20 percent in 2034, just a dozen years away. What’s more, most future retirees are not participating in employee-sponsored re...
139. Leoma James with Charlie James: Stories of a Black American Woman Living in Africa
June 13, 2022 19:42 - 1 hour - 58 MBWhat is it like to be a young, Black, American woman traveling in Southern and Eastern Africa? In her new novel, No Blame, No Shame, No Guilt, Leoma James explores the profound experience of being surrounded by Africa’s natural beauty and vibrant culture while also realizing the harsh realities of racism and the long-term implications of colonization in Africa. Through short stories and poetry, James exposes readers to the different racial relations present within each story, allowing them t...
138. Kevin G. Bethune with Beverly Aarons: How Reimagining Design Can Transform Lives and Organizations
June 06, 2022 19:39 - 59 minutes - 56.2 MBDesign is more than an aesthetically pleasing logo or banner – it has the power to solve problems in unique ways, cultivate innovation, and anchor multidisciplinary teamwork. In Reimagining Design, Kevin Bethune describes his journey as a Black professional through corporate America, revealing the power of transformative design, multidisciplinary leaps, and diversity. Bethune, who began as an engineer at Westinghouse, moved on to Nike (where he designed Air Jordans), and now works as a sough...
137. Alexander Monea with Edward Wolcher: How the Internet Became Straight
May 23, 2022 19:33 - 50 minutes - 48.4 MBIn today’s internet-based world, it’s easy to forget that there was a time before it was mainstream. How is it built? Who decides its content? And how has that content affected our culture? In this episode of In the Moment, author and researcher Alexander Monea takes a close look at this thing we all take for granted and argues that the internet isn’t as open source as one might think. In his new book, The Digital Closet, Monea explores how heteronormative bias is deeply embedded in the i...
136. Joel Simon and Robert Mahoney with Katy Sewall: How Censorship and Lies Made the World Sicker and Less Free
May 16, 2022 20:27 - 48 minutes - 46.2 MBAs COVID-19 began to spread around the world in 2020, so did a steady stream of information — and disinformation. Running parallel to the pandemic was an “infodemic,” a digital and physical deluge of information that resulted in mass confusion and censorship. In their new book, The Infodemic, authors Joel Simon and Robert Mahoney lay bare the mechanisms of a modern brand of “censorship through noise” that moves beyond traditional means of state control (jailing critics and restricting the fl...
135. David M. Peña-Guzmán with Steve Scher: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness
May 09, 2022 19:55 - 49 minutes - 47.1 MBHave you ever watched a dog sleep? At times it doesn’t look like sleep at all with their tails thumping, paws padding at an invisible ground, and squeaks, grunts, and growls disrupting an otherwise quiet slumber. We might assume that they’re dreaming about squirrels, or a really good bone. But are they? What really goes on in the minds of animals when they sleep? Author David Peña-Guzmán brings together behavioral and neuroscientific research on animal sleep with philosophical theories of ...
134. Thomas H. Pruiksma with Dr. Ruben Quesada: A New Translation of The Kural
May 02, 2022 19:19 - 52 minutes - 49.7 MBThe Tirukkuṟaḷ, or Kural, for short, is considered a masterpiece of universal philosophy, ethics, and morality. Traditionally attributed to Thiruvalluvar, also known as Valluvar, the original text has been dated from 300 BCE to 5th century CE. The classic Tamil work is one of the most cited and translated ancient texts in existence; it has been translated into over 40 Indian and non-Indian languages and has never been out of print since its first publication in 1812. In a new translation o...
133. Linda Lee with Shin Yu Pai: Meet Town Hall Seattle’s Curator-in-Residence
April 25, 2022 19:30 - 26 minutes - 26.3 MBAs Curator-in-Residence for Town Hall, Linda Lee has been working with Town Hall Seattle since October 2021 to better interpret and display our permanent art collections, as well as develop a longer-term exhibition plan including artwork from the community. In the 133rd episode of Town Hall’s In the Moment podcast, Program Director Shin Yu Pai interviews Lee about her work as Curator-in-Residence, her collaboration with Urban Artworks to put art on our walls, and exciting opportunities for...
132. Treva B. Lindsey with Leoma James: Violence, Black Women, and the Struggle for Justice
April 18, 2022 20:01 - 1 hour - 64.5 MBStudies clearly indicate that Black women, girls, and non-binary people face disproportionately high rates of physical and sexual violence, and face a greater risk of death by homicide than women and non-binary people of white, Latinx, and Asian/Pacific Islander descent. What forces have contributed to a legacy of violence, and is justice possible? In America, Goddam, Black feminist historian Dr. Treva B. Lindsey explores the combined force of anti-Blackness, misogyny, patriarchy, and ca...
131. Frank C. Keil with Halli Benasutti: Childhood and the Lifelong Love of Science
April 11, 2022 19:56 - 1 hour - 63.5 MBSpend any amount of time with young children, and there’s a good chance of finding yourself on the receiving end of a barrage of questions. How do clocks work? Where do fish go in winter? Why isn’t the oldest person in the world also the tallest person in the world? And on and on. But it makes sense; children are new here, relatively speaking, and are constantly trying to figure out their big, beautiful, confusing world. But where does that sense of wonder go when people become adults? In ...
130. Lyric World: Lorna Dee Cervantes with Shin Yu Pai
April 04, 2022 18:38 - 46 minutes - 44.2 MBPoet Lorna Dee Cervantes is considered one of the major voices in contemporary Chicana literature. Growing up, she was encouraged to only speak English in order to avoid racism in her California community. As a writer, her experiences as a woman of Mexican and Indigenous American descent fuel her work, which often explores loss of language, questions of identity, and dichotomies of acceptance and resistance. In this installment of Lyric World for Town Hall’s In the Moment podcast, Program ...
129. Laurie Winkless with Steve Scher—Sticky: The Secret Science of Surfaces
March 28, 2022 20:12 - 56 minutes - 53.7 MBYou are surrounded by stickiness. With every step you take, air molecules cling to you and slow you down; the effect is harder to ignore in water. When you hit the road, whether powered by pedal or engine, you rely on grip to keep you safe. The Post-it note and glue in your desk drawer. The non-stick pan on your stove. The fingerprints linked to your identity. The rumbling of the Earth deep beneath your feet, and the ice that transforms waterways each winter. All of these things are controll...
128. Michelle Drouin with Dr. Margaret Morris: How Technology Helps and Hinders Intimacy and Connection
March 21, 2022 20:07 - 56 minutes - 53.3 MBAre we all, quite literally, out of touch? According to behavioral scientist Michelle Drouin, millions of people worldwide are not getting the physical, emotional, and intellectual intimacy they crave. Pandemic isolation has undoubtedly played a role, but the wonders of modern technology are connecting us with more people more often than ever before. But are these connections what we long for? Drouin’s new book, Out of Touch, explores what she calls an intimacy famine and considers why rel...
127. Kathy Gilsinan with Steve Scher: Stories from the Front Lines of the Pandemic
March 14, 2022 19:26 - 35 minutes - 34.1 MBMost Americans can pinpoint the moment, back in March of 2020, when COVID-19 changed everything in the United States. Lockdown measures reshaped the daily lives of millions. Work changed. School changed. The experiences of going to the grocery store, doctor’s office, or meeting up with friends changed. And let’s be honest, two years into the pandemic, our lives are still changing as we grapple with variants, shifting guidelines, and the continued loss of loved ones. It has been a long seas...
126. Vanessa Chakour with Amanda Carter Gomes: How Nature Guides Us Toward Healing
March 07, 2022 20:37 - 38 minutes - 36.6 MBWhen Vanessa Chakour was growing up, she experienced a series of physical traumas — chronic asthma, a car accident that fractured her back and neck, and sexual trauma. On her path to recovery, she pursued various approaches to therapeutic movement from martial arts to yoga, exploring the traditions that honor mind-body connection. Now twenty years into her journey to reconcile her daily routines with a yearning for a greater purpose, Chakour shares her learnings in her new book, Awakening ...
125. Guilaine Kinouani with Anastacia-Reneé: Living While Black
February 28, 2022 20:17 - 38 minutes - 36.8 MBMental health professionals are in high demand now more than ever. In the U.S. alone, around a third of the population sought therapy services in 2020. But mental health practitioners aren’t immune to issues of deep structural racism and white supremacy; if they aren’t recognized and consciously dismantled, the potential for further harm to Black people persists, and mental, physical, and emotional wellness remain out of reach. Over the past 15 years, radical psychologist Guilaine Kinoua...
124. Stanley Shikuma with Jasmine Pulido—Stop Repeating History: Tsuru for Solidarity
February 21, 2022 18:00 - 1 hour - 63.2 MBTsuru for Solidarity is a nonviolent, direct action project of Japanese American social justice advocates working to end detention sites and support front-line immigrant and refugee communities that are being targeted by racist, inhumane immigration policies. In the 124th episode of Town Hall’s In the Moment podcast, Jasmine Pulido interviews writer and community activist Stanley Shikuma about Tsuru for Solidarity’s work and advocacy to close all U.S. concentration camps. The release of t...
123. Hilda Lloréns with Lola E. Peters: Afro-Puerto Rican Women Building Environmental Justice
February 07, 2022 21:00 - 1 hour - 62.3 MBPuerto Rico has faced challenge after challenge in recent years, from economic crises and political upheaval to the aftermath of two consecutive and powerful hurricanes — Irma and María — in 2017. The devastation caused by the storms was widespread, destroying the already-fragile power grid, making most roads impassable, and costing thousands of people their lives. Years later, as rebuilding continues with ongoing struggles, an often-overlooked population of Afro-Puerto Rican women are dra...
122. Aaron Poochigian with Steve Scher: Baudelaire’s Flowers of Evil
January 31, 2022 21:32 - 50 minutes - 48.1 MBLes Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil), Baudelaire’s best-known and most controversial body of work, was published in 1857. The poems were non-traditional by 19th-century Parisian standards, tracing themes of death, sex, corruption, mental health, and other taboo topics that raised more than a few eyebrows. Declared an offense against public morals, a French court suppressed the publication of six of his poems, a decision that was not reversed until nearly a century later in 1949. On th...
121. Lyric World: Robert Lashley with Shin Yu Pai
January 24, 2022 18:00 - 43 minutes - 41 MBTacoma local Robert Lashley is known for crafting poems that build a vivid sense of place, rooted in deep, beautiful, yet often haunting memories. In his recently published third collection of poetry, Green River Valley, Lashley shares an unapologetic and harrowing look at gentrification, racism, and personal and collective loss in his hometown. With each poem, Lashley asks readers to bear witness to his lived experiences in Tacoma and to honor the people, places, and memories that shaped hi...
120. Bryan R. Johnston with Steve Scher: The Notorious Kidnapping of Young George Weyerhaeuser
January 17, 2022 17:30 - 45 minutes - 43.1 MBIn May of 1935, nine-year-old George Weyerhaeuser, heir to one of the wealthiest families in America, disappeared on his way home from school. Snatched off the streets just two blocks from his home in Tacoma, the kidnapping plays out with the twists and turns of a Hollywood movie, complete with ransom notes, a bizarre scavenger hunt of sorts, and demands for massive sums of money. While young George endured a harrowing experience, he was never physically harmed by the perpetrators — a career...
119. Lucy Antek Johnson with Gretchen Yanover: Behind the scenes with Toscanini
January 10, 2022 21:16 - 55 minutes - 51.9 MBFrom 1937 to 1954, renowned Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini led weekly radio performances of the NBC Symphony Orchestra, broadcasting the music of legendary composers across the airwaves. Violinist Samuel Antek played in the orchestra during its 17-year lifespan, experiencing Toscanini’s relentless dedication to music firsthand. In This Was Toscanini: The Maestro, My Father, and Me, Samuel’s daughter Lucy Antek Johnson shares personal stories of Toscanini’s impact on her father and he...
118. Ashley Jean Yeager with Dr. Anand Thirumalai: The Life of Astronomer Vera Rubin
December 20, 2021 21:13 - 49 minutes - 47.1 MBAll the observable stuff of the universe — the stars, planets, and other bits of so-called “normal matter” that we can see with various instruments — make up less than 5% of the universe. What about all the other…stuff? The remainder, a mix of dark energy and dark matter, is undetectable by even the most powerful telescopes. The acceptance of the possible existence of dark matter and dark energy in the early 1980s signaled an astronomical revolution, one that wouldn’t have been possible with...
117. Dr. Nicole Piemonte with Steve Scher: Taking a Different Approach to Death and Dying
December 13, 2021 20:00 - 48 minutes - 45.6 MBHumans navigate death in very different ways. Dying is a natural and inevitable part of the cycle of life; however, the process looks very different depending on geographic location, cultural traditions, access to and type of medical care, and myriad other factors. Dr. Nicole Piemonte argues that Western Medicine often views death as a medical failure or something biologically wrong that needs fixing. Is doing everything possible to “fix” death the correct approach, or might we start to look...
116. David Bosco with Steve Scher: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans
December 06, 2021 20:57 - 1 hour - 60.9 MBOceans cover about 71% of the earth’s surface. Can something so vast and fluid be governed? Humanity has long attempted to create rules for the oceans of the world while honoring the “freedom of the seas” — a maritime principle first introduced in 1609 that stresses the freedom to navigate the oceans in times of peace. But as David Bosco describes in his latest book, The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans, building effective ocean rules while preserving maritime free...
Beasts of Seattle: Crows
November 24, 2021 11:00 - 53 minutes - 39.2 MBLike it or not, crows are our neighbors. Whether you’ve been dive-bombed by one, heard them swarming in the trees at sunset, or watched them gather ominously on the power lines à la The Birds, everyone in Seattle has a corvid story— often in the form of a complaint. But crows are remarkable, highly intelligent creatures who have much to teach us about both the animal world and ourselves. In this special and final live episode of the Beast of Seattle podcast series, recorded on November 17...
115. Britni de la Cretaz & Lyndsey D’Arcangelo with Maggie Mertens Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women’s Football League
November 22, 2021 18:00 - 1 hour - 59 MBAmerican football emerged in the last decades of the 19th century; today it is the most popular sport in the country, watched and played by millions of people — and at the professional level, generating billions of dollars in revenue — each year. While women’s involvement in football has grown in more recent years, it is historically a sport played almost exclusively by men. But in 1967, a Cleveland businessman had an idea to start an American football league for women. Was it a publicity st...
114. Tina Campt with Elisheba Johnson: Contemporary Black artists who are changing the way we see
November 15, 2021 21:24 - 49 minutes - 47.1 MBVisual art holds the extraordinary power to connect the dots between ideas or emotions, the person thinking or feeling them, and the outside viewer; but how might the viewer go beyond simply looking to experiencing art, in all its joys and especially in its challenges and discomforts? In the 114th episode of Town Hall’s In the Moment podcast, Elisheba Johnson interviews Tina Campt about her latest book, A Black Gaze. In the book, Campt explores the work of eight contemporary Black artists...
Beasts of Seattle: Bigfoot
November 10, 2021 18:00 - 58 minutes - 56.3 MBBigfoot, Sasquatch, Harry. Whatever name you know him by, he is ubiquitous in the greater Seattle area, spotted everywhere from bumper stickers to roadside landmarks. In an otherwise skeptical city replete with “science is real” lawn signs, it seems that many of us believe— or at least want to believe— in Bigfoot. As part of the Beasts of Seattle podcast series, Town Hall’s Podcast Artist-in-Residence Samantha Allen interviews Finding Bigfoot co-host Ranae Holland, local journalist Knute Ber...
113. Julian Saporiti with Tomo Nakayama—No-No Boy: Innovations on contemporary American folk music
November 08, 2021 18:00 - 57 minutes - 53.9 MBVietnamese American musician Julian Saporiti grew up in Nashville, surrounded by music made by people who didn’t look like him. Determined to dig deeper into the definition of American Folk music as part of his extensive doctoral studies, Saporiti began to explore his own family’s history, pore over archival material, and conduct interviews; what he found were the untold musical stories of Asian American artists like himself. He transformed his research into concerts, albums, and films to ...
Beasts of Seattle: Orcas
November 03, 2021 17:00 - 1 hour - 69.6 MBThe orca is an apex predator, and yet, without Chinook salmon to feed on and silent waters to hunt in, Seattle’s most famous animal cannot survive. There are only 73 Southern Resident killer whales remaining, and the population will have a hard time growing unless we change our behavior to accommodate them. As part of the Beasts of Seattle podcast series, Town Hall’s Podcast Artist-in-Residence Samantha Allen talks with The Seattle Times environmental reporter and Orca: Shared Waters, Shared...
112. Yanis Varoufakis with Steve Scher: Another Now
November 01, 2021 20:23 - 52 minutes - 49.1 MBWhat might a post-capitalistic world look like? Can money, jobs, and politics be truly democratized? Will banks cease to exist? Globally recognized economist Yanis Varoufakis dreams up an alternative reality to give us a glimpse of what such a world might look like in his new work of science fiction, Another Now. Varoufakis, the former finance minister of Greece, has spent a lifetime immersed in issues of the global economy. In Another Now, his unique economic expertise and deep understa...
Beasts of Seattle: Dogs
October 27, 2021 17:00 - 42 minutes - 42.6 MBThere are famously more dogs in Seattle than there are children—a function of the city’s high cost of living, perhaps, or a sign that our transient tech workforce craves furry friendship. But canines are so much more than modern-day apartment-dwelling companions; long ago, the Salish Wool Dog provided blankets for Coast Salish peoples and today, working dogs keep our ferries running, among other essential jobs. As part of the Beasts of Seattle podcast series, Town Hall’s Podcast Artist-in-Re...
111. Diana Campoamor with Agueda Pacheco Flores: A Latine Vision for a New American Democracy
October 25, 2021 20:08 - 47 minutes - 45 MBNearly one in five people in the U.S. are Latinx, and they make up the second-largest ethnic and racial group in the country. Despite such a large and growing population, the community remains misunderstood and underrecognized. Editor Diana Campoamor addresses areas of inequity and brings readers messages of hope and compassion in If We Want to Win: A Latine Vision for a New American Democracy. She gathers personal stories from twenty leaders and activists who share what it means to be Lat...
Beasts of Seattle: Sea Otters
October 20, 2021 17:00 - 50 minutes - 50.9 MBOnly the occasional sea otter swims in Puget Sound, yet the adorable marine mammal is a local mascot. Cuddly cartoon otters appear on posters lining our waterfront and appear on their fair share of “Greetings from Seattle” postcards. Meanwhile, on Washington’s outer coast, a recently reintroduced population of sea otters is on the rise. As part of the Beasts of Seattle podcast series, Town Hall’s Podcast Artist-in-Residence Samantha Allen interviews Return of the Sea Otter author Todd McLei...
110. Margaret D. Jacobs with Steve Scher: After One Hundred Winters
October 18, 2021 20:04 - 1 hour - 60.8 MBCan there ever be reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in a nation rooted in a legacy of violence and systemic racism? In Town Hall’s 110th Episode of the In the Moment podcast, Steve Scher interviews Margaret D. Jacobs, who explores such questions in her book After One Hundred Winters: In Search of Reconciliation on America’s Stolen Lands. Jacobs’ book confronts the painful foundation of the United States through stories of the individuals and communities who are t...
Beasts of Seattle: Salmon
October 13, 2021 17:00 - 51 minutes - 49.9 MBFrom Pike Place Market to the Ballard Locks, Salmon are stalwart icons of Seattle. But as they face warming waters and stormwater runoff, their future is threatened and uncertain. As part of the Beasts of Seattle Series, Town Hall’s Podcast Artist-in-Residence Samantha Allen interviews artist and American Indian Studies instructor Joe Seymour, Pike Place Fish Market co-owner Jaison Scott, Chef Shota Nakajima of Taku, and salmon stewards Jeff and Allison Lilly. Samantha Allen is the author ...
109. Lyric World: Ian Boyden with Shin Yu Pai
October 11, 2021 20:12 - 52 minutes - 49.6 MBIn May of 2008, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan, China in the middle of the afternoon. Entire towns were destroyed, schools collapsed, and over 80,000 people died — many of them schoolchildren. When grief-stricken families were denied information about exactly who and how many children died, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei initiated a critical and controversial response by compiling their names and expressing a region’s collective grief through art. Enter Ian Boyden, who first encounter...
Beasts of Seattle—Trailer
October 06, 2021 17:00 - 2 minutes - 2.59 MBThe Pacific Northwest is proud of its wildlife. Here in Seattle, certain creatures have become local mascots, like the salmon swimming up Pipers Creek, the ever adorable sea otters at the aquarium, and the endangered Southern Resident Orca struggling to survive in our waters. But what can our shared history with these animals tell us about our regional identity? What do they have to say about our past, our present, and our uncertain future? Beasts of Seattle examines the intertwined human-a...
108. Kathryn Bond Stockton with Megan Burbank: Gender(s)
October 04, 2021 19:37 - 53 minutes - 50.3 MB“Gender is queer for everyone,” Kathryn Bond Stockton claims in her newest book with MIT Press, Gender(s). And no matter how “normal” people try to make it, it’s just strange, from the words people use to the clothes they wear. With hefty doses of wit and humor, Stockton takes readers on a fascinating, sometimes absurd journey through topics like transgender soldiers in the military, the complications of language, gender-neutral children’s dolls, and even Lil Nas X. What does “opposite sex” ...
107. Margaret Levi with Steve Scher—A Moral Political Economy: Present, Past, and Future
September 27, 2021 20:19 - 1 hour - 56.4 MBLately, the words of Greek Philosopher Heraclitus seem to ring truer than ever: Change really is the only constant. As societies grapple with COVID-19, racial justice, environmental crises, and rapidly shifting technology, it’s become clear that the current political-economic framework is fraying. Is it time to make new moral and political choices about our future? How can we revamp current frameworks to fit an ever-changing set of needs? Stanford University’s Center for Advanced Study in...
106. Daniel M. Davis with Dr. Michael McCarthy and Megan Clark: The Secret Body
September 20, 2021 19:32 - 48 minutes - 45.7 MBHave you ever wished you could know what’s going on inside your body, or at least have a better way to monitor its well-being? What if you knew the precise kind of diet that works best for your unique microbiome? The body can be a mysterious vessel, a strange feeling considering how much time we spend inside of them. But in his new book, The Secret Body, Daniel M. Davis reveals new discoveries that have the potential to uncover the secret universe within each of us. The Secret Body focuses...
105. Milenko Matanovič with Steve Scher: Everyday Democracy
September 13, 2021 20:12 - 1 hour - 62.9 MBFor over 30 years, the Pomegranate Center was an organizational force that helped convene communities and build over 60 art-filled gathering spaces across the globe. Beyond helping communities imagine and build physical spaces, the Seattle-area organization developed a tried-and-true process for collaboration: the Pomegranate Method became a teachable, step-by-step structure for any kind of collaborative process. And it was all born from founder Milenko Matanovič’s vision to strengthen huma...
104. Phoebe S.K. Young with Erika Lundahl: Camping Grounds
September 06, 2021 17:00 - 49 minutes - 46.3 MBPacific Northwesterners love to camp. Chances are, at this very moment, someone you know is packing away an impossibly tiny stove and donning a puffy jacket for a weekend away in the mountains. But why— and how— did camping become a recreational pastime? Kicking off a new season of the In the Moment podcast, Erika Lundahl interviews Camping Grounds author Phoebe S.K. Young to explore how camping reflects core American ideals like nature, the nation, and democracy. Young traces camping from ...
103. David Laskin with Steve Scher: What Sammy Knew
June 28, 2021 19:56 - 54 minutes - 51.3 MBThe 1970s were as turbulent as the 1960s were radical. In David Laskin’s new novel, What Sammy Knew, this is the historical backdrop in which we find 17-year-old Sam Stein, a Long Island native raised in a cushy suburban life of live-in housekeepers and insular wealth. On New Year’s Eve 1969, Sam is forced to come face to face with the uncomfortable truths about his place and privilege in the world. In conversation with Chief Correspondent Steve Scher, Laskin discusses his debut novel and...
102. Matt Grossmann with Steve Scher: How Social Science Got Better
June 28, 2021 19:22 - 50 minutes - 47.6 MBFor some it seems that most of the news about academic social sciences—anthropology, economics, political science, etc—is negative. But in response to the criticism he’s seen, political science professor Matt Grossman argues that, far from crisis, social science is undergoing an unparalleled renaissance of ever-broader understanding and application. In this week’s episode, Senior Correspondent Steve Scher talks with Grossman about his defense of the current state of social sciences, captu...
101. Edwin Lindo of Estelita’s Library with Mike Davis
June 21, 2021 20:38 - 29 minutes - 27.9 MBJoin us for a spotlight on one of our partner bookstores, Estelita’s Library, a “justice-focused community library and bookstore” originally located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood. Local Journalist Mike Davis chats with Estelita’s co-founder Edwin Lindo about the history and founding of the bookstore and considers the impact the Library has on the Seattle community as they prepare to open a second location in the International District. Edwin Lindo, JD, is a critical race theory schola...
100. Centennial Celebration with Jini Palmer, Steve Scher and Town Hall Staff
June 14, 2021 20:03 - 50 minutes - 47.2 MBSince our 2017 season, hosts Jini Palmer, Steve Scher, and local correspondents have interviewed hundreds of luminaries, local officials, and national and international thought leaders as part of our In The Moment podcast. This month, we celebrate the series’ 100th edition with a special introspective episode that reflects on how Town Hall faced the challenges (and celebrated the successes) of the past year. Hear from Town Hall staff and insiders about work-from-home life, learning how to p...
99. Lyric World: Shin Yu Pai with Meredith Clark
June 07, 2021 20:05 - 43 minutes - 40.9 MBIn what ways can words reach across time and distance, to speak with the dead, the unborn, past selves, and future possibilities? How do poets engage in conversations that can animate and embody what is not yet or no longer here? In this episode, correspondent and Lyric World host Shin Yu Pai talks to poet Meredith Clark about her lyric book-length exploration of miscarriage, memory, and continuity. Meredith Clark is a poet and writer whose work has received Black Warrior Review’s nonfi...