Viewscapes
31 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago -Stories from Washington State Magazine—connecting you to Washington State University, the state, and the world. We'll take you into the lives, research, and experiences of the WSU community, where Cougs from all over talk with us about everything from new ideas and fascinating memories to books and food.
Homepage Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Sweet beats with the Cougar Marching Band
February 29, 2024 18:00 - 23 minutes - 16.3 MBThe WSU Fight Song, the roaring crowd, the electric atmosphere. Washington State University’s Cougar Marching Band is often the heart and soul that connects WSU alumni and fans at these games. In this episode, new Cougar Marching Band director Jon Sweet takes magazine associate editor Adriana Janovich behind the scenes. He talks about the music, the marching, the fans, and the incredible Coug spirit in the band. This episode’s music is from the Cougar Marching Band at a November 2023 foot...
TikTok Rx: Youth turn to social media for health advice
January 30, 2024 18:00 - 15 minutes - 10.5 MBYoung people have lots of questions about diet, exercise, and sexual health. TikTok is one of their most trusted venues for finding out information. “They’ll go to TikTok and ask questions,” says Nicole O’Donnell, assistant professor at Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. “They’re learning about health mostly through other people’s stories rather than some of the traditional health information you might get online.” But are they getting good health advi...
Weather Watch: Reflecting on a Year of Extremes with Nathan Santo Domingo
January 12, 2024 22:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MB2023 was a year of weather extremes, with damaging floods, fires, and storms unfolding across the globe. The United States logged a historic number of billion-dollar weather disasters, while smoke from Canada’s wildfires choked parts of the country. “It’s kind of odd to be talking about our neighbor just to the north, but they really did have such a big impact in North America and also globally,” says Nathan Santo Domingo, a field meteorologist with Washington State University’s AgWeatherN...
Feeding our ethics: A conversation about food and values with Samantha Noll
October 26, 2023 16:00 - 34 minutes - 23.8 MBA simple decision about what to order for lunch can have profound effects on others. “Food is interesting because it touches so many other communities,” says Samantha Noll, an associate professor of bioethics in the School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs at Washington State University. “When we decide that we're going to eat that falafel sandwich, or that burger, or that salad, we're impacting others with that seemingly simple choice.” In this episode, Noll talks with Washingto...
Restoring Palouse prairie: A field trip with Chris Duke
October 10, 2023 16:00 - 17 minutes - 12.1 MBPalouse prairie of eastern Washington and northwestern Idaho is an endangered landscape. It’s dominated by forbs—flowering plants—that cover the fields with a riot of color that attracts native pollinators. The Phoenix Conservancy is among the groups restoring Palouse prairie. Led by Chris Duke, a doctoral graduate in biology from Washington State University, the organization works to bring native plants back to endangered landscapes from Madagascar to the Great Plains of North America to t...
Tongues of Fire: Poetry and piano
September 15, 2023 23:00 - 31 minutes - 21.7 MBEric McElroy is an American pianist and composer who released his debut album, Tongues of Fire, in March 2023 on Somm Recordings. He wrote the songs to accompany poems from modern poets W.S. Merwin, Gregory Leadbetter, Grevel Lindop, Alice Oswald, and Robert Graves. The poems are sung by acclaimed English tenor James Gilchrist and McElroy performs on piano. McElroy graduated from Washington State University and then continued his postgraduate education in Vienna and Oxford University. In ...
More than a kick
July 27, 2023 18:00 - 12 minutes - 8.93 MBDean Janikowski is the kicker for Washington State University’s football team, a 2022 graduate and currently an MBA student at WSU. He also has a great time on Instagram and other social media with photos and videos playing football for the Cougs, riding dirt bikes, and kicking spicy Chicken McNuggets. In this episode, Dean talks with Washington State Magazine writer Becky Kramer about raising money for the Heather Janikowski Foundation, a charity named for his mom, who died of cancer. Dea...
Kellie Zimmerman, Brightloom, and adventures in tech
July 14, 2023 23:00 - 17 minutes - 11.8 MBKellie Zimmerman is no stranger to the Seattle tech scene. And she’s on a new adventure in the industry. She spent over 15 years building and leading teams in companies such as Concur and Avalara. Zimmerman is now CEO of Bellevue-based startup Brightloom, which leverages AI and data to help restaurants such as El Pollo Loco, Ruby Tuesday, and Jamba Juice accelerate their marketing and customer engagement. She talks about the twists and turns of the tech industry and her career after grad...
James Donaldson’s gift of life
May 30, 2023 23:00 - 22 minutes - 15.7 MBJames Donaldson had a great college and professional basketball career, a physical therapy business, and many aspirations, even in retirement from sports. But over the course of several years, illness, bankruptcy, divorce, and circumstances in life sent Donaldson into a dark mental spiral. He found his way back, writing a book about his struggles and starting a foundation to help others. In this episode, Donaldson talks with magazine associate editor Adriana Janovich about his struggle...
No obstacles for this global nomad
April 28, 2023 21:00 - 33 minutes - 23.3 MBTom Haig loves adventure. From his high-flying diving days of youth to his recovery from a bicycling accident that left him paralyzed, Haig keeps on moving. He chronicles his life, struggles, and triumphs in a new memoir from WSU Press, Global Nomad: My Travels through Diving, Tragedy, and Rebirth. Haig writes with wit and candor about the ups and downs of adventure, culminating in his new career as a documentary filmmaker. In this episode, Haig, a WSU alum, talks with Washington State Mag...
Ethics and AI art
March 30, 2023 18:00 - 27 minutes - 19.2 MBChatGPT, DALL-E, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion—names that most of us hadn’t heard more than a couple of years ago now represent a slew of creative programs powered by artificial intelligence. Large language model AI programs can write stories and articles, make illustrations and artwork, and converse with users using prompts. But what does it mean for human artists and writers? Will AI steal jobs and creative works? How should people approach the thorny ethical thicket around AI-generated a...
Helen Szablya’s American adventure
February 21, 2023 05:00 - 41 minutes - 28.4 MBHelen Mary Szablya and her family fled their home country of Hungary and its Communist regime in a harrowing journey under the cover of night in 1956. They traveled to Austria, Canada, and then to Pullman, Washington, where Helen received a degree, her husband John was an engineering professor, and they raised their family. Helen tells the full story in the second volume of her memoir, From Refugee to Consul. Adriana Janovich, associate editor of Washington State Magazine, talked with her...
Empire of Ice and Stone
December 06, 2022 22:00 - 44 minutes - 30.5 MBThe treacherous Arctic is the setting of a harrowing true story of shipwreck, disaster, and survival in the early twentieth century. Acclaimed adventure writer Buddy Levy, also a creative writing and English professor at Washington State University, talks with Washington State Magazine associate editor Adriana Janovich about his latest book, Empire of Ice and Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk. The second of three nonfiction historical narratives by master storyteller Lev...
Art experiences and happiness: a visit to the museum
November 11, 2022 22:00 - 29 minutes - 20.5 MBCan experiencing art improve your wellbeing? What better way to answer that question than to visit an art museum at Washington State University. Ryan Hardesty, executive director of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU, takes Washington State Magazine editor Larry Clark on a tour of the museum in WSU Pullman’s Crimson Cube. They have plenty to discuss about how people benefit from seeing, hearing, and experiencing art as they visit the exhibits—including Trimpin’s sound sculpture, Keiko H...
A boatload of ideas for fungi
November 04, 2022 15:00 - 22 minutes - 15.2 MBThere are a million things to do with fungi, from boats to book covers to medicine for bees. Katy Ayers, a Washington State University student and avowed mycophile has done some pretty amazing things with mushrooms and fungi, including a world record canoe and homes for bees. In this episode, we talk with the bioengineering and biochemistry major about her many ideas, the fungal revolution, and that famous MyConoe. Read more about fungi saving the bees, helping plants, and modeling a way t...
Larkin Campbell: A view from the middle
October 19, 2022 23:00 - 12 minutes - 17.9 MBLarkin Campbell calls himself an unknown actor. Now the Washington State University alum takes us behind the scenes of a life in Hollywood, not as a celebrity but as someone who loves the industry even if only a few recognize him. In this episode, Larkin talks about his WSU memories, getting into the acting business, and playing Coach Shane in the 125th episode of The Office, as husband of the girlfriend of main character Michael Scott. Read about Larkin’s hilarious memoir, A View from the...
Blanca Blanco breaks the mold
July 11, 2022 16:00 - 17 minutes - 12.7 MBActress, model, and author Blanca Blanco grew up around Chelan in north-central Washington state. Her parents from Mexico—her dad was a farmworker and her mom took care of peoples’ kids—had very little money, but Blanco had big dreams for her future. In her recent memoir, Blanco tells her story of tenacity and determination, how she went from a tough youth to graduating from Washington State University with a psychology degree, and finally to a career in Hollywood. In this episode, she tal...
Enrique Cerna’s podcast pulls no punches
March 01, 2022 00:00 - 26 minutes - 35.9 MBEnrique Cerna and Matt Chan, two veterans of television work, had many conversations as people of color in the industry and in the United States. They decided to start a podcast, Chino Y Chicano, to talk about the tough complexities of race, and invite guests to join those discussions. Cerna, an alum and Regent of Washington State University, discusses the start of the podcast, the guests they’ve talked to and topics they covered, and other topics from personal history to advice for aspirin...
Medical leadership and 3D-printed cartilage
January 14, 2022 23:00 - 21 minutes - 29.2 MBThe Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine at Washington State University emphasizes leadership as part of its curriculum for medical doctors. Founding Dean John Tomkowiak talks about why leadership training is so crucial as health care evolves into medical teams. Physicians who are prepared to be leaders could provide better care for people and take a stronger role in their communities. Also in this episode: WSU bioengineering researcher Arda Gozen studies another exciting advancement in me...
Bruce Barritt and the Cosmic Crisp® apple
September 21, 2021 22:00 - 22 minutes - 31.2 MBCosmic Crisp® just might be the perfect apple. Crisp, firm, juicy, sweet, slow to brown, and all around pleasing in appearance, it’s good for eating fresh as well as for cooking, in both sweet and savory dishes. Since its commercial release at the end of 2019, the inherently festive, crimson-colored apple, flecked with tiny golden lenticels and dubbed “The Apple of Big Dreams,” has received positive attention around the world. But it was bred at Washington State University specifically ...
YAZZ Band: New Normal
July 30, 2021 23:00 - 4 minutes - 6.42 MBListen to a review and tracks from YAZZ Band: New Normal, a new jazz album recorded during the pandemic lockdown by Regents Professor of music Greg Yasinitsky at Washington State University. Along with guest musicians, Yasinitsky made the "little big band" sound from tracks recorded all over the world and then produced at the WSU recording studio. Support the Show. ______________________________________________________________________________ Want more great WSU stories? Follow Washington ...
The future of hydrogen fuel and a Seattle DJ
July 09, 2021 03:00 - 30 minutes - 24.1 MBHydrogen fuel is emerging as a major part of the future fuel mix. Washington State University mechanical engineer Jacob Leachman has been on leading edge of hydrogen research for over a decade. He talks about hydrogen projects in the Pacific Northwest, reasons why hydrogen is a fuel of choice, and the potential of the fuel. Also in this episode: Seattle DJ Taryn Daly, a self-professed rockaholic and a WSU alumna, has her dream job at Seattle’s KISW station. Like most people, Taryn had to m...
Hydrogen fuel start-up, a Coug love story, and healthy plant relationships
February 26, 2021 22:00 - 27 minutes - 37.6 MBHow do you take innovative research from the university lab to the public? Three Washington State University engineering researchers working on unique hydrogen fuel tanks, fueling stations, and other technology started their own company to move their findings into the commercial world. We spoke with two of the founders about the challenges of launching a business and the potential of green hydrogen fuel. Also in this episode: - Two Cougs meet at a stoplight… A love story about a p...
Bats and viruses
January 27, 2021 20:00 - 25 minutes - 34.5 MBBats could be a key to help prevent a future pandemic. Washington State University researchers Stephanie Seifert and Michael Letko explain why the flying mammals are important for improving our understanding of viruses and diseases that spill over from animals to humans, such as Ebola, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Seifert and Letko also take on misconceptions about the pandemic and talk about the challenges of studying bats....
Roast goose, researcher parents, and a plague journal
December 22, 2020 22:00 - 17 minutes - 24.1 MB“There never was such a goose. ... Its tenderness and flavour, size and cheapness, were the themes of universal admiration,” wrote Charles Dickens in A Christmas Carol. On this episode, Washington State University executive chef Jamie Callison offers ways to roast and serve the classic holiday goose and sides. It’s a dish ready for a comeback. Also in this episode: WSU Vancouver biologist Stephanie Porter on balancing life as a scientist and a parent. Research, teaching, and family is poss...
Glenn Johnson: Voice of the Cougs for 40+ years
November 27, 2020 20:00 - 28 minutes - 39.2 MBWe’re all missing the Apple Cup tradition this year, but we can still listen to the Voice of the Cougs. Glenn Johnson, mayor of Pullman and WSU football and basketball announcer, talked with associate editor Adriana Janovich via Zoom about his 40 plus years as Voice of the Cougars, and the surreal experience of announcing a 2020 football game at Martin Stadium without a crowd of fans. Read more about Johnson’s career in “The Voice.” (Fall 2020 Washington State Magazine) Support the show
Glenn Johnson: Voice of the Cougs for 40+ years
November 27, 2020 20:00 - 28 minutes - 39.2 MBWe’re all missing the Apple Cup tradition this year, but we can still listen to the Voice of the Cougs. Glenn Johnson, mayor of Pullman and WSU football and basketball announcer, talked with associate editor Adriana Janovich via Zoom about his 40 plus years as Voice of the Cougars, and the surreal experience of announcing a 2020 football game at Martin Stadium without a crowd of fans. Read more about Johnson’s career in “The Voice.” (Fall 2020 Washington State Magazine) Support the Show. ...
Rowing for 50 years, listening to art, and encouraging women in STEM
November 16, 2020 20:00 - 18 minutes - 26.1 MBCougar Crew, a scrappy and resilient group of rowers at Washington State University, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. They had to cancel a banquet and other events due to COVID-19, but former coach Ken Struckmeyer and rower Doug “Doc” Engle reminisce about the team, catching a crab, and rowing on the Snake River near Pullman. Also in this episode: Seattle-based artist, composer and inventor Trimpin created Ambiente432, an innovative sound installation at the Jordan Schnitzer Muse...
Rowing for 50 years, listening to art, and encouraging women in STEM
November 16, 2020 20:00 - 18 minutes - 26.1 MBCougar Crew, a scrappy and resilient group of rowers at Washington State University, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. They had to cancel a banquet and other events due to COVID-19, but former coach Ken Struckmeyer and rower Doug “Doc” Engle reminisce about the team, catching a crab, and rowing on the Snake River near Pullman. Also in this episode: Seattle-based artist, composer and inventor Trimpin created Ambiente432, an innovative sound installation at the Jordan Schnitzer Muse...
Hunting the western toad, recognizing courage, and delving into the novel Stripland
September 01, 2020 21:00 - 16 minutes - 15.4 MBErim Gómez lives his childhood dream: catching frogs, toads, and salamanders. The doctoral student in environmental studies hunts for the western toad along the Snake River, as he works to determine the biodiversity of amphibians on the Palouse prairie. Also in this episode: Carla Peperzak risked her life and freedom in World War II as a member of the Dutch Resistance. She was only 16 when she secretly saved a number of Jews by making fake IDs. Now a 96-year-old Spokane resident, Carla was...
Composing music, living with wasps, and relishing Rainier cherries
July 13, 2020 23:00 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MBComposer and Washington State University music professor Greg Yasinitsky hears a band in his head when he's creating music. In the premiere episode of Washington State Magazine's podcast, Yasinitsky dives into the art and craft of composition...and why writing music for kids requires special attention. Also in this episode: Megan Asche, a WSU entomology doctoral student, wants us to better understand--and be less fearful of--those frequent barbecue visitors, wasps and yellowjackets. Rai...