Only 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 McLeish, Dr. Shawn Larson of the Seattle Aquarium, and other experts about what the sea otter means to Seattle. Credits: The music for this podcast was written and performed by John Gould. You can find more of John’s music at johngould.bandcamp.com. The art for this podcast was made by Sadie Collins.  Return of the Sea Otter is available from Penguin Random House. Sources: https://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/00314 https://www.seattleaquarium.org/ https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/2001/06-07/0013_sea_otter_found_way_off_track.html https://www.vox.com/2014/4/24/5640890/otters-rape-baby-seals-monsters-bad https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210914-how-sea-otters-help-fight-climate-change https://www.aquariumofpacific.org/blogs/comments/chloe_the_sea_otter_demonstrates_otter_pockets https://www.seattleaquarium.org/blog/how-low-can-you-go-puget-sound-edition https://usa.fishermap.org/depth-map/puget-sound-wa/ https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/wilderness-coast.htm https://www.nwnewsnetwork.org/environment-and-planning/2021-01-06/sea-otter-reintroduction-to-more-of-the-pacific-coast-gets-a-nudge-from-congress https://www.ktoo.org/2018/12/24/alaska-made-sea-otter-pelts-are-highly-prized-tightly-regulated/ http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=637 Presented by Town Hall Seattle. Beasts of Seattle is part of Town Hall’s Artist-in-Residence program.

In The Moment podcast

Beasts of Seattle: Sea Otters

Can 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 trying to work together by healing historical wounds. But healing doesn’t come through denying history; it comes through listening, learning, and putting Indigenous land rights, sovereignty, and values at the forefront of the discussion. Margaret D. Jacobs is professor of history and director of the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Her books include White Mother to a Dark Race: Settler Colonialism, Maternalism, and the Removal of Indigenous Children in the American West and Australia, 1880–1940. Steve Scher is a podcaster and interviewer and has been a teacher at the University of Washington since 2009. He worked in Seattle public radio for almost 30 years and is Senior Correspondent for Town Hall Seattle’s In The Moment podcast. Buy the Book: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691224336/after-one-hundred-winters  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation online click here. 

110. Margaret D. Jacobs with Steve Scher: After One Hundred Winters

From 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 of Patricia Wants to Cuddle and the Lambda Literary Award finalist, Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States. A GLAAD Award-winning journalist, Samantha’s writing has been published by The New York Times, Rolling Stone, CNN, and more. Presented by Town Hall Seattle. Beasts of Seattle is part of Town Hall’s Artist-in-Residence program.

Beasts of Seattle: Salmon

In 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 encountered the thousands of names while curating Ai’s 2016 exhibition, Ai Weiwei: Fault Line, at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art. Over the course of a year, Boyden read and translated the poetic essence of the children’s names and composed heartbreaking, elegiac verses in response. The resulting work, A Forest of Names, meditates on humanity, memory, and language. In our 109th episode of In the Moment, Shin Yu Pai and Boyden explore his haunting and healing tribute of the thousands of lives lost. Ian Boyden is a visual artist, translator, writer, and curator whose work holds a deep awareness of East Asian aesthetics. He studied for several years in China and Japan and holds degrees in Art History from Wesleyan University and Yale University. His art and published work are found in many public collections including Reed College, Stanford University, the Portland Art Museum, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. His work is interdisciplinary, and past collaborations have involved scientists, poets, composers, and visual artists. Shin Yu Pai is Program Director for Town Hall. She is the author of eleven books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Buy the Book: A Forest of Names: 108 Meditations  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

109. Lyric World: Ian Boyden with Shin Yu Pai

The 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-animal history of our area through the lens of six wondrous, wild things. From the extinct Salish Wool Dog to the Sasquatch who may still be wandering our woods, Beasts of Seattle takes the listener on a journey through time and across species, interviewing artists, ecologists, chefs, historians, and more. If these animals can teach us who Seattleites are, they also hold the keys to who we could become. Samantha Allen is the author of Patricia Wants to Cuddle and the Lambda Literary Award finalist Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States. A GLAAD Award-winning journalist, Samantha’s writing has been published by The New York Times, Rolling Stone, CNN, and more. Click here to view the Beasts of Seattle podcast residency page.

Beasts of Seattle—Trailer

“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” even mean? And how do things like race and money shape gender in huge, often surprising ways? Town Hall’s In the Moment podcast digs into gender, in all its puzzling glory, in our 108th Episode. Kathryn Bond Stockton is the author of many books including Beautiful Bottom, Beautiful Shame: Where “Black” Meets “Queer,” and The Queer Child, or Growing Sideways in the Twentieth Century, both finalists for the Lambda Literary Award in LGBT Studies, and Making Out, a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award for memoir. She is also a Distinguished Professor of English and the inaugural Dean of the School for Cultural and Social Transformation at the University of Utah. Megan Burbank is a writer and features reporter at The Seattle Times. She was previously arts editor & senior editor at the Portland Mercury, where she specialized in politics, culture, and gender. Her writing has also appeared in The Stranger, Teen Vogue, Dance Magazine, and the Billfold, among many others. Buy the Book: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/genders  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation online click here.

108. Kathryn Bond Stockton with Megan Burbank: Gender(s)

Lately, 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 the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) hosts an entire program dedicated to just that question. The “Creating a New Moral Political Economy” program comprises over 100 academics, journalists, politicians, civil society activists, and technologists concerned with the future of capitalist democracies, all led by political scientist Margaret Levi. Levi’s work with CASBS, along with former director Federica Carugati, led to the publication of their new book, A Moral Political Economy: Present, Past, and Future. In Town Hall’s 107th episode of the In the Moment podcast, Steve Scher talks with Levi about the book and how economies reflect the moral and political choices that are forever made and remade, over and over again. Margaret Levi is the Sara Miller McCune Director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS), Professor of Political Science, and Senior Fellow of the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. She is the recipient of a vast array of honors and achievements, including the 2019 Johan Skytte Prize and the 2014 William H. Ryker Prize for Political Science. She has also been awarded several fellowships from major institutions including the National Academy of Sciences in 2015, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001, the American Academy of Political and Social Science in 2017, and the American Philosophical Society in 2018, among others. She was a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow in 2002. Levi is the author or coauthor of numerous articles and six books. Her research continues to focus on how to improve the quality of government and how to generate a better political-economic framework. She is also committed to understanding and improving supply chains so that the goods we consume are produced in a manner that sustains both the workers and the environment. Steve Scher is a podcaster and interviewer and has been a teacher at the University of Washington since 2009. He worked in Seattle public radio for almost 30 years and is Senior Correspondent for Town Hall Seattle’s In the Moment podcast. Buy the Book: A Moral Political Economy: Present, Past and Future Learn more about the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

107. Margaret Levi with Steve Scher—A Moral Political Economy: Present, Past, and Future

Have 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 on six areas of human biology that are usually understood in isolation— fetal development, the immune system, the brain, the microbiome, and the genome— and brings them together to shift the way we think about the body as a functioning unit. In our 106th episode of In The Moment, Dr. Michael McCarthy and Megan Clark talk with Davis about new breakthroughs in technology and how we can better protect our bodies in the future. Daniel M. Davis is Professor of Immunology at the University of Manchester and author of two previous books: The Beautiful Cure and The Compatibility Gene. His research, which uses super-resolution microscopy to study the immune system, was listed in Discover magazine as one of the top 100 breakthroughs of the year. He is also the author of over 140 academic papers, collectively cited over 13,000 times, including articles in Nature, Science, and Scientific American. Michael McCarthy, MD, is an editor, medical journalist, and a cofounder of the Northwest Science Media Workshop. His news reporting has appeared in a variety of media outlets, including the British Medical Journal, the Washington Post’s health section, and local public radio affiliates. He was trained in internal medicine and is the former North American Editor of The Lancet. He edits LocalHealthGuide, a health news website serving the Puget Sound region. Megan Clark is cofounder of the Northwest Science Media Workshop. She has more than 20 years of national field and story producing for ABC and CBS network news shows. Her experience includes producing entertainment, business and political stories, award-winning investigative news segments, and consumer-oriented health and science content featured on WebMD, Everyday Health and Medpage Today. Buy the Book: The Secret Body: How the New Science of the Human Body Is Changing the Way We Live by Daniel M. Davis Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation online click here.

106. Daniel M. Davis with Dr. Michael McCarthy and Megan Clark: The Secret Body

For 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 human bonds and build trust through positive shared energy. Milenko says, “Our method was to work with community members throughout the entire journey. In the end, not only did we create a project where many people said ‘I did this,’ but we also changed habits, where community members asked more of one another.” In our 105th episode of In the Moment, Steve Scher talks with Milenko about his experiences working beyond the narrow definition of art, bringing neighbors of all ages and backgrounds together toward a common goal, and empowering communities as a means to improve society. Milenko Matanovič is an artist and musician with a life-long practice of collaboration. Born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, he is an internationally known convener of public processes, a social innovator, public speaker, and educator who believes that empowering communities is the most efficient, foundational way for us to improve society. He is the author of four books and has received numerous awards and honors for his work. Steve Scher is a podcaster and interviewer and has been a teacher at the University of Washington since 2009. He worked in Seattle public radio for almost 30 years and is Senior Correspondent for Town Hall Seattle’s In The Moment podcast. Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation online click here. 

105. Milenko Matanovič with Steve Scher: Everyday Democracy

Pacific 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 the Civil War to modern times, examining how we relate to nature, the nation, and to each other. Phoebe S.K. Young is an associate professor of history at the University of Colorado Boulder where she teaches and writes about the cultural and environmental history of the modern United States and the American West. She is the author of California Vieja: Culture and Memory in a Modern American Place. Erika Lundahl (she/they) is an independent journalist, musician and multimedia creator living on traditional Duwamish Land in Seattle, WA. In her writing and music she explores issues of environmental justice, new economy, and human rights. Her work has been featured in publications such as YES! Magazine, Truth-out, occupy.com, and Humanosphere. She works as a producer of environmental justice impact media campaigns at nonprofit publisher Mountaineers Books and its conservation imprint, Braided River. She also serves on the board of Salish Sea Cooperative Finance, a co-op that refinances student loans. She loves to ride her bicycle. Reach her at www.erikalundahl.com. Buy the Book: Camping Grounds: Public Nature in American Life from the Civil War to the Occupy Movement by Phoebe S.K. Young Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

104. Phoebe S.K. Young with Erika Lundahl: Camping Grounds

The 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 the connections that can be made to the time we’re living through now. David Laskin is a freelance writer who has contributed to the New York Times Travel Section, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian Magazine, American Ancestors, the Seattle Times, and Seattle Metropolitan. Steve Scher is a podcaster, interviewer, and teacher. He worked in Seattle public radio for almost 30 years. He has taught at the University of Washington since 2009. He is Senior Correspondent for Town Hall Seattle’s In The Moment podcast. Buy the Book or visit DavidLaskin.com Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

103. David Laskin with Steve Scher: What Sammy Knew

For 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, captured in his book How Social Science Got Better: Overcoming Bias with More Evidence, Diversity, and Self-Reflection. Grossman shares why he believes that social science research today has never been more relevant, rigorous, or self-reflective—he says scholars have a better idea of their blind spots and biases. With insights from the philosophy, history, and sociology of science, he provides new data on research trends and scholarly views, providing a wide-ranging account that asks us to rethink the critiques and acknowledge the path-breaking advances occurring in the social sciences today. Matt Grossmann is Director of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research and Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University. He is also Senior Fellow at the Niskanen Center and a Contributor at FiveThirtyEight. He has published analysis in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Politico and hosts the Science of Politics podcast. He is the author or coauthor of many books, including Asymmetric Politics, Red State Blues, The Not-So-Special Interests, Artists of the Possible, and Campaigns & Elections, as well as dozens of journal articles. Steve Scher is a podcaster, interviewer, and teacher. He worked in Seattle public radio for almost 30 years. He has taught at the University of Washington since 2009. He is Senior Correspondent for Town Hall Seattle’s In The Moment podcast. Buy the Book: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/how-social-science-got-better-9780197518977?cc=us&lang=en&  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

102. Matt Grossmann with Steve Scher: How Social Science Got Better

 Join 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 scholar and educator who is faculty within the Department of Family medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine; and Associate Director for Equity and Critical Teaching in the Center for Leadership and Innovation in Medical Education. Edwin teaches, presents, and writes on issues of race and racism within Medicine and society. He is also the creator of The Praxis Podcast. You can reach Edwin via Twitter @edwinlindo. Mike Davis is a local journalist covering arts, culture, and politics for the South Seattle Emerald. Davis is also co-host of “Clap Back Culture” on Converge Media. Estelita's Library: http://estelitaslibrary.com/  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here.  

101. Edwin Lindo of Estelita’s Library with Mike Davis

Since 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 produce virtual events on the fly, and the challenge of staying healthy and connected during a year of physical isolation. Town Hall staff Amanda Winterhalter—Institutional Giving Manager Anthony Canape—Membership Manager Bruno L'Ecuyer—Technical Lead Candace Wilkinson-Davis—Event Manager & Volunteer Coordinator Laurel Taylor—Senior Database Administrator Megan Castillo—Program Manager Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

100. Centennial Celebration with Jini Palmer, Steve Scher and Town Hall Staff

 In 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 nonfiction prize and the Sonora Review nonfiction prize. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Phoebe, Gigantic Sequins, Denver Quarterly, Berkeley Poetry Review, Poetry Northwest, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a B.A. in creative writing from Oberlin College, and is the recipient of grants and residencies from Artist Trust, Art Farm Nebraska, Jack Straw, and the Vermont Studio Center. Her book, Lyrebird, is out now with Platypus Press. Shin Yu Pai is the author of ten books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. The series is supported by a grant from the Windrose Fund. Music was created by David Ian Bickley in collaboration with musician Enrico Cogniglio. Buy the Book: https://platypuspress.co.uk/lyrebird  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here.  

99. Lyric World: Shin Yu Pai with Meredith Clark

Love Town Hall? Become an insider! In The Moment with Jini Palmer offers a slice of Town Hall culture and puts you in the room for exclusive behind-the-scenes conversations. Listen in as a rotating cast of prominent local voices, along with Chief Correspondent Steve Scher, get to know upcoming speakers before they visit our stages. Get an insider perspective you won’t find anywhere else—a weekly snapshot of all things Town Hall. Fans of Seattle public radio will recognize Steve Scher from his 28 years as a host, writer, and interviewer with 94.9 KUOW. He has earned a national reputation for his beyond-the-headlines approach to issues, and his intelligent and sensitive interviews with authors, scientists, artists and political leaders. Jini Palmer is the Digital Producer at Town Hall. Prior to joining Town Hall’s program team, she worked on 88.5 KNKX‘s Sound Effect, in addition to various film and music projects.

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