296. Kay Smith-Blum in Conversation with Joshua Frank, Moderated by Gerry Pollet: Nuclear Secrets, Past and Present
Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series
Release Date: 01/27/2025
322. Oliver Burkeman: Meditations for Mortals
Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series
You know that phrase, “We compare our insides to other people’s outsides”? We’re bombarded with others’ achievements but see less of the steps – internal and external – it took to get there. These days, we feel an increased pressure to achieve, to pursue greatness. We reach for this mythical, impossible standard. Drawing from his book, Meditations for Mortals, Burkeman believes that if you accept the fact that you will never “get there,” you can actually start making good choices that lead to a meaningful life. Through this guiding philosophy, Burkeman calls...
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321. As Many Weirdos As Possible: Celebrating the Pacific Northwest Music Scene (1985-1995)
Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series
Join us at Town Hall Seattle for As Many Weirdos As Possible (AMWAP), an evening of storytelling and portraiture that brings to life one of the most vibrant chapters of the Pacific Northwest music scene (1985-1995). This live program will feature musicians, artists, and community members sharing personal memories, projected alongside their documentary portraits as part of the ongoing AMWAP project. Drawn from Poser Productions’ mission to preserve and celebrate personal and cultural histories, this evening invites audiences to engage in a communal reflection on memory, music, identity, and...
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320. Jimmy Wales with Mónica Guzmán: The Seven Rules of Trust
Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series
As we interact with endless sources of media and news every day, we tend to recognize the big names presenting to us and often have an opinion at the ready in terms of credibility and preference. But why did we develop those opinions in the first place, and how do we move forward with confidence when processing the continuous supply of new information gets more challenging all the time? According to Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, it all comes down to something innately human and critical to our collective success– trust. In his upcoming book The Seven Rules of Trust: A Blueprint for...
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Our Brains on Art: How the Arts Transform Community Health: A Conversation with Susan Magsamen
Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series
Can art transform our brains for the better? Local arts and health champion, Path with Art, in partnership with Seattle University and Town Hall Seattle, leads a conversation with Susan Magsamen, New York Times bestselling co-author of Your Brain on Art, and director of Johns Hopkins International Arts + Mind Lab, as well as the co-director of the Aspen Institute’s Neuroarts Blueprint. Susan shares the latest research demonstrating how individual and public health can be transformed through the arts. When introduced in healing settings, arts engagement is associated with a...
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318. Dr. Wendy Johnson with Tessa Hulls: Connection as the Way to Wellness
Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series
Do you live in a way that maximizes your well-being? Chances are, the answer to that question is no. Our modern way of living, some suggest, is incompatible with a thriving lifestyle. While the notion that many factors impact our overall health and wellness is not necessarily far-fetched, you may be surprised by the argument that some of the strongest factors are relational — both with one another and with the earth. Family Physician and public health professor Dr. Wendy Johnson explores this concept in her newest book, Kinship Medicine: Cultivating Interdependence to Heal the Earth...
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317. Nicholas Meyer with George Meyer: Sherlock Holmes and The Real Thing
Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series
Whether or not you’re a Sherlockian, whether or not you believe that Arthur Conan Doyle was the literary agent for Holmes and Watson and not the author of fantastical tales, you might be curious to learn that there’s a new mysterious Sherlock Holmes tale to untangle. Author, screenwriter, and director Nicholas Meyer would like to share that tale in his book, Sherlock Holmes and The Real Thing. Picture the setting: London, 189–. The great city is brought to a standstill by a series of blizzards, and Sherlock Holmes is bored to distraction. It would take a miracle to bring a case to...
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316. Lisa Jewell with Andrea Dunlop: Don’t Let Him In: A Novel
Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series
Who isn’t hoping for a quality partner to build a life with? Someone charming, reliable, with a great personality? But what happens when that sparkling personality is far darker around the edges than you realized? In her tensely thrilling new novel Don’t Let Him In, author Lisa Jewell explores the layers of truth and deception unraveling before three women who find themselves tied together by a man who has more secrets than any of them bargained for. Nick Radcliffe seems to have it all – he’s a man of substance and good taste, with a smile that could melt the coldest heart and a...
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315. Joyful Resistance: Leveraging the Power of Arts Activism
Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series
`This is a dynamic and inspiring community panel on the joyful power of arts activism. In a time when many are facing systemic erasure — politically, socially, and culturally — Pottery Northwest is transforming art into resistance through equity-driven programming that uplifts Black, Brown, and LGBTQIA+ voices. Moderated by James Miles, the panel features ceramicist Aisha Harrison, former legislator Kirsten Harris-Talley, and Pottery Northwest Executive Director Ed King. Leading Pottery Northwest is a privilege for Ed King after a career as an award-winning visual artist and ad...
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314. Who Decides What Art We Get to See? A Conversation About Gatekeepers
Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series
Far more art is produced in a place like Seattle that is seen by the general public, in venues like galleries, museums, and art fairs. Who decides which art goes on display, and which work remains in the maker’s studio? A panel of art world experts discussed the often behind-the-scenes process that selects certain artists while sidelining others, and whether the current structure encourages or suppresses diversity, and where there is room for improvement. Elisheba Johnson is a conceptual artist and curator for Wa Na Wari. She was previously a public art manager for Seattle’s Office...
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313. Daniel Brook: The Einstein of Sex: One Doctor’s Revolutionary Work Around Gender and Sexuality
Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series
Many of today’s anti-trans sentiments revolve around the belief that things like gender-affirming care and nonbinary identities are part of a new trend. Yet, over a century ago, one doctor’s revolutionary work around gender and sexuality suggests otherwise. Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a German-Jewish sexologist and activist, grew famous (and infamous) for his theory of sexual relativity. While he may be largely forgotten, journalist Daniel Brook wants to reintroduce Hirschfeld to today’s discussion around gender and sexuality. Drawing from his book, The Einstein of Sex: Dr. Magnus...
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Environmental advocate and HOANW founder, Gerry Pollet moderates a conversation with debut author Kay Smith-Blum and investigative journalist and author, Joshua Frank. They will explore the real-life inspirations behind Smith-Blum’s novel, Tangles, and its themes of environmental justice and human resilience against the stark backdrop of the state of the cleanup today, highlighted in Frank’s non-fiction volume, Atomic Days. Don’t miss this chance to dive into an emotionally charged story that daylights the fallout—both literal and figurative—of America’s nuclear ambitions and the stark realities of the nuclear waste troubles today.
Kay Smith-Blum enters the nuclear discussion with her novel Tangles, a gripping historical thriller that weaves together mystery, personal struggles, and a government conspiracy. Set against the backdrop of Hanford’s radioactive history, the story follows young scientist Luke Hinson as he uncovers the hidden dangers of nuclear contamination while grappling with his thyroid cancer diagnosis and a haunting connection to Mary Boone, his former neighbor who vanished under mysterious circumstances. The narrative alternates between the 1940s when Mary fought to expose government cover-ups, and the 1960s, as Luke pursues the truth amid bureaucratic resistance and personal turmoil.
Investigative journalist and award-winning author, Joshua Frank, has been knee-deep in all things nuclear for almost a decade. His most recent book, Atomic Days daylights the most toxic place in America: Hanford. Once home to the United States’s largest plutonium production site, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state is laced with 56 million gallons of radioactive waste. The threat of an explosive accident at Hanford is all too real—an event that could be more catastrophic than Chernobyl. Frank provides a much-needed refutation of the myths of nuclear technology—from weapons to electricity—and shines a spotlight on the ravages of Hanford and its threat to communities, workers, and the global environment.
Kay Smith-Blum, a former business owner and Seattle School Board President, is lover of the natural world. An avid gardener, Smith-Blum founded Environmental Endeavors, the first greenhouse program in Seattle Public Elementary Schools. A fan of mid-20th-century history, Smith-Blum has penned two other manuscripts set in Texas, but the recent upheaval over leaking waste tanks at the Hanford site compelled her to write her debut novel, TANGLES. Named the Western WA Woman Business Owner of 2013, Smith-Blum has lived in Seattle for four decades. She works out her writer’s block in her sons’ gardens and the nearest lap pool. For more info see https://www.kaysmith-blum.com
Joshua Frank is co-editor of CounterPunch and co-host of CounterPunch Radio. His latest book is Atomic Days: The Untold Story of the Most Toxic Place in America. He is currently finishing up a book on the downside of the green energy revolution, to be published by Haymarket Books in the summer of 2025.
State Representative Gerry Pollet (46th District: North Seattle) is the co-founder (1987) and Executive Director of Heart of America Northwest, the region’s largest public group advocating for the cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. In 1986, Gerry wrote and directed the statewide ballot referendum which stopped Hanford from becoming the nation’s High Level Nuclear Waste dump. He continues to direct Heart of America Northwest, working closely with affected Tribal Nations. Gerry led efforts to stop the US Department of Energy from dumping radioactive chemical wastes into unlined ditches at Hanford in 2004 and continues working to protect the Columbia River from leaking High Level Nuclear Waste tanks.
