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 place. Hosted by Nabil Ayers, President of Beggars Group U.S. and author of My Life in the Sunshine, whose work and story are deeply rooted in Seattle's independent music and cultural legacy. Nabil Ayers is a longtime Seattleite who co-founded Sonic Boom Records in 1997 and played drums in several bands — most recently The Long Winters. He now lives in Brooklyn, where he is president of the Beggars Group of record labels. Ayers is the host of the Identified podcast and the author of the memoir My Life in the Sunshine (Viking), which he launched at Town Hall in 2022. He has written about music, race, and family for The New York Times, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, GQ, and NPR. Riz Rollins has loved music since childhood, bringing joy to dance floors from clubs like Re-bar, to parties, parades and festivals. For over thirty-five years, he has shared the music that shaped his life and our community on KEXP. Marco Collins was the guy behind the mic when Seattle accidentally unleashed grunge on the world. As flagship DJ and Music Director at 107.7 The End in the '90s, he helped break bands like Nirvana, Beck, Weezer, and Foo Fighters—shaping the sound of a generation in real time. He's worked across radio, labels, VH1, and stations like KEXP, but what really sets him apart is an obsessive love of music that's never once hit the snooze button. He's also the subject of The Glamour & The Squalor, a documentary chronicling his rise, fall, and refusal to shut up about bands you haven't heard of yet. Steven Severin is co-owner of Neumos, Barboza, The Runaway Bar, and Life on Mars. He has served on Bumbershoot's Advisory Board and worked extensively with the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) to help secure the federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant that saved independent venues during the COVID pandemic. He recently launched Walk Don't Run, a community art event activating downtown Seattle with music, visual art, and live performance. He's also spent nearly a decade with Save Our Sonics, advocating to bring the SuperSonics back to Seattle. Paul Schurr played bass and sang backup vocals for Flop and Best Kissers in the World in the early 90s. He and his wife have four kids and live in Seattle. Sheila Locke has been a force in Seattle's music scene for over forty years as a DJ, radio host, club owner, artist manager, and co-founder of NASTYMIX Records, original home of Sir Mix-A-Lot. From her first high school gig to breaking national ground with a gold record, she has left an indelible mark on the city's music history. Chenelle "Chelly Chell" Marshall is a writer, poet, and creative spirit. She was a member of The Incredicrew, one of Seattle's earliest rap groups, who signed a multi-album deal with the label Ever Rap. Their single "He's Incredible" became a local hit and a landmark moment in Seattle's music history. Today, Chenelle continues to share her voice through poetry and storytelling and is the author of Poetic Lifeline. Her latest work, Through the Eyes of Her, is available now. Presented by Town Hall Seattle and Poser Productions. Poser Productions is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike.

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 Building Things That Last, Wales unites the origin story of one of the internet's go-to information sources with observations on how the guiding principles of the platform can be applied both on and offline. With 11 billion views every month in the English language alone, Wikipedia may be ubiquitous to us now, but it was a tough pitch at the beginning. Facing doubts from fellow professionals and concerns about the open user editing, Wales emphasizes that the core of the experiment was building a sense of trust. Not only getting strangers on the Internet to trust each other, but the institution itself trusting that people would not be abusive or uncivil, that they wouldn't unfairly change each other's contributions – ultimately trusting that people as a whole had good intentions. Wales continues to stress that trust is not inanimate– it is a living thing that can and should be cultivated. The Seven Rules of Trust implores readers to use these central principles of trust, collaboration, and respect that helped found Wikipedia to maintain connection and critical thinking now in our modern age. While access to Internet resources, accurate citations, and other people's expertise has grown into what many view as a utility like water or electricity, Wales expresses concerns about the global crisis of credibility and knowledge. Wales considers how his organization– once an industry punchline– has become a worldwide presence in the same two decades that the public's trust in everything from information to government to social media has trended backwards. Compiling insights gained from years of experience and reflections with candid lessons learned in the early days of Wikipedia, The Seven Rules of Trust aims to act as an approachable guide to reinforcing a positive loop of accountability and creativity that can stand the test of time. Jimmy Wales is the founder of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation. Named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People, he has been recognized by the World Economic Forum for his contributions to the global public good. He lives with his family in London. Mónica Guzmán is the author of I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times; founder and CEO of Reclaim Curiosity; advisor at Braver Angels; and host of A Braver Way podcast. A Mexican immigrant, Latina, and dual US/Mexico citizen, she lives in Seattle with her husband and two kids and is the proud liberal daughter of conservative parents. Buy the Book The Seven Rules of Trust: A Blueprint for Building Things That Last Third Place Books

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 reduction in the need for pain medication, reduced cortisol levels, decreased length of hospital stays, decreased incidence of depression, increased memory and cognitive function, and improved communication and behavioral skills. This event explores how the emerging science of neuroarts is expanding the horizons of mental wellness and public health, with some of the most exciting developments taking place here in Seattle and across the world. Presented by Town Hall Seattle, Path with Art, and Seattle University.

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 and Ourselves. Johnson asserts that the solution to many of the causal factors of poor health — loneliness, industrial diets, systemic inequality, profit-based healthcare — are about humanity's interconnectedness to people and planet. Examples in Kinship Medicine include information on how trauma can be passed down for generation and how eliminating one organism in an ecosystem can affect all others. Her work also posits that our relationship to non-human life is essential to our well-being, and community action is stronger than individual efforts. With examples from public health, sociology, anthropology, human ecology, and her experience as a doctor, Dr. Johnson advocates for a shift in society that could lead to a healthier future. Wendy Johnson is a family physician, public health professor, activist and writer who has spent her life advocating for a world where everyone can live long lives in equitable communities. Her career includes stints scaling up HIV treatment in Mozambique, overseeing an urban health department, and most recently, directing a community clinic in Santa Fe. She has a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins and holds faculty appointments at the University of Washington and the University of New Mexico. She currently practices family and addiction medicine in rural Northern New Mexico with El Centro Family Health. Dr. Johnson has been a vocal activist on many progressive issues locally and globally and is a two-time TEDx speaker. Tessa Hulls is an artist, writer, and adventurer who is equally likely to disappear into the backcountry or a research library. Her debut graphic memoir, Feeding Ghosts, received the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, the Libby Book Award, and the Anisfield-Wolf Award, and was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and the Pacific Northwest Book Award, and nominated for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. She's pivoting her career to fuse her two great loves of creativity and the wilderness by becoming a comics journalist working with field scientists studying ecological resilience and climate change in remote environments, and she would love to hear from you if you want to partner with her on this endeavor. Buy the Book Kinship Medicine: Cultivating Interdependence to Heal the Earth and Ourselves Third Place Books

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 the detective's door. . . But next thing you know, there are several corpses—and Holmes and his biographer, John H. Watson, MD, find themselves drawn into one of the most bizarre cases of the great detective's career: the cutthroat world of big Art, where trickery and deceit abound. Like any good Sherlock Holmes story, there seem to be more questions than answers. What makes a work of art worth killing for? Is it the artist, his mistress, his dealer, or his blackmailer? Who are the perpetrators? The accomplices? The victims? And just who is Juliet Packwood, with whom Watson has become infatuated? Oh, and there's one other problem: Is this a genuine Holmes case or a clever forgery? Is this the real thing? Nicholas Meyer spins a tale for new and seasoned Sherlockians alike. Nicholas Meyer is the "editor" of several Watson manuscripts, including The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, which spent forty weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. His screenplay of the film received an Oscar nomination. His film credits include writing and directing Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. He wrote and directed Time After Time, co-created Medici: Masters of Florence, and directed The Day After, about nuclear war that attracted the largest audience ever for a television movie. George Meyer wrote for Late Night with David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, and The Simpsons. An Eagle Scout, he practices yoga and meditation and supports frog and turtle conservation. His favorite Grateful Dead song is "Unbroken Chain." Buy the Book Sherlock Holmes and the Real Thing Third Place Books

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 knack for putting others at ease. He's just what Nina Swann needed in her life after her husband's unexpected death. But Nina's adult daughter Ash has her suspicions. Nick seems too slick, too polished, too good to be true. Without telling her mother, Ash begins digging into Nick's past… and uncovers more than unsettling findings. Meanwhile, Martha is a florist living in a nearby town with her infant daughter and her devoted husband Alistair. It's a lovely little life, until Alistair starts traveling more frequently for work, disappearing for days at a time. Frustrated and looking for answers, Martha plants a tracking device in his car. But nothing could've prepared her for the ride that was to come. Nina, Ash, and Martha soon find themselves on a psychological collision course, hurtling toward a shocking truth far darker than anyone could have imagined. All three women are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: don't let him in. But it's certainly too late for that now – and the past won't stay buried forever. Lisa Jewell is a New York Times best-selling author of twenty-three novels, with work that has been translated into thirty languages. Her writing career has spanned more than twenty years, and she has spent over a decade focused on writing dark psychological thrillers, suspenseful mysteries, and crime fiction. Her previous books include None of This Is True, The Family Upstairs, and Then She Was Gone, as well as Invisible Girl and Watching You. Andrea Dunlop is the author of five novels, including The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy, and the host and creator of Nobody Should Believe Me, an award-winning investigative true crime podcast about Munchausen by proxy. Andrea is the founder of Munchausen Support, the nation's only non-profit dedicated to supporting survivors and families affected by MBP, and a member of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children's MBP committee, where she serves alongside the country's foremost experts. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two children. Buy the Book Don't Let Him In: A Novel Elliott Bay Book Company

`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 agency art director in Miami. He has held roles as an arts administrator at ArtServe in Fort Lauderdale and the Chief Operating Officer of Creative Pinellas in St. Petersburg. King is deeply passionate about non-profit arts leadership, advocating daily for the financial well-being of working artists — a crucial element of a thriving creative economy. He is committed to fostering inclusivity and diversity, ensuring that the arts serve as a powerful tool for personal growth, community building, and social change. Aisha Harrison is a studio and public artist working primarily in clay and bronze. Aisha is currently working on a solo show at Bainbridge Museum of Art in Fall 2025, as well as a large-scale outdoor public art commission with The University of Washington Tacoma and the Washington State Arts Commission to be unveiled in 2026. She has done residencies at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Women's Studio Workshop, and Baltimore Clayworks. Aisha has taught at Pottery Northwest, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Penland School of Crafts, The Evergreen State College, Bykota Senior Center, Baltimore Clayworks, University of Nebraska- Lincoln, and the Lux Center for the Arts. Kirsten Harris-Talley (she/her) is Co-Founder of In The Works; building belonging, anti-racism, and repair practice with BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, women, and youth led organizations and movements. She previously served as a Seattle City Councilmember and a Washington State Representative. She is an activist and power building strategist; championing Reproductive Justice and the #BlackLivesMatter movement for abolition. Kirsten believes the personal is political – that which we practice is how we show up in the world – and she invites us to be whole, accountable, and caring. James Miles, aka Fresh Professor, is a New York City artist and educator with 20 years of experience, now based in Seattle. He's an Assistant Professor at Seattle University and the Chief Strategic Officer at Path with Art. James previously served at the Seattle's Office of Economic Development, Third Stone, MENTOR Washington, and Arts Corps. He is the creator of the Fresh Education program, using original hip-hop music and theater to boost academic success in middle school classrooms. A graduate of Morehouse College and Brandeis University, James has provided professional development to teachers across the world. His mission is to reduce educational inequities using the arts. He is the author of Gotta Stay Fresh, and you can learn more about James at FreshProfessor.com. Presented by Town Hall Seattle and Pottery Northwest.

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 of Arts and Culture and the owner of Faire Gallery Cafe. In 2018, Elisheba started a public art practice with her collaborator Kristen Ramirez. She is currently a member of the Americans for the Arts Emerging Leaders Network advisory council and has won four Americans for the Arts Public Art Year in Review Awards for her work. Judith Rinehart launched J. Rinehart Gallery in 2019 after more than a decade of working in Seattle galleries. As an arts advocate, she served for three years as treasurer of the Seattle Art Dealers Association, was the curator and panelist at the Seattle Emerging Arts Fair in 2018 and was the lead organizer of the Seattle Deconstructed Art Fair in 2020 & 2021. She is also one of the founders of Art + Culture Week, an initiative to celebrate Seattle's visual arts, performing arts, and cultural communities. Rock Hushka is the former Deputy Director and Chief Curator at Tacoma Art Museum, curating more than 50 exhibitions and 25 publications. While at TAM, Hushka received two National Endowment for the Arts Access to Artistic Excellence grants, an Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts Curatorial Fellowship, and a Getty Leadership Institute Fellowship. He recently transitioned careers, seeking to bridge the experiential learning of museum exhibitions to graphic design and educational technology. Presented by Town Hall Seattle and Gage Academy of Art.

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 Hirschfeld, Visionary of Weimar Berlin, Brook retraces Hirschfeld's life and legacy. Living in an era when gay sex was a crime and gender roles were rigid, Hirschfeld taught that each person has their own unique mixture of masculinity and femininity. He advocated for gay rights and counseled patients toward self-acceptance. He also became part of Berlin's cabaret scene and helped turn it into the world's queer capital. But this was also during the rise of Nazis. They ransacked his Institute for Sexual Science and burned his books, nearly erasing his work from history. Brook wants to bring him back into the next century. Brook argues that Hirschfeld's life, and his gift for thinking beyond the confines of his world, have much to teach us. While the same societal fights continue, Brook believes there may be something new to learn from the past. Daniel Brook is a journalist whose writing has appeared in Harper's Magazine, Nation, and New York Times Magazine, and he is the author of several books, including A History of Future Cities and The Accident of Color: A Story of Race in Reconstruction. A New York native and a Yale graduate, Brook lives in New Orleans. He researched The Einstein of Sex in Berlin on a Robert and Ina Caro Research/Travel Fellowship. Buy the Book The Einstein of Sex: Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, Visionary of Weimar Berlin (Hardcover) Third Place Books

Have you ever wondered how American cuisine came to be? When we look at food from around the world, we may more readily accept the complexity of its origins or their legacy in the culinary landscape. But it may be surprising to some that many of our country's dietary customs likewise stem from culturally robust beginnings. From a James Beard Cookbook Hall of Famer and the star of the Netflix docuseries High on the Hog, Dr. Jessica B. Harris comes her latest work, Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine. This cookbook — replete with over 100 recipes — is paired with tales to help show how Indigenous, European, and African traditions intertwined to form an entirely new cuisine. Dr. Harris brings decades of cross-cultural and cross-continental research to map how our food arrived and adapted over generations. Through this blending of peoples and practices, we have dishes like Clear Broth Clam Chowder and Enchiladas Suizas (which have both Indigenous and European roots). The book also discusses how African American food through the centuries has evolved based on region, migration, and innovation, resulting in classics like Red Beans and Rice and Peach Bread Pudding Cupcakes with Bourbon Glaze. With recipes ranging from everyday meals to festive spreads, Braided Heritage offers reflections at the intersection of food, culture, and history. Dr. Jessica B. Harris is the author, editor, and translator of seventeen books, including twelve cookbooks documenting the foods and foodways of the African diaspora. Her IACP Award–winning book High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America has been adapted into a Netflix series. Harris is a professor emerita at Queens College/CUNY in New York and has written extensively for scholarly and popular publications. She served as the culinary consultant for the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture and their lauded restaurant, the Sweet Home Café. She holds lifetime achievement awards from the Southern Foodways Alliance, the Soul Summit, and the James Beard Foundation, which also inducted Harris into the Cookbook Hall of Fame. Chef Kristi Brown has spent over three decades in the culinary industry, starting at a café in downtown Seattle. After graduating from Seattle Culinary Academy, she founded That Brown Girl Cooks Catering in the mid-1990s. Her mantra, "Everybody Gotta Eat," led her to co-found a community kitchen, earning widespread recognition. In the same era, Chef Kristi and her son Damon Bomar opened Communion R&B in Seattle's Central District. With praise from Conde Nast Traveler and The New York Times, the restaurant has become a beacon of unity and community.

While the war in Ukraine continues to grab news headlines, the daily lives of Ukrainians remain opaque and mostly anonymous. What is it really like to live there during wartime? Historian Danielle Leavitt answers that question in her book, By the Second Spring: Seven Lives and One Year of the War in Ukraine. By going beyond familiar portraits of wartime heroism and victimhood, Leavitt reveals the human experience of the conflict. A U.S. citizen who grew up in Ukraine, Leavitt draws on her deep familiarity with the country and online diaries to track a diverse group of Ukrainians through the first year of the war. Among others, she introduces Vitaly, whose plans to open a coffee bar in a Kyiv suburb fall apart when the Russian army marches through his town and his apartment building is split in two by a rocket; Anna, who drops out of the police academy and begins a tumultuous relationship with a soldier; and Polina, a fashion-industry insider who returns home from Los Angeles to organize relief. To illuminate the complex resurgence of Ukraine's national spirit, Leavitt also tells the story of Volodymyr Shovkoshitniy—a nuclear engineer at Chernobyl who went on to lead a daring campaign in the late 1980s to return the bodies of three Ukrainian writers who'd died in a Soviet gulag. Leavitt offers an interior history of Europe's largest land war in seventy-five years—one that goes beyond the headlines about the conflict. Danielle Leavitt holds a PhD in history from Harvard University, where she has been a fellow at the Ukrainian Research Institute. She grew up in both Ukraine and the United States, and currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. By the Second Spring is her first book. Sasha Senderovich is Associate Professor of Slavic, Jewish, and International Studies at the University of Washington. He's the author of How the Soviet Jew Was Made (2022), and co-editor and co-translator of In the Shadow of the Holocaust: Short Fiction by Jewish Writers from the Soviet Union (2026). Buy the Book By the Second Spring: Seven Lives and One Year of the War in Ukraine (Hardcover) Elliott Bay Book Company

Ted Bundy, arguably the most notorious serial murderer of women in American history, committed many of his crimes in the landscape of the Pacific Northwest. But in the 1970s and '80s, Bundy was just one perpetrator amid a large number of serial and violent acts across the region. Why were there so many, and so particularly gruesome? What caused the rise and then sudden fall of an epidemic of serial killing? In Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers, nonfiction author and Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Fraser maps the lives and careers of Bundy and his infamous peers—the Green River Killer, the I-5 Killer, the Night Stalker, the Hillside Strangler, and even Charles Manson. Fraser's research takes her around the Northwest as she seeks to uncover mysteries and investigate an overlapping pattern of environmental destruction. For example, in nearby Tacoma, Bundy's ground zero, stood one of the most poisonous lead, copper, and arsenic smelters in the world. As Fraser's investigation proceeds around our region and beyond, evidence mounts that the emissions from these smelters not only infected and sickened millions but also warped young minds, including some who grew up to become serial killers. Whether a fan of true crime or noir novels, anyone curious about the minds and motivations of serial killers may find Murderland's findings of interest. Caroline Fraser is the author of Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, which won the Pulitzer Prize as well as the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Heartland Prize, and the Plutarch Award for Best Biography of the Year. She is also the author of God's Perfect Child: Living and Dying in the Christian Science Church, and her writing has appeared in the New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, and the London Review of Books, among other publications. She lives in New Mexico. Bruce Lanphear, MD, MPH, a Professor at Simon Fraser University, has conducted research on the sources of lead exposure and impacts of lead poisoning for over 25 years. He led studies used by federal agencies to set standards for lead in air, water, and house dust. His studies also obliged federal agencies to conclude that no amount of lead is safe. Dr. Lanphear, who is a member of the US EPA's science advisory panel for the national air lead standard, produces videos to show how human health is inextricably linked with the environment and to elevate efforts to prevent disease. Buy the Book Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers (Hardcover) Third Place Books

A fur-trading schooner beached in 1811. A passenger liner lost in 1906. An almost-empty tanker broken on the shore in 1999. These shipwrecks, and thousands more, are why the northwest coast of North America is sometimes called the "Graveyard of the Pacific." Drawing from his book, Wrecked, history professor and author Coll Thrush tells the stories of many vessels that met their fate along this rugged coast and how they open up conversations about colonialism, Indigenous persistence, and place-based history. Shipwrecks are commemorated in museums, historical markers, folklore, place names, and the remains of the ships themselves. They've become a rich regional archive that has inspired Indigenous and settler survivors and observers to create meaning for these events. Thrush examines the ways in which shipwreck tales highlight––and debunk––myths of settler colonialism: the disappearance of Indigenous people, the control of an endlessly abundant nature, and the idea that the past would stay past. There's no doubt that shipwrecks capture our imagination. Thrush also shows that these disasters are passageways to deeper stories. Through a cultural history of this notorious part of the Northwest, Thrush demonstrates how the tales of shipwrecks reveal the fraught and unfinished business of colonization. Coll Thrush is a professor of history at the University of British Columbia and founding co-editor of the Indigenous Confluences book series at the University of Washington Press. He is the author previously of Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place and Indigenous London: Native Travelers at the Heart of Empire. Joshua L. Reid (citizen of the Snohomish Indian Nation) is an associate professor of American Indian Studies and the John Calhoun Smith Memorial Endowed Associate Professor of History at the University of Washington, where he directs the Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest. He is the author of The Sea Is My Country: The Maritime World of the Makahs. Presented by Town Hall Seattle and University of Washington Press. Buy the Book Wrecked: Unsettling Histories from the Graveyard of the Pacific (Hardcover) Elliott Bay Book Company

You could argue that Dave Barry is the country's class clown, but did you know that he actually was elected class clown in high school? It's no wonder, then, that he's made a career out of making fun of pretty much everything. So how in the world does the son of a Presbyterian minister wind up winning a Pulitzer Prize for writing a wildly inaccurate newspaper column read by millions of people? Dave Barry will explain. Barry draws from his latest book, Class Clown, to take us on a ride through his life so far, starting with a childhood largely spent throwing rocks for entertainment—there was no internet—and preparing for nuclear war by hiding under a classroom desk. He began his journalism career at a small-town Pennsylvania newspaper and somehow wound up as a humor columnist for The Miami Herald, where his boss encouraged him to write about anything that struck him as amusing and to never worry about offending anyone. His columns were not popular with everyone: He managed to alienate a vast army of Neil Diamond fans and the entire state of Indiana. But he also developed a loyal following. Barry dives into all aspects of his life––the humor, absurdity, joy, and even sadness. Barry says the most important wisdom imparted by his Midwestern parents was never to take anything too seriously, which is a lesson that has served him well as a professional class clown. Dave Barry is the author of more bestsellers than you can count on two hands, including Swamp Story, Lessons from Lucy, Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys, Dave Barry Turns Forty, and Dave Barry Is Not Making This Up. A wildly popular syndicated columnist best known for his booger jokes, Barry won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. He lives in Miami. Brett Hamil is a cartoonist and comedian living in Seattle. He publishes a weekly political cartoon, Doom Loop, for the South Seattle Emerald, and produces a critically acclaimed live comedy show, Joketellers Union at the Clock-Out Lounge. He's also the author of 3 graphic novels. Buy the Book Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass: How I Went 77 Years Without Growing Up Elliott Bay Book Company

Founded in 1970, NPR is America's most powerful broadcast news network. Despite being overshadowed by the larger and more glamorous PBS, public radio has long been home to shows such as All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and This American Life that captivate millions of listeners in homes, cars, and workplaces across the nation. In On Air, a book fourteen years in the making, journalist Steve Oney tells the history of this institution, tracing the comings and goings of legendary on-air talents (Bob Edwards, Susan Stamberg, Ira Glass, Cokie Roberts, and many others) and the rise and fall and occasional rise again of brilliant and sometimes venal executives. Oney depicts how NPR created a medium for extraordinary journalism—in which reporters and producers use microphones as paintbrushes and the voices of people around the world as the soundtrack of stories both global and local. Featuring details on the controversial firing of Juan Williams, the sloppy dismissal of Bob Edwards, and a $235 million bequest by Joan B. Kroc, widow of the founder of McDonald's, On Air also chronicles NPR's shift into the digital world and its early embrace of podcasting formats, establishing the network as a formidable media empire. Steve Oney is a longtime journalist who worked for many years as a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Magazine and Los Angeles magazine. He has also contributed articles to many national publications, including Esquire, The Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, GQ, and The New York Times Magazine. His history of the lynching of Leo Frank, And the Dead Shall Rise, won the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award and the National Jewish Book Award. Oney was educated at the University of Georgia and at Harvard, where he was a Nieman Fellow. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Madeline Stuart. Steve Scher is a writer, broadcaster, and interviewer. His children's book, The Moon Bear, came out in 2022. Over his 28 years on local public radio, he won awards for his incisive coverage of public affairs, breaking news and his beyond-the-headlines approach to issues. His in-depth interviews with award-winning authors, political leaders, scientists, artists and active citizens are noted for their intelligence and sensitivity. Most summers since 2009, he has taught a Communications Department class on interviewing at the University of Washington. Buy the Book On Air: The Triumph and Tumult of NPR Third Place Books

At 26, Ian Mackay loved the outdoors, natural sciences, and cycling. While studying as a biology undergrad at UC Santa Cruz, he crashed his bike into a tree on campus and forever changed his relationship with how he – and others like him –  experienced nature. After sustaining a spinal cord injury that would leave him paralyzed from the shoulders down, Mackay was challenged with rehabilitating his body, his mental wellness, and his adventurous lifestyle. In Ian's Ride: A Long-Distance Journey to Joy, author Karen Polinsky traverses both Ian's personal journey to recovery against all the odds and the path his work has cleared for fellow nature lovers. In this intimate memoir brought to life through more than one hundred hours of interviews, journal entries, and more, Polinsky depicts Ian's story with heartfelt honesty. As he adapted to his new life in the Pacific Northwest with the help of his dedicated mother Teena, as well as family and friends, he grew inspired to revisit his bond with the outdoors. After years of personal growth, advocacy, and accessibility research, Ian has become a community leader, an innovator with Apple, and a world-record-breaking athlete. Ian's Ride is an inspirational tale of perseverance and an adventure quest for nature lovers, endurance athletes, and anyone struggling with a life-changing loss or diagnosis. This deftly narrated saga examines the passions and challenges that inform how we exist in our hearts, our bodies, our communities, and our natural world. Karen Polinsky is a novelist and playwright, as well as a former journalist and high school teacher. Her written works include the book Dungeness, the dance drama Heart of Stone, and more than a dozen staged plays. Ian Mackay, a C2/3 quadriplegic, is a nature lover, mobility technology innovator, and endurance athlete. Mackay is the executive director of the nonprofit Ian's Ride, which aims to increase accessibility to the outdoors. He also serves as an ambassador for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and is a proud board member of The Here and Now Project, a chapter of the United Spinal Association. Kenny Salvini is an award-winning writer and community organizer with a passion for promoting wellness, accessibility, and independence in the disability community. In 2013, Kenny cofounded The Here and Now Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to connect and empower the mobility disability community in the Pacific Northwest. In his free time, Kenny does accessibility advocacy and training on the side and is a part-time contributor to New Mobility Magazine. In 2019, he was recognized by the United Spinal Association as their Advocate of the Year. Kenny graduated with honors from Central Washington University, where he majored in Electronics Engineering Technology, and was a two-time NCAA Division II Academic All-American in Men's Wrestling. He currently lives in Sumner, Washington with his wife, Claire, and their four-year-old daughter, Ila. Buy the Book Ian's Ride: A Long-Distance Journey to Joy Elliott Bay Book Company

In commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, join Town Hall Seattle to hear Vietnamese author Susan Lieu discuss her memoir, The Manicurist's Daughter. Susan will be in conversation with Executive Director of Friends of Little Saigon (FLS), Quynh Pham. Together, Susan and Quynh will discuss the impact of war with regards to trauma, memory, loss, and healing — as individuals and as a collective. You may have already seen the work of Seattle author and performer Susan Lieu at Bumbershoot, Wing Luke Museum, or the Seattle Library. Her sold-out solo theatre performance in Seattle, 140 LBS: How Beauty Killed My Mother, describes the true story of her mother's death due to medical malpractice. No matter where you've seen her name, you already know she's passionate about asking questions and seeking a better future. In her new memoir, The Manicurist's Daughter, Lieu asks questions about grief and body image through her family's story. Refugees from the Vietnam War, Lieu's family escaped to California in the 1980s. Upon arrival, her mother was their savvy, charismatic North Star, setting up two successful nail salons — until Lieu was eleven. That year, her mother died from a botched tummy tuck. For the next twenty years, Lieu navigated a series of questions surrounding her mother's death alone—until now. Sifting through depositions, tracking down the surgeon's family, and enlisting the help of spirit channelers, Lieu uncovers the painful truth about her mother, herself, and the impossible ideal of beauty. But the answers she finds are also rooted in fierce determination, strength in shared culture, and finding one's place in the world. Susan Lieu is a Vietnamese-American author, playwright, and performer known for her autobiographical solo show, 140 LBS: How Beauty Killed My Mother, which toured nationally to sold-out audiences. Her sequel, OVER 140 LBS, premiered at ACT Theatre's SoloFest. She has performed at major events such as Bumbershoot and The Moth Mainstage, and her work has been featured by NPR and the L.A. Times. Susan co-founded Socola Chocolatier and is an activist who helped pass a law raising medical malpractice caps. Her debut memoir, The Manicurist's Daughter (Celadon), is an Apple Book of the Month, a 2024 Best Book of The Smithsonian, NPR, and Elle Magazine, and has received accolades from The New York Times and The Washington Post. She was recently named one of Seattle Magazine's Most Influential People of 2024. Quynh Pham is the Executive Director of Friends of Little Saigon (FLS), a community development organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing Little Saigon's cultural, economic, and historical vitality. Coming from a small business family, Quynh is passionate about supporting small immigrant- and refugee-owned businesses and fostering community-driven solutions for health, safety, and well-being. Buy the Book The Manicurist's Daughter: A Memoir (Paperback) Third Place Books

From bestselling author Juliette Aristides comes an inspirational guide to thinking, making, and embodying the mind of a creative person. The third Monacelli Studio title from Juliette Aristides, The Inner Life of the Artist, is an inspirational guide to thinking, making, and embodying the mind of a creative person. The book contains a series of short, insightful essays and significant, meaningful quotes by contemporary and historical artists, each accompanied by a moving and inspiring selection of nearly 100 past and present artworks to help enlarge our capacity for wonder. For those interested in drawing, painting, and other art forms, the book expands upon Atelier principles with fun, approachable, and practical exercises applied throughout, with an emphasis on cultivating the artistic mind, along with the hand and the eye. This is the perfect book to inspire all creative thinkers, presented in a visually arresting compact package and wrapped in a cerulean blue cloth case. Juliette Aristides is a Seattle-based fine artist, author, and educator who seeks to understand and convey the human spirit through art. She has participated nationally in dozens of museum exhibitions including the solo shows Observations at the Reading Museum of Art in Reading, PA and A Life's Work at the Customs House Museum in Clarksville, TN. Aristides is the author of six best-selling books including Lessons in Classical Drawing and Lessons in Classical Painting, which have been translated into several languages. Her seventh book, The Inner Life of The Artist publishes this April from Monacelli. Juliette has been the director of the Aristides Atelier for over 20 years and founded the first Atelier in the Northwest at Gage Academy in Seattle. Her Atelier's achievements have been recognized in four consecutive exhibitions at the Maryhill Museum of Art. Aristides' artwork and writing have garnered national media attention in publications such as Fine Art Connoisseur, American Art Collector, Artist's Magazine, and American Artist. She has also been recognized as an Art Renewal Center "Living Master" and is the recipient of the prestigious Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation grant. Michael Magrath received his BA in mythology and comparative religions at Reed College and his MFA in Sculpture and Public Art from the University of Washington in Seattle. Mike has studied in Florence and Rome, and taught at The Art Academy of London, The University of Washington, and the Gage Academy of Art where he began teaching in 2004. Since 2014, he has directed the Magrath Sculpture Atelier, where he also serves as Faculty Chair. His awards include the IFRAA best Religious Sculpture, the ART Renewal center First Prize in Sculpture. Magrath brings a craftsman's approach to sculpture, having come into art via the trades, working as a finisher, fabricator and foundryman. He also worked in college art programs for many decades, and so approaches teaching and artmaking from conceptual and maker-based perspectives. As such he seeks a marriage between elegance of concept and excellence in craftsmanship. As a teacher he seeks to demystify and make accessible to all the art making process. Magrath does both private and public commissions and has exhibited internationally. Clients include Microsoft, the University of Washington, the Archdiocese of Portland OR, as well as numerous private clients. Presented by Town Hall Seattle and Gage Academy of Art. Buy the Book The Inner Life of the Artist: Conversations from the Atelier Elliott Bay Book Company

These days, large-scale high-production music festivals take over major cities and regularly attract crowds of every genre — including the current version of Lollapalooza that draws a casual 400,000 people to its resident Chicago stomping grounds. But kick it back a few decades and this kind of maximalist mega-show wasn't quite the norm it is now, especially for musical tastes outside of the mainstream. In their second collaborative book, Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock's Wildest Festival, music journalists Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour flash back to when the Lollapalooza we know now was a new tour concept bringing 1990s alternative artists and ideas center stage. Lollapalooza first transports readers back to the festival's origins – a 20+ city summer sprawl highlighting alternative music, art, and counterculture, conceived by Perry Farrell as a farewell tour for his band Jane's Addiction. From 1991-1997, this breakthrough tour shifted the scope of live music experiences and helped forge a new path for the decade's subcultures to reach the masses and the media. Bienstock and Beaujour have compiled hundreds of new interviews to dig into the dirt of how the historic festival came into being at every level – from headlining artists and record label execs to tour organizers and promoters to freakshow performers, stage crews, and roadies. Lollapalooza is packed with gritty details of an era of shows that defied genres and drew crowds across style lines. Music, art, and politics drawing from alt-rock, goth, industrial, metal, punk, hip-hop, EDM, and avant-garde explorations – all coming together under one big tent. Featuring original interviews with iconic artists like Green Day, Patti Smith, Rage Against the Machine, Ice-T, Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails, Jane's Addiction, Tool, Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in Chains, Metallica, and many more, this collection amplifies voices that helped shape generations of contemporary thinkers, creative activists, and live music audiences. Journeying through 90s nostalgia, uncensored first-hand accounts, and the long-term reverberations of a groundbreaking tour, Bienstock and Beaujour document a high-impact chapter of modern American music. A VIP pass to the action onstage and backstage, on the road and behind the scenes – Lollapalooza details the cultural shift of the alternative rock revolution and the echoes still heard through concert crowds today. Richard Bienstock is a journalist, musician, and author whose work has been featured in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Spin. He is the executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine and former senior editor of Guitar World and has authored and co-authored books including Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck and Slash: An Intimate Portrait.  Tom Beaujour is a journalist, music producer, and engineer who has been featured in television shows like Orange is the New Black, A Handmaid's Tale, and Criminal Minds. He is a co-founder and former editor-in-chief of Revolver and has contributed to Rolling Stone, the New York Times, Blender, and Billboard. He is the co-author of Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion, alongside Richard Bienstock. Mike Squires is a Seattle-based touring musician and the host of Couch Riffs Podcast since 2019. His touring and recording credits include Duff McKagan, Peter Hook, Ugly Kid Joe, Harvey Danger, and The Long Winters.   Buy the Book Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock's Wildest Festival Third Place Books

What if none of this were real, but instead we were in a simulation? What would that mean about life, about the notion of reality, and about our own existence?  From award-winning, Seattle-based author Daryl Gregory comes a story following two friends on a cross-country bus tour through glitches as they grapple with secrets, love, and family — issues that are not uncommon, except these take place in a simulated world. When We Were Real follows longtime best friends JP and Dulin. When JP finds out his cancer has aggressively returned, Dulin decides it's the perfect time for one last adventure: a week-long bus tour of the Impossibles, the glitches and geographic miracles that started cropping right after the Announcement that revealed our world to be merely a digital simulacrum. The outing promises to be the trip of a (not completely real) lifetime. Unlike other sci-fi hits like The Matrix or Vanilla Sky, these characters know they are simulations. Through this self-awareness, they — as well as readers — explore what it means to be human, to be alive or even real. Through a cast of colorful characters (like a pregnant influencer determined to make her child too famous to be deleted) or the stops they make along the way (like a tunnel outside of time or a motivational-speaking avatar's compound) JP and Dulin have no shortage of things to talk about as they venture toward the tour's final stop, where the travelers may find out who is actually running the simulation. When We Were Real aims to uncover the things that really matter in life, even in an artificial world. Daryl Gregory is the award-winning author of numerous novels, including Revelator, Afterparty, and Spoonbenders, a Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award finalist. His novella We Are All Completely Fine won the World Fantasy Award and the Shirley Jackson Award. He currently resides in Seattle, Washington. Matt Dinniman is a writer, artist, and musician (well, he's a bass player) from Gig Harbor, WA. He is the author of several books, including the bestselling Dungeon Crawler Carl series.   Buy the Book When We Were Real: A Novel Third Place Books