Best KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio Podcasts (2025)

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Bonus: How to fight oppression with Ijeoma Oluo 41:53

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5h ago41:53

41:53

This summer, one of our KUOW Book Club selections was Seattle author Ijeoma Oluo’s 2024 bestseller, "Be a Revolution: How Everyday People Are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World – and How You Can, Too." In it, Oluo shows how people across the nation are creating positive change for racial equity within our most important systems – like the m…

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Weekend Warmup for September 12-15 5:12

7m ago5:12

5:12

Meet Me Here listeners, if you still don't have any plans for this weekend, fear not. The Weekend Warmup is here to help with a whole bunch of ideas for fun things to do around the region this weekend. Hosted by KUOW's Jason Megatron Burrows. Links: SPORTS Mariners - LA Angels - 9/11-14 Sounders - LA Galaxy - 9/13 Reign - Racing Louisville FC - 9/1…

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Looking for innovation? Head to a Seattle art gallery 22:30

28m ago22:30

22:30

Judith Rinehart owns J. Rinehart Gallery in Pioneer Square. And she wants everyone in Seattle to know: art galleries are for all of us. "They are one of the few spaces anybody is allowed to come in", says Judith. "You can look at what's on the wall. You can like it or not. You can have an opinion about it or not… maybe you just want to come in and …

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Bonus: Bringing South Asian Literature To Seattle 20:25

5d ago20:25

20:25

The Jaipur Literature Festival in India is one of the biggest lit festivals on the planet. Hundreds of thousands of people attend to hear writers and artists talk about the rich, multilingual literary traditions of South Asia. JLF is big in another way too. Since its beginning in 2006, the festival has expanded to cities around the globe. And Seatt…

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Pop Culture: Mysterious, offbeat, culty...why so many vampires love the PNW 25:00

6d ago25:00

25:00

We’re digging our teeth into the Northwest and its relationship with vampires. In this episode, I’m bringing in my two co-hosts Jeannie Yandel and Katie Campbell to talk NW and vampires – so let me ask you, do you like monstrous vampires? What about metaphorical vampires? Of course, can’t forget the sensitive, sparkly, brooding vampires that just w…

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Books: How to Get Out of a Reading Slump 19:27

13d ago19:27

19:27

Whether you devour 50 books a year or haven’t picked one up in months, we all get into reading ruts. So, let’s fix that. Seattle Readers, it’s time to get into that reading groove and we’ve got you covered with tips, tricks, and a whole bunch of empathy. Seattle Public Library’s Stesha Brandon joins us for some literary hot takes, tips for getting …

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Art: Why Seattle's a great place for anxious dancers 22:05

20d ago22:05

22:05

Dance artist and instructor Alethea Alexander feels lucky to live in Seattle - in large part because the city offers so many venues and opportunities to dance. Alethea teaches dance at UW and Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University, and is the director of training at Dance Church, a free-form and all-levels movement class / dance party. B…

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Pop Culture: Can games like Dungeons and Dragons combat disinformation? 22:37

27d ago22:37

22:37

If you're a fan of the game Dungeons and Dragons, you know the thrill of rolling a 20-sided die in hopes of deploying a stunning attack or perhaps fending off an owlbear. But could those same skills help us recognize lies on social media? On the latest episode of Meet Me Here, find out how this nerdy role playing game might be the answer to combati…

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Books: A Safe Space for Horror 21:14

1M ago21:14

21:14

Horror doesn’t have to be horrifying. It can be romantic, historical, and even a little raunchy! If you’re into that sorta thing. From haunted haciendas to demon possessed heroines, Seattle author Isabel Cañas is serving up Gothic horror with a twist. The genre bending author tells us a thing or two about how even scaredy cat readers can tap into t…

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Art: Zines Are A Treasure Trove Of Humanity's Obsessions 13:40

1M ago13:40

13:40

Want to learn about complete strangers' biggest passions and frustrations? Then you need to start exploring zines. Zines are patterned after magazines, but they're meant to be made by hand by one person, reproduced on a copy machine, and shared from person to person. Our guest Vivian Li makes zines to share “a little bit of her soul with the world.…

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Pop Culture: Should you name your child after a movie character? 21:20

2M ago21:20

21:20

After Game Of Thrones became a hit TV show, people in Washington state started naming girls Khaleesi, the royal title for Queen Daenerys. This started in 2012, and between then and 2023, there have been 119 babies named Khaleesi born in Washington. (And depending on your view of that character’s storyline, some folks might feel differently about th…

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Books: Our Book Bestie's Mid-Year Reality Check 17:25

2M ago17:25

17:25

Here’s a literary hot take: are you reading that book or just carrying it around from tote bag to tote bag? Right. Seattle Readers, it’s time for a midyear reading round up, and we’re gonna find out what books this city of readers are actually devouring (so far). Elliott Bay Book Company’s Sofia Brekkan joins us for some literary hot takes, staff p…

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Books: Nothing Says Summer Like The End Of The World 22:58

2M ago22:58

22:58

Seattle summers just make everything feel possible. You can see the silver linings a little better in the sunshine. And that makes it a little easier to enjoy some sad summer reads. Right? If you want proof, check out Sequoia Nagamatsu’s How High We Go in the Dark, a speculative fiction masterpiece published in 2022 that still has Meet Me Here co-h…

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Art: How To Make Art Friends 14:28

2M ago14:28

14:28

Art friends make life richer, according to arts community leader Leilani Lewis. She says art friends can help you “deepen your understanding of yourself and the people around you.” If you want to make art friends, Leilani says take initiative and be willing to be vulnerable. “Go to the openings. Go to the programs. Go to Remix. Go to Wa Na Wari art…

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Pop Culture: Have Full Album Concerts Gone Too Far? 19:11

2M ago19:11

19:11

When it comes to your all-time favorite bands, singers, artists, are there any of their albums that you consider “no-skip albums”? You know, an album where you’re gonna listen to every song. Although some albums are great all the way through, others, maybe not so much. That raises some questions as full-album concerts seem to be increasingly popula…

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Books: Seattle Sci-Fi Needs More Escapism 19:10

3M ago19:10

19:10

What if instead of a post-apocalyptic future where AI overlords, climate wars, and techno-fascists ruin everything– we could imagine something else? Something better! At Clarion West’s upcoming Speculative Fiction Write-A-Thon, the chances of imagining something different and better are high. So this week, we’re not hitting the books–we’re writing …

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Books: Why Corinne Manning Thinks The LGBTQ Shelf Is The Best In The Bookstore 16:50

3M ago16:50

16:50

Author Corinne Manning joined us this week for a special bonus literary episode, celebrating Pride Month and their stellar short story collection We Had No Rules. Listeners may also know Meet Me Here co-host Katie Campbell from the KUOW Book Club, which is reading Manning's book this month along with Be A Revolution: How Everyday People Are Fightin…

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Art: Seattle’s Innovative, World-Class Glass Arts Scene 17:30

3M ago17:30

17:30

“Glass is mesmerizing”, says artist and KUOW project manager Hilary Lee. “It’s just kind of all around us, but then in a contemporary art form, it's really fun, and you can do lots of things with it”. Happily, we live in a world-class region for glass arts from glassblowing to kiln casting to neon. And Hilary knows this better than most Seattleites…

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Pop Culture: Has Hollywood lost its creativity? 24:30

3M ago24:30

24:30

Get your bucket of sugar and a large popcorn, because we're approaching the 2025 summer movie season. The movie season ahead is full of remakes, reboots, and sequels. There’s an industry term called IP, it means “intellectual property” and that basically boils down to movie franchises, books, characters and so forth that are all owned – studios own…

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Books: Mike Curato Is A Main Character 22:02

3M ago22:02

22:02

This week we’re hitting the books with author and illustrator Mike Curato to discuss Gaysians, his debut adult graphic novel, about a queer Asian friend group becoming a chosen family in 2003 Seattle. Plus, Mike fills us in on authentic queer Asian representation, building coalitions during challenging times, and how his time in Seattle shaped the …

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Art: Awkward Coming-Of-Age Stories And Other Adventures In The Chinatown-International District 16:58

4M ago16:58

16:58

Former Seattle civic poet and Ten Thousand Things podcast host Shin Yu Pai hasn't yet seen the new two-woman show Crash Course, but she's pretty excited to see it. For one thing, Shin Yu says Crash Course explores a struggle many of us are familiar with - the "moment of becoming aware that you might want something different than what people are tel…

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Pop Culture: Find Your PNW Pinball Family 19:01

4M ago19:01

19:01

Your grandparents might have joined a bowling league. Today, you can join a pinball league. A pinball renaissance is happening across the Northwest, thanks to a fervent community (called Pinheads) that frequently gathers, holds tournaments, and keeps these machines flipping. Seattle now ranks second in the United States in terms of how many pinball…

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Books: Kevin Kwan Wants To Make You Laugh 17:56

4M ago17:56

17:56

This week we’re hitting the books with Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan. The internationally-best selling author rips open the world of the wealthy and indulges us all us in some behind the scenes bits on his latest book Lies and Weddings. Kevin and Katie talk about the benefits of being an outsider, reality television show Below Deck, luxury re…

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Art: Break Up With The Algorithm At The Seattle International Film Festival 14:04

4M ago14:04

14:04

The Seattle International Film Festival, or SIFF, runs from May 15-25 with a limited streaming option from May 26-June 1. And it's a big festival! 245 films will be screened over the 10-day festival. This is a movie-lover's dream. But also - a literal impossibility to see every single film on offer. So how do you pick what to see? The Stranger 's a…

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Pop Culture: Seattle is so emo, or whatever… 22:50

4M ago22:50

22:50

Emo music is a subgenre of punk rock that is characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics, usually dealing with angst and social alienation. The music is sometimes raw, but almost always very melodic. Emo's heyday emerged after the year 2000, when it was popularized by bands like My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! At The Disco. …

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Books: Meet Me At The Dystopian Mountaintop Getaway For Wealthy Elites 19:36

5M ago19:36

19:36

“Pleasure can be a radical and a revolutionary act,” says author C Pam Zhang about her acclaimed novel “The Land of Milk and Honey.” Zhang discusses how living in Medina, WA during the pandemic inspired her dystopian and sapphic story about a chef working for the ultra-wealthy amid a global environmental collapse. We sift through food cultures, int…

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Art: Mastering Seattle's Art Walks, No MFA Required 15:01

5M ago15:01

15:01

“Art walks humanize the viewing experience and create camaraderie, or at least, if not, create camaraderie, allow the opportunity for it.” That’s how local artist and art administrator Tommy Gregory describes art walks in Seattle. Our city is home to a dozen art walks and counting, including the longest-running art walk in the nation. Tommy loves t…

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Introducing Meet Me Here, your podcast guide to the most exciting arts and culture events in Seattle. 0:56

5M ago0:56

0:56

What are you doing this week? Meet Me Here is your podcast guide to the most exciting arts and culture events in Seattle. In each episode, we’re fighting the freeze and meeting you around the region for art shows, concerts, author talks, geeky get-togethers, and more. There’s a lot to do in this region, so let’s make some plans and go experience it…