Cascade PBS Ideas Festival

At the 2025 Cascade PBS Ideas Festival, we asked attendees to share their thoughts about what's going on in our city and the nation. The Cascade PBS newsroom used this year’s Ideas Festival as a chance to engage directly with our audience. A few of our journalists hosted a “Share Your Story” table, encouraging attendees to sit and discuss whatever was on their minds.  In this bonus episode of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival podcast, hear directly from festivalgoers on issues affecting the Seattle community. People share their perspectives on the state of housing in the city, the increasing cost of living in the United States and the impact of President Donald Trump’s second term. Plus, hear a little more from Mike Pesca, host of The Gist podcast, on his session about the alleged coverup of Biden’s health decline.  These conversations were recorded on May 31, 2025.  --- Credits Host: Paris Jackson Producers: Sireen Abayazid, Sara Bernard Live interview producers: Sireen Abayazid, Ryan Famuliner, David Lee Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd --- If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS.

In a live taping of 'Your Last Meal,' Jayapal shares how her experience as an immigrant and an organizer influenced her affinity for world cuisines. U.S. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has represented Washington’s 7th district since 2016. A prominent member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, she focuses on immigration, income inequality and access to health care, among other priorities.  But as part of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival in late May, Jayapal took the stage with Rachel Belle, host of the Cascade PBS podcast Your Last Meal, to talk – mostly – about food.  In this episode of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival podcast, the two discuss why Jayapal still considers herself more activist than politician; why food is such a big part of organizing; Jayapal’s favorite foods growing up and what food she missed when she moved to the U.S. at age 16; and the strong relationship between the food Americans take for granted and the immigrants who brought it here.   This conversation was recorded on May 31, 2025.  --- Credits Host: Paris Jackson Producer: Sara Bernard, Scot Michael Production Engineer: Resti Bagcal Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd --- If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS.

In a live taping of The Journal podcast, host Ryan Knutson talks with Steves about the value of travel and Americans’ reception abroad in 2025. Rick Steves has created one of the most successful travel businesses in the U.S., including guidebooks, European tours and a longstanding TV and radio show. What is it like to run a travel business for American tourists right now, after the pandemic and as the new Trump administration rattles the world order?   As part of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival in late May, The Journal podcast host Ryan Knutson took the stage with Steves to discuss these tumultuous times and why Steves believes travel should be a priority for Americans, regardless of recent events.  In this episode of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival podcast, Knutson and Steves dig into why if everyone traveled before they could vote, “this world would be a much more stable and just and beautiful place”; the impact of the pandemic and social media on European travel; how American travelers are received abroad right now; and why Steves, for one, will be traveling as long as he’s able.   This conversation was recorded on May 31, 2025.  --- Credits Host: Paris Jackson Producer: Sara Bernard, Scot Michael Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd --- If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS.

In a live taping of the Criminal podcast, host Phoebe Judge speaks with Knox about her new memoir and how a murder accusation redefined her life. Amanda Knox became a household name when she was convicted, in 2009, of the murder of her roommate while studying abroad in Perugia, Italy. She spent four years in an Italian prison before being exonerated.  As part of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival in late May, Knox sat down with Criminal podcast host Phoebe Judge to discuss her new memoir, Free: My Search for Meaning. The memoir moves beyond Knox’s story of conviction and acquittal to explore what it’s been like to live under the shadow of the world’s image of her.   In this episode of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival podcast, Judge and Knox discuss Knox’s experience of being relentlessly interrogated as Italian prosecutors, global tabloids and even her community back in the U.S. sought to define the narrative around her story. Knox also shares what she plans to tell her children about these experiences and her unlikely relationship with the man who prosecuted her case.    This conversation was recorded on May 31, 2025.  --- Credits Host: Paris Jackson Producer: Sara Bernard, Scot Michael Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd --- If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS.

In a live taping of Radiolab, co-host Latif Nasser and guest Rebecca Lemov discuss prominent examples of indoctrination and their modern implications. As part of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival in late May, Latif Nasser, co-host of WNYC’s Radiolab, sat down with Harvard historian Rebecca Lemov to dig into her new book, The Instability of Truth: Brainwashing, Mind Control, and Hyper-Persuasion.   The book chronicles the fascinating and traumatic history of brainwashing – how the term originated, its chilling permutations over the decades and what it could mean now in an age of artificial intelligence.   In this episode of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival podcast, Nasser and Lemov discuss the origin story of the term, following the experiences of American POWs during the Korean War. They then delve into the remarkable story of the heiress Patricia Hearst, who survived kidnapping and violence by adopting the perspectives of her captors. Finally, they discuss the “mass emotional contagion” of social media events and the AI chatbots with whom many people have formed very real relationships.   This conversation was recorded on May 31, 2025.  --- Credits Host: Paris Jackson Producer: Sara Bernard, Scot Michael Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd --- If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS.

In a live taping of ‘The Gist’ podcast, the authors of “Original Sin” — a book questioning the former president’s health — share their findings. One book has been stirring up a lot of political controversy this spring: Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s deep dive into President Biden’s health during his last year in office.  As part of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival in May, Tapper and Thompson got on stage with Mike Pesca, host of The Gist podcast, to dig into the reporting behind Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.  In this episode of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival podcast, Tapper and Thompson detail how, according to their reporting, an ever-tightening inner circle worked to conceal Biden’s sparse schedule, failing memory and other signs of serious decline. Tapper describes an atmosphere of unquestioning loyalty, not unlike that of the current Trump White House, that supported Biden’s decision to run for a second term. Thompson and Tapper also get into the politically polarized feedback on the book, which has, at least from the far left and far right, been “ferocious.”  This conversation was recorded on May 31, 2025.  --- Credits Host: Paris Jackson Producer: Sara Bernard, Scot Michael Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd --- If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS.

In a live taping of the ‘Open to Debate’ podcast, commentator Brandi Kruse and legal scholar Nadine Strossen examine the state of the First Amendment. From funding cuts at universities to restrictions on the press, critics of Trump 2.0 point to a long list of potential threats to the freedom of speech. But in these polarized times, perception is everything.  As part of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival in late May, Nick Gillespie, editor-at-large of Reason Magazine and guest moderator of Open to Debate, sat down with political commentator Brandi Kruse and legal scholar and civil liberties advocate Nadine Strossen to dig into the evolving boundaries of free speech in 2025.  In this episode of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival podcast, Strossen and Kruse take a deep dive into a range of thorny topics, including the Trump administration’s actions against Harvard University; early executive orders banning DEI policies; hypocrisy, bias and objectivity in the media; and how far this or any administration should be allowed to go.   This conversation was recorded on May 31, 2025.  --- Credits Host: Paris Jackson Producer: Sara Bernard, Scot Michael Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd --- If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS.

In a live taping of CCN's One Thing, Flake speaks with host David Rind about a post-Trump era and his hopes for a party of governance, not grievance. Former U.S. Senator Jeff Flake (R – Arizona) is perhaps best known for his early and vocal criticism of President Donald Trump. In 2017, Flake announced he would not run for reelection, largely because he saw no room for a moderate, anti-Trump Republican in Congress.   As part of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival in late May, Flake took the stage with David Rind, host of CNN’s One Thing podcast, to dig into how Flake feels about that decision today and what it all means during a second Trump administration.    In this episode of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival podcast, Rind and Flake discuss the anger and grievance that dominates American politics; Flake’s role as ambassador to Turkey during the Biden administration; how American diplomacy has been impacted by Trump 2.0; and what a future Republican party could look like.   This conversation was recorded on May 31, 2025.  --- Credits Host: Paris Jackson Producer: Sara Bernard Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd --- If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS.

In a live taping of WNYC’s On the Media, author and activist Cory Doctorow argues that tech giants have chased profits at the expense of users. There’s no question that the products that giant companies such as Amazon, Google and Meta have developed now dominate many people’s  lives. The road to that domination,  argues author and activist Cory Doctorow, is paved with profit-driven actions that ultimately invade privacy, drive up prices and worsen the user experience.   As part of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival in late May, Doctorow took the stage with Micah Loewinger, co-host of WNYC’s On the Media, to unpack this theory from his forthcoming book, Ensh–ttification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It.  In this episode of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival podcast, Loewinger and Doctorow discuss the ways that Amazon, Uber and other companies started by offering good deals to end users and business partners, but ultimately became “too big to care” as they drove out competitors and chased profits. Loewinger and Doctorow also dig into ways to combat these trends, such as the historic antitrust cases proceeding against Google and Apple in federal court, or how new tariffs could potentially promote a freer internet.   This conversation was recorded on May 31, 2025.  --- Credits Host: Paris Jackson Producer: Sara Bernard Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd --- If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS.

Author, comedian and former U.S. Senator Al Franken has a unique resume. One of the original writers on Saturday Night Live, he won five Emmys, wrote several comedic books on politics and represented Minnesota as a U.S. Senator from 2009 to 2018.   As part of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival in late May, Franken sat down with Jane Coaston, host of Crooked Media’s What a Day, to discuss his journey from comedy and television to the Senate and beyond.  In this episode of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival podcast, Franken and Coaston dig into Franken’s Minnesota roots and unusual career; his thoughts on the second Trump administration; the goals of his political action committee, Midwest Values PAC; and what he thinks Democrats should be talking about right now.   This conversation was recorded on May 31, 2025.  --- Credits Host: Paris Jackson Producer: Sara Bernard Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd --- If you would like to support Cascade PBS, go to cascadepbs.org. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Cascade PBS.