Meet Me Here

Beat the heat with these (indoor) arts and culture recommendations! KUOW's Dyer Oxley, Katie Campbell, and Jeannie Yandel share their ideas for cool things to do this summer in Seattle. Starting August 9, you'll find Meet Me Here in a new home! This show will be the new Arts & Culture episode of Seattle Now every Sunday. Seattle Now is KUOW's daily local news podcast—and by joining forces, we'll bring Dyer, Katie, and Jeannie’s reports to more local earbuds every week. Meet us there!

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. HOST: Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS:  Cinema Therapy LIVE! THE PRINCESS BRIDE ECSFF - Short Film Festival Michael Mann's Manhunter: The Final Cut Lake City Summer Festival & Parade Kite Festival | Pierce County, WA Seattle Paddle Rave U-District Boba Fest Seafair Weekend Festival 2026 Magnolia Summerfest Flock Fiber Festival 2026 Junior League Softball World Series Cats & Dawgs Kirkland Classic Mariners vs Twins! Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to https://donate.kuow.org/donate/meetnotes! Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

This week, local authors, writers and artists send in their love letters to the bodies of water around the region–from Eagle Harbor to the Salish Sea. Thank you Dana Carr, Charles Mudede, Emily Degn, Brandi Fullwood, Jeannie Yandel, and Dyer Oxley. Got an arts idea you want to pitch KUOW? Email us at arts@kuow.org  Your support helps create shows like Seattle Now, Soundside, and Meet Me Here!  Support Meet Me Here today.

Have you ever just wanted to take off into the woods for a simpler life? Maybe you built forts in the woods as a kid, and you want to get back to that innocence, before your friends got married and you had to pay taxes?   Tacoma author Patrick Hutchison felt that. So, he bought a $7,500 cabin as a young man with little to no knowledge about how to restore it — the how was unimportant, honestly — and he documented his experience in his memoir, Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman. The KUOW Book Club read Patrick’s memoir in July. KUOW’s Katie Campbell sat down with him on July 16 in front of a live audience at the Seattle Central Library to talk about just how clueless he once was, and everything he learned as he restored his own piece of the world.  Join the KUOW Book Club at kuow.org/books.  Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

“If you really stop to notice, there’s a lot of beauty hiding in the little details."  Artist Tininha Silva walks along the ocean beach near her home in Port Townsend every day. Instead of looking at the horizon, she looks at her feet and finds those beautiful details. A shell, a piece of bull kelp, and other little treasures become inspiration for her art: large fabric and chicken wire pieces that evoke the beach at low tide, kelp forests, and as-yet-undiscovered sea creatures.  Tininha tells Meet Me Here host Jeannie Yandel about the voice that told her to pursue her creativity and work with her hands. Tininha’s first installation piece, Between Tides, is hanging at the Seattle Art Fair at Lumen Field Events Center July 23 through 26. Links:  Tininha Silva on Instagram Tininha Silva website Seattle Art Fair A DIY lesson on how to make a cardboard loom Support Meet Me Here and all KUOW's podcasts atkuow.org/meet Got an arts and culture idea you'd like us to talk about? Email us! arts@kuow.org 

Heads up: This episode includes a graphic description of eating wild animals to survive.  This month, the Meet Me Here team has been spreading the gospel of getting out by and on the water this summer. And we stand by that! But not all adventures on the water go well.  Journalist and author Sophie Elmhirst’s book “A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck” is a testament to that, telling the story of an English couple who ended up adrift for 118 days after their sailboat sank. Sophie’s book was a hit last summer and is about to come out in paperback, so host Katie Campbell got her on the line to talk about how some of the best plans can go terribly awry on the open ocean.  Join the KUOW Book Club at kuow.org/books.   Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

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. HOST: Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS:  FINALS - Salmon Bay FC vs Vermont Green FC USL W Playoff Bracket Seattle Mariners vs SF Giants Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire GeekFest West Game Expo Capital Lakefair Sandsations Sand Sculpture Festival Sequim Lavender Festival Vashon Strawberry Festival CID Celebration Chinatown Parade Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to https://donate.kuow.org/donate/meetnotes! Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.   

With summer in full swing, authors Maria Dolan and Kathryn True's Seattle Field Guide is the perfect tool to get outside. The book has 38 recommendations, and we're taking a closer look at a few that will get readers out by the water. In this episode, host Katie Campbell talks to Maria and Kathryn about four of their recommendations (and a few bonus ideas to enjoy the sunny season): The Commodore Park heron colony Shilshole Bay and its sea lions The ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island Secret shorelines of the city, including the Union Bay Natural Area Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

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. HOST: Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS: Walla Walla Movie Crush SIFF - In Theaters road to everywhere - Screenings The Last Picture Shows | Rustin Thompson Oregon Country Fair West Seattle Summer Fest Ballard SeafoodFest Kent Cornucopia Days PNA's PhinneyWood Garage Sale Day World Soccer Fan Celebration: Watch Parties Event Calendar | Seattle FIFA World Cup 26™ Seattle Reign v Portland Thorns Grudge Match BOGO The West Seattle Saunter Bare Buns Fun Run - Tiger Mountain Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet! Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

For the second summer in a row, Seattle's Lake Union is transformed into an EDM venue with DJs spinning heavy bass for thousands of ravers on the water. On today's episode, Erik Hillesheim of Seattle Paddle Rave shares the origins and delights of this free Seattle event. We've got our flamingo floatie and oversized shades, and Meet Me Here is ready to party! Check out the Seattle Paddle Rave Instagram page or LakeUnionConcerts.com. They have tips for where to get into the water, and where to rent paddleboards, kayaks, or motorboats.

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. HOST: Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS: 4th of July Activities! Chicago - Saturday in the Park (Official Audio) Seafair 4th of July at Gasworks & Lake Union! PARADES! Arlington — 5 p.m. (kids 4:30 p.m.) Bainbridge Island — 1 p.m. Bothell — 12 p.m. (kids 11:15 a.m.) Burien — 11 a.m. Carnation — 11:30 a.m. (kids 11 a.m.) Dupont — 10 a.m. Edmonds — 12 p.m. (kids 11:30 a.m.) Enumclaw — noon Everett — 11 a.m. Issaquah — 10 a.m. Kingston — 12 p.m. Kirkland — 12 p.m. (kids 11:30 a.m.) Tumwater — 11 a.m. West Seattle — 10 a.m. kids FIREWORKS! Arlington — Quake Park 10 p.m. Bellevue — Downtown Park 10:05 p.m. Carnation — Remlinger Farms 9:45 p.m. Everett — Port Gardner Bay 10:15 p.m. Federal Way — Celebration Park 10:15 p.m. Kenmore — Log Boom Park 10 p.m. Kent — Lake Meridian Park 10 p.m. Kingston — Mike Wallace Park 10:15 p.m. Marysville — Ebey Waterfront Park 10 p.m. Sammamish — Sam. Commons 10 p.m. Seattle — Lake Union 10:15 p.m. Snoqualmie — Community Park 9:45 p.m. Steilacoom — offshore 10:30 p.m. Tacoma — Ruston Way 10 p.m. Tumwater — Tumwater Valley Golf 10:15 p.m. EVERYTHING ELSE! Mariners vs Blue Jays Seattle Paddle Rave Dolly Parton Fourth of July Drag Brunch Seattle World Cup Fan Celebration Locations Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet! Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Seattle is surrounded by bodies of water, and now that it's July, we can truly enjoy them. The sea planes of Lake Union, the bull kelp of Puget Sound, and fishing on the Deschutes even if you don't catch a thing all mean summer around here. Hosts Katie Campbell, Jeannie Yandel and Dyer Oxley discuss bodies of water and the artistic works they inspire. Got an arts idea you want to pitch KUOW? Email us at arts@kuow.org  Your support helps create shows like Seattle Now, Soundside, and Meet Me Here!  Become a KUOW member today.  

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. HOST: Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS: Trans Pride Seattle  Seattle PrideFest  Seattle PrideFest - Capitol Hill  Seattle PrideFest - Seattle Center  Seattle Pride - Parade Seattle Pride - Community Events Queer/Pride Festival  World Cup - Pride Match Day 2026 Seattle Pirates Landing - Seafair Rusty Scupper's Pirate Daze Gobble Up SLU  The Taste NW Buckley Log Show Kenmore Midsommarfest Washington Summer Mead Festival Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  - Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

It's that victory lap you take in the wee hours after you've stayed up all night to finish a project. It's the magical way music flows differently through the night air. It's one of the best things about Seattle in the summer: nighttime!  Our Meet Me Here hosts share their most fun and cheap nighttime activities on our last Night Owl episode of the summer. We also hear from a painter and a poet about how their creativity comes out at night.  Mentioned in this episode/series: Shin Yu Pai Chloe King  Lacey Night Market  Tacoma Night Market Columbia City Night Market DJ Emily Griffin, aka griffingrrl Monkey Loft Conor Byrne Pub Unicorn The Doctor’s Office Belltown Mural Festival Washington State Ferries  You can check out Fantagraphics by visiting their shop in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood. Here are some of the biggest names they've published over the years: Peter Bagge Daniel Clowes Robert Crumb Emil Ferris Gilbert, Jaime and Mario Hernandez Trina Robbins Joe Sacco Carol Tyler Jim Woodring

Ray Nayler’s 2022 novel The Mountain in the Sea was a huge hit in Seattle, and now, his latest novel seems poised to surpass it in this market. Why? Well, because it’s about highly intelligent crows. We love our corvids in Seattle, but these crows are extra special. Set in Lithuania during World War II, Nayler's The Palaces of the Crow follows four young people caught between the Nazis and the desperate remnants of the Red Army. Their survival is dependent on their own cleverness and that of the crows they befriend, crows who have their own secrets to keep. Look out, Seattle, this might be your favorite novel of 2026. Join the KUOW Book Club at kuow.org/books.  Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

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. HOST: Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS: WORLD CUP - Juneteenth Match Day Mariners vs Boston JUNETEENTH CELEBRATIONS June 19 — Seattle, Jimi Hendrix Park June 19 — Seattle, NW African American Museum June 19 — Shoreline, Shoreline City Hall June 19 — Tacoma, Haub Family Field June 19 — Tukwila, Sullivan Center June 20 — Kent, Morrill Meadows Park June 20 — Lynnwood, Martha Lake Park June 20/21 — Seattle, Arte Noir Gorge Blues and Brews Edmonds Arts Festival Marysville Strawberry Festival Rhubarb Days 2026 Brinnon ShrimpFest Fremont Solstice Parade - Seattle Fremont Fair Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Seattle isn’t known for a raging after hours scene, but more and more people are emerging into the eventide to go to the market. On this episode of Meet Me Here, we're taking you to night markets, where Seattleites are experiencing great food and art.   We'll speak with Jason Huang, the founder of SWAE Night Market, the official night market of Lacey, Washington. We'll also meet Doc Wilson, who runs a night market in Columbia City that features Black-owned businesses. We'll tell you how to get the most out of these new and vibrant community gatherings. Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

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. HOST: Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS: Salmon Bay FC vs FC Olympia - Public Radio Night! Brass Screw Consortium Seattle Pride Classic 2026 Pride Ice Skate Lifelong Pride Gala Washington Brewers Fest 2026 Beacon Arts Street Fairs Viking Tour – Poulsbo Rotary Club Furry 5K Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.   

Seattle's own Fantagraphics is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. That's 50 years of comics, graphic novels, and counterculture media to look back on.  To mark the occasion, we got in touch with artists, fans, and Fantagraphics staff to hear what they love most about the publisher. Plus, we spoke to Eric Reynolds, the vice president and associate publisher who identifies as the company's former "corporate shill and paid apologist." He's been with Fantagraphics for more than three decades, yet he said he doesn't feel like he's worked a day in that time.  There's not a formal RIYL this week, but you can support Fantagraphics for the next 50 years by visiting their shop in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood. Check out some of the biggest names they've published over the years, including: Peter Bagge Daniel Clowes Robert Crumb Emil Ferris Gilbert, Jaime and Mario Hernandez Trina Robbins Joe Sacco Carol Tyler Jim Woodring Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

Think of some of your favorite Pacific Northwest critters. What’s at the top of the list? Maybe some of the region’s great birds, like the bald eagle, Steller’s Jay, belted kingfisher, or the iconic tufted puffin. What about the pigeon guillemot? Probably not, right?  The pigeon guillemot is a rather common seabird around Puget Sound and all along the Pacific Coast. But they’re not super well-known, which is why Maria Mudd Ruth set out to document them in her new book.  This month, the KUOW Book Club is reading Maria’s book “The Bird with Flaming Red Feet: Seasons with an Uncommonly Common Seabird.” We're sharing this interview with Maria early in June, rather than the end of the month, to give birders plenty of time to put the book to work and see the pigeon guillemot while they’re near Puget Sound shores this summer.  Join the KUOW Book Club at kuow.org/books.  Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

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. HOST: Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS: Seattle Pride in the Park Paws & Pride Dog Walk Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show NORTHWEST NOIR: NWFF's 2026 Annual Gala DubSea Fish Sticks 2026 Cascade PBS Ideas Festival Kent Nerd Party 2026 Duvall Days 2026 Anacortes Waterfront Festival Point Defiance Flower & Garden Festival The "Sound of Sunshine" Steel Orchestra Concert Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

On today’s episode, we’re talking with two night owls who found freedom and community in Seattle’s local nightlife.  Growing up just south of Seattle in Des Moines, music and nightlife advocate Leigh Bezezekoff felt like she saw a new world while watching Pearl Jam’s “Even Flow” video on MTV. “The coolness factor of Des Moines at that time was not great”, said Bezezekoff. But the video suggested that an extremely cool local music scene was waiting for her just a few miles north.  These days, Leigh is the marketing and ticketing manager at Conor Byrne, a cooperatively owned music space and bar in Ballard. She's also a cofounder of the Washington Nightlife and Music Association, an organization that supports and champions independent music venues and artists.  DJ Emily Griffin grew up in the Los Angeles area. She was drawn to the underground rave scene. Emily and her friends called telephone hotlines to get the scoop on where the underground raves were located – often in grimy warehouses on the edge of town.  Emily said her days of clubbing in LA “opened up this whole world to me of being able to get lost in music, dance, and feeling fully self-expressed.” Decades later, she’s still seeking that out. You can catch DJ Emily Griffin, aka GriffinGrrl, spinning regularly at late-night dance parties around the city.  On this episode of Meet Me Here, these two night owls will tell you where - and WHY - to find late-night community in Seattle.   In this episode, we mention: Conor Byrne Pub on Instagram Conor Byrne Co-op  Washington Nightlife and Music Association GriffinGrrl on Soundcloud  Emily Griffin on Instagram Monkey Loft, Dance & Nightclub  Do206    Host Jeannie Yandel recommends checking out the new Hot Rat Summer mosaic unveiling at Actualize Gallery in Pioneer Square on June 13th from 5-9 pm, and the afterparty from 9pm-midnight.    *********   Support Meet Me Here and all KUOW's podcasts atkuow.org/meet  Got an arts and culture idea you'd like us to talk about? Email us! arts@kuow.org 

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. HOST: Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS: Bark! The Musical HONK! Fest West Mason County Forest Festival Glazer's PhotoFest Battle on the Bank Sally Ride: A New Opera About Queer Love and the First American Woman in Space Pollinator Fest 2026 Run to End Weekend Hunger 5K THE STUFF WE DIDN'T GET TO: Brandi Carlile - Echoes Through the Canyon 14th Annual Seattle Asian American Film Festival Trae Crowder at Emerald City Comedy Club Seattle Mariners vs Arizona D-Backs Stamp & Scrapbook EXPO Seattle Spring - Renegade Craft Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Speculative fiction is often about society, how people think and work together. Sure, there's something decidedly out there, something not quite possible, sometimes something downright magical. But at the end of the day, the genre speculates about what might happen if... What exactly comes after the "if" depends on the writer. Author Lily Brooks-Dalton's "what if" often includes a kind of societal collapse, and that collapse sets her latest main character, Ember, on a journey into a surprising past. Ruins is, on its face anyway, about an archaeologist who goes looking for a lost empire. But what is this lost world? What clue does Ember have of its existence? And why is the end of something so often the beginning for this author? Lily stopped by to talk to host Katie Campbell about the allure of societal collapse in her storytelling. If you want to stay speculative, check out Lily and Katie's Recommended If You Liked (RIYL): Piranesi by Susanna Clarke I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle The Husbands by Holly Gramazio Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (Honestly, Katie recommends anything by Emily St. John Mandel For All Mankind on Apple TV Read more about Lily Brooks-Dalton (and all the authors who stop by for a chat with our host Katie Campbell) at kuow.org/books. Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

Finding love can be so weird these days, which is why the main character in Seattle author Sonora Jha’s new novel decides to take a big swing to find the right man for her.  She holds a swayamvar. It’s an ancient Indian custom in which suitors competed in a feat of wills and strength to win a beautiful princess’s hand in marriage. But the woman in the novel Intemperance is not a young princess looking for her first love. She’s a twice-divorced professor of feminist theory in her 50s who lives on a rad houseboat in present-day Seattle.  The KUOW Book Club read Sonora’s novel in May. KUOW’s Katie Campbell sat down with her on May 21 in front of a live audience at the Seattle Central Library to talk about love, aging, and the kinds of feats Sonora would require at her swayamvar.  Join the KUOW Book Club at kuow.org/books. Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

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. HOST: Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS: Inaugural Ballard Book Crawl Lost the Plot Mobile Books Bremerton by the Book Page 42 BookstoreSmut & Sips Book Recommendations thanks to @beckybooksandbeads! Trailhead Direct - Begins Saturday! Whidbey Ren Faire Festival | Northwest Folklife Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Margo Vansynghel sometimes jokes that she’s the harbinger of doom. As the arts economy reporter for The Seattle Times, it's her job to spell out the connections between the arts and the economy here in Seattle.  She’s written about the recent layoffs of 250 local arts workers; Seattle Art Museum employees working to unionize; and the Bellevue Art Museum's sudden closure in 2024.  In this conversation from October 2025, Margo gives us a temperature check on how Seattle arts organizations are doing overall and says it's not time to freak out just yet. She also shares simple, actionable ideas for things we can all do to support Seattle artists and arts organizations.  In this episode we mention: The Seattle Symphony and its new music director, Xian Zhang Seattle’s 13 art walks, in neighborhoods like the Central District, Capitol Hill, Belltown and Hillman City. Along with the mothership art walk, First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square King County’s cultural funding agency, 4Culture The Seattle Public Library’s free museum pass program. Discount tickets to arts organizations, including Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle Rep and Seattle Art Museum.   Local storyteller Emmett Montgomery Plus a shot out to one of our listener's who suggested volunteering with these groups: Freemont Arts Council VamoLa! Northwest Folklife  MORE ON MARGO: For more of Margo’s coverage of the arts and economy check out her articles about unexpected art experiences in Seattle and 12 ways to support the arts in Seattle.  There’s also this visual story Margo wrote that explains 15 ways you can support local arts and artists.  If you’d like to ask Margo for her arts suggestions based on your personal preferences, email: mvansynghel@seattletimes.com ********** Support Meet Me Here and all KUOW's podcasts at kuow.org/meet  Got an arts and culture idea you'd like us to talk about? Email us! arts@kuow.org   

"The Yankee Sphinx" may sound like a mysterious novel in line with "Twin Peaks," which author Mark Frost co-created, but it's much more normal than the famous surrealist crime drama. Note: I said "more normal." The novel is about President Franklin D. Roosevelt — nicknamed the Yankee Sphinx — and his presidency in the later years of World War II. There was very little that was "normal" about that period, considering the novel covers FDR's third full term and partial fourth term as president. Then, there's the matter of the novel's source material: a clandestine diary kept by FDR's longtime staffer and friend William D. Hassett. Frost stopped by KUOW while on tour to talk about someone who has classically dealt in the weird and uncanny came to write something so normal.

Symphonies have long struggled with shrinking audiences, yet some classical performances are packing concert halls with music from video games, TV shows like Game of Thrones, new and old pop charts, and blockbuster movies. You can find string quartets performing Taylor Swift, the music of TOOL, and classic hip hop. At the Seattle Symphony it's Andrew Joslyn's job to produce pop culture mashups that will get newbies through the door. He's the Symphony's associate director of popular programming, and he speaks with host Dyer Oxley about putting these shows together, and his path to Benaroya Hall from starting violin at age five. You can support shows like Meet Me Here at https://donate.kuow.org/donate/meet

Shelby Van Pelt is the author of the hit novel Remarkably Bright Creatures about a giant Pacific octopus who develops a relationship with the cleaning lady at the aquarium where he is held captive (that's how he's sees it anyway). The novel has been adapted by Netflix, which released the film on May 8. The octopus, Marcellus, is kept in the fictional Sowell Bay Aquarium, which sits on Puget Sound. And he’s not happy about it. He considers the aquarium a prison, and he’s all too aware of the limited time he has left in his life. Marcellus may not be warm and cuddly like other animal narrators before him, but he does set the audience up for tears. Shelby stopped by KUOW while on tour with the film to talk about how the octopus came to life on the page and now the screen.  And... if you need some help filing the octopus-shaped void after reading the book or watching the movie, check out Shelby and Katie's Recommended If You Liked (RIYL): The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett The Summer Book by Tove Jansson Read more about Shelby Van Pelt (and all the authors who stop by for a chat with our host Katie Campbell) at kuow.org/books. Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

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. HOST: Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS: Seattle International Film Festival Seattle Beer Week  Maifest - Leavenworth Washington Get Intimate with the Shrub-Steppe | KEEN World Migratory Bird Day Celebration! · Seward Park Audubon Center Beat the Bridge for Breakthrough T1D Spring Walk n Wag Penn Cove Water Festival 18th Annual Flower Festival - Pike Place Market BonsaiFEST! | Pacific Bonsai Museum Sounders vs San Diego FC Seattle Reign vs Washington Spirit - MOTHER’S DAY Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Looking for a home can be overwhelming. There’s this fear that you might choose wrong. This week, Seattle author Kim Fu's new novel, The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts, brings your wildest real estate nightmares to life. The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts unfurls quickly. The main character Eleanor’s mother has died and left her enough money for a down payment on a house. It’s not a ton of money, though, so Eleanor goes through a process that will sound pretty familiar to anyone who’s bought a house in recent years. She makes a few offers but gets beat, or she’s just not impressed with the properties in her price range. That is until she’s shown a dream house. It’s big and stylish and is flooded with natural light from the floor-to-ceiling windows. As other prospective buyers approach, she moves fast to put in her offer. The problem is she waives an inspection and all the other contingencies that are there to notice, for example, that those beautiful windows will leak when it rains. What follows is a true nightmare, built on the crummy foundation of Eleanor’s new home and of her own adulthood.  Read more about Kim Fu (and all the authors who stop by for a chat with our host Katie Campbell) at kuow.org/books. Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

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. HOST: Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS:  Seattle May Day 2026 Seattle Black Film Festival Sequim Irrigation Festival Mariners vs KC Royals Kentucky Derby Day Party at Emerald Downs May the Fourth | The Museum of Flight Seattle Erotic Art Festival PNW Burlesque Festival Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Laura LeMoon decided to create portraits of women and girls who were victimized by the Green River killer. She was moved to begin the project when she saw pink daisies in bloom, in the parking lot of a hotel where one of the girls was last seen. "It was almost like a glitch in the Matrix," she told KUOW’s Jeannie Yandel. "Part of the reason I felt that way was because I knew the history of the hotel I was at. I knew somebody had been working here and had disappeared and then was murdered." How do you create a portrait of someone who's long departed and you know little about? Laura LeMoon describes her "portraits in absence" on the latest Meet Me Here. Laura LeMoon is the resident artist of Lottie’s Lounge in Seattle. Her portraits are on display in her exhibit, "What the Earth Knows." Your support helps create shows like Seattle Now, Soundside, and Meet Me Here! Become a KUOW member today.

Part of the fun of living in this literary era is seeing how modern authors take old concepts, sometimes even cliches, and make them new again. Seattle author and educator Molly Olguín is one of those authors. Her debut short-story collection “The Sea Gives Up the Dead” takes some classic elements of folklore and fairytales – even some biblical references – and gives them new life. The KUOW Book Club read Molly’s collection of short stories in April. KUOW’s Katie Campbell sat down with her on April 23 in front of a live audience at the Seattle Central Library to talk about folk lore and fairytales and the power of queering old stories. Sign up for the next talk in our Book Talks series in partnership with the Seattle Public Library at kuow.org/events. And join the KUOW Book Club at kuow.org/books. Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

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. HOST: Soundside producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS:  Seattle/King County Clinic at Seattle Center Washington State Apple Blossom Festival Melissa Auf der Maur: Even the Good Girls Will Cry, A '90s Rock Memoir Professional Bull Riding - Tacoma Dome The Pancakes & Booze Art Show Carnival of Cocktails — Seattle Cocktail Week 2026 Seattle Independent Bookstore Day The Tacoma Flea Seattle Seawolves Rugby vs Chicago Hounds Seattle Sounders vs FC Dallas Seattle Reign vs Utah Royals Seattle Torrent vs Montreal Victoire Pre-game "Tailgate" will be held at the corner of 1st Ave N & Lenny Wilkins Way from 4pm until the doors open at 5:30! Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Looking for a great place to stay on the Oregon coast? Maybe you just want to find a good restaurant and a show in downtown Seattle? It's likely you turn to social media for answers. But when you're actually exploring these places, does having a phone out all the time affect your experience, and everyone else's? How have phones and social media changed the recommendations we're getting and the experiences we're having?  On the next episode of Meet Me Here, travel expert Rick Steves and Seattle content creators Two Seattle Girls discuss how phones are changing the way we travel and experience culture.  You can support shows like Meet Me Here at https://donate.kuow.org/donate/meet

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. HOST: Soundside producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS:  Mariners vs Texas Rangers Seattle Torrent vs Vancouver Goldeneyes Seattle Sounders vs St Louis City SC Indoor Plant Festival Oddmall Emporium of the Weird: SPRUNG Tilted Thunder Roller Derby POP Cats Seattle 2026: Pacific Northwest’s Ultimate Cat Convention International Children's Friendship Festival Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival RSD 2026 List | RECORD STORE DAY Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

What do we do with our fear? Fear can paralyze us, befuddle us, lead us to inexplicably run up the stairs to escape a killer when the front door is right there. But in Stephen Graham Jones’ world(s), fear can empower and be used as a tool against that which caused it. We’ll ask Jones what it means to harness terror and become the terrible. And… if you need some help filling the horror shaped void, here’s Stephen Graham Jones' and Katie’s Recommended If You Liked (RIYL): Cliffhanger (1993) The Blair Witch Project (1999) Read more about Stephen Graham Jones (and all the authors who stop by for a chat with our host Katie Campbell) at kuow.org/books. You can support shows like Meet Me Here at https://donate.kuow.org/donate/meet

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. HOST: Soundside producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS:  Fin de Fest - Latin Film Festival MARINERS vs Houston Astros Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival Spring Fair | Washington State Fair Event Center NW Model Hobby Expo SDFF 2026 - Deaf Spotlight WA State Toy Show 2026 Tea Festival - April 11th | Cascadia Tea Fest iDiOM Theater - “All Our Tragic” 4 part series Dungeons and Drag Queens Brunch Show SIFF 2026 Annual Volunteer Meeting Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.   

Xian Zhang says she never wanted to be a conductor. Instead, she says, “conducting chose me.”  Zhang is in her first season as Seattle Symphony’s music director. On this episode of “Meet Me Here,” she explains how her conducting teacher threw her into deep waters as a 20-year-old conservatory student in Beijing.  She also shares how she gets ready for conducting (“I prepare 300% mentally”), and advice for anyone who hasn’t experienced a symphony performance at Benaroya Hall.  Your support helps create shows like Seattle Now, Soundside, and Meet Me Here! Become a KUOW member today.

Environmental author Terry Tempest Williams captures not just the physical beauty of the natural world but she also invites the reader to deepen their spiritual understanding and connection with the environment. In her new book The Glorians, Visitations from the Holy Ordinary, Terry seeks to understand the obscure meaning of moments in her life. From the personal to the universal. A way to reveal the joy in being present.  Sign up for the next talk in our Book Talks series in partnership with the Seattle Public Library at kuow.org/events. And sign up for the KUOW Book Club newsletter at kuow.org/books. Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

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. HOST: Soundside producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS:  Norwescon Sakura-Con Seattle's Easter Swing Women Made Film Festival in Everett, WA The Stranger Presents: The 2026 Undisputable Champions of Comedy! 93rd Annual Daffodil Festival Grand Floral Parade Seattle Torrent vs NY Sirens at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

This week hosts Katie Campbell, Dyer Oxley, and Jeannie Yandel discuss which music festivals in Seattle are worth checking out this summer. And we get recommendations from our arts friends in the region, KEXP and the Seattle Times music desk.  Your support helps create shows like Seattle Now, Soundside, and Meet Me Here!  Become a KUOW member today.

Seattle’s punk scene in the ‘90s left a big impression on Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe.  Bands like Bikini Kill were angry about sexual violence and oppression like she was, and they yelled about it, made music about it. But the punk scene was also very white, like a lot of the spaces around Sasha. And as a Coast Salish punk, she wanted a space to be her – all of her.   The KUOW Book Club read Sasha’s latest book “Thunder Song” in March. KUOW’s Katie Campbell sat down with her in front of a live audience at the Seattle Central Library to talk about being a punk, reconnecting to salmon, and following in the footsteps of her iconic great grandmother, Vi taqʷšəblu Hilbert.  Sign up for the next talk in our Book Talks series in partnership with the Seattle Public Library at kuow.org/events. And sign up for the KUOW Book Club newsletter at kuow.org/books. Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

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. HOST: Soundside producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS:  Mariners Opening Weekend Puck Place Market 2026 Seattle Torrent vs Ottawa Charge Onda Origins Coffee/Seattle Torrent Rain Country Dance Association - 2026 Emerald City Hoedown Seattle No Kings- March 28 Celebrate the new Crosslake Connection! | Sound Transit Stand By Me: The Film and Its Stars 40 Years Later Bellingham Children’s Film Festival Spring Salon Fundraiser 2026 - Key to Change Moving Stories – TDOV Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Do you cringe when your favorite novel is adapted for the big screen? Or are you first in line for tickets?  This week, "Project Hail Mary" kicks off our books vs. movies debate: How do you know when the movie will be better? Which titles should have never hit the screen, and which should have just been movies in the first place? Send us your hot take! Email us at meetmehere@kuow.org.  Your support helps create shows like Seattle Now, Soundside, and Meet Me Here! Become a KUOW member today

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. HOST: Soundside producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS:   Taste of Iceland Seattle 2026 | A Festival of Food, Music & Culture Plate of Nations BrainFest with Allen Institute - Pacific Science Center Steamy in Seattle 2026 - Clarion West Torrent vs Boston U-District NIGHT BLOSSOM Festival Columbia City Night Market | Go All Night! Bands Stand With Gaza - The Vera Project Band of Horses at the Showbox Seattle's French Fest PROJECT HAIL MARY - Jason says GO SEE IT! Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Western Washington is dotted with towns and neighborhoods that, once a month, transform their streetscapes into galleries. Seattle claims the oldest and longest-running art walk in the U.S., and this episode of Meet Me Here is your virtual guide to art walks in Bellingham, Capitol Hill and Pioneer Square. We reprise our 2025 conversation with artist Tommy Gregory, and we tag along with our producer Kyle Norris. Art walks featured in this episode:  First Thursday Art Walk In Pioneer Square Capitol Hill Art Walk Bellingham First Friday Art Walk  Seattle art walks: Ballard Art Walk, 2nd Saturday Belltown Art Walk, 2nd Friday Central District Art Walk, First Friday Columbia City Art Walk, Last Thursday Downtown Art Walk, 4th Friday Fremont Art Walk, First Friday  Georgetown’s ART ATTACK 2nd Saturday Lake City Community Art Walk, 3rd Thursday PhinneyWood Art Walk, Aug 14-15, 2026   U District Art Walk, 3rd Friday Uptown Art Walk, 3rd Thursdays West Seattle Art Walk, 2nd Thursday  Washington art walks: Edmonds Third Thursday Art Walk Olympia Art Walk, April 25-26, 2026 Tacoma Third Thursday Art Walk  Bainbridge Island First Friday Art Walk First Friday in Spokane Rat City Art Walk in White Center, 3rd Thursday Langley First Saturday Art Walk Art Walk Sequim, 1st Friday Port Townsend Art Walk, 1st Saturday Anacortes Art Walk, First Friday Everett Art Walk, 3rd Thursday Places mentioned in this episode: Bellingham: Allied Arts of Whatcom County Whatcom Museum Children of the Setting Suns Productions  Pioneer Square:  Stonington Gallery  ArtX Contemporary Collins Pub The Meyer Pilchuck Glass School Seattle Office SOIL Art Gallery 4Culture  Capitol Hill: Steve Gilbert Studio  The Factory Vermillion Art Gallery & Bar 

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. HOST: Soundside producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS:  Pi Day Dash Pi Day Community Math Festival Kat Robichaud’s Misfit Cabaret “Circus” | The Triple Door Quilters Anonymous - Quilt Show Seattle Golf Show Wings Over Water | Northwest Birding Festival Firebird | March 13 -22, 2026 | Pacific Northwest Ballet St Patrick’s Day Parade Irish Festival Seattle Emerald City Irish Film Festival Mariners 50: Community & Baseball (MoPop) Also, let us know - where do you fall in the Quilters vs Golfers venn diagram? AND where is your favorite pie in the region? Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.