Big Issues. Bold Ideas.
The Cascade PBS Ideas Festival is a full-day celebration of big ideas and bold conversations. Hosted in Seattle's historic Fremont neighborhood, the event brings together live podcast recordings and television tapings from major media outlets across the country. Thousands of of attendees and viewers have enjoyed hundreds of engaging sessions featuring thought-leaders, politicians, authors, and iconic figures. Now in its ninth year, the Ideas Festival has become a can't-miss annual event where that explore the most presssing issues shaping our world.
PODCASTS & TELEVISION
Each year, some of the most celebrated voices in podcasting and media make their way to Seattle to record live at the festival — productions from The Atlantic, The New Yorker, NPR, PBS, CNN, Vox, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Pushkin, Spotify, and beyond. The festival has welcomed live editions of Fresh Air, Radiolab, Revisionist History, Criminal, On the Media, The Political Scene, What a Day, The Gist, Amicus, The Weeds, Open to Debate, Decoder, Radio Atlantic, One Thing, Text Me Back, The Journal, Critics at Large, A Word, Good on Paper, Seattle Now, Your Last Meal, What Next, and more
SPEAKERS
The Cascade PBS Ideas Festival has hosted hundreds of speakers such as Jane Goodall, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Malcolm Gladwell, Nancy Pelosi, Macklemore, Judy Woodruff, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Jeff Flake, Ibram X. Kendi, Amy Klobuchar, Anthony Fauci, Monica Lewinsky, Robby Hoffman, Eddie Galude Jr., Laverne Cox, Adam Schiff, Jon Tester, Jake Tapper, Ross Douthat, Al Franken, Tonya Mosley, Eric Holder, Michael Barbaro, Carl Bernstein, Ezra Klein, Amanda Knox, Matt Damon, Dahlia Lithwick, Heather Cox Richardson, Robert Gates, Andrew Yang, and Governor Christine Todd Whitman.
MORE TO DO
Beyond the stage, the festival offers a full day of discovery. Elliott Bay Book Company sets up a pop-up bookstore stocked with titles from every speaker, and a dedicated Q&A Corner gives attendees the chance to continue the conversation one-on-one after each session. After Show Meetups invite guests to connect, and find community with fellow attendees. Food trucks, interactive installations, a happy hour, music and a live DJ round out the experience — making the Ideas Festival as much a celebration as it is a conversation.
CONNECT WITH US
Interested in learning more? Reach us at events@cascadepbs.org