Cascade PBS Festival 2025

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About the Festival

The Cascade PBS Ideas Festival is a full-day event in downtown Seattle, featuring live podcast recordings and studio television tapings from The Atlantic, NPR, CNN, Vox, PBS, Crooked Media, The Gist, Open to Debate, and more. Watch live as journalists, newsmakers, and thought leaders from around the world take on hot topics making news and the biggest issues of our time. Plus, community meetups, speaker meet-and-greets, micro-sessions, food trucks, DJs, and artists.

Don't just listen — be part of it. Join us on May 31 (the weekend after Memorial Day)!

Frequently Asked Questions

2025 Announced Speakers

Jeff Flake

Jeff Flake

Director of the Institute of Politics, ASU and former Arizona Senator
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Highlights

Ibram Kendi and Audie Cornish
Ibram X. Kendi in conversation with Audie Cornish
Andrew Yang and David Lee
Andrew Yang and David Lee
Macklemore and Seahawks’ Doug Baldwin talk to Deray McKesson at the Crosscut Ideas Festival
Macklemore and Doug Baldwin
Dahlia Lithwick
Dahlia Lithwick

Programming

The Cascade PBS Ideas Festival offers a program that provides a wide spectrum of viewpoints, experiences and affiliations, and welcomes members of many communities. We are sensitive to the fact that some opinions and conversations may make audience members feel uncomfortable. As a public media organization, we are responsible to act as a neutral mediator. We do not endorse the policies or opinions of our guests. However, we believe that the best way to bridge our divides is to hear from people with whom we might disagree, even vehemently, and to ask each other hard questions.