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.
Stay tuned for speakers and session topics to be announced in the weeks ahead!
2025 Podcast Hosts

Phoebe Judge

Mike Pesca

Jane Coaston

David Rind

Jerusalem Demsas

Nick Gillespie

Latif Nasser

Micah Loewinger
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Highlights




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.