2025 SESSIONS

CHECKING-IN & ENTRY:

• 2031 Seventh Ave, Seattle | Enter at the doors between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.
• Arrive early so you have plenty of time for check-in and required security screening.
• If you have purchased a ticket via Eventbrite, no need to print it. Your name will be on the list - you must bring a valid, government-issued photo ID that matches the name on your ticket.
• Arrive early so you have plenty of time for check-in and security screening before your first session.
• Bags are strongly discouraged to speed entry. Review the prohibited items list here.
• Seating is first-come

Your Last Meal is a James Beard Award finalist for best podcast hosted by Rachel Belle. Each episode, Belle asks a luminary what they would choose to eat for their last meal. Then she consults experts from around the world to uncover the history, science and culture of these dishes. This special live edition features a conversation with Washington State Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.

LISTEN TO YOUR LAST MEAL

Radiolab is on a curiosity bender. The show asks deep questions and uses investigative journalism to get the answers. A given episode might whirl you through science, legal history and into the home of someone halfway across the world. This special edition features a live conversation with Rebecca Lemov, historian of science at Harvard University, about the history of brainwashing and its troubling implications for today. 

LISTEN TO RADIOLAB

• Lunch is from 12:15 pm - 1:00 pm.
• There will be two delicious food trucks (Dumpling Tzar & Thai-u-up) parked on Seventh Avenue between Westlake and Lenora from 12:00 pm - 8:00 pm.
• Please bring your own reusable water bottle to fill at the fountains in the venue.
• There will be a snack station with coffee in the morning only and complimentary grab & go snack foods near the session rooms.

If you have a burning question that you want to ask the luminaries on stage or just want to shake a hand and say hello, some of our speakers and moderators will stop by the Q&A Corner after each session.

When every session ends, debrief with your fellow festivalgoers at the After Show Meetups outside the Mainstage on floor 5. Share your thoughts on the conversations you just heard and make community with attendees.  

Cynthia Brothers is the founder of Vanishing Seattle, a movement that documents and celebrates the disappearing institutions, businesses and cultures that “give the city its soul.” Launched on social media in 2016, the project has since blossomed into an award-winning body of work. Brothers discusses the places that have made her hometown what it is and once was – and why these places matter.    

Ryan Knutson, host of The Journal, speaks with travel guru and author, Rick Steves, about traveling in 2025, and his experience with American’s reception out of country after recent shakeup in the world order. Also, the history of democracy and fascism in Europe and what it portends in today’s political landscape.

From battles over campus protests to cutting federal funds for universities to restricted press access at White House events, the debaters consider what the First Amendment means in the Trump 2.0 presidency. Nick Gillespie moderates a conversation with civil liberties advocate Nadine Strossen, constitutional lawyer and author Glenn Greenwald, and political commentator Brandi Kruse.

LISTEN TO OPEN TO DEBATE

Community power-building in Washington state led to the election of the most racially diverse group of legislators, state senators and U.S. Congressional representatives in its history. Further gains were made at the local level, from school boards to public utility districts. Hear how one community in the Yakima Valley did it, from Empowering Latina Leadership and Action (ELLA), an organization that trains Latinas, Mexicanas and Chicanas for public office. 

Presented by Inatai Foundation

Mindie Lind is a local writer, musician and director who’s working on an animated feature film about being a person born without legs who doesn’t want to be seen as “inspirational.” A longtime Seattle resident, she’s keenly aware of the disconnects between narrative and reality when it comes to accessibility and ableism here – including our music venues and the new, prized Waterfront Park.   

Cory Doctorow, author and technologist, coined the term “enshittification” to describe why apps and services like X, Facebook and Uber are more expensive, harder to use and worse for us, the users, even as they've also gotten worse for advertisers, sellers, publishers, drivers and other businesses. We'll explore why Doctorow posits Trump’s tariffs could fight “enshittification” and make the internet more consumer-friendly. 

LISTEN TO ON THE MEDIA

Mike Pesca, host of The Gist, interviews CNN Anchor Jake Tapper and Axios National Political Correspondent Alex Thompson about their new book, Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. They discuss if this was more a coverup or a combination of wishful thinking and herd-mentality. Also discussed: How the press will learn from their mistake, if the press acknowledges it was a mistake and if legacy media can re-earn credibility.

LISTEN TO THE GIST

Kiesha B. Free is a speaker, comedian, former business and culture leader at Microsoft and the founder of Hey, Black Seattle!, an online resource and movement to help connect and nurture the Black community in the Seattle area. The effort grew, in part, out of a frustration with the (very wrong) notion that “there are no Black people in Seattle,” and aims to combat the very real strain of isolation. 

Criminal is an award-winning podcast about people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle. In 2009, Amanda Knox was convicted in an Italian court for the murder of her roommate. Five years later, she was acquitted — and began the process of figuring out what came next. Criminal host Phoebe Judge sits down with Amanda Knox for a conversation about how to restart life when everyone has an opinion about you, and the unlikely relationship she’s formed with the man who prosecuted her case.

LISTEN TO CRIMINAL

You’ve been overwhelmed with headlines all week. What’s worth a closer look? On CNN Audio’s One Thing, host David Rind talks to experts, reporters on the front lines and the real people impacted by the news about what they’ve learned — and why it matters. This special edition features a frank conversation with Jeff Flake — former Arizona Senator, former ambassador to the Republic of Türkiye and director of the Institute of Politics, ASU — about diplomacy in a second Trump administration, the MAGA takeover of the Republican Party and the future of conservatism in America. 

LISTEN TO ONE THING

Enjoy a refreshment at one of the bars on both floors, and a bite to eat at the food trucks out front. We take a quick break before the keynote session to reset and get ready to end the day with the big show. 

Lex Vaughn is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Needling, a satirical news site in the style of The Onion that dubs itself “Seattle’s only real fake news.” A Pulitzer Prize-winning former Seattle Times reporter, Vaughn is deeply familiar with the tropes of the news as well as enduring Seattle stereotypes. The site leverages both, providing much-needed comic relief in these trying times.  

What a Day host Jane Coaston talks with former Minnesota Senator, comedian and author Al Franken about public policy and political comedy. There’s a lot to talk about, and Franken doesn’t sugarcoat any of it. 

LISTEN TO WHAT A DAY