KEXP DJ, Kevin Sur, hosts a closing capstone where attendees can mix, mingle, debrief and decompress from a day that will surely leave us all with a lot to talk about. Enjoy libations and gyrations (if you're so inclined) —and stick around for prize drawings throughout the evening.
Laverne Cox is an Emmy-winning actress, producer, LGBTQ+ advocate, and author, best known for her role as Sophia Burset on Orange Is the New Black, which made her the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. Born in Mobile, Alabama, she studied at the Alabama School
Nancy Pelosi served as the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives, having made history in 2007 when she was elected the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House. She made history again in January 2019 when she regained her position second-in-line to the presidency – the
Ibram X. Kendi is the Carter G. Woodson Endowed Chair in History at Howard University, and the director of HU’s Institute for Advanced Study. He is the National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America and the international bestseller,
Monica Lewinsky is an activist, writer, producer, and public speaker focused on public shaming, cyberbullying, and resilience. She hosts Reclaiming, named one of Rolling Stone’s “Top 10 New Podcasts of 2025” and among The Guardian’s best of 2025. Her producing credits include Impeachment: American Crime Story, 15 Minutes
Tonya Mosley is an award-winning journalist and co-host of NPR’s Fresh Air, where she brings curiosity and depth to conversations that illuminate the human experience. She previously co-hosted NPR’s Here & Now, guiding listeners through some of the most consequential events of our time - from
A native of Kent, WA, Kenny Mayne’s first television work was for KLVX, the PBS affiliate in Las Vegas, where Mayne graduated from UNLV. He signed a free agent contract with the Seahawks but failed the physical (see his foundation runfreely.org). Mayne joined KSTW-TV (Seattle-Tacoma) and
Robby Hoffman is an Emmy-winning writer, Emmy-nominated actor, and comedian whose work spans stand-up, television, and podcasting. In 2025, she was named one of Variety's "10 Comics to Watch" and her debut Netflix stand-up special, Robby Hoffman: WAKE UP, directed by John
Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Princeton University and author of New York Times bestselling Begin Again and Democracy in Black.
America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation's Anniversaries
The New York Times bestselling author of Begin Again confronts
U.S. Senator Adam Schiff was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2024, after two decades of service in the House of Representatives. He serves on the Agriculture, Judiciary, Small Business and Environment and Public Works Committees, and is a member of the Senate National Security Working Group.
Nick Zentner is is best known for covering the geology of the Northwestern United States and his series Nick on the Rocks. He is an American academic who works as a geology professor at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington.
Patricia Murphy is the host of Seattle Now, a daily news podcast on KUOW. Her interviews focus on experts and newsmakers. Previously, you could find Patricia on the beat reporting on military and veteran affairs, justice, and health.
Hanna Rosin is a journalist and podcast host, currently of Radio Atlantic — the flagship podcast of The Atlantic. Recently, she co-hosted We Live Here Now, a narrative audio series from The Atlantic. Previously, she was the editorial director of audio at New York magazine. She began her audio career
Tyler Foggatt is a senior editor at The New Yorker and a host of the magazine’s flagship politics podcast, The Political Scene. She joined the staff in 2017 and previously served as an editor of the Talk of the Town section. She has written on a range of subjects,
Danielle Pletka is a distinguished senior fellow in Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where she focuses on US foreign policy, the Middle East, and terrorism. Until January 2020, Ms. Pletka was the senior vice president of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at AEI. She
Kevin Sur is the founder of Artist Home who are the creators of Timber! Outdoor Music Festival, Doe Bay Fest, CHOMP! and producers of events in the Puget Sound. He is also a DJ at KEXP, producing its Indigenous centered program, Sounds of Survivance. Sounds of Survivance is a radio
Paris Jackson is a regional Emmy-Award winning journalist and host of The Newsfeed on Cascade PBS. The weekly show covers politics, arts, and culture, and features sit-down conversations with elected leaders in Western Washington. She also hosted the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival podcast. Previously, she worked as an
David Rind is a reporter and producer for CNN Podcasts based in New York City. He hosts CNN's "One Thing," where he highlights the best of CNN reporting each week through intimate conversations with fellow CNN correspondents and reporters. He was also nominated for two 2024
Girmay Zahilay is the seventh elected King County Executive. He oversees one of the largest local governments in the country, leading more than 18,000 employees who provide services to 2.3 million residents. As the first immigrant, first refugee, and first millennial to hold the role of King County
Rebecca Nagle is an award winning journalist and citizen of Cherokee Nation. Nagle’s debut book, By The Fire We Carry: the Generations-long Fight for Justice on Native Land, was an instant national bestseller, a New Yorker Book of the Year and won the J. Anthony Lukas Prize and
Laura Gibson is an internationally acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, producer and writer NPR calls “a boundlessly wise and warm interrogator”. As philosophical as she is open-hearted, with a love of traditional folk music and a bent toward experimentation, she has performed on four continents and had the distinct
Daisy Hernández is the author of Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth, which Booklist in a starred review calls “an essential book for these contentious times.” She is also the author of The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation’s Neglect of a
ESPN icon Kenny Mayne on Seattle's NBA dream and a media industry he barely recognizes anymore—where algorithms and hot takes have replaced storytelling. Characteristically sharp, sardonic, and unfiltered.
Molly Webster is the senior correspondent at Radiolab. After completing a degree in biology, Molly pursued science journalism, writing for outlets such as Scientific American and National Geographic Adventure. Her ability to comprehend and totally immerse herself in complicated issues has helped Radiolab investigate international surrogacy, the price of a
Gene Tagaban, “One Crazy Raven,” is a storyteller, speaker, mentor, teacher and counselor of the spirit. He is Cherokee, Tlingit and Filipino, and of the Takdeintaan clan, the Raven, Freshwater Sockeye clan from Hoonah, Alaska. A teller of stories that teach, entertain, and heal, Tagaban travels internationally, sharing his music,
One of America’s foremost voices on Russia-U.S. relations, covering national security, foreign relations, and domestic politics from Washington and Europe. National Book Award Finalist for “MOTHERLAND: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, From Revolution to Autocracy”; Founding Partner at Puck.
In Motherland, Ioffe turns modern Russian history
Kendi discusses Chain of Ideas, his new history of how "great replacement theory" became the engine of our authoritarian age. He argues that fear of being replaced—racially, culturally, electorally—is what powers strongmen worldwide, and that naming the playbook is a first step toward defeating it.
Cascade PBS’s Knute Berger and Nick Zentner explore how geology and history have shaped the Pacific Northwest—from ancient floods, earthquakes, and eruptions to the region’s enduring mysteries. What remains unknown, and what can we expect from the future?
Renowned foreign policy voices Danielle Pletka and Julia Ioffe offer competing vision on the Iran war, other global hotspots, and the world order under President Trump. They discuss of U.S. foreign policy, the war’s impact on U.S.-Russia relations, and much more.
Steve Phillips is a national political leader, bestselling author, and columnist. He is the author of The New York Times bestseller Brown Is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority; national bestseller How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending
Tonya Mosley speaks with Eddie S. Glaude Jr. about race, democracy, and the moral tensions shaping America. They examine history's echoes in today's politics, and how honest storytelling can illuminate injustice while opening paths toward accountability and renewal.
Hozoji is a Puyallup Tribal member and has been writing and performing music since 1997. She currently plays in the bands Helms Alee, Lozen, Tacos!, and Uukwuuk. She has worked with her Tribe's shellfish department since 2010m, and is finishing up a degree in Environmental Sustainability through the
Laura Gibson is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music blends literary folk with experimental instincts. Her most recent album Goners is a meditation on grief and empathy—both raw and incessantly beautiful, tracing the tension between longing and instinct.
Senator Adam Schiff on Iran, AI, and the DOJ's drift toward political weaponization. He warns of efforts to suppress voters in 2026 and what it will take for Democrats to defend America's democratic institutions.
Robby Hoffman on growing up Hasidic, leaving it all behind, and building a comedy career from queer identity and outsider life. From her Netflix special to her Emmy-nominated turn on Hacks—bracingly honest about belonging and why the best jokes still sting.
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay on his first months in office—blocking ICE from county property, tackling homelessness and addiction, restructuring county government for accountability, and what it takes to lead in an era of upheaval and uncertainty.
Rebecca Nagle and Daisy Hernandez examine how citizenship has been granted, denied, and weaponized—and how both the Cherokee and Mexican American experience reveal the contradictions at the heart of who this country says belongs here.
Nancy Pelosi speaks with Hanna Rosin about power, leadership, and women in politics. Reflecting on decades in public life, she offers insight into governing in a polarized era and the challenges shaping America's democratic future.
The moderator of Open to Debate since 2008, John Donvan is an author and veteran network news correspondent who has reported for ABC News, CNN and PBS. He served as ABC’s White House Correspondent, and held multi-year postings in Moscow, London, Jerusalem, and Amman. John's book,
Brangien Davis is the arts and culture editor-at-large for Cascade PBS, where she hosts and writes the NW Emmy-nominated television series Art by Northwest. She also writes the organization's weekly arts and culture newsletter, going on eight years strong. In Seattle, she's written
From traditional sounds to contemporary voices reshaping the Pacific Northwest scene, this conversation traces how Native artists are reclaiming, reimagining, and amplifying their cultural voices in unexpected ways — with a preview of the 'Khu.éex': Magic of Noise' film.
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein on dark matter, the nature of the universe, and who gets to ask the biggest questions in science. She challenges assumptions about objectivity and identity—making the case that who does science shapes the science we get.
Monica Lewinsky and Laverne Cox on identity, resilience, and reclaiming their own narratives. They reflect on public scrutiny, the evolution of media, and how to challenge stigmas and build empathy in a polarized world.
Grab a speaker's book at Elliott Bay Book Company, get a personalized poem written, screen print a tote with the Vera Project, fill your belly at a food truck, enjoy food and drink specials at Fremont Social, and caffeinate at the Lighthouse coffee booth.
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is an associate professor of physics and astronomy and core faculty in women’s and gender studies at the University of New Hampshire. She conducts award-winning theoretical physics research on dark matter, the early universe, and neutron stars, while also researching Black feminist science studies. Her
The Cascade PBS Ideas Festival is a full-day exploration of bold ideas. Hosted in Seattle's historic Fremont neighborhood, the event brings together live podcast recordings and television tapings from major media outlets across the country, regional artists, makers, and musicians. Thousands of attendees and viewers have enjoyed hundreds of engaging sessions featuring thought-leaders, politicians, authors, and iconic figures. Now in its ninth year, the festival has become a can't-miss annual event in the region.
Podcasts & Television
Each year, celebrated voices in podcasting and media make their way to Seattle to record live at the festival — including productions from The Atlantic, The New Yorker, NPR, PBS, CNN, Vox, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Pushkin, Spotify, and beyond. The festival has welcomed 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.
The Cascade PBS Ideas Festival has hosted hundreds of speakers such as Dr. Jane Goodall, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Malcolm Gladwell, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Macklemore, Judy Woodruff, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Sen. Jeff Flake, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Monica Lewinsky, Robby Hoffman, Ross Douthat, Eddie Glaude Jr., Matt Damon, Jamelle Bouie, Sen. Chris Murphy, Laverne Cox, Sen. Adam Schiff, Sen. Jon Tester, Jake Tapper, Sen. Al Franken, Rick Wilson, Tonya Mosley, Attorney General Eric Holder, Michael Barbaro, Carl Bernstein, Ezra Klein, Amanda Knox, Rep. Will Hurd, Oren Cass, Dahlia Lithwick, Heather Cox Richardson, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Andrew Yang, Michael Cohen, Governor Jay Inslee, and EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman.
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 with the speakers, one-on-one after each session. Community Meetups invite guests to connect and share their thoughts with fellow attendees. Food trucks, interactive installations, local craft makers, live music, a happy hour, and a live DJ round out the experience.
