Northwest Reports Live: A look (and a laugh) at Seattle’s identity

At the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival, four local changemakers take the stage to share their thoughts on the city’s evolving self-image.

Sara Bernard

Sara Bernard Jul 16, 2025

Jun 25, 2025

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            <header>
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                <h1>Northwest Reports Live: A look (and a laugh) at Seattle’s identity</h1>
                <h2><p>At the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival, four local changemakers take the stage to share their thoughts on the city’s evolving self-image.</p></h2>
              </hgroup>
               <p>By <a href="/author/sara-bernard/">Sara Bernard</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Jun 25, 2025</time></p>
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            <p>Anyone who’s lived in Seattle for a few years will likely agree: This city is changing – fast. As the city grows, the cost of living skyrockets and beloved businesses disappear, it can be tough to put a finger on what Cynthia Brothers of <a href="https://www.vanishingseattle.org/?ref=cascadepbs.org" rel="noreferrer noopener"><u>Vanishing Seattle</u></a> calls the city’s “soul.”&nbsp;</p><p>For this season of <em>Northwest Reports</em>, co-hosts Maleeha Syed and Sara Bernard got on stage at the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival to have conversations about the city’s ever-changing identity with four influential Seattleites.&nbsp;</p><p>The guests in this series – Cynthia Brothers, Mindie Lind, Kiesha B. Free and Lex Vaughn – have all launched intriguing creative projects and used their platforms to cultivate community here. In these conversations, they share their lived experiences in Seattle, offer refreshing insight and interrogate dominant narratives about the city.&nbsp;</p><p></p>
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<iframe title="Northwest Reports Live: Lex Vaughn" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=8yqpn-18e7a63-pb&from=pb6admin&pbad=0&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=1&font-color=&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=7" loading="lazy"></iframe>
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<p>These conversations were recorded on May 31, 2025. Listen here or follow <em>Northwest Reports </em>wherever you get your podcasts. &nbsp;</p>
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Anyone who’s lived in Seattle for a few years will likely agree: This city is changing – fast. As the city grows, the cost of living skyrockets and beloved businesses disappear, it can be tough to put a finger on what Cynthia Brothers of Vanishing Seattle calls the city’s “soul.”

For this season of Northwest Reports, co-hosts Maleeha Syed and Sara Bernard got on stage at the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival to have conversations about the city’s ever-changing identity with four influential Seattleites.

The guests in this series – Cynthia Brothers, Mindie Lind, Kiesha B. Free and Lex Vaughn – have all launched intriguing creative projects and used their platforms to cultivate community here. In these conversations, they share their lived experiences in Seattle, offer refreshing insight and interrogate dominant narratives about the city.

These conversations were recorded on May 31, 2025. Listen here or follow Northwest Reports wherever you get your podcasts.

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By Sara Bernard

Sara Bernard is a senior podcast producer and host of Northwest Reports at Cascade PBS. She also produces Mossback and Your Last Meal. She was previously the host/producer of This Changes Everything.