Literary Notes

Historian Jennifer Ott joins us to chat about Seattle's drastic 19th century transformation that she writes about in Waterway: The Story of Seattle's Locks and Ship Canal. WTBBL volunteer Martha Baskin conducts an in-depth interview with Ott about the engineering, planning, and immigrant labor that went into connecting the bodies of water within and around the city.

The Sound of Seattle: 101 Songs That Shaped a City is a look into the rich, storied history of the Pacific Northwest's music scene. It was written by musician and KEXP DJ Eva Walker along with writer Jacob Uitti. They sit down with WTBBL volunteer John Gahagan to discuss music in the Northwest, the history of KEXP, and more.

Jessica Gigot is a poet, writer, and farmer who spends most of her days on her sheep farm in the Skagit Valley. She wrote about her experiences with farm life in her memoir A Little Bit of Land. WTBBL volunteer Ren Caldwell sits down to speak with her about writing the memoir, Skagit Valley food tours, and bookstores owned by writers.

Writer, filmmaker, and King County Metro bus driver Nathan Vass has collected stories about the riders he meets along bus routs 7 and 49 in his book The Lines That Make Us: Stories From Nathan's Bus. He chats with WTBBL volunteer Chris Snee about the book, how the bus experience has changed over his career, and optimism during trying times.

Poet, novelist, screenwriter, and translator E.J. Koh reunites with her former roommate and current WTBBL volunteer Yoon Park to discuss her memoir, The Magical Language of Others, and her novel The Liberators. They talk about Koh's writing process, Korean mothers, and Koh returns some money she owed Park from back in the day.

Disability advocate Anna Zivarts has a conversation with WTBBL volunteer Betsy Haddox about her book When Driving is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency. They discuss how mobility can improve for all sorts of populations, the disability activism of years past, their favorite Seattle bus lines, and much more.

Musician, record producer, and neuroscientist Daniel Levitin dropped by our studios back in 2008 to talk about his book The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature. Library volunteer Dave Watson conducted the interview.

Disabilty activist, community organizer, and writer Syren Nagakyrie visits the WTBBL studios to discuss their book, The Disabled Hiker's Guide to Western Washington and Oregon. It features 46 outdoor adventures around the Puget Sound accessible to all sorts of folks. Nagakyrie and WTBBL volunteer Rachel Glass discuss the selections of trails, the benefits of outdoor activity, and spoons.

Writer and historian Paula Becker sits down with WTBBL volunteer Courtney Hudak to talk about two books about grief. A House on Stilts: Mothering in the Age of Opioid Addiction and A Little Book of Self-Care for Those Who Grieve are honest, deeply personal looks at her experiences with the loss of her son.

Author and educator Lauren J.A. Bear comes by the studios of Washington Talking Book & Braille Library to discuss her first novel, Medusa's sisters. She sits down with library volunteer Rachel Glass to talk about adding her own spin to a centuries-old literary tradition.

Washington Talking Book & Braille Library volunteer Rick Sipe sits down with urban planner Tom J. Phillips to talk about his work in developing High Point, a thriving, diverse community in West Seattle. They discuss Phillip's book about the process, called High Point: The Inside Story of Seattle’s First Green Mixed-Income Neighborhood.

Micho Kaku visited the studios of the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library in June 2008 to talk about his book "Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel." Library volunteer Jeff Cavanaugh conducted the interview.

Washington Talking Book & Braille Library volunteer Rachel Glass interviews journalist Blaine Harden about his book Murder at the Mission: A Frontier Killing, Its Legacy of Lies, and the Taking of the American West.

Washington Talking Book & Braille Library volunteer Bob Carlson interviews Seattle sportscasting legend Mike Gastineau about his book Fear No Man: Don James, the '91 Huskies, and the Seven-Year Quest for a National Football Championship.