Town Hall Seattle Science Series

We all do it, but we hardly ever talk about it. After all, human feces isn't exactly a popular topic of discussion. We'd simply like to flush it and forget about it. Researchers, however, want to change all that. That's because our body's natural byproduct may be the key to solving some of today's biggest problems. Local, award-winning journalist and microbiologist Bryn Nelson, Ph. D., is determin...

How did we become so deeply divided? In 2019, hate crimes reached a ten-year high in the United States. In 2020, 40% of each political party deemed supporters of the opposing party "downright evil." In addition to division across political lines, rampant discord is likewise rooted in other hot-button issues like race, religion, gender, and class. Despite one in five Americans suffering from chroni...

Building Policy Update: As of June 1, 2022, masks remain required at Town Hall Seattle. Read our current COVID-19 policies and in-building safety protocols. Thu 7/14, 2022, 7:30pm Blaise Agüera y Arcas and Melanie Mitchell with Lili Cheng How Close Are We to AI? BUY THE BOOKS   Ubi Sunt By Blaise Agüera y Arcas   Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans By Melanie Mitchell     Artifici...

Year after year, the quality of the world's agricultural soil is degrading, which deeply impacts the quality and quantity of the food that we grow. Further, there's a clear link between the health of our soil and the health of humans. What does that mean for us? Eventually we'll face an existential crisis of the world's food supply  and  our health. Fortunately, experts are studying how to improve...

Alzheimer's is a global health problem with more than 6 million people living with the disease in the U.S. alone. Tremendous gains have been made in the understanding of the science and basic biology underlying Alzheimer's and other dementias. These advances are leading to great strides in strategies for prevention, detection, diagnostics and therapeutic interventions. The Alzheimer's Association...

From the grasslands of the Columbia Plateau to the rich valleys west of the Cascade Mountains, There are over 70,000 miles of rivers in Washington state. Rivers are vital to our region's ecosystems, hosting a wide diversity of living things in their waters and along their banks – our beautiful state would not be what it is without our waterways. How might we better understand rivers and ensure the...

There's a powerful movement happening in farming today, and it's not a movement focused on flashy technology or producing food faster or at larger scales. Instead, it's a movement that centers on farmers reconnecting with their roots, reviving their ancestors' methods of growing food, healing their communities, and ultimately fighting climate change. In her new book,  Healing Grounds , Liz Carlisl...

As the threats of climate change become more urgent than ever, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure about what to do. The problems — and their solutions — seem unwieldy and complicated. But what if we embrace the complexity of the climate crisis and create solutions that are just as intertwined as the issues? That's where intersectional environmentalism comes in. Leah Thomas, a prominent voice...

Farmers and environmentalists haven't always seen eye-to-eye about the best ways to manage agricultural landscapes, but America's farms are vital to preserving ecosystems and a stable climate. How might the two come together to unite for the common good? In  No Farms, No Food, longtime farm, fisheries, and environmental policy advocate Don Stuart took readers inside the political and policy battle...

In the 1940s, the insecticide DDT was widely used to combat insect-borne human diseases like malaria and control insects in agricultural applications, gardens, and inside homes. In the 1950s, it became evident that the pesticide was causing extensive health and environmental damage. In 1962, Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring alerted the public to the long-lasting dangers of pesticide use. And in...

The COVID-19 pandemic — one of the most disruptive events in human history — has made it more challenging than ever to feel prepared, hopeful, and equipped to face the future with optimism. How do we map out our lives when it feels impossible to predict what the world will be like next week, let alone next year or next decade? Humans aren't particularly fond of uncertainty, but what if we had the...

Humans have been stumbling upon the remains of ancient animals since prehistoric times, long before fossils were routinely dug up, named, and pieced together into "whole" prehistoric skeletons. The word  dinosaur  wasn't established until the mid-19th century – practically yesterday, considering the massive span of the geologic time scale. From bits and bones from unknown creatures emerged tales o...

The majestic bald eagle can be spotted throughout most of North America at various points during the year. Here in Western Washington, we're lucky to spot them all year-round — no doubt thanks to an abundance of tall trees for nesting and open bodies of water that provide a source of food. They are revered birds, sacred within Indigenous traditions, and associated with wisdom, bravery, and protect...

Our world constantly vibrates with sound, from the delicate flap of an insect's wings to the thunderous roar of a rocket launching into space. There's the spring chorus of frogs. The sputter of a creek and the whoosh of a sudden breeze. Songs, music, and speech. But the sounds of today aren't necessarily the same sounds that our ancestors encountered. How have sounds changed? What might be missing...

In the dense rainforest of the west coast of Vancouver Island, the Somass River (c̓uumaʕas) brings sockeye salmon (miʕaat) into the Nuu-chah-nulth community of Tseshaht. C̓uumaʕas and miʕaat are central to the sacred food practices that have been a crucial part of the Indigenous community's efforts to enact food sovereignty, decolonize their diet, and preserve their ancestral knowledge. In  A Drum...

Tuberculosis might seem like a disease of the past in the West, but globally it remains a persistent and costly threat across all age groups. According to the World Health Organization, over 1.5 million people died from TB in 2020 — could it be on track to re-emerge as the next global public health crisis? According to medical science journalist Vidya Krishnan , the disease could be mounting a "fr...

The human immune system is nothing short of remarkable: it helps our bodies ward off bacteria and viruses, heals wounds, and maintains the balance needed to keep us alive. The good news? Our immune systems are no longer threatened by the plagues and common diseases of the past. The bad news? Our bodies face an array of distinctively modern challenges; threats like fatigue, stress, and exposure to...

Is it possible for drug use to be part of a responsible, balanced, and happy life? Dr. Carl L. Hart, a prominent neuroscientist and professor of psychology at Columbia University, believes so; but he didn't always see it that way. Dr. Hart grew up in Miami at a time when drugs like crack cocaine were blamed for his city's problems. Initially, his research aimed to prove that drug use led to bad ou...

Volcanoes have long fascinated curious humans of all ages. Here in the Seattle area, our beloved Tahoma (Mount Rainier) and the four other active volcanoes in the Cascade Mountain Range are beautiful but ever-present reminders of Washington's location in the "Ring of Fire," a 25,000-mile arc of volcanic activity that follows the rim of the Pacific Ocean. Volcanoes are quite literally our neighbors...

It's no secret that human health and the health of Earth's systems — in particular, the air, water, biodiversity, and climate — are inextricably linked. It's also no secret that Earth's systems are changing in ways that can feel daunting and unwieldy. But with all great change comes great opportunity, and the emerging field of Planetary Health offers glimmers of hope rooted in actions, strategies,...

In July of 2018, Orca whale J35, also known as "Tahlequah," gave birth to a calf off the coast of British Columbia. When the calf died shortly after birth, the world grieved alongside J35 as she carried the calf for 17 days across 1,000 miles before finally releasing it and rejoining her pod. Grief that transcends species is an extraordinary thing; it sparked a revival awareness of the critical ne...

Bestselling author Neal Stephenson is known for delivering novels with poignant and incisive reflections on our present and future. He's also no stranger to the Town Hall stage and has joined us in the past to discuss his novel  Fall  and collaborative work with Nicole Galland,  The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O ., among others. Stephenson returned to the Town Hall stage to discuss his newest thriller,...

When you think of therapy in a traditional sense, what comes to mind?  Television shows, movies, and comics love to paint a stereotypical scene: a bespectacled therapist asks poignant questions and jots down notes on a legal pad; meanwhile, the patient reclines on a sofa and spills their thoughts and emotions into the void of the room. It might be easy to assume that therapy has always involved a...

On average, a person takes around 20,000 breaths each day ; yet most of us never notice the rhythmic rush of air flowing in and out, keeping our bodies oxygenated and alive. And as many asthma or respiratory distress sufferers will attest, you don't  want  to notice. But things are happening all around us that threaten our blissful ignorance of breathing — wildfire smoke, indoor and outdoor pollut...

Prebiotics and probiotics. Fecal microbiota transplants. Optimizing a diet personalized to you. These microbiome-themed topics are all around us in the media, but microbiome research remains a fairly nascent field of study and wasn't on many people's radars even 10 years ago. UCSD Professor Dr. Jack Gilbert and Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) Assistant Professor Dr. Sean Gibbons came together...