Meet Me Here

Xian Zhang says she never wanted to be a conductor. Instead, she says, “conducting chose me.” 

Zhang is in her first season as Seattle Symphony’s music director. On this episode of “Meet Me Here,” she explains how her conducting teacher threw her into deep waters as a 20-year-old conservatory student in Beijing. 

She also shares how she gets ready for conducting (“I prepare 300% mentally”), and advice for anyone who hasn’t experienced a symphony performance at Benaroya Hall. 

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Environmental author Terry Tempest Williams captures not just the physical beauty of the natural world but she also invites the reader to deepen their spiritual understanding and connection with the environment.

In her new book The Glorians, Visitations from the Holy Ordinary, Terry seeks to understand the obscure meaning of moments in her life. From the personal to the universal. A way to reveal the joy in being present. 

Sign up for the next talk in our Book Talks series in partnership with the Seattle Public Library at kuow.org/events. And sign up for the KUOW Book Club newsletter at kuow.org/books.

Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet Me Here listeners, if you still don't have any plans for this weekend, fear not. The Weekend Warmup is here to help with a whole bunch of ideas for fun things to do around the region this weekend.

HOST: Soundside producer Jason Megatron Burrows

LINKS: 

• Norwescon
• Sakura-Con
• Seattle's Easter Swing
• Women Made Film Festival in Everett, WA
• The Stranger Presents: The 2026 Undisputable Champions of Comedy!
• 93rd Annual Daffodil Festival Grand Floral Parade
• Seattle Torrent vs NY Sirens at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet 

Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week hosts Katie Campbell, Dyer Oxley, and Jeannie Yandel discuss which music festivals in Seattle are worth checking out this summer. And we get recommendations from our arts friends in the region, KEXP and the Seattle Times music desk. 

Your support helps create shows like Seattle Now, Soundside, and Meet Me Here! 

Become a KUOW member today.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seattle’s punk scene in the ‘90s left a big impression on Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe. 

Bands like Bikini Kill were angry about sexual violence and oppression like she was, and they yelled about it, made music about it. But the punk scene was also very white, like a lot of the spaces around Sasha. And as a Coast Salish punk, she wanted a space to be her – all of her.  

The KUOW Book Club read Sasha’s latest book “Thunder Song” in March. KUOW’s Katie Campbell sat down with her in front of a live audience at the Seattle Central Library to talk about being a punk, reconnecting to salmon, and following in the footsteps of her iconic great grandmother, Vi taqʷšəblu Hilbert. 

Sign up for the next talk in our Book Talks series in partnership with the Seattle Public Library at kuow.org/events. And sign up for the KUOW Book Club newsletter at kuow.org/books.

Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet Me Here listeners, if you still don't have any plans for this weekend, fear not. The Weekend Warmup is here to help with a whole bunch of ideas for fun things to do around the region this weekend.

HOST: Soundside producer Jason Megatron Burrows

LINKS: 

• Mariners Opening Weekend
• Puck Place Market 2026
• Seattle Torrent vs Ottawa Charge
• Onda Origins Coffee/Seattle Torrent
• Rain Country Dance Association - 2026 Emerald City Hoedown
• Seattle No Kings- March 28
• Celebrate the new Crosslake Connection! | Sound Transit
• Stand By Me: The Film and Its Stars 40 Years Later
• Bellingham Children’s Film Festival
• Spring Salon Fundraiser 2026 - Key to Change
• Moving Stories – TDOV

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet 

Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you cringe when your favorite novel is adapted for the big screen? Or are you first in line for tickets? 

This week, "Project Hail Mary" kicks off our books vs. movies debate: How do you know when the movie will be better? Which titles should have never hit the screen, and which should have just been movies in the first place?

Send us your hot take! Email us at [email protected]. 

Your support helps create shows like Seattle Now, Soundside, and Meet Me Here!
Become a KUOW member today

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet Me Here listeners, if you still don't have any plans for this weekend, fear not. The Weekend Warmup is here to help with a whole bunch of ideas for fun things to do around the region this weekend.

HOST: Soundside producer Jason Megatron Burrows

LINKS:  

• Taste of Iceland Seattle 2026 | A Festival of Food, Music & Culture
• Plate of Nations
• BrainFest with Allen Institute - Pacific Science Center
• Steamy in Seattle 2026 - Clarion West
• Torrent vs Boston
• U-District NIGHT BLOSSOM Festival
• Columbia City Night Market | Go All Night!
• Bands Stand With Gaza - The Vera Project
• Band of Horses at the Showbox
• Seattle's French Fest
• PROJECT HAIL MARY - Jason says GO SEE IT!

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet 

Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Western Washington is dotted with towns and neighborhoods that, once a month, transform their streetscapes into galleries. Seattle claims the oldest and longest-running art walk in the U.S., and this episode of Meet Me Here is your virtual guide to art walks in Bellingham, Capitol Hill and Pioneer Square.

We reprise our 2025 conversation with artist Tommy Gregory, and we tag along with our producer Kyle Norris.

Art walks featured in this episode: 

• First Thursday Art Walk In Pioneer Square
• Capitol Hill Art Walk
• Bellingham First Friday Art Walk 

Seattle art walks:

• Ballard Art Walk, 2nd Saturday
• Belltown Art Walk, 2nd Friday
• Central District Art Walk, First Friday
• Columbia City Art Walk, Last Thursday
• Downtown Art Walk, 4th Friday
• Fremont Art Walk, First Friday 
• Georgetown’s ART ATTACK 2nd Saturday
• Lake City Community Art Walk, 3rd Thursday
• PhinneyWood Art Walk, Aug 14-15, 2026  
• U District Art Walk, 3rd Friday
• Uptown Art Walk, 3rd Thursdays
• West Seattle Art Walk, 2nd Thursday 
  
  

Washington art walks:

• Edmonds Third Thursday
• Art Walk
• Olympia Art Walk, April 25-26, 2026
• Tacoma Third Thursday Art Walk 
• Bainbridge Island First Friday Art Walk
• First Friday in Spokane
• Rat City Art Walk in White Center, 3rd Thursday
• Langley First Saturday Art Walk
• Art Walk Sequim, 1st Friday
• Port Townsend Art Walk, 1st Saturday
• Anacortes Art Walk, First Friday
• Everett Art Walk, 3rd Thursday

Places mentioned in this episode:

Bellingham:

• Allied Arts of Whatcom County
• Whatcom Museum
• Children of the Setting Suns Productions 

Pioneer Square: 

• Stonington Gallery 
• ArtX Contemporary
• Collins Pub
• The Meyer
• Pilchuck Glass School Seattle Office
• SOIL Art Gallery
• 4Culture 

Capitol Hill:

• Steve Gilbert Studio 
• The Factory
• Vermillion Art Gallery & Bar 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet Me Here listeners, if you still don't have any plans for this weekend, fear not. The Weekend Warmup is here to help with a whole bunch of ideas for fun things to do around the region this weekend.

HOST: Soundside producer Jason Megatron Burrows

LINKS: 

• Pi Day Dash
• Pi Day Community Math Festival
• Kat Robichaud’s Misfit Cabaret “Circus” | The Triple Door
• Quilters Anonymous - Quilt Show
• Seattle Golf Show
• Wings Over Water | Northwest Birding Festival
• Firebird | March 13 -22, 2026 | Pacific Northwest Ballet
• St Patrick’s Day Parade
• Irish Festival Seattle
• Emerald City Irish Film Festival
• Mariners 50: Community & Baseball (MoPop)

Also, let us know - where do you fall in the Quilters vs Golfers venn diagram? AND where is your favorite pie in the region?

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet 

Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.