Meet Me Here

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.

Hosted by KUOW's Jason Megatron Burrows. 

LINKS:

• Olympic Opening Ceremony
• Olympic Women's Hockey @ Rough & Tumble Ballard
  • Full Watch Party Schedule
• Ear Hustle | Town Hall Seattle
• Eagle Festival | Arlington, WA
• Enumclaw Wine & Chocolate Festival
• Chocolate “Escape Room” challenge
• Washington State Gaming Expo / Anime Washington
• The Grave Plot Film Fest
• Seahawks at Patriots Super Bowl LX Game Center

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.

We made our hosts read (some of)  Infinite Jest, the thousand-page novel by David Foster Wallace that turns 30 this month, to answer the question once and for all: Do we have to read this book?

The publishing world hailed Wallace as a genius voice of his generation when Infinite Jest became a bestseller in 1996. Interest in the book has spiked many times since then: with Wallace’ death by suicide in 2008; again after accusations in 2012 that he had abused and stalked women; and again now that Infinite Jest is 30. If you want to check it out from the Seattle Public Library, you'll have to get in line. But there’s no hold time for this episode of Meet Me Here.

This episode discusses sexual assault and stalking. Please take care while listening.

Guest: KUOW producer Will James 

Book recommendations:

• Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
• Lit by Mary Karr
• On the Road by Jack Kerouac
• Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
• We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Event recommendations from this week’s episode:
Merlantis at Base Camp Studios in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood, through March 27

My Circus Valentine at the Bellingham Circus Guild, Feb. 12-14, 20 & 21

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.

Hosted by KUOW's Jason Megatron Burrows. 

LINKS:

• Washington Sportsmen's Show
• Tacoma Home + Garden Show
• Heated Rivalry Rave | Neumos
• sQuatch Fest + Galactic Fest 2026
• For Your Consideration - SIFF
• The Chronology of Water - SIFF
• Battle of the Sound: Seattle Thunderbirds vs Everett Silvertips
• Tacoma Tattoo Expo 2026
• Seattle Wedding Show
• Drag Queen Bingo - Chuck’s Hop Shop Seward Park

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.

The Seattle-area drag scene has grown into the national spotlight. Two local queens, Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme, have won the franchised competition show RuPaul’s Drag Race. Other locals have passed through the show, like Bosco, Irene the Alien, and, currently on the 18th season, Jane Don’t.

Seattle drag shows operate in a DIY, underground way, thriving off an engaged fanbase and a regional circuit of clubs. When an art form blows up on the national scene, like grunge did in the '90s, can it lose what made it special in the first place?

Diving into this question and revealing the big picture of Seattle's drag queen scene are our guests: Journalist Adam Willems with Chum News and Miss Texas 1988.

Read Adam's coverage of Seattle's drag scene here: Can Seattle drag afford to stay weird? 

Also, a visit to a live performance of Seattle's Dungeons & Drag Queens Live, featuring Kylie Mooncakes, Ma'amShe, and Irene the Alien. You haven't experienced anything like this. 

Have you gone to an event you heard about on Meet Me Here? Tell us how it went! 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.

Hosted by KUOW's Jason Megatron Burrows. 

LINKS:

• Edible Books — Shorelake Arts
• GameSymphonic with Eímear Noone | Seattle Symphony
• Pacific NW Reptile & Exotic Animal Show
• Jet City Roller Derby 20th Anniversary Season Game 1
• 5th Annual Viking Beard Competition
• Anaheim Ducks at Seattle Kraken - Fri 1/23 - 7pm
• New Jersey Devils at Seattle Kraken - Sun 1/25 - 12pm
• Seattle Torrent vs Vancouver Goldeneyes - Sun 1/25 - 3pm IN DENVER
• Seahawks NFC Championship Game - Seahawks vs LA Rams - Sun 1/25 - 3:30

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 we are hitting the books with our book bestie Spencer Ruchti, the events manager at Third Place Books. We dig through the Seattle reads that skyrocketed to the top of so many TBR lists in 2025 and... why hardcover books are the Porsche of books. Plus, we give you some tips for setting book-ish goals for reading more in 2026. 

And… if you need some help filling that book shaped void after listening to the episode, here’s Spencer and Katie’s Recommended If You Liked (RIYL):

• On the Calculations of Volume by Solvej Balle
• You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue
• Third Place Book Events
• Third Place Top 10 of 2025: https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/our-top-ten-books-2025 
• Explore the Seattle Room at the Seattle Public Library 
• KUOW Book Club https://www.kuow.org/series/books  
• Crux by Gabriel Tallent

Event recommendations from this week’s episode:
Broadview Branch 50th Anniversary Celebration, Saturday, January 24, 2026

Got a book rec? Tell us about your favorite books of 2025 or the ones you can’t wait to read in 2026 [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.

Hosted by KUOW's Jason Megatron Burrows. 

LINKS:

• SEATTLE SEAHAWKS vs San Francisco 49ers - Saturday 5pm
• Seattle Torrent vs Boston Fleet - Sun 7pm
• Seattle Kraken vs Pittsburgh Penguins - Mon 2pm
• Seattle Retro Fest
• Monster Jam | Tacoma Dome
• Fat Con
• Kidstock! 2026 | Edmonds Center for the Arts
• Follow the Yellow Brick Road: An Oz Film Festival
• 2026 Winterhop Brewfest

MLK Day Events:

• Annual Community Celebration of MLK | Seattle Colleges - Fri 1/16
• 2026 MLK Day March & Celebration on January 17 - Parkways - Sat 1/17 
• 26th Annual Expansions MLK Unity Party and Live Broadcast - Sun 1/18
• MLK Celebration 2026 - Bainbridge Island Museum of Art - Sunday 1/18
• Events | SCBHC - Everett, WA Sun 1/18 - Celebration + Mon 1/19 - March & Rally
• MLK Day — Seattle MLK Jr Organizing Coalition - Mon 1/19
• NAAM | Annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration 2026 - Mon 1/19

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.

February is blah season. The weather is cold and wet and the fun of the holiday season is long gone. But never fear! Meet Me Here hosts Katie Campbell, Jeannie Yandel, and Dyer Oxley are here with their top picks for February arts and culture events to get us through. Their recommendations include: 

A surrealist blues poet known for her breathtaking Tiny Desk Concert. An anime convention featuring some of the hottest voice actors of our time. And a modern opera about a gay love story set in the McCarthy era. 

• Anime Washington - Washington State Fair and Events Center, Feb 6-8
• KUOW Book Talks with Author Coll Thrush - Seattle Public Library - Central Library, Feb 26
• Camille Trautman Exhibit - The Frye Museum, through April 12
• Death Stranding: Strands of Harmony - Paramount Theatre, Feb 4 
• Elden Ring: Symphonic Adventure w/Seattle Symphony - Benaroya Hall, Feb 25 & 26
• Aja Monet w/Seattle Arts & Lectures - Town Hall Seattle, Feb 5
• Fellow Travelers w/Seattle Opera - McCaw Hall, Feb 21- March 1 
• Thomas Mallon w/Katie Campbell - The Wyncote NW Forum at Town Hall Seattle, Feb 20

Bonus links:

Voice over artist May Hong

Voice over artist Jen Taylor

Aja Monet’s Tiny Desk Concert

Have you gone to an event you heard about on Meet Me Here? Tell us how it went! 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.

Hosted by KUOW's Jason Megatron Burrows. 

LINKS: 

• 2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour - Northwest Film Forum
• David Horsey | Elliott Bay Book Company
• OrcaCon Tabletop Games Convention 
• Seattle Travel and Adventure Show
• Great Train Show 2026 - Ridgefield, WA
• Seattle Bach Festival
• Jules Maes Saloon - Prohibition Party
• Seattle Torrent vs Minnesota Frost
  • Official Watch Party at Rough & Tumble Ballard

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.

Superhero movies are important reflections of our cultural moment. In 2026 we have some big hitters coming from Marvel and DC, and a potential power shift in super cinematic glory. Local film reviewer Tim Hall walks us through DC’s renewal, previews the big movie Marvel is saving for the holidays, and gives a sneak peek at the streaming show you won’t want to miss–even if you think you don’t like comic books.

Where’s your favorite place to meet up around arts and culture in the region? Drop us a line at [email protected]. 

Got an arts idea you want to pitch KUOW? 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.