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Adults are constantly influencing the kids around them, whether it's as parents, teachers or mentors. For better and for worse, key adults can shape the trajectory of children and inspire their path as those children grow up. Tacoma native Tim Olsen found a mentor in local guitar maker and musician Harvey Thomas. Fifty years later, Olsen still reflects on his old role model with a wry smile. "He was a true eccentric, through and through," says Olsen. Thomas is mostly famous for making wacky

The world of children’s books is lily white. The vast majority of people writing kids’ books are white and their characters are usually white, too. There are more animals and trucks that appear as characters in kids books than there are African-American characters. But we don’t live in a lily-white world and many of us aren’t white. So what’s at stake when minority kids see limited versions of people who look like themselves? And when they do see minority characters, those characters are often

The early cancelation of federal grants for sexual health education has raised protests from King County officials. Public Health Seattle & King County was supposed to receive $5 million over five years. But earlier this summer, the Trump administration said the program would end after three years.

This week, stories of food and the people who love to make it. One More Round In Ethiopian culture, drinking coffee is an extremely social affair. It's all about relaxing with friends and family. Seattle native Solomon Dubie wants to bring that to his Rainier Valley coffee shop, Cafe Avole . He gives us a taste of what it's like to drink from the traditional Ethiopian coffee pot, the jebena . Dinner In The Dark There’s a saying among chefs that “you eat first with your eyes.” KNKX’s Ed Ronco and

This story originally aired May 6, 2017. Solomon Dubie is the 29-year-old founder of Cafe Avole, a cozy little coffee shop in Rainier Valley. It’s one of the only places in Seattle you can get Ethiopian coffee brewed the traditional way — in a jebena. It's basically a clay pot with a long neck and short spout. Solomon was born and raised in Seattle, but his family is from Ethiopia — where the coffee plant was first discovered. They take coffee seriously. But it’s not just about the taste; it’s a

This story originally aired May 28, 2016. This week on Sound Effect our theme is “Out of the Darkness,” but KPLU’s Ed Ronco and Ariel Van Cleave found that going into the darkness can shed a lot of light on the world around you, and even your own personality. The Blind Café is a pop-up event that travels the country, offering guests the chance to have dinner in the dark. Not candlelight. Not a dimly lit room. We’re talking total, 100 percent, pitch black. The idea, organizers say, is to

This story originally aired February 4, 2017. At age 13, Kristi Brown knew she would be a chef, but she remembers planning multi-course meals by the time she was 5. "I'm a big believer in working on your purpose," she says, "That really is the only answer that you have if you want to be happy."

This story originally aired April 8, 2017. Edwin Martinez runs Onyx Coffee in Bellingham, Washington. The shop is a bit unusual. Martinez calls it "a mad scientist lab" for studying human behavior with coffee. He sells just coffee and nothing else, not even cream. The coffee comes straight from his family’s farm in the mountains of northwest Guatemala. "So if you love coffee, you are just in seventh heaven." said Martinez. "But if you aren't here for the coffee, this is the most disappointing

This show originally aired on March 4, 2017. This week on Sound Effect , stories of what happens when things get messy, for better and for worse. Fun With Slime In the 1990s and early 2000s, kids television channel Nickelodeon became popular for dumping bright green slime on everyone and anyone. Lizzie Neilson had the opportunity to get slimed as a kid and lived to tell the tale. The Writing On The Wall Everett mom Cheryl Pyles has always hoped she could communicate with her non-verbal and

This segment originally aired March 4, 2017. Seated in a bucket, ears plugged, grinning through the cascade of green, oozy chaos, fourth-grade Lizzie Nielson lived a Nickelodeon fan’s dream. “I have all the paperwork in order to suggest that I was slimed,” says Nielson. She does, in both photographic and certificate form, lest anyone doubt this point of pride. The children's television network Nickelodeon is famous for sliming everyone, from kids to celebrities, with a waterfall of thick, green,