This week on Sound Effect , we bring you stories of TMI, as in too much information. The Jeopardy Champ Seattle resident Ken Jennings won 74 times in a row on the popular trivia show "Jeopardy!" and is the the second highest earner in game show history with a total of more than $3.1 million. He explains how he keeps all that information in his brain. The Home of The Cloud Quincy, Washington is home to seven major data centers for big tech companies such as Microsoft and Dell. How did this small

Broken hearts are what inspires a lot of the music we listen to, whether it’s pop, soul, country or the blues. But what if that song of love gone wrong is about you, and you’re relationship with that musician? And what happens when you and that artist get back together, but those songs, they’re still out there. This is the experience of Seattle musician Jenn Champion and her partner, Sound Effect contributor Arwen Nicks. Jenn and Arwen are in a happy, healthy relationship now. In fact, they just

In 1950s Tacoma, Harold Moss and his wife Willibelle faced racism in the search for a home. “You learned that when you called a white realtor, you had to use your white voice, and if you sounded black, you weren’t going to get anywhere,” said Moss. The couple owned a plot of land on which they intended to build a house, but banks refused to give him a mortgage and contractors refused to build. They decided to keep the land and buy a house instead. Seller after seller rejected the Moss’ attempts

A trinket, unintentionally loosed from a handful of change KNKX producer Nick Morrison used to pay for his morning coffee created a connection between him and his morning barista. “I just said, ‘My sister,’ and she said, ‘My son,” he remembers. Shauna, the team leader of the coffee cart had the same glass heart. The two locked eyes, clasped hands, and created a connection recalled every time Morrison picks up his split-shot latte. Upon his younger sister’s passing, a man from a support agency

Hearts are usually broken in a moment, at a specific place. Michelle Penaloza, a poet who lives in Seattle, understands that memories, good, bad and everything in between, are tied to things. Maybe it was a song that was playing in the background. Or perhaps it’s a certain park bench where someone delivered bad news. Penaloza took 22 people on walks that began at the old Richard Hugo House on Capitol Hill . The destination for these walks was where the heartbreak occurred. One walk involved a

Marcus Haney has caught several big named musicians on camera, including the likes of Coldplay and Elton John. In 2014, he was asked to produce a music video for the British band Bear's Den. He came up with the idea of coming to Seattle to film his younger brother, Turner Haney, and Turner's friends, who all attended Seattle Pacific University, capturing youth on the brink of adulthood. But on June 5, 2014, the day the filming was supposed to begin, tragedy struck. Aaron Ybarra walked onto to

This week on Sound Effect , we’re sharing stories of heartbreak, and the different ways people respond to it.

Editor's Note: This post, which contains recollections of the civil rights movement, contains a racial slur that some might find upsetting. Just a heads up. We’ve all experienced the uncomfortable feeling of being told to move on. Maybe it was a school bully, or perhaps it was a job you really wanted but didn’t get. For Marion West and her husband, Ray West, it was when they bought a house. The year was 1952. Marion and Ray met when they were students at the University of Washington. Ray, an

To enter De Charlene William's Beauty and Boutique hair salon at 21st and Madison, where First Hill meets the Central Area in Seattle, you have to get past an iron gate. The extra security is a reminder that doing business here for 48 years has not always been easy. "I've been through a lot here on this corner," Williams says. Despite cars crashing through her front door and thieves cutting holes in her ceiling, Williams' beauty shop continues to serve longtime customers and women in search of a

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."