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This week on Sound Effect , urban dwellers try to make it in the country, and a little bit of nature takes root in the city. We begin in the last large-animal farm within the city of Seattle, atop a chestnut mare named Star, as host Gabriel Spitzer gets a ride and a history lesson. Then we hear how a couple of sophisticated urban poodles became the talk of the town in rural central Washington. We hear a conversation between two birding enthusiasts about finding a place for themselves as black

If you live in Seattle, you don't have to travel too far to feel like you are in the country. Yes, there are large P-Patches dotted throughout the city and there are many parks that still feel a little wild, but there is also a 20-plus acre horse farm . It's called the Seattle Farm and it's tucked up against a green belt in South Seattle near Rainier Beach. Gloria Sferra's grandparents, Amador and Visitación Seijas , settled the property in 1919. Their descendants have lived here ever since.

Have you ever known someone whose life revolves around their pet? This was the case for the Walker family and their two poodles, Sasha and Bazi. A few days before Christmas in 2017, they took the dogs on their family ski trip. But when the dogs spotted a few deer and took off into the snowy woods, the holiday vacation turned into a frantic search. As the days passed, and temperatures dropped, hope faded that they would find the dogs alive. All they could do was hope for a sighting--or a phone

Rasheena Fountain and Tiffany Adams met at Antioch University in Seattle, where they were both working on their masters degrees. Rasheena, who grew up on the west side of Chicago, and Tiffany, originally from downtown New York, quickly found they had a shared interest in nature. Before long, they were helping each other: Tiffany encouraged Rasheena’s newfound love of birding, and Rasheena cheered Tiffany on in her studies. That support was important, considering that birding is not the most

Living in a city, there are signs everywhere to help organize, control and regulate our behavior. But, if you’re in Seattle and you keep your eyes peeled, you might happen upon an official-looking directive on sheet metal that tells you something completely unexpected, such as " Caution: If I Could Love Anyone Again, It Would Be You." This "caution" sign was spotted hanging from a chain link fence in Wallingford Park. It is guerilla artwork, created and stealthily placed on the fence by April

Les Zaitz was a reporter for the Oregonian in the early 1980s, when he began covering a group of people, known as the Sinyasins who were followers of the enigmatic Indian guru, Baghwan Shree Rajneesh. They arrived in the Northwest with visions of creating a whole new city in the middle of the Oregon desert. They called themselves a religion. Many others have called them a cult. The story Zaitz was covering soon transformed from a curiosity to an epic drama, complete with massive fraud, betrayal

John Roderick was born in the Seattle area, but spent much of his youth living in Anchorage, Alaska. “Growing up in Alaska, you’re an American, you know you're an American. But you’re also thousands of miles away from America. So we fetishized America," said Roderick, who these days fronts the indie band, The Long Winters. After high school, Roderick decided that the way to see America, and absorb the wisdom and freedom of the open road, was to stick out his thumb and hitchhike across the

If you ride King County Metro’s RapidRide bus lines, you might have seen fare enforcement officers in action. They sometimes board the long buses, checking to make sure people have paid their due.

This show originally aired on April 29, 2017. This week on Sound Effect , stories of the people we once were. Getting In Touch With Your Old Self Ken Workman is 64 years old, and only ten years ago he found out that he was a descendent of Chief Sealth. He is making up for lost time by immersing himself in the culture and learning the language of his ancestors. An Exhibit Of Unintended Consequences Sometimes our good intentions in the past can have unintended consequences generations later. That

This story originally aired on April 29, 2017. Ken Workman always knew that part of his family tree was rooted in the Duwamish Indian Tribe. But, being Native American when he was growing up in the 1960s in Seattle was a topic he was told not to share with anyone. “It was very bad to be a Native American; very bad. It was so bad that Great Grandma never said anything about being Duwamish and she took it to her grave. Great Grandma apparently knew the ways. She knew how to go down to the beach