Rise Seattle

This week, we sit down with Monica Guzman, the founder and director of the Evergrey. A leading digital news publication that helps Seattleites make the most of their city. On this episode you'll hear how Guzman started the Evergrey and what she hopes it accomplishes for residents of Seattle. We also discuss her thoughts on Seattle's current affordability issues, and her views on the idea of "good" journalism in today's political climate.

This week we hear how Kevin Sur and his company, Artist Home, started the Timber! Outdoor Music Festival and what attendees can expect from the weekend's festivities. We also learn Sur's advice for music lovers who want to support local artists and his fear for the music scene in Seattle amidst the city's recent boom and the nation's economic hardships.

While we tend to think of Seattle as an inclusive and diverse city, the data shows that we still have a lot of work to do. With the growing gap of affordability, progressive Seattle workplaces are partnering with companies like Diverse City LLC to ensure they continue to pull the best talent from all demographics. Join us for an inspiring and challenging conversation with Cheryl Ingram, PhD and CEO of Diverse City, LLC.

On this episode, Tyler and Phil sit down with technology guru and YouTube star, Chris Pirillo to discuss what led him to the Seattle area and how he started his current business. They also discuss Pirillo's thoughts on how technology has impacted Seattle and what may be on the horizon.

In 2016, we interviewed Jill Killen, owner of three beloved Seattle coffee shops. El Diablo, Cloud City and Royal Drummer. In April of this year, El Diablo received a notice demanding their exit of the premises by April 30th, 2018.

This came as a tremendous shock to Jill and her team, as they are current on their rent, have never missed a lease payment during the course of their agreement, and continue investing in the space to improve the overall experience of El Diablo customers and staff.

In an effort to ensure El Diablo Coffee Co. staff can continue working during the upcoming move, maintaining their income, while at the same time needing a boost in funds to cover the unexpected costs of transporting our business infrastructure, community members have banned together to help Jill and her team in their time of need.

Please join us in helping our dear friend, Jill Killen and her wife Jenn Steff to support their pursuit to keep El Diablo as a part of the Queen Anne community.

Donate a few dollars to their GoFundMe Page Here.

This week we sit down with Roger Valdez, the Director of Seattle for Growth, a partnership advocating for creating more housing of all types, in all neighborhoods, for all levels of income. He is a self-proclaimed lobbyist for developers and evangelist for growth and free-market economics. In this episode we discuss Valdez's "slice the pie thinner" vs. "bake more pies" analogy and how Seattle's citizens must learn how to balance their morals with their own self-interests.

On this episode, Tyler and Phil sit down with Seattle resident and Exstreamist.com founder Rob Toledo to discuss how streaming is changing the landscape of entertainment for cable companies, content providers, and customers. We also chat Toledo's favorite watering holes in Seattle's Wedgwood neighborhood and how he managed to turn binge-watching Netflix into a career.

On this episode, Tyler and Phil sit down with Brennon Staley, who is the Strategic Advisor on Urban Planning and Policy for Seattle's Office of Planning and Community Development. Staley shares how he first came to Seattle and what his job as a strategic advisor entails. He also answers some of the locals' most burning questions, including what systems are in place to address the growing need for parking and housing affordability in the city.

On this episode, Tyler and Phil sit down with Fred Moody a retired journalist, author, and part-time bartender at the local North Star Diner & Shanghai Room (featured on Anthony Bourdain's show, Part's Unknown). Moody has been featured in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal and has authored four books. You can read his book, Seattle and the Demons of Ambition, a dramatic, entertaining, and insightful portrait of the city that defined economic and technological change in the America of the 1990s.

In this episode we dug into the archives for one of our favorite episodes with 2016 Washington State Teacher of the Year, Nathan Bowling. In 2016, Nate met with President Barak Obama; lectured at Harvard and taught Bill Gates about Civil Rights and Star Wars. Since then, he's gone on to speak all over the country about education, segregation, racial tensions a police brutality. While this episode was recorded in 2016 the message couldn't be more relevant to our society today.