Sound Effect

This episode is part of the Destination Moon Podcrawl, marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Please check out our partner podcasts, including The Flight Deck , Geekwire , Stuff You Missed in History Class and Radiotopia’s The Truth . All she had to do was open the window shade. Soyeon Yi was minutes into her trip to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz rocket in 2008. She could feel gravity’s pull loosening, until she had the sensation of floating within the

This show originally aired on May 26, 2018. This week, stories of picking up the pieces. First, a story of how a chance discovery in a dumpster led to an inside look at a woman’s life , and eventually a musical tribute. Then, University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce shares the story of her brother , and his tragic death. Also, the story of how a shocking loss moved a woman to open up a contemplative and creative space . Finally, musician Naomi Wachira performs in our studios, and talks

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 women from big cities among nature-lovers. We learn why if you pay close attention to the signs that dot the urban landscape,

For this special edition of Sound Effect, the theme is “Small Miracles,” tales from our live storytelling event. Host Gabriel Spitzer recounts his brush with death after years of humiliation in swim class. Ty Reed recalls how a random encounter saved his life after he fell into homelessness and addiction. Cindy Healy is moved to tears seeing a special spacecraft in a Matt Damon movie. Queen Mae Butters remembers a powerful friendship formed at the end of her hospice patient’s life. And Paul

I was born into the Love Family, a culty commune that existed in Seattle in the 1970s and '80s. The family had a leader, a patriarch named Love, and 300 to 400 brothers and sisters. Their first names represented the virtues that Love saw in them — Purity, Solidity, Imagination, Devotion — and their last names were all Israel. I call it a culty commune because "commune" explains why people joined it, and everything positive they left with. "Cult" explains all the things that went wrong, and why

When you look back at things, from a perspective of a new time and place, they tend to look different. That’s our theme for the latest episode of Sound Effect, “Benefit of Hindsight” — how a little time passing can reveal the things we were once blind to. “Almost Live” cast members reflect on a Space Needle prank that went sideways. A woman shares her experience discovery her lack of smell . A country singer reunites with his “kitchen mom,” who inspired one of his songs. A Seattle woman talks

This show originally aired on March 31, 2018. This week on Sound Effect, stories of personal space. We start by sending out host Gabriel Spitzer to a room where he can take release some rage . Then we meet a man who recorded the first known gay country album , and learn how his father encouraged him. We meet a sexual assault victim who reclaimed her space in an unexpected way. Then, we hear about what it is like to go hiking as a fat girl . Finally, we hear a choir that sings at the bedside of

Krystal Marx is a City Council member in Burien. Her husband James is an Iraq War veteran. They’ve both experienced hardships that never fully left them: in her case, it was poverty and homelessness as a kid; for him, it was combat-related PTSD. Their relationship, and their healing, began on rival superhero teams. Across the country, there are real people, often in full costume, who walk the streets fighting crime, helping the helpless and generally doing hero stuff. In Seattle, there were two

For this episode of Sound Effect, we're talking toilets — how these things we'd just as soon ignore actually have profound effects on our lives. We meet an author who is, among other things, teaching women how to pee in the woods without peeing on themselves. A Seattle man explains how he uses portable toilets to connect with his homeless neighbors . We hear what Seattle can learn from San Francisco’s approach to cleaner and safer public toilets . We talk with the Snopes.com founder about

This episode of Sound Effect, “Bouncing Back,” features stories about people who take the hits and come right back for more. We meet a Walla Walla man who became a rodeo clown to scratch his cowboy itch. Then, we meet a legally blind Seattleite who experienced Tokyo with his other senses. An East Side Tacoma woman shares how her experience hitting rock bottom informs how she gives back today. Hear how two rival, “real-life superheroes” fell in love . And, in the full broadcast of the show, meet