Sound Effect

This week, some of our favorite stories of roundabout journeys. First, we hear the cryptic poem that serves as a map to a buried treasure. Then, the story of a teenager escaping a troubled home life, who found strength in the books of Judy Blume . Next, a group of people who raised their families in a logging camp return to the now closed camp for a visit. Finally, a woman who set out on what was supposed to be a day hike gets lost in thousands of acres of forest. This week we are trying

This show originally aired on September 27, 2017. This week on Sound Effect, we hear stories of people who learned to hustle. The Cookie Hustle They may seem sweet (and they are), but sisters Hayden and Rena Korbol mean business. They are two of the top cookie sellers for the girl scouts in Western Washington, selling over 1,600 boxes each last year. The Bootleg King Back in the 1920s, during prohibition, Roy Olmstead supplied a dry Northwest with booze. Lots of booze. And we’re not talking

This week on Sound Effect, our theme is "What Are the Odds?" We'll meet the grandson of Holocaust survivors who calculated the very low probability that he would even be born. Then a typo may have saved Bob Hofferber's life, by keeping him off of a military plane bound for Tacoma in 1952. In another story of the twists of fate, group of nuns walking along a Washington beach are overtaken by a rogue wave, changing their lives and their relationship with God forever. We'll get to know a scientist

Students of Professor Judd Walson often ask him for advice on their career paths and how he became a global health specialist. But Walson didn’t always know he wanted to be a doctor and says his career path was anything but straightforward. In fact, as a young boy he was a talented magician getting paid to perform around the country and even overseas in Sweden. When he graduated High School, he didn’t know what he wanted to do and so he left for Europe to become a street performer. Later in

This week we spend the hour with stories from Harborview Medical Center, the Level 1 Trauma Center covering four states and nearly 100,000 square miles. We hear the story of a tragic house fire in Alaska that gave rise to a world-class medevac system. We visit a clinic serving refugees, and a club where staff and patients blow off steam by laughing at nothing. We get to know psychiatric patients getting counsel from people who have been in their shoes, and meet a doctor whose life changed when

This week on Sound Effect, we hear stories of people who refused to give up. Billy Idolator Michael Henreichsen developed a fascination with a particular musician: Billy Idol. Michael saw him live a few times, including a show at Tulalip Casino just north of Everett. And something about that show left kind of a sour taste in his mouth . That launched a quixotic two-year quest to get Billy Idol to come to Seattle, and play a live show at his birthday party. Blind Sailor Mohamed Farid took a class

This week, stories of positive things coming from otherwise negative places. First, music journalist and author Charles R. Cross talks about how a bad economy helped produce the grunge music movement. Then, how the author of the light-hearted Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books actually had a pretty rough life. A mother finds a way to pay tribute to her artistic daughter who battled mental illness. We take a tour of a Seattle neighborhood that decades ago had intentionally been divided as a result of

This week, stories of cogs in the machine. First, how a kid felt like toys were missing some accessories, so he decided to start making them himself, and business took off. Then, a Vietnam veteran shares why he believes the willingness to die for a cause you don’t believe in is an example of how “the system” works . Also, a sperm donor is faced with the realities of meeting one of his offspring. Next, how Indian Island is slowly beginning to open up to its original inhabitants while still being

This episode originally aired on June 17, 2017. This week on Sound Effect , we head out to the islands. The Good Ship Issaquah Marsha Morse was one of the first women captains in Washington’s ferry system. She’s been navigating the waterways since 1975. And while she captains the ferry Issaquah , she considers her office the entire Puget Sound. The One Lonely Island All of the available islands in the San Juan’s were snatched up by homesteaders by 1919. All but one. A lonely, rocky, 15-acre dot

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 about how her songs of hope are often