Washington State's Attorney General Bob Ferguson made national headlines this year when he successfully blocked President Trump's Executive Order temporarily barring immigration and refugees from seven Muslim majority nations. He is now challenging the constitutionality of the President's revised executive order. Learn more about Ferguson's experience with this case and others in this lunchtime interview with KCTS 9's Senior Correspondent Enrique Cerna. QandA included.

Join us for a screening of the documentary, "Oh, I Get It," a short film exposing the challenges facing queer comedians in the world of stand-up comedy. Featuring Seattle-based queer comedians who are changing the climate of comedy using their own brand of humor. Stay afterward for a panel-led Q and A with the director and local celebrities, Ijeoma Oluo and El Sanchez. This is a special FREE edition of Three Dollar Bill’s First Wednesday Queer Film Series.

With her brother Thomas injured on the battlefront in the Colonies, orphaned Cecilia Harcourt has two unbearable choices: move in with a maiden aunt or marry a scheming cousin. Instead, she chooses option three and travels across the Atlantic, determined to nurse her brother back to health. But after a week of searching, she finds not her brother but his best friend, the handsome officer Edward Rokesby. He's unconscious and in desperate need of her care, and Cecilia vows that she will save this soldier's life, even if staying by his side means telling one little lie...When Edward comes to, he's more than a little confused. The blow to his head knocked out three months of his memory, but surely he would recall getting married. He knows who Cecilia Harcourt is—even if he does not recall her face—and with everyone calling her his wife, he decides it must be true, even though he'd always assumed he'd marry his neighbor back in England. Cecilia risks her entire future by giving herself—completely—to the man she loves. But when the truth comes out, Edward may have a few surprises of his own in store.Julia Quinn is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five novels for Avon Books, and one of only sixteen authors ever to be inducted in the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family.

Before the PULSE nightclub massacre in Orlando — the deadliest shooting and worst hate crime in U.S. history — LGBTQ people were already the most likely targets of hate crimes in America. Seattle is famous for our active LGBTQ community, but we are not exempt. In 2015, 72 hate crimes against LGBTQ people were reported to the Seattle PD — double from the previous year. Nationwide, bias-motivated killings of LGBTQ people are rising, with people of color massively overrepresented as victims. What can we do to combat violence and support justice from within? At this panel, hear and engage with leaders in the LGBTQ community and explore ways the community can work together to change the root causes of harm and oppression, and ultimately end anti-LGBTQ violence.

Susan Burton's world changed in an instant when her five-year-old son was killed by a van on their street in South Los Angeles. Consumed by grief and without access to professional help, Susan self-medicated, becoming addicted first to cocaine, then crack. As a resident of South L.A., an impoverished black community under siege by the War on Drugs, it was but a matter of time before Susan was arrested. She cycled in and out of prison for fifteen years; never was she offered therapy or treatment for addiction. On her own, she eventually found a private drug rehabilitation facility.Once clean, Susan dedicated her life to supporting women facing similar struggles. She began by greeting women as they took their first steps of freedom, welcoming them into her home, providing a space of safety and community. Her organization, A New Way of Life, now operates five safe homes in Los Angeles that supply a lifeline to hundreds of formerly incarcerated women and their children—setting them on the track to education and employment rather than returns to prison. Susan is now nationally known as an advocate for restoring basic civil and human rights to those who have served time. Becoming Ms. Burton not only humanizes the deleterious impact of mass incarceration, it also points the way to the kind of structural and policy changes that will offer formerly incarcerated people the possibility of a life of meaning and dignity.Susan Burton is a formerly incarcerated woman who after nearly two decades in the criminal justice system was unable to find work, housing, or adequate addiction-recovery treatment. She gained freedom and sobriety in 1997 and made it her life's work to help other women walking in her shoes. In 2010 she was nominated as a CNN Top 10 Hero and received the Citizen Activist Award from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She has been a Soros Justice Fellow and a Women's Policy Institute Fellow at the California Wellness Foundation. She lives in Los Angeles.

A shocking discovery and chilling secrets converge in this latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf.When a tragic accident leaves nurse Amelia Winn deaf, she spirals into a depression that ultimately causes her to lose everything that matters—her job, her husband, David, and her stepdaughter, Nora. Now, two years later and with the help of her hearing dog, Stitch, she is finally getting back on her feet. But when she discovers the body of a fellow nurse in the dense bush by the river, deep in the woods near her cabin, she is plunged into a disturbing mystery that could shatter the carefully reconstructed pieces of her life all over again. As clues begin to surface, Amelia finds herself swept into an investigation that hits all too close to home. But how much is she willing to risk in order to uncover the truth and bring a killer to justice? New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf has been described as "masterful" and "intelligent" and compared to Lisa Scottoline and Jodi Picoult. Introducing her most compelling heroine yet, she delivers a taut and emotional thriller that proves she's at the top of her class.Gudenkauf is an Edgar Award nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Gudenkauf lives in Iowa with her husband and children. In her free time Heather enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and running.

This evening's conversation is an attempt to get beyond the narrow confines of discussing white privilege by specifically asking individual white people how they are working, with intention and accountability, with communities of color, to center people of color and be supportive of collective work to end racism and create a deeper collective humanity. How can white people recognize when their behavior is problematic in a conflict, in a policy or procedure, or even in a simple conversation? How do white people begin to interrupt white supremacy, in ways that are meaningful to people of color? The focus of our conversation is to show approaches and personal stories of white people supporting racial justice and acknowledging how important it is for white people to be active participants in the struggle for a reconceived humanity in the aftermath of centuries of white supremacy.

This evening's conversation is an attempt to get beyond the narrow confines of discussing white privilege by specifically asking individual white people how they are working, with intention and accountability, with communities of color, to center people of color and be supportive of collective work to end racism and create a deeper collective humanity. How can white people recognize when their behavior is problematic in a conflict, in a policy or procedure, or even in a simple conversation? How do white people begin to interrupt white supremacy, in ways that are meaningful to people of color? The focus of our conversation is to show approaches and personal stories of white people supporting racial justice and acknowledging how important it is for white people to be active participants in the struggle for a reconceived humanity in the aftermath of centuries of white supremacy.

In "One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter," Scaachi Koul deploys her razor-sharp humor to share all the fears, outrages, and mortifying moments of her life. She learned from an early age what made her miserable, and for Scaachi anything can be cause for despair. Whether it’s a shopping trip gone awry; enduring awkward conversations with her bikini waxer; overcoming her fear of flying while vacationing halfway around the world; dealing with Internet trolls, or navigating the fears and anxieties of her parents. Alongside these personal stories are pointed observations about life as a woman of color: where every aspect of her appearance is open for critique, derision, or outright scorn; where strict gender rules bind in both Western and Indian cultures, leaving little room for a woman not solely focused on marriage and children to have a career (and a life) for herself.With a sharp eye and biting wit, incomparable rising star and cultural observer Scaachi Koul offers a hilarious, scathing, and honest look at modern life.Scaachi Koul was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, and is a culture writer for BuzzFeed. Her writing has also appeared in The New Yorker, The Hairpin, The Globe and Mail, and Jezebel. "One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter" is her first book. She lives in Toronto.Lindy West is a Seattle-based writer, editor, and performer whose work focuses on pop culture, social justice, humor, and body image. She's currently a culture writer for GQ magazine and GQ.com and a weekly columnist at The Guardian, as well as the founder and editor of I Believe You | It's Not Your Fault, an advice blog for teens. In 2015 she wrote and recorded a story for This American Life about confronting an Internet troll who impersonated her dead father. She also was listed as "Internet's Most Fascinating of 2015" by Cosmopolitan.com, and helped launch the viral #ShoutYourAbortion hashtag in defense of women's reproductive rights.

WITS students will read from their work over two nights—with elementary and middle school students reading on Wednesday, May 24, and middle and high school students reading on Thursday, May 25. A reception will follow with delicious cupcakes courtesy of Cupcake Royale.