Harvard-graduated U.S. Senator Al Franken has served as an outspoken congressman for his home state of Minnesota since 2008, but many of us know him best from his days making us laugh as Stuart Smalley, among others, on Saturday Night Live. In his new memoir, Senator Franken shares the story of an award-winning comedian who decided to run for office and then discovered why award-winning comedians tend not to do that. He takes his fans along with him from SNL to the campaign trail, inside the halls of Congress, and behind the scenes of some of the most dramatic and hilarious moments of his new career in politics. In conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eli Sanders, he will share his observations of our deeply polarized, frequently depressing, occasionally inspiring political culture, from his view inside the belly of the beast.

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Recorded live at Town Hall Seattle Friday, June 16, 2017

In The End of Loyalty: The Rise and Fall of Good Jobs in America, Rick Wartzman, author and senior advisor at the Drucker Institute, traces the ups and downs of four major employers—General Motors, General Electric, Kodak, and Coca-Cola—over 70 years, chronicling the erosion of the relationship between American companies and their workers. Starting in the post-World War II economy, Wartzman describes the way that big businesses once took responsibility for providing their workers and retirees with an array of social benefits and generous salaries. Charting the Golden Age of the ’50s and ’60s; the turbulent years of the ’70s and ’80s; and the growth of downsizing, outsourcing, and instability in the modern era, he illustrates just how much has been lost like job security and steadily rising pay, guaranteed pensions, robust health benefits, and much more.

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Recorded live at Town Hall Seattle Thursday, June 15, 2017

Over 80 percent of teachers in American public schools are white, while the majority of students are kids of color. #EducationSoWhite will expand on conversations about the impact of imbalanced representation that were started last fall at Town Hall’s popular #JournalismSoWhite event. A panel of dynamic education leaders will examine the impact of the gaps in our schools currently separating students and teachers. The topics that will be fueling this event include: the achievement gap, ideas for solutions in recruiting and retaining teachers of color, equitable restorative justice practices, the school-to-prison pipeline, inclusion—not just tolerance—for LGBTQ/QPOC teachers and students, and more.

Kristin Leong, M.Ed., Town Hall’s new Community Programs Curator, will be opening this event with a presentation about her TED-Ed Innovation Project RollCallProject.com, based on her recent TEDx talk which opened TEDxWWU 2017.

Panelists include:
Jesse Hagopian, Garfield High School
Joy Williamson-Lott, University of Washington College of Education
Sharonne Navas, Equity in Education Coalition of Washington
Saraswati Noel, Seattle World School
Nathan Simoneaux, Garfield High School

Recorded live at Town Hall Seattle Thursday, June 15, 2017

A recent Seattle Times investigative series uncovered serious concerns about patient mistreatment at Seattle’s Swedish Cherry Hill Hospital. The coverage made waves, resulting in the resignation of the hospital’s top neurosurgeon and the Swedish CEO. But this example of severe problems in a health-care system is hardly an isolated one. In Mistreated: Why We Think We’re Getting Good Healthcare—And Why We’re Usually Wrong, Dr. Robert Pearl, the CEO of The Permanente Medical Group, says that these problems are a two-way street. As patients, we are too trusting, often demanding more communication from our banks and airlines than we do from our health-care providers. Meanwhile, the health-care systems in our country are plagued by communication problems and treatment breakdowns. Pearl speaks from experience on both sides of this relationship. He argues that solving the challenges of health care starts with understanding these problems. He explains why subconscious misperceptions are so common in medicine, and shows how modifying the structure, technology, financing, and leadership of American health care could radically improve quality outcomes.

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Recorded live at Town Hall Seattle Friday, June 9, 2017

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Thomas Ricks (Fiasco) presents a dual biography of Winston Churchill and George Orwell focusing on the pivotal years from the mid-1930s through the 1940s, when these two men combated the threat of fascism and communism, each in his own imitable way. The book received a starred review from Kirkus which described it as a “superb account of two men who set standards for defending liberal democracy that remain disturbingly out of reach.” While Orwell and Churchill, never met, Ricks argues that the two worked in tandem to support democratic principles. He recalls the lonely position that both men occupied, walking a fine line between a country that appeared all but torn in two by the divisive politics of World War II. Ricks makes the claim that, without ever working directly together, these two figures were essential in keeping the West’s compass set toward freedom.

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Recorded live at Town Hall Seattle Tuesday, May 30, 2017

  Join Town Hall Seattle Scholar in Residence and award-winning journalist Marcus Harrison Green for this special happy hour release party for Flying to the Assemblies. This limited-edition book, edited by Green and Seattle Weekly’s Mark Baumgarten, is a collection of essays by local thought leaders exploring the possibility of hope despite our current political climate driven by division and fear. Essayists will read from the book and share their ideas about what we can do to keep democracy alive in an interactive audience Q&A.

Essayists include: Marcus Harrison Green, Mark Baumgarten, Sharon H. Chang, Kristin Leong, Reagan Jackson.

Recorded live at Town Hall Seattle Friday, May 26, 2017

Refugees are forced to flee their home and country due to violence and persecution, and this history continues to inform their perspective for years to come. Hear from a panel of refugees, assembled by The Northwest Immigrant and Refugee Health Coalition (NWIRHC), about the way that the current political climate, and President Trump’s executive orders are affecting the refugee community. The panel will also discuss their experiences, both as former refugees and direct service providers for newly resettled families, as well as advocates for the millions of people who are currently in limbo, hoping to find a safe place for themselves and their families. Finally, panel members will give their perspective on how community members can engage with the issues discussed and turn the information learned in this conversation into action.

The panel will be moderated by Andrew Kritovich, a former refugee from Ukraine and Director of International Counseling and Community Services at Lutheran Community Services Northwest.

Recorded live at Town Hall Seattle Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Foreign affairs commentator Gideon Rachman is the winner of the 2016 Orwell Prize and the European Press Prize for Commentator of the Year. In Easternization: Asia’s Rise and America’s Decline From Obama to Trump and Beyond, he presents his analysis of a new era of global instability, as the flow of wealth and power turns from West to East. He contends that the growing wealth of Asian nations is transforming the international balance of power. This shift is shaping the lives of people all over the world, impacting the fates of nations, and creating international instability. He discusses the dynamics of a troubled but rising China challenging America’s supremacy, while the ambitions of other Asian powers—including Japan, North Korea, India, and Pakistan—further complicate things. Meanwhile the West is struggling with economic malaise and political populism, the Arab world is in turmoil, and Russia longs to reclaim its status as a great power. Rachman offers a forecast of the turbulent path ahead for international politics of the twenty-first century.

Recorded live at Town Hall Seattle Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Journalist and attorney Jill Filipovic talked to women across the country, asking them what they needed to be happy. In The H-Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness, she argues that the main obstacle standing in between women and happiness is a system that is rigged against them. In this world of unfinished feminism, men have long been able to “have it all” because of free female labor, while the bar of success for women has gotten higher—both in the workplace and in family life. Filipovic contends that if our laws and policies made women’s happiness and fulfillment a goal, many contentious issues would be resolved, from women’s health to equal pay. Her research shows that real women are less concerned about “having it all” and their paths to happiness are as varied as the realities they face.

Recorded live at Town Hall Seattle Monday, May 22, 2017

During World War I, and for several years afterward, hundreds of teenage girls and young women were employed to paint the tiny glowing numbers onto watch faces and mechanic dials using radium infused paint. They were instructed to lick their radium-covered paintbrushes to a fine point. The powder covered their bodies from head to toe, making them, literally, glow in the dark as they headed home from work at night. Years later, after they had stopped working in the factories, these women begin to suffer mysterious and deadly symptoms. Their teeth fell out. Their bones shattered. Their skin refused to heal. In conversation with Fred Hutchinson researcher Dr. Anne McTiernan, bestselling author Kate Moore discusses The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women. Discover how these dial painters took on the companies that made them sick, bringing nationwide attention to the importance of workplace safety standards.

Recorded live at Town Hall Seattle Friday, May 19, 2017