The Conversation Podcast

The Mayor's New Budget: Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has rolled out a new $951 million budget. KUOW's Liz Jones reports on the proposed changes for city services. Then Ross checks in with City Councilmember Tim Burgess about the city's spending priorities. SODO Arena Is A Go: The City Council has approved Chris Hansen's plan for a new sports stadium in SODO. Latino Representation, Part Two: Nearly nine out of 10 city councils across the Northwest have no Latino members. Our latest story on why the region's largest minority group has so little clout in the political arena.

Seattle Art Museum's incoming director Kimerly Rorschach has been called a star in the art world. She comes to Seattle from The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, where she is the founding director. Ross learns what Rorschach has in mind for SAM, ahead of her November start date.

FareStart has been preparing homeless individuals to work in professional kitchens since 1992. More than 6,000 students have passed through the intensive training program, and the organization operates a restaurant in downtown Seattle. Ross talks to Megan Karch, the CEO of FareStart, about the future of the organization and the community they foster around food.

Is A Supermajority Constitutional? Tim Eyman is proposing yet another initiative that would require a two–thirds majority to raise taxes in the state — a measure that's been overturned before for being against the state's constitution. But what's the logic behind the measure? We ask Seattle attorney David Perez. Sodo Arena Expected To Advance Today: Many fans of Key Arena were relieved when a revised agreement for a new $490 million sports arena in Sodo included a $7 million fund to improve and study the future of the aging Seattle Center entertainment venue. But many were unhappy to learn that the fine print calls for $5 million of the Key Arena fund to follow the Seattle Storm, if the professional women's basketball team relocates to the new arena. Amy Radil reports. Entire Wolf Pack Faces Kill Order: The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has issued a kill order for an entire wolf pack in the Northeastern part of the state after repeated livestock kills. KUOW's Ashley Ahearn has more. Latino Representation, Part One: Across the Northwest, Latinos make up nearly 12 percent of the population. Yet our research estimates only 2 percent of the region's elected officials are Hispanic. Listen to part one of Chris Lehman's five–part series on Latino representation in the region.

What's On The Supreme Court's Docket? In June the Supreme Court up held President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. The nine are back in session starting next month. We talk to Slate reporter Emily Bazelon to get a preview of some of cases on the docket this session. The Health Impact Of Legalized Pot: In November, Washington state voters will decide whether to legalize recreational use of marijuana. But what will happen to the potency of pot if this initiative passes? And what are the real public health risks that come with legalizing recreational marijuana? Ross Reynolds asks an expert these questions and more.

Photographer Chris Jordan uses his work to make statistics visual. Not with pie charts or graphs but large scale works of art. You may have seen his TED talk on his Running The Numbers exhibit. The artist and former lawyer has been called the "it" artist of the green movement. He joins us on "The Conversation."

Seattle School Board Gets Official Word On Confusing Vote: Seattle Public Schools officials have determined the result of a confusing school board vote Wednesday night. As KUOW's Ann Dornfeld reports, the board wasn't clear about whether it had voted to hire a Teach for America teacher or not. Tacoma Man Released From Nicaraguan Prison: A Tacoma man who was imprisoned in Nicaragua for almost two years says he cannot describe how it feels to be reunited with his whole family. Jason Puracal is now back in the Pacific Northwest after being released from prison last week. KUOW's Derek Wang spoke with Puracal earlier this week. Lummi Tribal Reservation Opposes Coal Export Facility: The Lummi Tribal reservation lies to the north of Bellingham, very close to the proposed site of a large coal export terminal. The tribe is expected to announce their opposition to the facility today. Ashley Ahearn reports. Developing Downtown Seattle: Downtown Seattle will soon be the home of some major construction. Plans for a massive Amazon complex are in the final stages of review with construction tentatively starting as early as next year. But it doesn't just take money to build a skyscraper downtown. We talk to the head of the Downtown Design Review Board and ask what it takes to build a skyscraper.

David Foster Wallace wrote the 1996 novel "Infinite Jest." The Los Angeles Times called him one of the most influential writers in the past 20 years. David Foster Wallace committed suicide in 2008. New Yorker staff writer D.T. Max has written a detailed biography of David Foster Wallace called "Every Love Story is a Ghost Story."

David Foster Wallace wrote the 1996 novel "Infinite Jest." The Los Angeles Times called him one of the most influential writers in the past 20 years. David Foster Wallace committed suicide in 2008. New Yorker staff writer D.T. Max has written a detailed biography of David Foster Wallace called "Every Love Story is a Ghost Story."

State Supreme Court To Decide On Executive Privilege Should Governor Gregoire be able to shield documents because of executive privilege? Today the state Supreme Court hears the case and Ross Reynolds speaks with the Deputy Solicito representing the Governor's office in the case. A New Hospital In San Juan Raises Coverage Questions A group of San Juan Island residents are asking for assurances that a new hospital opening in November will not restrict women's health care services and that includes providing birth control and performing abortions. KUOW's Ruby de Luna reports. WSU Professor Charged With Rape A Washington State University professor has been arrested and charged with the rape of a teenage girl. Northwest Public Radio's Lucrezia Cuen reports. War Of 1812 Turns 200 It's the two hundredth anniversary of the first declared war in United States history. I'm talking, of course, about the war of 1812. If you don't know much about the war of 1812 you're not alone: it's not remembered much here in the United States. Ross Reynolds gets some details on the war from the author Kenneth Davis.

Why do some children succeed and others fail? Paul Tough went looking for the answer to that question, and in the process learned the answer is changing. He joins Ross Reynolds for a conversation about childhood success.

Ross Reynolds talks with the latest Washington State teacher of the year and hears stories from listeners about their most memorable teachers.

With Fraud On The Rise, AARP Tries To Protect Seniors: Scams and fraud complaints have gone up by 60 percent nationwide since 2008. They range from investment schemes to insurance fraud. People ages 69 and older tend to fall victim. AARP Washington recently held an all–day workshop to help seniors learn how to protect themselves from scammers. KUOW's Ruby de Luna reports. Washington Poachers Raided By Police: Washington Fish and Wildlife police have raided more than a dozen locations around the state. The one–day blitz on suspected poachers and traffickers follows a two–year undercover investigation. Correspondent Austin Jenkins explains how the cops lured their prey. The Race For Washington Secretary Of State: Washington's current Secretary of State Sam Reed is retiring after 12 years on the job. The candidates aiming to replace him are Kathleen Drew, a Democrat, and Kim Wyman, a Republican. Drew is a former state senator and Wyman is currently the auditor of Thurston County. They squared off Tuesday in a Seattle City Club debate. KUOW's Liz Jones has some highlights. Too Many Apples, Not Enough Workers: Washington state apple farmers are gearing up to harvest the second–largest crop in history, but it appears there won't be enough workers to get the fruit off the trees quickly enough. The shortage comes as apple prices are high because of crop damage elsewhere in the country. Correspondent Anna King has our report from an apple orchard outside of Prescott, Washington. Update: 'Other–Than–Honorable Veteran Gets Benefits, Second Vet Killed By Police: A decorated combat veteran who lost his medical benefits when he was kicked out of the Army for misconduct has learned he will, in fact, qualify for health care from the Veterans Administration.

Ross Reynolds talks with author Mark Bittman about food, health and politics and how they all intertwine.

Do we really understand progress? Steven Johnson thinks we think of products like the iPhone as progress, when some of the most substantial advances in our well–being occur because of unheralded public servants.