Cascade PBS Ideas Festival

What Makes the Boogaloo Movement Different with Leah Sottile

Reporter Leah Sottile discusses how an internet meme became a violent new movement. When people began appearing at state capitols across the country in the spring, demanding that their governments rescind the restrictions put in place to contain the emergent coronavirus pandemic, there were well-known groups in attendance: Trump supporters, anti-vaxxers and militia-members. But among the ranks of the disgruntled was a new kind of reactionary. Wearing Hawaiian shirts with their tactical gear and carrying long guns, these men — and they were predominantly men — flew a different kind of flag: A black-and-white version of the American flag featuring a single floral stripe and an igloo where the stars would go. These were the adherent of Boogaloo, a leaderless movement that has sprung into the public sphere in recent months, bringing with it confusion and violence. The confusion is due to the inconsistent politics of its followers and the violence is in the service of a disturbing aim expressed by many of the adherents, to bring about the downfall of American society. This week on the Crosscut Talks podcast, Sottile discusses her recent story for the New York Times Magazine that explores the origins of this new cultural force, what makes it different from the right-wing militias she has covered and why it's so difficult to understand exactly what it is that the Boogaloo wants. Plus, Crosscut reporter Manola Secaira tells us what happens to a tourist town when the tourists don't show up.

Imagining a Post-Trump Republican Party with Henry Olsen

Conservative Washington Post columnist Henry Olsen discusses the split he sees between President Trump and many of the people who vote for him. When the Republican National Convention opens next week, it will be entering uncharted territory. Not just because of pandemic considerations that will prevent the party from packing an arena with delegates, but because those delegates will be supporting a party that is not using the quadrennial event to introduce an updated party platform and a president who is running without any new policy goals that might address the considerable problems the country faces. And while politics watchers can make some safe assumptions about the run-of-show for the convention, the future of the Republican Party is far more difficult to discern, especially if you believe that the president could very well lose the election. Where will the populist fervor that has overtaken the party in the Trump era go if Joe Biden wins the presidency? And how might the leftward pull of the populists in the Democratic Party ultimately affect what a new Republican Party might look like and how it might govern? For this week's episode, we invited Olsen to discuss the rift he sees between Trump and his party, the possibility that Trump could beat the odds and win re-election, and what he believes might happen to the Republican Party and its voters if he loses. Plus, Crosscut city reporter David Kroman discusses the sudden resignation of Seattle's police chief.

Negligence and Death in Our Prisons with Levi Pulkkinen

Reporter Levi Pulkkinen discusses his investigation into the prison health care system, where a treatable illness can put a prisoner in a body bag. Gross medical negligence in America's prisons isn't anything new. As long as there have been reporters investigating this nation's corrections departments there have been gruesome tales of medical procedures gone wrong and the prisoners who suffer. But new reporting from Crosscut suggests that poor medical care for the incarcerated in Washington state is more prevalent than just the extreme cases. Reporter Levi Pulkkinen found that nine of 10 prisoners who leave our prisons in body bags die from illness. And these aren't just older prisoners finishing their life sentences. Nearly a third of those who die from illness are under 55. The prisoners and families Pulkkinen interviewed for the investigative series, "Prison's Other Death Sentence," say that delays in care that result in poor, sometimes fatal outcomes are a normal part of the prison health care experience. For this week's episode of Crosscut Talks, Pulkkinen discusses what is at the root of all this suffering, why people on the outside should at least acknowledge that suffering and whether state lawmakers may introduce a new normal into prison health care. Plus, Melissa Santos discusses the court case that has every newsroom in the state on edge.  

What Regulation of Big Tech Might Look Like with Margaret O’Mara

This week, tech historian Margaret O’Mara visits us to discuss what could be in store for the Big Four. Last week's congressional hearings on Big Tech lacked some of the pomp and circumstance of previous antitrust hearings, but there was little doubt that it was a big deal. A gathering of that much raw economic power — even if it was via videoconferencing — is itself notable, but the fact the lawmakers were actually challenging that power is exceedingly rare. The CEOs of Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple had been brought together to defend their companies against accusations of anti-competitive practices, and lawmakers were prepared with evidence from a yearlong investigation. It was a very different look from a federal government that had for decades been largely deferential to a tech industry that had brought innovation and growth to the economy. And it appeared that regulation could be in the offing. For this week's episode of the Crosscut Talks podcast, we are speaking with O'Mara, the University of Washington history professor and New York Times columnist, about what happened in the hearing, what regulation might look like and where the tech industry could be headed as a result. Plus, Crosscut staff reporter Agueda Pacheco Flores tells us how the pandemic is impacting Seattle partner dance scene.

The Fight for Democracy in Hong Kong with Wilfred Chan

When the Chinese government enacted new national security law that outlawed dissent in the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong, it signaled a new, and perhaps final, stage in the city’s pro-democracy movement. Since 2014, activists had staged sit-ins and clashed with police while calling for greater transparency in the city’s elections and decrying Beijing’s influence over its government and police. The new law, which went into effect at the end of June, made it illegal to even speak of such things. Now many activists and sympathizers have been shutting down social media accounts, or even fleeing the city, for fear of being arrested. Some political leaders in the United States, meanwhile, have denounced the new law, despite the state department’s support for the Hong Kong police, a force that has sought to quell dissent. For this week’s episode of the Crosscut Talks podcast, we speak with Wilfred Chan, a contributing writer to The Nation and a Hong Kong leftist, about the new law and the movement it threatens to quash. He shares his views on the history of protest in Hong Kong and the complicated role that the United States has played in the conflict. Plus, Crosscut city reporter David Kroman tells us what happened after Seattle activists learned the feds were coming to town.

Joe Biden’s $2 Trillion Climate Plan with Leah Stokes

When the Joe Biden campaign introduced its Build Back Better plan earlier this month, it was delivering what promised to be a kind of silver bullet. The presumed Democratic nominee for the presidency was proposing to fuel an economic recovery, beat back climate change and deliver racial justice through a robust package of programs and standards that would reshape a large portion of the U.S. economy around clean energy. The price: $2 trillion. It was a bold move from a candidate not known as a leader on climate and so it isn't surprising that much of the plan is borrowed, some from his former opponents. This week on the Crosscut Talks podcast, environmental policy expert Leah Stokes talks about the work that led to this plan, tells us who is responsible for what and contemplates the likelihood that this silver bullet will ever be fired. Plus, Crosscut news and politics editor Donna Blankinship walks us through the latest Crosscut-Elway Poll, which looks at Washington voters' attitudes toward the pandemic response and asks, "Are you wearing a mask?"

Fight to Reopen Schools Safely with Sen. Patty Murray

Patty Murray has been busy. As the ranking member on the U.S. Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, the senior senator from the state of Washington is intimately involved in developing legislation to guide federal oversight of the areas of American life most impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic. In the last month alone she introduced the Coronavirus Child Care and Education Relief Act and issued a white paper calling for legislation that would assure that a vaccine be made available to all Americans. But Murray is also in the minority. At a time when so much is at stake, the Democratic lawmaker is tasked with both identifying solutions that she believes will save many lives and pushing them through a legislative process dominated by Republicans at a moment of hyper-partisanship. On this week's edition of the Crosscut Talks podcast we speak with the Senator about her efforts to shore up schools and day care providers, the deep frustration she has for the Trump administration's approach to the pandemic and how, exactly, she plans to turn her plans into action. Plus, Crosscut reporter David Kroman delivers the latest on the Seattle's efforts to rethink public safety and policing.

The Battle for Enthusiasm in the Race for the White House with David Plouffe

Former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe discusses electoral excitement in the era of coronavirus. For years, the presidential election of 2020 has been touted as the most important of the modern era. There was little doubt that the months leading up to the November election would be filled with packed arenas and firey stump speeches. Instead the dominant images of the early stages of the general election have been empty seats in Tulsa and basement communiques from Delaware. With multiple crises dominating the national conversation, the presidential race has taken a backseat to more immediate concerns. Meanwhile President Donald Trump's handling of these crises appears to have done serious damage to his approval rating and the threat of coronavirus has limited the public appearances of his challenger Joe Biden. In the race for the White House, enthusiasm has been hard to come by. We invited Plouffe to weigh in on the state of the race. We talk about the apparent lack of excitement for these campaigns, whether it is a sign of things to come, and if dread and anger will replace enthusiasm as the driving force for this election.

What Makes a Great American President with John Dickerson

Journalist John Dickerson tells us what it takes to succeed in the White House, why President Trump appears to be failing and whether Joe Biden would be any good. In the last few months Trump has been challenged by the kind of crises that demand leadership. Yet, the manner in which he has responded to the pandemic, civil unrest and economic collapse appears to have turned the electorate against him. Once a favorite for re-election, Trump is now more likely to join the handful of presidents who voters have ousted at the ballot box. A moment of apparent presidential failure is as good a time as any to discuss what a successful presidency might look like. On this week's episode of Crosscut Talks we are sitting down with Dickerson to do just that while talking about his latest book, 'The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency.' Plus, Crosscut's resident historian Knute Berger tells us why the top job in Seattle is no breeze itself.

The Future of Black Lives Matter with Nikkita Oliver

The Black Lives Matter movement has made a tremendous amount of progress in a very short time. In a single month, it has gone from an afterthought for many Americans to the leading topic of conversation in the nation and a major catalyst for change. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have taken to the streets in support of the movement's message, and polling shows that a majority of Americans at least sympathize with its aims. It remains to be seen whether this latest chapter of America's ongoing civil rights movement can hold the public's attention and favor long enough to result in real change. For this week's episode, we are joined by Nikkita Oliver, one of the movement's leading voices, to talk about the work being done by the activists, the demands being made of city leaders and where she sees the fight for Black lives going from here. Plus, reporter Hannah Weinberger provides us with a coronavirus update, parsing the details of and concerns over the state's reopening plan.