Kuow Presents Videos

Seattle is home to a thriving community of North Indian musicians. They play what's known as Hindustani classical music a highly technical form that can take over a decade to learn. Srivani Jade is from India, but she didn't start playing Hindustani music until moving to the Seattle area. She's just released a new CD of songs called Bhoopali. It's music that makes her feel at home here in the Northwest. Srivani Jade talks with KUOW's Jeremy Richards.

Today, Kells Pub in Seattle's Post Alley is where you'd go for a pint of Guinness or to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. But a hundred years ago, it's where people brought dead bodies for embalming. The bar is in the basement of the building that used to house Butterworth Mortuary. It was the city's first place for comprehensive death related services from corpse retrieval to coffin sales. Mercedes Yaeger runs Market Ghost Tours in Pike Place Market. She also wrote a book about the haunted history of the Market. And she sees a connection between the bodies that came through Butterworth Mortuary in the past, and the stories of hauntings in the building now. KUOW's Jeannie Yandel went to Kells to find out more.

There are over a hundred million blogs on the Web. Many of them might not be worth your time. But Monica Guzman says that a good blog gives anyone a chance to tell his or her story and it could inspire others to do the same. Monica Guzman is the main contributor to The Big Blog for SeattlePI.com. Today, Monica Guzman tells Jeremy Richards about three blogs that bring us both adventure and inspiration.

In the U.S., most of our funerals are quiet and somber. But in Mexico, the Dia De Los Muertos festivities celebrate the deceased with a colorful altars, music, food and lively stories. This tradition started over 3,000 years ago with Aztec and Mayan rituals, and it carries on today here in the Northwest. Melody Rodriguez helps coordinate the Day of the Dead altars and activities at the Tacoma Art Museum. Melody told KUOW's Jeremy Richards how the altars and rituals create community and a vibrant celebration of life.

The most successful horror movie franchise of all time is called Saw. There are five Saw movies, and each one features prolonged scenes of gory torture and victimization. But not all modern horror movies focus on graphic murder scenes. Gabe Rapier isn't a huge fan of horror movies. But he thinks when they're done right, they can give us a way to safely explore some of the darker elements of humanity. Gabe also works at the Columbia City branch of the Seattle Public Library. He talked with KUOW's Jeannie Yandel about three horror movies in Seattle Public Library stocks Nang Nak, El Rey De La Montana, and Blind Mountain that are all worth checking out.

Every year in the U.S., one hundred million trees are cut down for the production of junk mail. It's hard to wrap your head around statistics like that. But Seattle artist Chris Jordan illustrates this number with a hundred million toothpicks in the image of a wheat field. Chris Jordan has won international acclaim for his socially conscious artwork. Now, local viewers have their first chance to see a large collection of Jordan's work in person at an exhibition at the Pacific Science Center. Today, critic Gary Faigin joins us to share why this exhibit has artistic merit, even without the larger message.

A dancer's body is the raw material for a choreographer's art. Whether tall or short, thin or stocky, a dancer's physical appearance helps tells a story in the way that a choreographer wants. Seattle's Spectrum Dance is celebrating the 60th birthday of its artistic director Donald Byrd this month. Donald Byrd picks body types that are a bit outside of the classical ballerina form. And, those unconventional choices allow him to express his work in his own unique way. Seattle dance writer Alice Kaderlan talks with KUOW's Dave Beck about how Donald's body choices impact the audience's experience of the dance.

For a few weeks in the Fall, a well trained forager can find Northwest mushrooms. The kind of mushrooms that chefs swoon over and markets sell for a lot of money. Seattle chef, writer and culinary instructor Greg Atkinson recently scoured the forest for seventeen pounds of chanterelles and porcinis. He says the experience connected him to the land. And it also gave him the opportunity to experience the unique addition that mushrooms can bring to something as simple as toast and as elegant as risotto. Greg talks with KUOW's Megan Sukys.

During his years as Seattle Symphony music director Gerard Schwarz has saved many American compositions from obscurity. The 1931 opera Peter Ibbetson by Deems Taylor is the latest Schwarz revival. Peter Ibbetson's initial success helped the Metropolitan Opera in New York City survive the depression years. But the revival of the once popular opera has been slow in coming. The Seattle Symphony made a live recording of Peter Ibbetson at Benaroya Hall 10 years ago. The recording was just recently released. Seattle composer and critic Gavin Borchert spoke with Dave Beck about Peter Ibbetson and the composer, Deems Taylor.

KUOW's Amanda Wilde has been listening to a song that conjures up feelings of nostalgia, wistfulness and the inevitable end of summer. Every month we talk with Amanda about the history behind songs that sound familiar. She spoke with KUOW's Dave Beck about a tune with roots in American musical theater.

A sense of meaning gives many people direction in their daily lives. That meaning could come from anywhere: Art, science, family, or career. But for Seattle based musician David Bazan, all of his values have been tied to religion and lately, his faith hasn't been so certain. David Bazan built a reputation as an Evangelical Christian and indie rock crossover success with his band Pedro the Lion. Then, a few years ago, David's ideas about Christianity changed drastically. A lot of fans were upset, but no one was as upset as David himself. David Bazan joins KUOW's Jeremy Richards in our performance studio to share how his music helped him find meaning again. Engineer Doug Paterson mixed our live music.

Textbooks are one of the largest costs facing college students. But, they have not kept up with technology. While much of education has moved to digital form, textbooks are still mainly available in expensive, large print form. Glenn Fleishman talks about new ventures that may finally bring textbooks into the 21st century.

Most any technology service you buy has a contract. And, most likely, you didn't read it all that closely. Glenn Fleishman is a freelance technology reporter. And, he didn't read his contract for Comcast broadband phone. He talks with Megan Sukys about what he learned to do when it comes to technology contracts.

To imagine a place you've never been, you have to rely on the witness of other travelers. They might describe a place and time in history, or reveal an entire continent in a new light. Today, local author and librarian Nancy Pearl joins us with two books that offer a fresh perspective of popular topics NASA's space training and traveling in Africa. Nancy Pearl talks with KUOW's Jeremy Richards.

There are online services that can shorten hyperlinks you shares with other people. It's convenient, until that service goes out of business and the miniature URLs are rendered useless. Glenn Fleishman is a freelance technology reporter. He joins Megan Sukys with a look at the shortcomings of URL shorteners.

In a good debate, two sides put forward well reasoned, truthful arguments, and the audience decides which argument makes more sense. And while many high schoolers learn how to build a rational argument, it seems we forget that skill as adults. You can look to our national discussion of health care as an example. It's too late for most of us to go back to school and re learn the rules of good debate. But there are some movies that can teach us how to use debate to tackle divisive issues in real life. Warren Etheredge is the founder of the entertainment Website The Warren Report. He told KUOW's Jeannie Yandel about three movies that model good debate.

When you ride Seattle's new light rail, you'll notice more than just the scenery. You might see a giant bronze shovel or a big teacup on top of a Creamsicle. There are several artworks actually chosen as part of the light rail design. Many of them might just be a blur as the train whizzes by. But fortunately for us, local art critic Gary Faigin stepped off at the light rail stations to get a closer look. Gary joins KUOW's Jeremy Richards reveal how the works explore the unique character of their neighborhoods.