Seattle Nice

With David away for a second consecutive week, Erica and Sandeep seek out the inimitable Josh Feit, news editor of the Stranger back in the olden (golden) days, to buffer their conversation with convoluted references to 50-year-old Joni Mitchell records. 

We start with the increasingly off-putting saga of King County Assessor John Arthur Wilson, who remains defiant in the face of a unanimous vote by the King County Council (minus th...

After less than 18 months in office, Councilmember Cathy Moore, representing District 5 (North Seattle), announced she will be resigning her position effective July 7. Swinging into immediate action, Erica and Sandeep (David is away, gamboling and gallivanting in distant parts) weigh in on this emergency episode of the podcast with their red hot takes on this surprise bombshell announcement. 

While Moore ascribes her decision to ste...

This week Erica has the scoop on allegations of stalking and harassment against King County Assessor John Arthur Wilson. We also debate Cathy Moore's decision to withdraw a bill that critics say weakens the council’s ethics standards.  

Plus, we discuss the anti-trans demonstrations and counter-protests at Cal Anderson Park and City Hall that resulted in over 30 arrests. Mayoral Candidate Katie Wilson blamed Bruce Harrell for p...

We're so excited to release our interview with Shattered Glass director Billy Ray, who was kind enough to indulge all our questions about our favorite movie, like:

What happened between the scene where Chloe Sevigny confronts Peter Sarsgaard for firing Stephen and the next day, when she leads the team in applauding him for his brave decision? 

Where does Shattered Glass rank in the pantheon of movies Ray's written over the ...

A Seattle City Council committee advanced legislation last week that will eliminate a requirement that council members abstain from voting on legislation that presents a financial conflict of interest. Under the new, lower standard, the council will merely have to disclose any financial conflicts before voting—allowing council members, for the first time since the 1980s, to vote in their own financial interest.

Sandeep thinks disclo...

Representative Adam Smith of Washington’s 9th Congressional District, who made headlines recently for his pointed criticisms of progressive urban governance, joins us to talk about what Seattle should expect in the era of Trump.

Smith believes local governance failures and missteps in blue cities like Seattle contributed to Trump’s big win in 2024. But he joined Seattle Nice to talk about the aftermath. We get into the impact of Tru...

A new way of administering buprenorphine—a gold-standard medication that combats opioid addiction by reducing the need to use drugs like fentanyl to function—is helping people reduce their fentanyl use without the painful withdrawals that keep many users away from other versions of the medication. The new protocol, which the Downtown Emergency Service Center started using on a pilot basis last year, is less complicated and doesn&ap...

First up, why are state lawmakers planning to decimate a successful Seattle homeless program? Then, things get a little cheeky as we discuss the lawsuit over alleged “lewd behavior” at Denny Blaine Park. Plus, Mayor Bruce Harrell throws down the gauntlet with an impromptu push-up contest at a middle school. Is he the "world's best mayor," or just really good at flexing? Tune in and find out!  

Quinn Waller is our edit...

Four city council candidates are vying to represent one of Seattle’s most progressive districts, District 2 in SE Seattle, and Erica’s been talking to them. We debate and discuss the issues and the candidates.  

But the real drama? The potential closure of the Virginia Inn, which has been operating near Pike Place market for 120 years. David pokes fun at Sandeep and Erica's sentimental reminiscences. Nostalgia is a helluva drug...

It’s day 81 of the Trump administration as we record this episode (on Friday morning) and things are getting … alarming. Seattleites are increasingly freaking out about the chaos and insanity in the Other Washington, and who can blame them?

Middle school students in West Seattle were rushed inside because someone thought they saw an ICE vehicle (spoiler alert: it was just plain ol’ SPD). And Erica's got the grim details about h...

It's the first week of April, and things at the City Council are heating up faster than a sunny afternoon at Denny Blaine Park. First up: CM Cathy Moore initiates a debate over developer profits and offers a controversial proposal to expand the Mandatory Affordable Housing program (MHA) to Seattle’s current single-family zones. We ask: why can’t we quit bickering and build more shit? Then, rising gun violence. A critical audit...

This is a special preview of an episode of a new podcast, Blue City Blues. Click this link to hear the entire episode wherever you get your podcasts.  

Keith Humphreys: Why Drug Reform Failed In West Coast Blue Cities 

The wave of bold new decriminalization-centered approaches to drug policy reform that swept West Coast cities from San Francisco to Vancouver, B.C. starting around 2020 has failed, according to one the nation’s leading...

Breaking: Council President Sara Nelson tells Seattle Nice she’s open to considering new progressive taxes to fund drug treatment and that she supports involuntary commitment for people who are “severely impaired through years of addiction.” 

We also dive deep into the epic battle over Sara’s plan for affordable “workforce” housing near the stadiums. Why were some urbanists opposed? Did billionaire Chris Hansen pull the strings? Wha...

Check out a preview of the latest episode of Are You Mad at Me?, the podcast about the movie Shattered Glass hosted by PubliCola co-founders Erica Barnett and Josh Feit. Shattered Glass, starting Hayden Christensen, Peter Sarsgaard, Chloe Sevigny, and Steve Zahn (among many other names you'll recognize), is about a journalism scandal in the late 1990s in which a reporter, Stephen Glass, was found to have fabricated dozens of s...

Sandeep says Dow Constantine will be the next CEO of Sound Transit. Is Dow the best pick? Was the process a flawed example of cronyism? And why is the transit agency's CEO pay so high? 

We also discuss progressive activist Katie Wilson entering the Seattle mayor's race against Bruce Harrell. Does she have a shot against Harrell's record and "One Seattle" leadership style? Don't miss our in-depth intervi...

The latest explosive headline about Bruce Harrell's 1996 arrest isn't great news for a mayor who is up for re-election later this year. We discuss the fallout and the fact that a mystery challenger is expected to join that race next week.

Speaking of politics, we also discuss Erica's interview with Dionne Foster, who is challenging City Council President Sara Nelson. Foster is challenging Nelson from the left, but som...

What do you call it when Mayor Bruce Harrell raises eyebrows with alleged praise for Trump advisors, a totem pole stands in the way of a park opening, and a tree divides a neighborhood? Just another week in Seattle! 
 
In this episode, we dive into Mayor Harrell's comments at a downtown business event, where he appeared to praise tech advisors to Donald J. Trump like Elon Musk. Was it an off-script gaffe, a calculated...

Joy Hollingsworth was elected to the Seattle City Council in 2023 to replace Kshama Sawant in District 3. Her victory was part of a centrist wave. But Hollingsworth sometimes finds herself on the more progressive side of council legislation. Does she see herself as a swing vote? She also gets candid with us about Seattle’s racial politics, and how some white progressives seem more interested in speaking for Black people rather than...

In this members-only episode we take a closer look at the style, the substance and the politics of Tuesday's State of the City Address by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell.

This episode is a free preview. To hear the full episode just sign up at any level that's right for you at patreon.com/seattlenice.  

If you are already a member, here's how to access your member-only episodes automatically: https://support.patreon.com/hc...