Cascade PBS Ideas Festival

News and Public Affairs Series / 1 Season

Journalists, politicians, authors and newsmakers from around the world come together at the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival to take a hard look at the people, policy and events that shape our lives.

Watch Latest: S1 E9

27m 43s

Radio Atlantic: AI Elections 1.0

S1 E9 / 27m 43s

This year, two events will collide: AI voice replicas accurate enough to fool your best friend will be easier than ever to use; and half the world’s population will undergo an election. Hanna Rosin, host of Radio Atlantic, and Charlie Warzel, an Atlantic staff writer covering technology, discuss AI's potential to harass, commit fraud and sow political discord.

Revisionist History: Unlocked and Unloaded

S1 E8 / 28m 8s

Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast re-examines something from the past — an event, a person, an idea, even a song — and asks whether we got it right the first time. This live edition is the culmination of a six-part series covering everything Americans get wrong about guns. Gladwell hosts a conversation with gun control activist David Hogg and trauma surgeon Babak Sarani.

Post Reports: Identity Crisis

S1 E7 / 28m 18s

Trust in American institutions has reached record lows, leaving Americans in search of shared values, community and ways to understand where they fit in. At the same time, identity markers have gained more prominence. Where do these changes leave us? Are we creating more opportunities to understand each other, or are we becoming more fractured?

Left, Right & Center: Serious About Satire

S1 E6 / 28m 26s

Left, Right & Center is KCRW’s weekly politics show that takes on the tough, divisive issues you’re afraid to talk about with your own family. In this episode, Mo Elleithee, Sarah Isgur and David Greene debate the media’s readiness for another Trump campaign and the impact of political satire from either side of the aisle.

Critics at Large: Crazy for Crime

S1 E5 / 28m 2s

“True Crime” is more popular than ever—but audiences are also reckoning with the ethics of the genre. Patrick Radden Keefe, author of books like “Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Family” and “Say Nothing: A True Story of Memory and Murder in Northern Ireland,” has made a career of telling nuanced stories about unconscionable acts. The New Yorker staff talk to Keefe about writing.

Hear Me Out: Living History

S1 E4 / 28m 26s

Historian Heather Cox Richardson sits down with Hear Me Out host Celeste Headlee for a tough conversation about the state of our democracy and the potential long-term impacts of the upcoming presidential election.

The Journal: Economy Anxiety and the Election

S1 E3 / 27m 9s

There’s a striking disconnect between how Americans feel about the economy and the direction the economy is going. How will those feelings shape the 2024 election? Kate Linebaugh and Ryan Knutson, co-hosts of podcast The Journal, sit down with The Wall Street Journal’s senior political correspondent Molly Ball.

Text Me Back!: Court Roast

S1 E2 / 28m 22s

A celebration of the 25-year best friendship between New York Times bestselling author Lindy West and recovering lawyer and democracy expert Meagan Hatcher-Mays. The pair dissects pop culture, politics, snakes, the paranormal and anything else that crosses their minds. They are joined by Los Angeles-based comedian, movie star and icon Guy Branum for a raucous roast of the Supreme Court.

Tug of War: Covering the Crisis in the Middle East

S1 E1 / 28m 29s

Since the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7 and the outbreak of the war in Gaza, CNN’s Tug of War has taken listeners to the heart of the conflict, as reporters bring us the latest and talk to the people living through it. Host David Rind talks to international correspondent Nada Bashir about the challenges of reporting on the humanitarian crisis and how this conflict has changed the Middle East.

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