A Fresh Face in Hell with Jonathan Evison

Andrea Suarez, founder of "We Heart Seattle", claims that Seattle doesn't have a homeless problem, it has a serious fentanyl problem. Why is this an important distinction? For Andrea, it comes down to where we, and our elected officials, decide to focus our resources. Will more affordable housing slow the rampant theft, sex trafficking, and overdoses that plague Seattle? Does low-barrier housing really give addicts a chance to get clean, or do these tiny homes just become taxpayer-funded crime centers? Andrea has some tough-love opinions that come from years in the trenches cleaning up Seattle's public spaces and helping addicts on their road to recovery. She has a lot of passion for this city and some insights that are hard to hear.
We Heart Seattle - https://weheartseattle.org/
linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/freshfacepods.evison

Recently, several people recommended to me a limited series podcast called Adults in the Room, which deals with a series of sexual abuse allegations at Garfield High School in Seattle in late 90s. The story, told largely by show's creator, Isolde Rafferty, the managing editor at KUOW and a former reporter at the New York Times, follows a young Isolde as she and a friend, students at Garfield High, decide to report a beloved teacher for sexual abuse. At the time, their accusations faced huge opposition from fellow students, parents, and even local media. 27 years later, Isolde revisited the case and was shocked by how many people knew about the teacher's behavior but refused to act. It's a frustrating story that we've heard many times before, including at my own High School Alma Mater, Bainbridge High School. This week we ask some tough questions about why administrators, parents, and other educators--the adults in the room--systematically protect the predator, rather than the victim. The answers are unsettling.
Adults in the Room:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/focus-adults-in-the-room/id1733735613
linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/freshfacepods.evison

In the summer of 2024, we recorded our first Fresh Face interview with Steve Turner, the trailblazing guitarist of Mudhoney. We initially planned on being an audio-only podcast, but we quickly realized that America prefers to watch people talk, so we started the YouTube channel. We wanted to re-release some of the early episodes that didn't get the video treatment on the channel, so we're starting with Steve. In this episode, we talk about collecting records, the early days of the Seattle punk scene, Steve's long journey in music, from basements to arenas, and his excellent memoir Mud Ride. You can also watch the interview on our YouTube channel.
https://youtu.be/7la6_5MwPyc
linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/freshfacepods.evison

Francis Weller is a retired psychotherapist and renowned author of "The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief". Francis believes that grief and gratitude are inseparable, and that our capacity to feel loss is proportional to our capacity to love. Believing that communal grieving is essential for genuine healing, Francis hosts weekend retreats in Northern California where participants share stories of loss, write, sing and engage in symbolic ritual to tend to their grief. We discuss this process and his expansion of our understanding of what grief is, be it the loss of a loved one, a loss of vitality, or a loss of hope. Through what he calls the sacred work of grief, Francis offers tools to help us reconnect and heal, and ultimately navigate our way out of what he refers to as the long dark. If you're a fan of Joesph Campbell or Carl Jung you'll love what Francis is laying down here.  
https://www.francisweller.net/
linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/freshfacepods.evison

If I were tasked with creating a soundtrack for the Evison family, Eric D. Johnson would definetly be featured. My kids would know the lyrics already from repeated listens. From Bonnie Light Horseman to The Shins to Fruit Bats, Eric has amassed a discography of indie folk-pop amazingness that few could rival. Eric has also created scores for films such as Wild, Our Idiot Brother, and Spivak. A Chicago native, we get into some of the celebrated and unknown artists coming out of the Midwest. Fruit Bats' new album, The Landfill, comes out this June and I couldn't be more excited.
https://www.fruitbatsmusic.com/
linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/freshfacepods.evison