Mossback Talk Radio (and TV)

Yesterday was for talking. And talking. And talking. It started with a great 9am interview with Steve Scher on Weekday on KUOW. I've written before about how I admire Steve's interviewing skills (in fact, he's going to be teaching the art of interviewing at the UW this spring), and it was a joy have the chance to indulge in a long-form conversation with him instead of the kind of topic-hopping we do on the Friday (10am) news-in-review panel. If you missed the interview, you can find it here.

After that, I hightailed it from the University District over to KIRO radio's studios on Eastlake for an hour with Dave Ross. The bearded Ross gets chided for being scruffy and he seemed delighted to have a guest who was a poster-child for worse grooming. He had us photographed together in the studio to prove that he wasn't the most unkempt media guy in town. He had trouble with my name, though, no pronouncing the "K" in Knute or the soft "g" in Berger (rhymes with merger). As I tell folks, a "Newt Burger" sounds like the world's fast food idea. Anyway, we had a good conversation about growth addiction and some great calls from newcomers who had their own stories about how frosty and hard-hearted Seattleites can be to newbies. If you missed the show, you can find it here (click on the Jan. 21, 11am hour).

I wrapped things up with a reading at the University Bookstore. A nice turnout and a good Q&A session. One guest asked for a show of hands of how many people there were Seattle natives and about half the crowd of 40 or so people raised their hands. With so many natives there, who left to mind the city of Seattle?

Also, on Friday I'll be taping an interview with KCTS Connects. The show, hosted by Enrique Cerna, airs Friday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 pm.

Next up: I'll be reading next at Third Place Books at their Lake Forest Park location next Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 7pm. Hope to see you there.