BONUS: Mark Frost's FDR novel is not 'Twin Peaks' but it's own brand of weird

What's at the end of author Lily Brooks-Dalton's world

Speculative fiction is often about society, how people think and work together. Sure, there's something decidedly out there, something not quite possible, sometimes something downright magical. But at the end of the day, the genre speculates about what might happen if... What exactly comes after the "if" depends on the writer. Author Lily Brooks-Dalton's "what if" often includes a kind of societal collapse, and that collapse sets her latest main character, Ember, on a journey into a surprising past. Ruins [https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/lily-brooks-dalton/ruins/9781538770528/] is, on its face anyway, about an archaeologist who goes looking for a lost empire. But what is this lost world? What clue does Ember have of its existence? And why is the end of something so often the beginning for this author? Lily stopped by to talk to host Katie Campbell about the allure of societal collapse in her storytelling. If you want to stay speculative, check out Lily and Katie's Recommended If You Liked (RIYL): * Piranesi [https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/piranesi-9781635575637/] by Susanna Clarke * I Who Have Never Known Men [https://www.transitbooks.org/books/iwhohaveneverknownmen] by Jacqueline Harpman * On the Calculation of Volume [https://www.ndbooks.com/book/on-the-calculation-of-volume-book-i/] by Solvej Balle * The Husbands [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743083/the-husbands-a-read-with-jenna-pick-by-holly-gramazio/] by Holly Gramazio * Sea of Tranquility [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/692735/sea-of-tranquility-by-emily-st-john-mandel/] by Emily St. John Mandel (Honestly, Katie recommends anything by Emily St. John Mandel * For All Mankind [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7772588/] on Apple TV Read more about Lily Brooks-Dalton (and all the authors who stop by for a chat with our host Katie Campbell) at kuow.org/books [https://www.kuow.org/series/books/]. Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet [https://donate.kuow.org/donate/meet].  See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

BONUS: The things we do for love with Sonora Jha

Finding love can be so weird these days, which is why the main character in Seattle author Sonora Jha’s new novel decides to take a big swing to find the right man for her.  She holds a swayamvar. It’s an ancient Indian custom in which suitors competed in a feat of wills and strength to win a beautiful princess’s hand in marriage. But the woman in the novel Intemperance [https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/book/9780063440845] is not a young princess looking for her first love. She’s a twice-divorced professor of feminist theory in her 50s who lives on a rad houseboat in present-day Seattle.  The KUOW Book Club read Sonora’s novel in May. KUOW’s Katie Campbell sat down with her on May 21 in front of a live audience at the Seattle Central Library to talk about love, aging, and the kinds of feats Sonora would require at her swayamvar.  Join the KUOW Book Club at kuow.org/books [https://www.kuow.org/series/books/]. Help keep KUOW's local podcasts going strong! Donate now at kuow.org/meet [https://donate.kuow.org/donate/meet].  See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

What to do with your weekend - Books, books, and more BOOKS!

Meet Me Here listeners, if you still don't have any plans for this weekend, fear not. The Weekend Warmup is here to help with a whole bunch of ideas for fun things to do around the region this weekend. HOST: Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows LINKS: * Inaugural Ballard Book Crawl [https://www.instagram.com/p/DYF0_kGkt6l/] * Lost the Plot Mobile Books [https://www.losttheplotbooks.com/schedule] * Bremerton by the Book [https://ballastbookco.com/bremerton-by-the-book] * Page 42 Bookstore [https://www.page42bookstore.com/] Smut & Sips [https://www.instagram.com/p/DYdaXmPARE7/] * Book Recommendations thanks to @beckybooksandbeads [https://www.instagram.com/beckybooksandbeads/reels/]! * Trailhead Direct [https://trailheaddirect.org/] - Begins Saturday! * Whidbey Ren Faire [https://www.whidbeyrenfaire.org/] * Festival | Northwest Folklife [https://nwfolklife.org/festival/home.html] Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/meet  [https://www.kuow.org/donate/meet] Meet Me Here is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.  See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Easy ways to support your local arts organizations

Margo Vansynghel sometimes jokes that she’s the harbinger of doom. As the arts economy reporter for The Seattle Times, it's her job to spell out the connections between the arts and the economy here in Seattle.  She’s written about the recent layoffs of 250 local arts workers [https://www.seattletimes.com/life/culture/seattle-arts-groups-are-laying-off-staff-what-do-arts-lovers-lose/]; Seattle Art Museum employees working to unionize [https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/visual-arts/seattle-art-museum-employees-are-unionizing/]; and the Bellevue Art Museum's [https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/visual-arts/bellevue-arts-museum-kidsquest-announce-bam-building-will-be-sold/] sudden closure in 2024.  In this conversation from October 2025, Margo gives us a temperature check on how Seattle arts organizations are doing overall and says it's not time to freak out just yet. She also shares simple, actionable ideas for things we can all do to support Seattle artists and arts organizations.  In this episode we mention: * The Seattle Symphony [https://www.seattlesymphony.org/?%40%40item_date=%3E10%2F20%2F2025] and its new music director, Xian Zhang [https://www.seattlesymphony.org/music-director] * Seattle’s 13 art walks [https://www.seattleartwalks.com/], in neighborhoods like the Central District, Capitol Hill, Belltown and Hillman City. Along with the mothership art walk, First Thursday Art Walk [https://pioneersquare.org/art-walks/] in Pioneer Square * King County’s cultural funding agency, 4Culture [https://www.4culture.org/] * The Seattle Public Library’s free museum pass program [https://www.spl.org/programs-and-services/arts-and-culture/museum-pass]. * Discount tickets to arts organizations, including Pacific Northwest Ballet [https://www.pnb.org/season/offers/], Seattle Rep [https://www.seattlerep.org/plays/ticket-information/ticket-discounts] and Seattle Art Museum. [https://www.seattleartmuseum.org/whats-on/programs/discounts]   * Local storyteller Emmett Montgomery [https://www.instagram.com/emmettmontgomery/?hl=en] MORE ON MARGO: For more of Margo’s coverage of the arts and economy check out her articles about unexpected art experiences [https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/immersive-experiences-and-more-seattle-art-trends-to-try/]in Seattle and 12 ways to support the arts in Seattle.  [https://www.cascadepbs.org/culture/2022/12/so-you-want-support-seattle-arts-heres-how/] There’s also this visual story Margo wrote that explains 15 ways you can support local arts and artists.  [https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/15-ways-to-support-seattle-area-arts-and-artists/] If you’d like to ask Margo for her arts suggestions based on your personal preferences, email: mvansynghel@seattletimes.com [mvansynghel@seattletimes.com] ********** Support Meet Me Here and all KUOW's podcasts at kuow.org/meet  [https://donate.kuow.org/donate/meet] Got an arts and culture idea you'd like us to talk about? Email us! arts@kuow.org [arts@kuow.org]    See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

BONUS: Mark Frost's FDR novel is not 'Twin Peaks' but it's own brand of weird

"The Yankee Sphinx [https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/book/9781250876898]" may sound like a mysterious novel in line with "Twin Peaks," which author Mark Frost co-created, but it's much more normal than the famous surrealist crime drama. Note: I said "more normal." The novel is about President Franklin D. Roosevelt — nicknamed the Yankee Sphinx — and his presidency in the later years of World War II. There was very little that was "normal" about that period, considering the novel covers FDR's third full term and partial fourth term as president. Then, there's the matter of the novel's source material: a clandestine diary kept by FDR's longtime staffer and friend William D. Hassett. Frost stopped by KUOW while on tour to talk about someone who has classically dealt in the weird and uncanny came to write something so normal. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.