261. Cate Osborn: Wildly Unprepared

265. Psychedelic Salon: Psychedelics & Grief With Dr. Sunil Aggarwal, Laura Sullivan Cassidy, and April Pride

Grief is one of the most universal yet isolating experiences we endure—and psychedelics may offer a path through it. This Salon explores how substances like psilocybin, MDMA, and 5-MeO-DMT are being used to support those navigating loss, whether from death, identity shifts, or life transitions. This session sheds light on how altered states can help us reconnect to love, soften the sharp edges of sorrow, and reorient to a life forever changed. Attendees will gain insight into the science and integration practices that support emotional processing and meaning-making in the context of grief. Dr. Sunil Aggarwal is a physician in hospice and palliative medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and a medical geographer. Dr. Aggarwal's primary clinical work is as an Integrative Pain, Palliative Care, and Rehabilitation Physician in private practice at the AIMS Institute in Seattle, Washington, and as an on-call Palliative and Hospice Physician within a Puget Sound–based healthcare system. He has a petition to reschedule psilocybin that is currently under review at the US Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Aggarwal's medical geography scholarship focuses on the geographies of access, delivery, and development of cannabinologic and psychedelic integrative medicine—particularly as these relate to pain management, hospice and palliative medicine, and rehabilitation services. After two decades in journalism and content direction, Laura Sullivan Cassidy (she/her) used the early pandemic years to begin building a new career serving communities in grief and loss. She's trained as a grief work facilitator, creative coach, and death doula, and is employed at Recompose, the Seattle-based green funeral home known for pioneering the process of human composting. Her role at Recompose involves outreach, community, and client work—specifically with communities for whom a death is approaching, either via terminal diagnosis or hospice care. Laura writes a Substack called Griever's Ball and offers creative expression, listening groups, and death awareness workshops. — Psychedelic Salon: Cultivating Conscious Connections Join Seattle-based psychedelics educator and podcast host April Pride in a dynamic series co-produced with Town Hall Seattle. Psychedelic Salon explores the transformative potential of psychedelic medicines through engaging conversations, expert panels, and interactive community discussions. Rooted in scientific evidence, each event highlights unique themes—including grief, seniors, menopause, and more—emphasizing their role in mental health, spiritual growth, and personal optimization. Designed to be inclusive and insightful, this series invites attendees of all backgrounds to discover how psychedelics can foster profound connections, healing, and well-being. About April Pride April Pride is a Seattle-based creative entrepreneur and harm reduction advocate with over two decades of experience building brands at the intersection of lifestyle, cannabis, psychedelics, and women's health. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Vice, and The Guardian. April is the founder of SetSet, the world's first clinician-approved woman-focused platform for safe, accessible psychedelic integration. To learn more, follow April on Substack – aprilpride.substack.com [http://aprilpride.substack.com/]

264. Steve Brusatte with David B. Williams: A New History of Birds: From Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present

Try to imagine a world without birds. It's quite a challenge, given that we share the planet with tens of billions of birds spanning an astonishing 14,000 species. Birds find homes nearly everywhere that people do – and many places we do not – and their prowess and plumage have captivated human imagination throughout the ages. But impressive aerial feats and collective choirs of song aside, part of our fascination with birds is rooted in the awe of something so delicate and strange. How did such seemingly fragile creatures made of hollow bones and downy feathers break the mold of terrestrial life and survive millennia? In his newest book, The Story of Birds: A New History, from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present, esteemed paleontologist Steve Brusatte embarks on a deep dive through the history of avian evolution. The Story of Birds begins by exploring how dinosaurs gradually developed the trademark features of birds one-by-one—feathers, wings, beaks, big brains, keen senses, and warm-blooded metabolisms. Brusatte investigates how these features contributed to birds emerging as the only surviving dinosaurs of the cataclysmic asteroid impact 66 million years ago, and how their numbers soared to new heights of diversity in the barren landscape that followed. Along this journey through time, meet extraordinary extinct species like the 1.5-ton elephant birds of Madagascar, giant Pelagornithid seabirds with 20-foot wingspans, and flightless 10-foot-tall terror birds with beaks that sliced flesh. Brusatte follows these remarkable species all the way down to the present, urging readers to share the same appreciation for the many impressive birds of today– penguins that literally fly underwater, parrots that can mimic human speech, and hummingbirds that hover mid-air and dive at 50 miles per hour. Presented with keen research and soaring enthusiasm, The Story of Birds unearths the unique origins of birds and the legacy they continue to live to this day. Steve Brusatte, PhD, is an American paleontologist who teaches at the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland. He is the author of the international bestseller The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs and The Rise and Reign of the Mammals. The paleontology advisor on the Jurassic World film franchise, Brusatte has named more than fifteen new species, including the tyrannosaur "Pinocchio rex" (Qianzhousaurus), the raptor Zhenyuanlong, and several ancient mammals. His research and writing has been featured in Science, the New York Times, Scientific American, and many other publications. David B. Williams is an author and naturalist whose award-winning books include Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound and Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle's Topography, as well as co-authoring Spirit Whales and Sloth Tales: Fossils of Washington State. His newest book, Wild in Seattle: Stories at the Crossroads of People and Nature is a best-of collection from his free weekly Substack newsletter, the Street Smart Naturalist. He has been called an "evangelist for the practice of paying attention." https://www.elliottbaybook.com/item/UhelvOrckPkp0RDRyUQi-A Buy the Book [https://www.elliottbaybook.com/item/UhelvOrckPkp0RDRyUQi-A] The Story of Birds: A New History from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present [https://www.elliottbaybook.com/item/UhelvOrckPkp0RDRyUQi-A] Elliott Bay Book Company [https://www.elliottbaybook.com/item/UhelvOrckPkp0RDRyUQi-A]

263. Psychedelic Salon: Psychedelics & Disordered Eating With Dr. Amanda Downey and April Pride

A conversation about the emerging potential of psychedelics, particularly psilocybin, in addressing eating disorders—a psychiatric area marked by persistent treatment challenges. This Salon dives into groundbreaking research showing how psychedelics disrupt entrenched thought patterns, ease cognitive rigidity, and foster self-compassion and emotional reconnection. April Pride and invited experts will discuss the limitations of current treatments and how psychedelic therapies could offer new hope. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of how psychedelic-assisted therapy might revolutionize the path to healing for those struggling with disordered eating. Dr. Amanda Downey is a pediatrician and psychiatrist who cares for adolescents and young adults with eating disorders. She works with patients and their families to develop a treatment plan that honors their unique strengths and challenges. Through education, advocacy, and research, she strives to dismantle the systems that increase risk for eating disorders and improve evidence-based eating disorder treatments. She is the assistant medical director of the UCSF Eating Disorders Program and a member of the UCSF Translational Psychedelic Research Program (TrPR). Psychedelic Salon: Cultivating Conscious Connections Join Seattle-based psychedelics educator and podcast host April Pride in a dynamic series co-produced with Town Hall Seattle. Psychedelic Salon explores the transformative potential of psychedelic medicines through engaging conversations, expert panels, and interactive community discussions. Rooted in scientific evidence, each event highlights unique themes—including grief, seniors, menopause, and more—emphasizing their role in mental health, spiritual growth, and personal optimization. Designed to be inclusive and insightful, this series invites attendees of all backgrounds to discover how psychedelics can foster profound connections, healing, and well-being. About April Pride April Pride is a Seattle-based creative entrepreneur and harm reduction advocate with over two decades of experience building brands at the intersection of lifestyle, cannabis, psychedelics, and women's health. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Vice, and The Guardian. April is the founder of SetSet, the world's first clinician-approved woman-focused platform for safe, accessible psychedelic integration.

262. Suzanne Simard with Lynda Mapes: When the Forest Breathes

Forest ecologist Suzanne Simard has long been fascinated by the sharing of natural knowledge. From the interconnected root systems she studied in her book Finding the Mother Tree to her ongoing work as an educator, Simard has learned to see the importance of cooperative efforts to share resources and knowledge. Joined in conversation by Seattle-based nature journalist Lynda Mapes, Simard expands these connections into a considerate exploration of the elaborate cycles of forest ecosystems, the challenges they currently face, and the intergenerational value they can provide through her new book When the Forest Breathes: Renewal and Resilience in the Natural World. Raised in a family of loggers committed to sensible forest stewardship, Simard has watched as modern practices and timber companies have left forests vulnerable to damage and depletion. In her research, Simard explores the finely honed cycles of regeneration forests inherently use to maintain themselves. From mushrooms breaking down logs to dying elder trees passing their genetic knowledge to younger growth, When the Forest Breathes presents these cycles as a key component in the protection and preservation of our forests. Working closely with Indigenous communities and the models of responsible forestry they've upheld over time, Simard examines the damage caused by industrialization and wide-scale human intervention– particularly the impact on the overstory's mother trees that are responsible for sharing intergenerational wisdom and supporting new growth. As Simard seeks to understand the importance of stewardship and how older lives can facilitate the conditions for new growth to flourish, she considers similar patterns of loss and regeneration in her own life. Savoring her final days with her ailing mother and watching her daughters grow into adults, Simard draws thoughtful parallels around what caretaking looks like within the forest and within our own communities. Animated by wonder and the urge to honor the tools that trees have honed over generations, When the Forest Breathes aims to use the lessons of the natural world to encourage paths of adaptability, resilience, cooperation, and valuing our forests. Dr. Suzanne Simard is the New York Times bestselling author of Finding the Mother Tree. She is a Professor of Forest Ecology at the University of British Columbia, where she leads The Mother Tree Project and co-directs the Belowground Ecosystem Group. Dr. Simard has earned a global reputation for pioneering research on tree connectivity and communication and the productivity, health, and biodiversity of forests. Her work has been published widely, with over 170 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Ecology, and Global Biology, and she has co-authored the book Climate Change and Variability. Her research has been communicated broadly through three TED Talks, TED Experiences, as well as articles and interviews in The New Yorker, National Geographic, NPR, CNN, and many more. She lives with her family in the mountains around Nelson, British Columbia. Lynda Mapes is a journalist, nature writer, and the author of six books on the natural and cultural history of the Pacific Northwest. Her previous publications include The Trees are Speaking and Orca: Shared Waters Shared Home. She was previously an environment reporter for the Seattle Times, focusing on nature, natural history, Native cultures and governments, and Pacific Northwest environmental news, where she was named a finalist for a team award for the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting in 2025. https://www.elliottbaybook.com/item/rbwr187WritlYC7Yg5kilQ Buy the Book [https://www.elliottbaybook.com/item/rbwr187WritlYC7Yg5kilQ] When the Forest Breathes: Renewal and Resilience in the Natural World [https://www.elliottbaybook.com/item/rbwr187WritlYC7Yg5kilQ] Elliott Bay Book Company [https://www.elliottbaybook.com/item/rbwr187WritlYC7Yg5kilQ]

261. Cate Osborn: Wildly Unprepared

Comedian, historian, and bestselling author Cate Osborn brings a special program derived from her live touring show, Wildly Unprepared. This evening features a curated portion of the performance, exploring the strange and surprising history of magic, spectacle, and belief, along with storytelling and conversation about curiosity, culture, and the stories we inherit. While this program draws from the larger theatrical show, it is designed as a standalone event created especially for Town Hall audiences. The show will be followed by a Q&A with Cate. About the Book Just shy of her thirtieth birthday, Cate Osborn, a teaching artist with two master's degrees, realized that things that had seemed routine before were falling through the cracks. An evaluation finally led to a diagnosis: ADHD. Erik Gude, who was diagnosed in his teens, had a slightly different path. While an ADHD diagnosis might explain the cause of some of his academic challenges, it would take years before he understood the other ways it affected other aspects of his life. When they connected as adults, it didn't take long before they realized other people might feel just as lost as they had. With roughly eight million adults living with ADHD and more people seeking and receiving diagnoses each year, The ADHD Field Guide for Adults is a witty, thoughtful, and practical guide to living with ADHD in adulthood, from two people who know what it's like. Featuring the most important foundational information about ADHD, it also explores issues that are rarely discussed, such as navigating sex and intimacy, the healthcare system, and home care. And unlike existing titles on the topic, it is intentionally structured to incorporate ADHD accessibility features by offering bite-sized pieces of knowledge in a format that caters to the unique needs of ADHD readers. Cate Osborn, widely known as Catieosaurus, is an award-winning creator, author, and international speaker whose work sits at the intersection of ADHD, decision-making, sex, relationships, and intimacy. With over 2 million followers and hundreds of millions of annual views across her platforms, Cate has built a global audience by blending humor, storytelling, research, and radical honesty about what it means to live in a brain that does not follow the rules. She is the host of Sorry I Missed This on the Understood network, and her work has been featured in The New York Times, GQ, Cosmopolitan, the Washington Post, and most notably, Ships of the Northern Fleet. Cate is also the creator of the Wildly Unprepared live tour, a one-of-a-kind experience that fuses comedy, history, magic, and audience interaction into a powerful exploration of resilience and chaos. https://www.brickandmortarbooks.com/item/gQpiPqSJBXhTa_gmD3mZHQ Buy the Book [https://www.brickandmortarbooks.com/item/gQpiPqSJBXhTa_gmD3mZHQ] The ADHD Field Guide for Adults [https://www.brickandmortarbooks.com/item/gQpiPqSJBXhTa_gmD3mZHQ] Brick and Mortar Books [https://www.brickandmortarbooks.com/item/gQpiPqSJBXhTa_gmD3mZHQ]