Town Hall Seattle Science Series

A silent epidemic of chronic illnesses afflicts tens of millions of Americans: These are diseases that are poorly understood, frequently marginalized, and can go undiagnosed and unrecognized altogether. In her latest book – The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness – renowned writer Meghan O’Rourke delivers a revelatory investigation into this elusive category of “invisible” illness that encompasses autoimmune diseases, post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, and now long COVID, synthesizing the personal and the universal to help all of us through this new frontier. O’Rourke is joined by ISB President Dr. Jim Heath, who has deeply studied long COVID and its similarities to other chronic illnesses, to discuss chronic diseases, how they’ve traditionally been understood and treated, and what the future holds. Meghan O’Rourke is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness and The Long Goodbye, as well as the poetry collections Sun In Days, Once, and Halfl

We all do it, but we hardly ever talk about it. After all, human feces isn’t exactly a popular topic of discussion. We’d simply like to flush it and forget about it. Researchers, however, want to change all that. That’s because our body’s natural byproduct may be the key to solving some of today’s biggest problems. Local, award-winning journalist and microbiologist Bryn Nelson, Ph.D., is determined to shift our mentality around poop. In his book, Flush, Nelson shares how human waste holds potent medicine, sustainable power, and even natural fertilizer to restore the world’s depleted lands. New science shows that within this lowly, underused resource lies effective ways of measuring and improving human health, identifying early warnings of community outbreaks like COVID-19, and reversing environmental harm. It turns out that poop is very much worthy of conversation; Nelson even argues that it could be the world’s most squandered natural resource. But unlocking poop’s enormous potential (poo-tential?) will requ

How did we become so deeply divided? In 2019, hate crimes reached a ten-year high in the United States. In 2020, 40% of each political party deemed supporters of the opposing party “downright evil.” In addition to division across political lines, rampant discord is likewise rooted in other hot-button issues like race, religion, gender, and class. Despite one in five Americans suffering from chronic loneliness, it seems that we are collectively determined to distance ourselves from those who aren’t like us. But what if there were a set of scientifically grounded techniques that could help us overcome our differences, create empathy, and forge lasting connections? That’s where Stanford University professor Geoffrey Cohen comes in. In his book Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides, Cohen examines the issues that poison our communal existence and undermine our sense of belonging, and offers solutions to help us establish connections using even the smallest of gestures. Even skeptics c

Building Policy Update: As of June 1, 2022, masks remain required at Town Hall Seattle. Read our current COVID-19 policies and in-building safety protocols. Thu 7/14, 2022, 7:30pm Blaise Agüera y Arcas and Melanie Mitchell with Lili Cheng How Close Are We to AI? BUY THE BOOKS   Ubi SuntBy Blaise Agüera y Arcas   Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking HumansBy Melanie Mitchell     Artificial Intelligence (AI), a term first coined at a Dartmouth workshop in 1956, has seen several boom and bust cycles over the last 66 years. Is the current boom different? The most exciting advance in the field since 2017 has been the development of “Large Language Models,” giant neural networks trained on massive databases of text on the web. Still highly experimental, Large Language Models haven’t yet been deployed at scale in any consumer product — smart/voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, Cortana, or the Google Assistant are still based on earlier, more scripted approaches. Large Language Models

Year after year, the quality of the world’s agricultural soil is degrading, which deeply impacts the quality and quantity of the food that we grow. Further, there’s a clear link between the health of our soil and the health of humans. What does that mean for us? Eventually we’ll face an existential crisis of the world’s food supply and our health. Fortunately, experts are studying how to improve our outlook, and two of them happen to live in Seattle. David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé believe that the roots of good health start on farms. In their latest book, What Your Food Ate, this local pair provided evidence from recent and forgotten science to illustrate how the health of the soil ripples through to crops, livestock, and ultimately us. They traced the links between crops and soil life that nourish one another, which in turn provide our bodies with the nutrients needed to protect us from pathogens and chronic ailments. Unfortunately, conventional agricultural practices hurt these vital partnerships and af

Alzheimer’s is a global health problem with more than 6 million people living with the disease in the U.S. alone. Tremendous gains have been made in the understanding of the science and basic biology underlying Alzheimer’s and other dementias. These advances are leading to great strides in strategies for prevention, detection, diagnostics and therapeutic interventions. The Alzheimer’s Association is a global leader in research, mobilizing the field to advance the vision of a world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementia. Join Dr. Maria Carrillo to learn more about: ●      The landscape of Alzheimer’s and dementia science ●      Risk factors for Alzheimer’s and all other dementia ●      Highlights in early detection and diagnosis ●      Latest advances in clinical trials, treatments and lifestyle intervention Maria C. Carrillo, Ph.D., is the chief science officer for the Alzheimer’s Association where she sets the strategic vision for their global research program. Under her leadership, the Association is t

From the grasslands of the Columbia Plateau to the rich valleys west of the Cascade Mountains, There are over 70,000 miles of rivers in Washington state. Rivers are vital to our region’s ecosystems, hosting a wide diversity of living things in their waters and along their banks – our beautiful state would not be what it is without our waterways. How might we better understand rivers and ensure their vitality now, and in the future? According to queer-trans-feminist river scientist Cleo Wölfle Hazard, the key to our rivers’ futures requires centering the values of justice, sovereignty, and dynamism. Wölfle Hazard’s new book, Underflow: Queer Trans Ecologies and River Justice, meets at the intersection of river sciences, queer and trans theory, and environmental justice, and explores river cultures and politics at five sites of water conflict and restoration in California, Oregon, and Washington. Incorporating work with salmon, beaver, and floodplain recovery projects, Wölfle Hazard weaved narratives about inno

There’s a powerful movement happening in farming today, and it’s not a movement focused on flashy technology or producing food faster or at larger scales. Instead, it’s a movement that centers on farmers reconnecting with their roots, reviving their ancestors’ methods of growing food, healing their communities, and ultimately fighting climate change. In her new book, Healing Grounds, Liz Carlisle shared the stories of Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and Asian American farmers who are restoring native prairies, nurturing beneficial fungi, and enriching soil health to feed their communities and revitalize cultural ties to the land. One woman learned her tribe’s history to help bring back the buffalo. Another preserved forest that was purchased by her great-great-uncle, who was among the first wave of African Americans to buy land. Others have rejected monoculture to grow corn, beans, and squash the way farmers in Mexico have done for centuries. Through techniques long suppressed by the industrial food system, they

As the threats of climate change become more urgent than ever, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure about what to do. The problems — and their solutions — seem unwieldy and complicated. But what if we embrace the complexity of the climate crisis and create solutions that are just as intertwined as the issues? That’s where intersectional environmentalism comes in. Leah Thomas, a prominent voice in the field and the activist who coined the term “Intersectional Environmentalism,” offered us a call to action in her new book. The Intersectional Environmentalist serves as a guide to instigating change for all and a pledge to work toward personal empowerment and the healing of the planet. Thomas examined the inextricable link between environmentalism, racism, and privilege, and argued that we cannot save the planet without uplifting the voices of its people –– especially those most often unheard. She shows how not only are Black, Indigenous, and people of color unequally and unfairly impacted by environmental i

Farmers and environmentalists haven’t always seen eye-to-eye about the best ways to manage agricultural landscapes, but America’s farms are vital to preserving ecosystems and a stable climate. How might the two come together to unite for the common good? In No Farms, No Food, longtime farm, fisheries, and environmental policy advocate Don Stuart took readers inside the political and policy battles that determine the fate of our nation’s farmland. Stuart traced the history of agriculture conservation and the development of American Farmland Trust (AFT), from its small beginnings in 1980 to a formidable constituency of farmers and environmentalists. With leadership from AFT, that constituency drove through Congress the first “Conservation Title” in the history of the U.S. Farm Bill; oversaw the development of agriculture conservation easement programs throughout the country; and continues to develop innovative approaches to sustainable agriculture. Together with Addie Candib, the current Pacific Northwest Regio

In the 1940s, the insecticide DDT was widely used to combat insect-borne human diseases like malaria and control insects in agricultural applications, gardens, and inside homes. In the 1950s, it became evident that the pesticide was causing extensive health and environmental damage. In 1962, Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring alerted the public to the long-lasting dangers of pesticide use. And in 1972, the United States EPA issued an order for DDT’s cancellation due to adverse environmental effects and human health risks; in the years that followed, dozens of other countries followed suit. The process took decades, and continues to evolve as DDT remains in use for malaria control today. Historian Elena Conis traced the history of DDT in How to Sell a Poison: The Rise, Fall, and Toxic Return of DDT, following a trail of corporate manipulation and manufactured doubt in science geared to keep the profits flowing. Using the story of DDT as a cautionary tale, Conis argued that we need new ways to communicate abou

The COVID-19 pandemic — one of the most disruptive events in human history — has made it more challenging than ever to feel prepared, hopeful, and equipped to face the future with optimism. How do we map out our lives when it feels impossible to predict what the world will be like next week, let alone next year or next decade? Humans aren’t particularly fond of uncertainty, but what if we had the tools to help us feel more secure and shape our futures? Future forecaster and game designer Jane McGonigal believes it’s possible to recover confidence and face uncertain futures with optimism. As a world-renowned designer of alternate reality games, she has an extensive background in designing tools to improve real lives and solve real problems through planetary-scale collaboration. In her new book, Imaginable, McGonigal drew on the latest scientific research in psychology and neuroscience to show us how to train our minds to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable. Through provocative thought experimen

Humans have been stumbling upon the remains of ancient animals since prehistoric times, long before fossils were routinely dug up, named, and pieced together into “whole” prehistoric skeletons. The word dinosaur wasn’t established until the mid-19th century – practically yesterday, considering the massive span of the geologic time scale. From bits and bones from unknown creatures emerged tales of giant dogs, dragons, sea serpents, and myriad other creatures. Absurd as these legends might seem, they gave rise to the modern science of paleontology – a discipline that completely reshaped how humans viewed the world. In his new book, Paleontology: An Illustrated History, comparative anatomist David Bainbridge took readers from ancient Greece to the eighteenth century, when paleontology started to coalesce into the scientific field we know today. Bainbridge explained how paleontology has always straddled the spheres of science and art, an idea evident in rich visuals that depict great fossil finds, life forms of a

The majestic bald eagle can be spotted throughout most of North America at various points during the year. Here in Western Washington, we’re lucky to spot them all year-round — no doubt thanks to an abundance of tall trees for nesting and open bodies of water that provide a source of food. They are revered birds, sacred within Indigenous traditions, and associated with wisdom, bravery, and protection. Only a few decades ago, the future of bald eagles was tenuous. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, bald eagles were considered menaces by settler farmers, even falsely labeled as vicious, baby-snatching predators that might swoop away with an unsuspecting infant. In some areas, bounties were placed on the birds (folks could earn 50 cents to a dollar per bird killed), and their numbers declined by tens of thousands. The following years brought habitat destruction and deadly contamination of food sources by pesticides like DDT; by the 1960s, the population of nesting pairs dipped into the hundreds. After de

Our world constantly vibrates with sound, from the delicate flap of an insect’s wings to the thunderous roar of a rocket launching into space. There’s the spring chorus of frogs. The sputter of a creek and the whoosh of a sudden breeze. Songs, music, and speech. But the sounds of today aren’t necessarily the same sounds that our ancestors encountered. How have sounds changed? What might be missing from our present and future sonic experiences? In his new book, Sounds Wild and Broken, biology professor David Haskell explored how the wonders of sound came to be on a journey through our planet’s history. Tracing a sonic path from animal song to modern concert halls, he illuminated how sounds emerged and evolved alongside all of Earth’s living things. But despite the explosive creation of sounds over time, Haskell pointed out that there is also erasure; threats to sonic diversity impact our forests, oceans, and experiences as human beings. Haskell considered how the loss of sounds can make the world less creative

In the dense rainforest of the west coast of Vancouver Island, the Somass River (c̓uumaʕas) brings sockeye salmon (miʕaat) into the Nuu-chah-nulth community of Tseshaht. C̓uumaʕas and miʕaat are central to the sacred food practices that have been a crucial part of the Indigenous community’s efforts to enact food sovereignty, decolonize their diet, and preserve their ancestral knowledge. In A Drum in One Hand, a Sockeye in the Other, Charlotte Coté shared contemporary Nuu-chah-nulth practices of traditional food revitalization in the context of broader efforts to re-Indigenize contemporary diets on the Northwest Coast. Coté offered evocative stories — rooted in her Tseshaht community and in her own work — to revitalize relationships to haʔum (traditional food) as a way to nurture health and wellness. As Indigenous peoples continue to face food insecurity due to ongoing inequality, environmental degradation, and the Westernization of traditional diets, Coté foregrounded healing and cultural sustenance via every

Tuberculosis might seem like a disease of the past in the West, but globally it remains a persistent and costly threat across all age groups. According to the World Health Organization, over 1.5 million people died from TB in 2020 — could it be on track to re-emerge as the next global public health crisis? According to medical science journalist Vidya Krishnan, the disease could be mounting a “frightening comeback.” In her new book, Phantom Plague, Krishnan traced a century of TB’s history from the slums of 19th-century New York to modern Mumbai. She described how superstition and folk remedies made way for scientific understanding of TB, leading to its high rate of control and cure in the West. But, she argued, the cure was never available to Black and Brown nations. As recent as 2020, just eight countries accounted for two-thirds of new TB cases, with India leading the count, followed by China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and South Africa. Through a social history of the dise

The human immune system is nothing short of remarkable: it helps our bodies ward off bacteria and viruses, heals wounds, and maintains the balance needed to keep us alive. The good news? Our immune systems are no longer threatened by the plagues and common diseases of the past. The bad news? Our bodies face an array of distinctively modern challenges; threats like fatigue, stress, and exposure to toxins, which place undue pressure on a system that typically keeps us healthy. Could the results of such stressors be weakened immunity and an explosion of autoimmune disorders? In his new book, An Elegant Defense, bestselling author Matt Richtel explored this very question through the stories of four people — a cancer patient, an HIV patient, and two women with autoimmune diseases. Combining these human accounts with anecdotes, insight from leading researchers, and the latest scientific findings, Richtel described how the body’s forces unite to ward off bacteria, parasites, and tumors. And on the flip side, he expl

Is it possible for drug use to be part of a responsible, balanced, and happy life? Dr. Carl L. Hart, a prominent neuroscientist and professor of psychology at Columbia University, believes so; but he didn’t always see it that way. Dr. Hart grew up in Miami at a time when drugs like crack cocaine were blamed for his city’s problems. Initially, his research aimed to prove that drug use led to bad outcomes. But what he found was unexpected: the facts didn’t support the ideology, the truth was dismissed and distorted to keep fear and outrage stoked, and more Black and brown bodies ended up behind bars. In his new book, Drug Use for Grown-Ups, Dr. Hart asserted that responsible drug use does more to enrich lives than to harm them. Based on personal experience and decades of research, he argued that criminalization and demonization of drug use — not the drugs themselves — are what caused negative outcomes and reinforced structural racism in America. Dr. Hart was joined in conversation with Professor Jennifer Oliva

Volcanoes have long fascinated curious humans of all ages. Here in the Seattle area, our beloved Tahoma (Mount Rainier) and the four other active volcanoes in the Cascade Mountain Range are beautiful but ever-present reminders of Washington’s location in the “Ring of Fire,” a 25,000-mile arc of volcanic activity that follows the rim of the Pacific Ocean. Volcanoes are quite literally our neighbors; how can we get to know them better and understand their role in shaping and reshaping our planet? Is there a way to safely live alongside them? In his new book, Super Volcanoes, science journalist and volcanologist Robin George Andrews walked us through awe-inspiring eruptions of the past and present and the secrets that they reveal about our planet. We already know quite a bit about how volcanoes form, erupt, and change, but many mysteries and questions remain: Is Earth’s unique system of plate tectonics the best way to forge a planet capable of supporting life? How can we better predict eruptions and protect comm