austin

Austin

chicago

Chicago

denver

Denver

lasvegas

Las Vegas

madison

Madison

nashville

Nashville

philly

Philly

pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

portland

Portland

saltlake

Salt Lake

seattle

Seattle

twincities

Twin Cities

We make podcasts and newsletters that connect people with the cities they love.

City Cast Seattle

Ashley Smith

City Cast is coming to Seattle, further expanding its nationwide network of daily local podcasts, email newsletters, and social media channels. The City Cast Seattle podcast, hosted by journalist 

 podcast will keep you company while you’re walking the dog around Green Lake, riding the bus through SLU, or stuck in traffic on the West Seattle Bridge. Posted every weekday at 6 a.m., the podcast will feel like eavesdropping on a smart, friendly chat between friends at your favorite local coffee shop.

 includes Host Jane C. Hu, Executive Producer Ashley Smith, Creative Producers Sam J. Leeds and Liam Billingham, and Audience Development Manager Ben Keenan. Each weekday they will be joined by a rotating cast of contributors including Marcus Harrison Green, Brett Hamil, Hannah Krieg, Chase Hutchinson, Lex Vaughn, Guy Oron, Eula Scott Bynoe, and more.

And the podcast is just one piece of City Cast Seattle. Jane and the team will also celebrate the city on 

 with daily news updates, memes, and tips on the best coffee and worst intersections in town. City Cast’s daily email newsletter will soon be your essential guide to living better in Seattle, with the headlines you need, the best event calendar around, and tips on how to melt the Seattle freeze. You can subscribe to the podcast, newsletter, and social channels – and learn more about the folks behind them – at 

, and catch us in your podcast feeds on Nov. 4

Contact: Executive Producer Ashley Smith, 

Harry Cheadle

, in Pioneer Square, is a small store; if there are 10 people browsing the shelves of notebooks and pens, it feels crowded. But owner Santiago Uribe Montoya still decided to devote a chunk of floor space to a table where customers can test out an array of pens and paper. “We really want people to get a feel for the writing instruments,” says Montoya. You can buy products online from the Outpost, but how a particular pen feels when you hold it, the texture and weight of paper as you write on it — these are things you can’t understand unless you’re in the shop.

In that spirit, I’m here to see what kind of notebook is right for me. I juggle my schedule using a weekly planner, but I also sometimes carry around a reporter’s notebook to scrawl my terrible shorthand into. I’m a little bit particular about these. The typical “reporter’s notebooks” are too big to comfortably fit into a pocket, but the cheapo small notebooks that you can get at pharmacies aren’t durable enough for everyday use. So I asked Montoya for help.

When talking about notebooks with someone, Montoya’s first question is: “What are you going to use the notebook for?” Everything else is downstream of basic function. In my case, I want a small notebook that comfortably fits into my hand, opens vertically to enable quick page-flipping, and is compact enough to fit into a back pocket. Montoya takes me over to the “Shire Shelf,” where the 

 keeps its smaller notebooks. The one that catches my eye immediately is the Rhodia Reporter’s Pad, which is big (but not too big), with a durable, colorful cover and firm paper — I don’t want flimsy paper that can tear if I’m handling it roughly. That paper, Montoya informs me, is 90 grams per square meter, GSM being the typical way a paper’s weight is measured. At 90 GSM, paper feels sturdy but lighter than most construction paper; Montoya gets out some 52 GSM paper as a comparison, and it feels flimsy, almost gossamer-like. I have an instinctive revulsion to it — but that’s why you want to come to a stationery store in person, to see how all these products feel in your hands.

Ultimately, I don’t get the Rhodia notebook, because I don’t have the kind of budget where I can spend $23 on a notebook. But there are lots of more affordable options, including some $5 small notebooks. (On the other end of the spectrum, the Outpost offers some notebooks like one from the Japanese company Hot Cool Tokyo that features a stylized tiger illustration on the front and costs $45.) And even in just a short trip to the Outpost, I feel like I’ve learned something about paper, and something about how to value everyday materials. I’m definitely going to be back to try out some pens.

The Outpost, in Pioneer Square, is a small store; if there are 10 people browsing the shelves of notebooks and pens, it feels crowded. But owner Santiago Uribe Montoya still decided to devote a chunk of floor space to a table where customers can test out an array of pens and paper.

Find Stationery Items from The Outpost

Finding My Forever Notebook at The Outpost

Sign up for Keep It Local from City Cast Seattle

Keep It Local

You can get great paper products at many art stores and gift shops around the city, but for this list I’m focusing on places that specialize in stationery.

📚 I feel like everyone would get mad at me if this 

 wasn’t on this list. Kinokuniya is mostly a place to buy manga (in Japanese and English) along with manga-related merch, but if you head upstairs, you’ll find a cornucopia of pens and notebooks. When you’ve read so much manga you want to draw your own, this is where you go.

You can get up to two hours of parking in the Uwajimaya lot provided you spend at least $20 at Uwajimaya, Kinokuniya, or another Uwajimaya Village merchant. Alternatively, the light rail is right next door.

 serves as a printmaking studio for owner Mandolin Brassaw. But it also sells a curated selection of notebooks, pens, scissors, and stamps. It feels like a temple devoted to the arts and crafts of a previous age.

This weekend (Friday to Sunday), Grapheme is hosting an event for the Kaweco DIY Sport, a fountain pen that you can’t buy online but instead assemble yourself at participating stationery stores. It’s walk-in only, but you can let the shop know you’re coming by RSVPing 

🐦‍⬛ Lucca is one of a half-dozen shops along Ballard Avenue that defy categorization and just sell cool stuff. 

 cool stuff is sort of woodland creature-coded, by which I mean that if we lived in a children’s book where all the people were bunnies, mice, etc., the most stylish mice would shop here. The back room is where you’ll find Lucca’s line of greeting cards alongside a ton of paper products and pencils, the ideal place to find a gift for the bookish mouse in your life.

, but everything else has to be purchased in-person. This is the kind of place where you want to go there yourself anyway.

 near Pike Place Market is “all about the cute and functional.” Beyond paper and pens, it sells a ton of pouches, containers, and photo albums — anyone who loves organizational projects, this is your jam.

MochiThings gives away a little paper fan to every customer, and if you spend more than $50 right now, you’ll get a free planner (while supplies last).

Some of the Stationery Shops According to Us

Where To Go on a Stationery Journey in Seattle

Most of South Lake Union, with its shiny high-rises, is literally in the future — AI giant Anthropic just leased 

 of office space here, inside of which it’ll do whatever AI companies do. But right next to the 

 is a pathway that leads to a dock, a cheerful, windworn boathouse, and a fleet of wooden boats — rowboats, canoes, sailboats, and a single small antique steam-powered boat. This is the 

, a nonprofit devoted to preserving the arts of sailing and boat-building.

Wooden boats are “easy, in a sense,” says livery manager Kathleen Lothrop (“livery” just means “boat rental place”). The techniques for building and maintaining these boats have not changed all that much over the years — unlike a lot of pieces of disposable technology, they can be repaired pretty much indefinitely.

“You can literally replace plank after plank, rib after rib, thwart after thwart, knee after knee,” says Lothrop. “Does it cost money? Of course it does. Does it take time? Yes. But is the practice of it going to hold up the integrity of that boat? Yes. And can we continue to do it forever? Absolutely. It's never going to change, and you'll always be able to do it.”

The Center was founded by Dick and Colleen Wagner, a married couple who started renting boats from their houseboat in the late ‘60s, an endeavor that eventually became the livery and museum it is today. The Center offers classes in sailing, maritime first aid, boatbuilding, and a variety of programs for children. You can come here to rent or charter boats, or get a free hour on a small “peapod” rowboat. Once a month, there’s a “

” where anyone can show up to take a ride on one of the Center’s many boats, including a two-masted schooner and the 

, that steam-powered boat. (The next public sail is on August 30.) These programs, Lothrop says, are intended to help Seattleites of all types and all income levels get access to the waterfront. People can learn to sail here, they can take their children out in a rowboat for a blissful hour, they can volunteer, they can fall in love with the water.

“It's funny how many people come down here, and they say, ‘I've lived here for X amount of time, and I didn't know this existed,’” says Lothrop.

Most of South Lake Union, with its shiny high-rises, is literally in the future — AI giant Anthropic just leased 113,00 square feet of office space here, inside of which it’ll do whatever AI companies do. But right next to the Museum of History and Industry is a pathway that leads to a dock, a cheerful, windworn boathouse, and a fleet of wooden boats — rowboats, canoes, sailboats, and a single small antique steam-powered boat. This is the Center for Wooden Boats, a nonprofit devoted to preserving the arts of sailing and boat-building.

Learn About Boats at the Center For Wooden Boats

The Center for Wooden Boats Is a Gateway to Another World

There are rental spots all over Seattle’s various waterfronts — consider this a sampling of what’s available. Walk-ins are welcome at most of these locations, but reservations are recommended.

 offers classes in everything from kayaking on the sea to whitewater trips. You can also buy all sorts of gear and get your suits and kayaks repaired. If you’re just getting into kayaking, though, you can come here to rent boats and explore Lake Union.

The hours here shift depending on the season; it closes earlier as the sun sets earlier. Consult the website for more 

🏃 Tired of running around Green Lake? Go across it instead. This 

 offers pedal boats, kayaks, row boats, and paddle boards, ideal for low-key or family outings.

If you need a little pick-me-up, they also sell coffee and breakfast sandwiches here.

🌊 If you want a more guided boating experience, 

 — located next to the West Seattle Water Taxi stop — offers tours across Elliott Bay to the Alki Lighthouse and sunset tours around the mouth of the Duwamish River. Check the 

 for more information about timing and which tours are available when.

🌲 A great way to explore the southern half of Lake Washington is to grab a paddle board or kayak from the Adams Street location of 

, not far from Seward Park. Lake Washington Boulevard has a gorgeous view, why not get 

 but cars can still drive onto the Adams Street boat launch — just look out for cyclists and pedestrians as you cross Lake Washington Boulevard.

🔥 You may have seen these hot tub boats around Lake Union. They are what they sound like — boats that double as hot tubs, so you’re soaking in warm water while you float around in the colder lake water. (These boats, made in the Netherlands, are wood-fired.) It’s the kind of thing you get for anniversaries or bachelor/bachelorette parties, though if you are bringing drinks onboard, be advised you can’t take glass containers.

This is quite a bit more expensive than renting a kayak, for obvious reasons — prices start at $400 for one boat on a weekday. (Weekends start at $450)

Best spots to rent for water activities

Where to Rent Kayaks, Canoes, and Other Small Boats in Seattle

Liam Billingham

Seattle seems to be in the midst of a bagel renaissance, and it may seem daunting to figure out where exactly to get the bagel you’re looking for. So we got some tips from Seattle food lover 

, who runs the bagel newsletter Its A Shanda, to find out where to get the bagel we want.

Winner of the Bagel Fest West and headed to Bagel Fest in New York City, 

 is one of our favorites and won our blind taste test back a few months ago. Also, Sean called it the best in his intricate and immaculate rankings. Honorable mentions for 

, both of which also have delicious bagels.

Montreal-style bagels are smaller, thinner, denser, and baked in a wood fired oven. They are delicious. The sweetness comes from them being baked in honey sweetened water. If you want one, 

The OG bagel in America, they are usually fatter and larger than the bad (sorry) grocery store bagels, and delicious, no city would be complete without them. According to Sean, 

 is the only real Seattle bagel that is NY style.

A rye bagel has caraway seeds and is a really good pairing with pastrami. Check out 

If you like sourdough bread (or become an expert in it like everyone during Covid), then 

If you happen to be on Whidbey Island and craving a breakfast sandwich, check out 

. Their breakfast sandwich is supposed to be tops. Likewise, 

Two experts tell us where to find the best bagels in Seattle

Craving a Bagel? Here’s Where To Go in Seattle

Where To Eat

Summer in Seattle will be over before we know it. I'm sorry to point that out in the middle of August, but it's true! So we want to help you make the most of your time by encouraging you to check out POPS or POPOS around the city. 

 are Privately Owned Public Spaces like parks and beaches (these are also called "street ends") and 

 are Privately-Owned, Public Open Spaces like rooftops and plazas. These spaces are free to the public and the perfect way to soak up the rest of summer. Hang out, bring a picnic, take a dip, launch your paddle board, or just enjoy the views! 

Do you frequent any of these spaces and want to tell us about it? Did we miss anything important? Let us know by sending an email to seattle@citycast.fm

Beaches, rooftops, parks, plazas. These spaces are free to the public and the perfect way to soak up the rest of summer!

Where To Find Privately Owned Public Spaces in Seattle

Where To Find Privately Owned Public Spaces

What To Do

, you’re already feeling pretty silly. The novelty shop occupies a bright red-and-yellow storefront in Wallingford, and inside you’ll find whoopee cushions, corn-shaped air fresheners, possum-flavored candy, that sort of thing. Then you walk to the back where there’s a velvet rope in front of a wall full of rubber chickens, and you feel even sillier. Welcome to the Rubber Chicken Museum.

A visit to the museum takes about five or 10 minutes, depending on how much you want to learn about rubber chickens. And there is actually a lot to learn. Dead chickens may have been used in comedy dating way back to the court jester era — they 

sort of funny — and Steve Martin used rubber chickens as props in his avant-garde comedy act in the 1970s. Johnny Carson had one on his desk, Weird Al Yankovic deployed one in the music video for “Eat It,” and there was even a rubber chicken floating around the MSNBC newsroom for a while. (That last chicken is in the museum, maybe its most famous artifact.) You can take in this history and see a lot of rubber chickens, many of them designed by Archie McPhee.

To be clear, the museum is funny. Some of the exhibits, like the “world’s second-smallest rubber chicken,” are jokes. Arguably, the whole museum is a joke, although the thing is delivered with such a straight face that it's more strange than laugh-out-loud funny. According to an 

, the Archie McPhee employee who devised it, Shana Danger, “was inspired by old-fashioned cabinets of curiosities she saw while traveling in Europe,” and it is both amusing and strange, an oddity. And honestly, we could use more oddities in Seattle.

When you walk into Archie McPhee, you’re already feeling pretty silly. The novelty shop occupies a bright red-and-yellow storefront in Wallingford and inside you’ll find whoopee cushions, corn-shaped air fresheners, possum-flavored candy, that sort of thing. Then you walk to the back where there’s a velvet rope in front of a wall full of rubber chickens, and you feel even sillier. Welcome to the Rubber Chicken Museum.

Check Out The Rubber Chicken Museum in Wallingford

What You’ll Actually Learn at the Rubber Chicken Museum

Make sure to double-check the hours of any museum you are planning on visiting — they may be closed at days and times when you would assume they’d be open.

🕹️ This is a museum for people who would rather play than look at stuff. 

, in the CID, is a playground for pinball wizards, with over 50 games that range from vintage 1960 models to present-day machines (there are a handful of non-pinball arcade games in the mix). All are free to play with a $25 admission.

Toddlers and babies are allowed as long as you hold them the entire time, but children under seven are not allowed, because the website says they “have a hard time remembering the rules we have for safety of your young ones, other patrons, our staff, and equipment.”

 to the museum’s namesake, Kent Bakke. The coffee industry icon imported espresso machines to Seattle in the 1970s and eventually became La Marzocco’s international CEO. Now his collection is the centerpiece of this free museum that tells the story of the espresso boom in the U.S., and how the coffee industry has evolved.

The museum is only open for walk-ins on the second and fourth Sundays of each month from noon to 4 p.m., though guided tours can be arranged on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. An appointment must be made in advance for tours.

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

 but really a compact series of exhibits about the Klondike Gold Rush, when the discovery of gold in the late 1890s led tens of thousands of people to move to the Yukon territory of Canada (spoiler: most of them had a bad time). Admission is free!

It’s a fun snapshot of history, but don’t expect to spend a long time here. Fortunately, there’s lots to do in surrounding Pioneer Square.

⚡A disclaimer: Many, perhaps most, people are not interested in looking at vintage telecom-related equipment. But if you 

 run by the Telecommunications History Group is open on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The suggested donation is $10 for adults, and the website says that you can take a quick tour in about an hour, though it notes “For those with a keen technical interest, 3 hours in the museum is common.”

Children are welcome at the Connections Museum, but the website recommends that parents with kids under 12 visit the museum first to make sure that it would be suitable for their children.

Some lesser-known museums in Seattle to visit

Lesser-Known Museums in Seattle

Lesser-Known Museums in Our City That Are Worth Visiting

City Cast is coming to Seattle, further expanding its nationwide network of daily local podcasts, email newsletters, and social media channels.

City Cast is Ready to Launch in Seattle

Announcements

City Cast Seattle Announcements

As the Executive Producer (Hi, I'm Ashley!) for City Cast Seattle, I may be a little biased, but I think the folks on this team are the coolest people our city has to offer. If you haven't had the pleasure of 

 or enjoying their previous work, allow me to introduce you to the team behind our daily podcast and newsletter.

 is an award-winning (and -losing) journalist living in Seattle. Her work has been published in The New York Times, WIRED, Slate, National Geographic, High Country News, The Atlantic, and The Best American Science and Nature Writing series. They write The Microdose, a twice-weekly newsletter about the science, law, politics, and culture of psychedelics edited by Michael Pollan and Malia Wollan. Previously, she taught writing at the University of Washington and the CUNY Newmark School of Journalism, and fact-checked books and science features. Before becoming a journalist, she was a cognitive science researcher.

A New Englander at heart but (new!) Pacific Northwester, 

 is a producer in video and audio with a background in documentary, fiction and theater. He has made podcasts for TIME Magazine, Audible, Sugar23, and a variety of other clients and companies. He is an Emmy nominee for his work in local television, has made films and podcasts with soldiers suffering from PTSD, persons experiencing homelessness, victims of police brutality, students, retirees, and everyone in between. When not making podcasts for work, he drives his kids around, watches movies, and hosts two podcasts about the history of action cinema, DIE HARD ON A BLANK and 48 HOURS OF BUDDY MOVIES.

has called Seattle home since falling in love with the city more than a decade ago. They've produced work for NPR, Campside Media, KEXP, Cascade PBS (RIP) and more. Points of career pride include launching and producing two seasons of NPR Music's Louder Than A Riot and kickstarting the first season of Futuro Media's astrology and culture show Stars and Stars with Isa. They've reported and produced some truly-PNW stories including about a local rabbi learning to rap to preserve a dying language and the story of a giant wind harp that stood on the edge of Bainbridge Island. You can find them field recording the sounds of Seattle for a burgeoning sound art project, swimming at Denny Blaine or cooking up an elaborate dinner party with friends. Sam is a graduate of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies at MECA as well as the University of Washington.

has spent the past [age redacted] years exploring the city he calls home - from trying the best eats or hot new coffee spot, to exploring “off the beaten path” finds that only a true PNW native could tell you about. Prior to joining City Cast, he spent 10 years in Corporate America doing public relations for some of the world’s largest tech brands. Simultaneously, however, he’s also built a 

brand, cutting his teeth on the mean streets of the internet, becoming one of Seattle’s leading content creators and travel influencers. You can find him featured in outlets such as The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, and NBC News, or on a smaller screen via any variety of social media platforms.

 might just be her city’s biggest fan. She’s been working in the audio industry since she moved here almost two decades ago. Career highlights include editing Maintenance Phase and If Books Could Kill, producing Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer, hosting Vinfamous for Wine Enthusiast Magazine, and getting to meet all of her favorite musicians while working as “Pepper” in alternative radio. In her free time she used to make her own weird podcasts, but now she mainly listens to Taylor Swift and stresses out about her fantasy football team.

And we’re excited to meet you, too. You can join the conversation by sending a note to 

Announcements

City Cast is Ready to Launch in Seattle

Ashley Smith

Share article

Announcements

Get To Know the City Cast Seattle Team

The latest in Seattle

Finding My Forever Notebook at The Outpost

Where To Go on a Stationery Journey in Seattle

The Center for Wooden Boats Is a Gateway to Another World

Where to Rent Kayaks, Canoes, and Other Small Boats in Seattle

Craving a Bagel? Here’s Where To Go in Seattle

Where To Find Privately Owned Public Spaces

What You’ll Actually Learn at the Rubber Chicken Museum

Lesser-Known Museums in Our City That Are Worth Visiting