The Conversation Podcast

Seattle native Macklemore sits down with Ross Reynolds to discuss his career, upcoming album and involvement with Washington's pro same–sex marriage campaign.

Authors of a new report says error is not the leading cause of scientific paper retractions — the papers are being withdrawn due to fraud or suspected fraud, duplicate publication or plagiarism nearly 70 percent of the time. Ross Reynolds talks with University of Washington School of Medicine Dr. Ferric Fang about why this happens and what it means.

Toxic Tax Upheld: Today the Washington Supreme Court unanimously upheld as constitutional the voter–approved Model Toxics Control Act. Laura Watson joins Ross to discuss the ruling and how the state manages revenue from the Hazardous Substance Tax. Slate Political Gabfest: Slate magazine editor David Plotz and senior editor Emily Bazelon join Ross in the studio to serve up their irreverent, witty, no–holds–barred commentary on last night's presidential debate and the upcoming election.

New York Times Columnist Paul Krugman explains why he believes we are in a depression, and how a massive government investment could get us out of it. In this rebroadcast, Ross Reynolds interviews Paul Krugman in front of a live studio audience.

The fate of legal same–sex marriage in Washington is going to be decided by voters this November. Ross Reynolds sits down with two experts to hear about the different sides of this issue.

Nineteen years ago three teenagers were arrested and later convicted in the murder of three 8–year–old boys. One of the men testified Damien Echols was the ringleader. But new evidence shows gross errors and misrepresentation by prosecutors in the case and last August, the "West Memphis Three" walked free. Ross Reynolds interviews Damien Echols about his new memoir.

Hunt For Wolves Over For Now: Washington wildlife managers say the hunt for a pack of grey wolves is over. A state marksman killed the alpha male of the pack yesterday morning. KUOW's Ashley Ahearn has more. Washington Court Decision On Foreign Laborers: The Washington Supreme Court weighed in on a long–running case that has implications for labor shortages at Northwest farms and orchards. The high court upheld a costly damage award against a farm labor contractor who brought in guest workers from Thailand. Tom Banse has more. Latino Representation, Part Five: Religion is one of the most defining characteristics of Latino culture. But pollsters say it plays virtually no role in how they vote. Florangela Davila takes a look at how faith shapes the lives, but not the politics, of two Mexican–American siblings. The National Latino Vote: Today marks the end of KUOW's five–part series on Latino representation in Washington state. Ross talks with UW professor Matt Barretto to get a sense of the national level of representation Latinos have in politics outside our borders.

Three weeks from today Washington voters begin to receive ballots in the mail. Democrat Jay Inslee and Republican Rob McKenna are in a virtual tie in the governor's race. Today on The Conversation, Rob McKenna sits down with Ross Reynolds to talk about his platform and why he thinks he should be the state's next governor.

Three weeks from today Washington voters begin to receive ballots in the mail. Democrat Jay Inslee and Republican Rob McKenna are in a virtual tie in the governor's race. Today on The Conversation, Rob McKenna sits down with Ross Reynolds to talk about his platform and why he thinks he should be the state's next governor.

The End Of The Free–Ride Zone Bus riders in King County are in for some major transition. On Saturday, Metro Transit will flip the switch on its biggest service change in recent history. KUOW's Liz Jones has more on Metro's plans. Hispanic Name Can Hurt Election Results There's more evidence that a Hispanic last name on the ballot can hurt a candidate's chances. Olympia Correspondent Austin Jenkins has the details of a new analysis of the trend released on Wednesday. The Latino Vote — Part Four Why do Latinos have so little clout in Northwest politics, even though they're the region's largest minority group? One reason: Latinos are a younger demographic. And younger people — no matter what their ethnicity — are much less likely to vote than older people. Anna King has our story. Wait Times For Veterans Members of the U.S. military returning home from combat are joining a growing line of veterans waiting for help from the Department of Veterans Affairs. In Washington state, average wait times are now 235 days — almost eight months. Jeff Severns Guntzel has the story.

A group has formed to try and push for Seattle City Councilmembers to be elected by district. Currently, the nine members of the council are elected citywide. There's a proposal to form seven new districts in the city, with two at–large positions. Would this be good for Seattle? We take a closer look.

Men have been the dominant gender since the beginning of time. Hanna Rosin, author of "The End of Men" believes that time is over. The Atlantic Magazine senior editor has found it's less a matter of men declining, more the ways women are women ascending, in school, the workplace, and society at large. Ross Reynolds speaks with writer Hanna Rosin about her new book "The End of Men."

State Supreme Court Reviewing Supermajority Initiative: The Washington Supreme Court is reviewing Tim Eyman's supermajority initiative to see if it's constitutional to require a two-thirds majority to raise taxes. KUOW's Austin Jenkins has more. Hospitals Penalized For Medicare Readmissions: About one out of five Medicare patients returns to the hospital within a month after being discharged. Those readmissions are often preventable. KUOW's Ruby de Luna reports that starting in October Medicare will penalize hospitals with high readmission rates. Beacon Hill Food Forest Coming Soon: Volunteers are about to dig up a large grassy hillside and make it into the nation's largest food forest on public land. Seven empty acres will soon be planted with fruits and vegetables for the community to enjoy. KUOW's Lesley McClurg has the details. The Latino Vote, Part Three: Latino voters have an edge for the first time in one of the Northwest's major Hispanic hubs. Redistricting gave them a majority. You might think the Latino candidate there would now be a shoo–in, but that's not the case. KUOW's Jessica Robinson has our latest story on why the region's largest minority group has so little clout in the political arena.

More than 13,000 people die in King County every year, but only a handful of those deaths are ever investigated by the medical examiner. But what does the medical examiner's office really do, and how do they take care of people after they die? We talk with a King County medical examiner and a death investigator to find out. WARNING: This interview may contain some graphic and disturbing content.

Being vulnerable and open to failure makes us uncomfortable. But Brene Brown's research suggests without making ourselves vulnerable we diminish the ability to succeed. The University of Houston research professor shares her ideas with Ross Reynolds.