Specials By KUOW Podcast

Like many a city, Seattle was once nearly destroyed by a 19th century fire. Recently discovered audio from eyewitnesses to the Great Seattle Fire, recorded in 1953, sheds new light on this major disaster, but on a decidedly more human scale.

The post–traumatic reaction after a sexual assault is often very similar to post trauma from combat. Victims may withdraw, sometimes self–medicating with drugs and alcohol. Mental health experts at the University of Washington say the quicker someone starts to process the traumatic event, the better. There are many treatment options that can help. But years later, many veterans who were sexually assaulted during their service still struggle to regain their lives. KUOW's Patricia Murphy reports in the third and final part of our series on military sexual assault.

The Department of Defense (DoD) says it will soon require sexual assault response coordinators and victims advocates get trained and credentialed. The move is intended to improve victim care for soldiers who report sexual assaults at Washington's Joint Base Lewis–McChord and other military installations. But a recent military investigation found that many victims of sexual assault say they don't report the crime. Of those that do, more than a third decline to pursue charges against their alleged attackers. Another new DoD policy gives victims legal assistance to help them navigate the military justice system. But legal hurdles are only a small part of why some victims back away. KUOW's Patricia Murphy has the second part of our series on sexual assault in the military. Warning: this story contains graphic language about sexual assault.

There were 116 reports of sexual assault at Washington state military installations during 2010. Experts and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta agree that the actual rate of sexual assault in the military is likely six times higher. That would put the national figure for military sexual assaults in 2010 close to 19,000. Since being appointed as Secretary of Defense in late 2011, Panetta has taken the issue head on. In January, he took the unusual step of publicly addressing victims. Panetta: "I deeply regret that such crimes occur in the US military. And I will do all I can to prevent these sexual assaults from occurring in the Department of Defense." But as KUOW's Patricia Murphy reports, reducing sexual assault in the military is a formidable task. Many say it requires a cultural sea change for an institution long dominated by hyper–masculine beliefs and victim stigma.

You might not know her name, but chances are you've seen Jini Dellaccio's work. In the 1960s, when the Seattle–area rock scene was heating up, Jini Dellaccio shot the photos that became album covers for bands like the Sonics, the Wailers, the Bootmen, and Don and the Goodtimes. Dellaccio was a rare woman working in the mostly male world of rock and roll. Jini Dellaccio turns 95 today. KUOW's Marcie Sillman looks back at her long life in the arts.

John Lennon was murdered 30 years ago. We'll look back at how Seattleites mourned the death of the former Beatle in a time before the Internet, social media and cell phones.

When Pearl Harbor was attacked 70 years ago, the United States quickly went into war mode. Big cities, including Seattle, were suddenly on "the home front" with lives disrupted as precautions were taken to prepare for war.

On November 24, 1971, a man who is referred to as D.B. Cooper hijacked a Boeing 727 on a flight between Portland, Oregon and Seattle. He extorted $200,000 in ransom, and parachuted from the plane. A look back at the hijacking which has become legendary in the Pacific Northwest and the rest of America.

If you didn't know otherwise, the October 30, 1938 broadcast of "War of the Worlds" sounded a lot like a radio newscast.

On October 12, 1962, one of the worst storms in the region's history devastated the Pacific Northwest. Remembering the deadly Columbus Day Storm.