Arts & Life

Poet Suzanne Edison knows the ups and downs of chronic illness too well. Her daughter has juvenile myositis, a rare autoimmune disorder. Today she reads two poems about the way her child’s illness affects her parenting: “Betrayal” and “Bloodwork.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently signed a law prohibiting US citizens from adopting Russian children. The US adopted 748 children from Russia in 2012, with roughly 8,600 adoptions from foreign countries in total. Every year, hundreds of families adopt children from places that are drastically different — socially, politically, and economically — from the United States. So our question is: How important is it to preserve the cultural identity of adopted children? Ross Reynolds takes your questions and discusses international adoption with Spring Hecht from the World Association for Children and Parents.

People in the Northwest are among the most likely in the nation to have pets. That's according to a new survey by the American Veterinary Medical Foundation. Washington, Oregon and Idaho rank in the top 10 for pet-owning households — with Oregon at No. 4, Washington at No. 6 and Idaho at No. 9. Maybe you’re one of the Northwest’s many pet people. If you are, you know that owning a dog can be e lot of work. But what if you had help? Free help. Sound too good to be true? According to Eric Husk it isn’t. He is the founder of City Dog Share, which he describes as a dog-sitting co-op. Ross Reynolds gets the details.

Learning that your child has a serious, chronic illness is like falling off a cliff, without knowing how — or if — your feet will ever find the ground again, says poet Suzanne Edison.

The Boy Scouts of America are thinking about ending their ban on gay scouts or scout leaders.  How are scouts responding in the Northwest?  Were you ever involved with the Boy Scouts?  How would this change affect you? Ross Reynolds takes your phone calls.

American history is full of stories of disenfranchised women who assert their rightful role in society and in so doing, open up the culture. Author Julie Otsuka’s family was interned following the bombing of Pearl Harbor; her father was arrested as a potential spy. She told that story in her award-winning first novel, “When the Emperor Was Divine.” Her second novel, “The Buddha in the Attic,” reaches farther back to explore the lives of brides sent from Japan to America between the wars, and the strain of traditional values in a nation that promised opportunity for all. The writer Julie Otsuka joins us.

Journalist Jon Ronson has interviewed a wide array of interesting characters, ranging from the hip-hop duo, Insane Clown Posse, to a man who tried to split the atom in his kitchen. Ronson is the bestselling author of "The Psychopath Test" and "The Men Who Stare at Goats."

Ross talks to him about his new book, "Lost at Sea," where he discusses his journalistic endeavors and demonstrates just how intriguing the human race can be, for example, local vigilante Phoenix Jones.

Capitalism, democracy and HIV all arrived at about the same time in South Africa, where the promise of the Mandela era has still not been met. The nation struggles with an epidemic of poverty, illness and violence. Can the next generation of leaders reshape its cultural and political realities? Douglas Foster, author of "After Mandela: The Struggle for Freedom in Post-Apartheid South Africa," joins us.

Sax man and bestselling instrumentalist of all time, Kenny G, needs no introduction. Following stints with Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra (at the age of 17) and The Jeff Lorber Fusion, the Seattle native and UW grad embarked on a solo career in the early 1980s. His 1992 album "Breathless" is the bestselling instrumental album of all time, and his 1994 album "Miracles" is the bestselling Christmas album of all time. He's collaborated with musical legends from Aretha Franklin to Stevie Wonder and even popped up in a Katy Perry video. The one and only Kenny G is in town to perform at Seattle's Jazz Alley. He joins us for a conversation about his life in music.