Arts & Life

Members of the Seattle Symphony and Opera Players' Organization (SSOPO) voted October 15 to authorize a strike.  In a statement on its website, SSOPO representatives say the latest contract offers from both organizations call for 15 percent reductions in pay and benefits for the 2012-2013 season.  That's on top of concessions the musicians have already made.  The union says its membership can't take further cuts.  

The King County Council and Seattle City Council have approved the new arena deal to bring NBA and NHL teams to Seattle.

But what about the Seattle Storm?

Will they move to Chris Hansen’s new arena in Sodo, or will they continue to call Key Arena home? Ross talks to Seattle Storm president and CEO Karen Bryant.

A Federal District Court in Brooklyn has ruled that poker is more a game of skill than of chance. The decision overturned the conviction of a man who operated a backroom poker game. 

Legal experts say it could effect laws that currently ban online poker. Joining us is an economist and poker player who testified in the case, Randal Heeb.

Mark Oppenheimer has written extensively about both sides of the gay marriage argument, and in August he moderated The Dinner Table Debate between Dan Savage and Brian Brown. Now he has self-published a short biography on Dan Savage in e-book format, titled “Dan Savage: The First Gay Celebrity.” He joins Ross to talk about Dan Savage, gay marriage, and self-publishing.

Weekday green thumbs Marty Wingate, Willi Galloway and Greg Rabourn join us to answer your flower, vegetable and native plant questions. Need guidance for your garden? Call us at 206.543.5869 or email weekday@kuow.org.

In “Ascent of the A-Word,” linguist and "Fresh Air" commentator Geoffrey Nunberg considers a word that has divided, offended and fascinated its users for the last 60 years. What is its essence? And what does it say about our values, impressions and relationships with other people? Nunberg joins us to discuss one of the culture’s most commonly hurled vulgarities and its place in society.

“The Ramayana” is a sacred text for millions of Hindus.  Now Seattle’s ACT Theatre has adapted the epic saga of good and evil for the stage.  Playwrights Yussef El-Guindi and Stephanie Timm used an English translation of the original Sanskrit, and synthesized 24,000 verses into three hours of theater.

To the world, Richard was Washington state’s Most Wanted, a thief and a murderer. But Richard’s chaplain Chris didn’t see him that way. To Chris, Richard was a sweet, well-meaning man who just wanted to be seen. Chris tells his story today.

Other stories from KUOW Presents:

Need a hand with a do-it-yourself home improvement project? Our home repair expert Roger Faris is here to answer your questions. Call us at 206.543.5869 or weekday@kuow.org.

Also this hour, we speak with attorney David Mann. He’s representing Seattle longshoremen and warehouse workers who say they’ll file a lawsuit to block a third sports arena in Sodo. Plus, we hear a poem from Dean Young and take a listen back to some of our interview with satirist Christopher Buckley (“They Eat Puppies, Don’t They?”).