Seattle Rock City with David B. Williams
Join us in this episode for the field trip of a century. Our guest, geologist-historian David B. Williams, illuminates the Pacific Northwest’s characteristic highlands and waterways as landscapes of perpetual transformation.
With a wry wink, this raconteur’s stories fuse the sensitivity of a naturalist with the diligence of a research geek. Amble through Seattle with David as he reveals his city’s subterranean secrets: A mosquito fleet schooner lost somewhere below downtown’s streets; old growth forests immersed under Lake Union; an art deco office tower whose foundation stones invite us to touch “deep time”—almost unimaginably greater than the time scale of human lives and human plans we hold so dear.
David’s tales animate the experiences of early Seattleites who swung picks and shot water cannons to forcefully reshape our glacially-formed landscape into a modern metropolis; a progression that continues today in response to climate change.
We record on the traditional lands of the Coast Salish peoples.
The views expressed in this podcast series are those of the guests and reflect their personal lived experiences. Power of Place presents oral histories with real people, and while some opinions may be controversial, they are shared as authentic expressions that honor the complexity of place. Conversations are edited for length and clarity, but otherwise remain unedited to preserve context and substance. Listener discretion is advised.
“I’m interested in connections…How are we influenced by the landscape around us? And then, it’s the connections between people and place.”
