The Lone Reader turns his gaze to this series of essays and photos describing the fate of the lower Duwamish River, which empties into Elliott Bay in Seattle. cc Audio: Early morning on Yaquina Bay, by daveincamas Inderhalle

"The Education of an Idealist," by Samantha Power

Jul 14th, 2020 2m 21s

Samantha "Sam" Power's memoir of her time as a close confidant to President Barack Obama in the realm of foreign affairs. Music: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor "Death and the Maiden," by Franz Schubert, courtesy of the Isabella Stewart Gardne

"Nomadland," by Jessica Bruder

Jun 9th, 2020 2m 36s

Reveals the hidden world of "nomads," financially strapped older people that live in vans and cheap RVs, driving where their work takes them. Music: Darkdance, by Eric Kanold

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Embarrassment

May 19th, 2020 4m 53s

Mr. Neutron gives the skinny on this early Lawrence, KS punk band, whose music is "somewhat repetitive, minimal, slow to develop, without much growth or direction. Vocals are stylistically odd and sparse. There is a sloppy feel to the whole end

"This Chair Rocks," by Ashton Applewhite

May 12th, 2020 2m 32s

A manifesto against the belief that older people are weak, drab, depressed, dimwitted clones of one another. Music: Blues Jam 2011, by Steve Belong

Fruitvale Station / Blindspotting

Apr 27th, 2020 5m 39s

Alan takes us on a social justice trip to Oakland, through the medium of two recent films: 2013's "Fruitvale Station" and 2018's "Blindspotting." Music: Flatwound: A View Southward, by John Pazdan

A Tale of 2 Cities, Punk Version

Apr 21st, 2020 5m 19s

What do Akron Ohio and Portland Oregon have in common? Why, iconic first-wave punk music. Mr. Neutron elucidates...

"The Dreamt Land," by Mark Arax

Apr 15th, 2020 2m 24s

The story of the engineering of California's water supply. California leads the way, so they say. Unfortunately, as regards water, it seems to be leading us down a sinkhole. Music: Supernal Liquid (Reign Water Remix)

The Name of This Band Is the Talking Heads

Mar 17th, 2020 4m 5s

At times funky, possible progenitors of post-punk, filled with the occasional outburst of bubbly pop music, Talking Heads brought a healthy arsenal of tools to their repertoire.

"Deep Thinking," by Garry Kasparov

Mar 10th, 2020 2m 44s

Garry Kasparov, one of the strongest world chess champions of all time, also grew into his prime during the rise of computer chess-playing programs. This is Kasparov's story of the evolution of these programs, including his 1997 loss to the IBM

"Attack the Block" an audio review by Alan Jacobson

Mar 3rd, 2020 5m 12s

Savage aliens make the mistake of invading a London council block (low-income neighborhood), the turf of a group of street youths. Outer space meets inner city. A thinking man's action film, bursting with humor and satire. And aliens.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Black Tones!

Feb 18th, 2020 4m 21s

Demonstrating a praiseworthy diversity of styles from this fabulous album. Mr. Neutron is Ron Averill of Everett Public Library (WA).

How to Change Your Mind, by Michael Pollan

Feb 11th, 2020 2m 27s

The Lone Reader follows food guru Michael Pollan's foray into feeding not your body but your head: Reviewing studies in which carefully controlled doses of psychedelics like LSD and Psilocybin are shown effective in treating certain types of me

Isn't It Romantic?

Feb 4th, 2020 6m 58s

Two films, 87 years apart, put the flutter in our ribcages.

God Is Red, by Vine Deloria, Jr.

Jan 14th, 2020 2m 21s

The Lone Reader seeks relief for his tech-driven nightmares through reading a radically different world view: Native American religion, as interpreted by Indian writer Vine Deloria, Jr. It doesn't help.

More Film Noir

Jan 7th, 2020 8m 9s

Alan illuminates some underappreciated noir classics.

"A Cold Red Sunrise," by Stuart Kaminsky

Dec 10th, 2019 2m 32s

Stuart Kaminsky's irascible Soviet detective Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov travels to Siberia to find a murderer in a village full of exiles and incompetents. Music: String Quartet No. 1, Op 7, by Bela Bartok, performed by the Borromeo String Q

Film Noir I

Dec 3rd, 2019 7m 51s

Alan surveys that American celluloid genre called "film noir": sinister, evocative, and doom-laden, both in style and content. Image: "The Photographer," by Joaquim Alves Gaspar

"A Band Called Joseph"

Nov 19th, 2019 4m 22s

Mr. Neutron explores the dark underbelly of mainstream popular music in the form of Portland's three-sister-act, "Joseph"

"The University of Nike," by Joshua Hunt

Nov 13th, 2019 2m 45s

The Lone Reader takes aim at Joshua Hunt's scalding critique of the massive influence that the sports apparel manufacturer Nike wields over the University of Oregon and its football program.

Neo-noir for the darker times of year

Nov 13th, 2019 5m 24s

The Treatment tips into the recent dark successors of films like "The Maltese Falcon," "Touch of Evil," "Chinatown," and "Reservoir Dogs": "Bad Times at the El Royale," and "Under the Silver Lake."

The Great Book Scare at Everett's 1905 Carnegie Library

Oct 29th, 2019 7m 17s

Everett Public Library’s latest podcast explores the Great Book Scare of the early 20th century and how libraries coped with it, particularly here in Everett. The seven-minute-long audio podcast is part of the Smokestacks Soundbites series of l

Mr. Neutron reveals his current playlist

Oct 15th, 2019 4m 48s

From punk to country, from old-timey, to sugar-coated power pop, Mr. Neutron scales the best of 2019.

"Tides," by Jonathan White

Oct 8th, 2019 2m 23s

Jonathan White's description of and homage to the mysterious phenomena we call tides. Music: Francesco Iannuzzelli, "Tarantellamodale"

"Wonderstruck" Brian Selznick's 2017 film gem

Oct 1st, 2019 4m 1s

Alan reviews this gorgeously-rendered 2017 Todd Haynes film, which received a three-minute-long standing ovation when it was shown at the Cannes Film Festival.