An 8-Year-Long Emergency

About An 8-Year-Long Emergency

Why was the replacement of the Alaskan Way viaduct an eight-year-long emergency? Because everyone - from governors to stakeholders to community groups - cares deeply about the Seattle central waterfront. An 8-Year-Long Emergency: Seattle, an Earthquake, and a Doomed Waterfront Highway is an exploration of the complicated story behind the replacement of the viaduct following the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. Featuring interviews and engaging discussions with historians, politicians, transportation planners, and community organizers, each episode is set against the backdrop of the waterfront's history. As the podcast reveals, "Even though it’s changed dramatically over time, repeatedly, you can still see traces and touch points of the past wherever you go on the Waterfront," reminding us that the past is always present in the landscape.

Publisher

HistoryLink

Category

government · history · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

28 Feb 2025

Latest episode

28 Mar 2025

Latest episodes

6 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   28 Mar 2025

   The Long View

   Hosts Dominic Black, Kiku Hughes, and Jennifer Ott discuss Seattle's waterfront tunnel project, featuring interviews with Greg Nickels, Mike McGinn, Nick Licata, Christine Gregoire, and Cary Moon, exploring its impact and long-term vision.

2. 

   21 Mar 2025

   Consensus Through Exhaustion

   Jennifer Ott discusses how the prolonged process of finding an Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement surprisingly paved the way for the single bore tunnel solution, featuring interviews with Greg Nickels, Christine Gregoire, Bob Donegan, Cary Moon, and Paula Hammond.

3. 

   14 Mar 2025

   The City, The State and Grand Designs

   Hosts Dominic Black, Kiku Hughes, and Jennifer Ott discuss past highway construction inequities with Christine Gregoire, Doug McDonald, Knute Berger, and Paula Hammond, highlighting community needs and transportation decisions in this interview episode.

4. 

   7 Mar 2025

   The Process

   Hosts Dominic Black and Kiku Hughes explore the multi-year process of replacing Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct after the Nisqually Earthquake, featuring interviews with Ron Paananen, Greg Nickels, Grace Crunican, Jennifer Ott, Cary Moon, and Bob Donegan.

5. 

   28 Feb 2025

   A Contested Waterfront

   Historians Coll Thrush and Jennifer Ott, along with Valerie Segrest, explore Seattle's Central Waterfront history, revealing colonial influences, Indigenous displacement, and the importance of Native inclusion in the new Waterfront Park in this interview episode.

6. 

   28 Feb 2025

   Earth Versus Viaduct

   Historians Jared Smith, Jennifer Ott, Coll Thrush, Bob Donegan, and Knute Berger discuss Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct, its impact on the waterfront, and the city's values-based decision-making in this interview episode hosted by Dominic Black and Kiku Hughes.

Who has been a guest on An 8-Year-Long Emergency

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Greg Nickels
• Mike McGinn
• Nick Licata
• Christine Gregoire
• Cary Moon

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 29 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

59

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

Contact An 8-Year-Long Emergency

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.