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Sound Effect, Episode 23: Final Act

A book cover depicting a hand drawn duck staring upward against a tan background.
Gecko Press

"Sound Effect" is your weekly tour of ideas, inspired by the place we live. The show is hosted by KNKX's Gabriel Spitzer. Each week's show explores a different theme, and this week we discuss final acts.

To begin the show, we check in with those still at the beginning of life. We wanted to know how you talk to children about death – life’s final act. Philosopher Jana Mohr Lone engages children in conversations about death all the time. She breaks the ice by reading them a book called, “Duck, Death, and the Tulip.”

KNKX's Florangela Davila profiles longtime Roosevelt High School theater teacher Ruben Van Kempen as he rehearses, blocks, and delivers his last and perhaps most ambitious theatrical production of his career.

Gabriel Spitzer interviews Robb Miller about his journey into advocacy for death with dignity. He’s the former executive director of Compassion & Choices of Washington which helps people diagnosed with terminal illness make end-of-life decisions.

Supervising Librarian Amber Slaven of KCLS Burien wraps up the show by recommending a few books by Northwest authors related to final acts.

This week on the news panel we are joined by Ashley Gross, Emily Parkhust, and Venice Buhain.