Name: Kay Smith-Blum with Joshua Frank and Gerry Pollett
Start: 2025-01-21T19:30:00-08:00
End: 2025-01-21T19:30:00-08:00
Location: The Mehdi Reading Room

Kay Smith-Blum with Joshua Frank and Gerry Pollett

Secrets, Fallout, and Hanford’s Hidden Truths

Date:: Tue Jan 21, 2025
Time:: 7:30 pm PST
Cost:: $10 - $35 Sliding Scale

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Venue

: The Mehdi Reading Room
: 1119 8th Ave
Seattle, 98101 United States + Google Map

Note: Town Hall events are approximately 75 minutes long.

From left to right: Headshots of Kay Smith Blum, Joshua Frank, and Gerry Pollet

Arts & Culture

Join author Kay Smith-Blum for a discussion of her novel Tangles, a gripping historical thriller that weaves together mystery, personal struggles, and a government conspiracy. Set against the backdrop of Hanford’s radioactive history, the story follows young scientist Luke Hinson as he uncovers the hidden dangers of nuclear contamination and a haunting connection to Mary Boone, his former neighbor who vanished under mysterious circumstances. The narrative alternates between the 1940s when Mary fought to expose government cover-ups, and the 1960s, as Luke pursues the truth amid bureaucratic resistance and personal turmoil.

In conversation with investigative journalist Joshua Frank and environmental advocate Gerry Pollet, Smith-Blum will explore the real-life inspirations behind Tangles and its themes of environmental justice and human resilience. Don’t miss this chance to dive into an emotionally charged story that examines the fallout—both literal and figurative—of America’s nuclear ambitions.

Kay Smith-Blum, a former business owner and Seattle School Board President, is lover of the natural world. An avid gardener, Smith-Blum founded Environmental Endeavors, the first greenhouse program in Seattle Public Elementary Schools. A fan of mid-20th-century history, Smith-Blum has penned two other manuscripts set in Texas, but the recent upheaval over leaking waste tanks at the Hanford site compelled her to write her debut novel, TANGLES. Named the Western WA Woman Business Owner of 2013, Smith-Blum has lived in Seattle for four decades. She works out her writer’s block in her sons’ gardens and the nearest lap pool. For more info see https://www.kaysmith-blum.com

Joshua Frank is co-editor of CounterPunch and co-host of CounterPunch Radio. His latest book is Atomic Days: The Untold Story of the Most Toxic Place in America. He is currently finishing up a book on the downside of the green energy revolution, to be published by Haymarket Books in the summer of 2025.

State Representative Gerry Pollet (46 th District: North Seattle) is the co-founder (1987) and Executive Director of Heart of America Northwest, the region’s largest public group advocating for the cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. In 1986, Gerry wrote and directed the statewide ballot referendum which stopped Hanford from becoming the nation’s High Level Nuclear Waste dump. He continues to direct Heart of America Northwest, working closely with affected Tribal Nations. Gerry led efforts to stop the US Department of Energy from dumping radioactive chemical wastes into unlined ditches at Hanford in 2004 and continues working to protect the Columbia River from leaking High Level Nuclear Waste tanks.

Presented by Town Hall Seattle.