Only the occasional sea otter swims in Puget Sound, yet the adorable marine mammal is a local mascot. Cuddly cartoon otters appear on posters lining our waterfront and appear on their fair share of “Greetings from Seattle” postcards. Meanwhile, on Washington’s outer coast, a recently reintroduced population of sea otters is on the rise. As part of the Beasts of Seattle podcast series, Town Hall’s Podcast Artist-in-Residence Samantha Allen interviews Return of the Sea Otter author Todd McLeish, Dr. Shawn Larson of the Seattle Aquarium, and other experts about what the sea otter means to Seattle.

Samantha Allen is the author of Patricia Wants to Cuddle and the Lambda Literary Award finalist, Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States. A GLAAD Award-winning journalist, Samantha’s writing has been published by The New York Times, Rolling Stone, CNN, and more.

Presented by Town Hall Seattle. Beasts of Seattle is part of Town Hall’s Artist-in-Residence program.