Mossback's Northwest

Nothing has defined the Northwest more than the massive rivers of ice we know as glaciers. Mary Vaux Walcott, an amateur scientist and photographer, was one of the first to measure their steady retreat starting in the 1880s. National parks, lodges and rail routes have long provided access to these frozen attractions, but climate change is dramatically altering the landscape.

Chief Seattle’s daughter, Kikisoblu, was dubbed “Princess Angeline” by the city’s early white residents. Her life here was both beautiful and tragic. In her later years, she became a much-photographed figure in the city and a potent symbol of Indigenous resilience and resistance.

Earlier Mossback’s Northwest episodes have explored the topic of Seattle foods. But how have our favorites changed? Are teriyaki, Dutch babies and Seattle dogs still a thing? How have tastes literally changed? Resident Cascade PBS food expert Rachel Belle discusses the past and present of Northwest cuisine with Knute Berger, and she tries lutefisk for the first time!

Henry and Sarah Yesler were Seattle founders, and Yesler’s waterfront sawmill was the city’s first major industry. The two of them used some of their logging fortune to build the foundation of Seattle’s literary culture. It started with a small library and a connection to Jack London.

The most shocking espionage case of WWII involved a woman, Velvalee Dickinson, who spied on Northwest shipyards for the Japanese. She sent letters to the enemy that contained coded messages involving exotic dolls. That is, until she was caught by another woman: a codebreaker who had already disrupted rum-runners and smuggling rings during Prohibition.

Why did the U.S. buy Alaska from Russia? Was it for gold, timber or the fur trade? Here’s the fishy truth. It was Washington’s politicians who pushed for “Seward’s Folly” to succeed, all because of one man’s foresight about what was swimming in its waters. We’re still reaping the benefits today.

The Golden Potlatch was once a huge summer festival in Seattle, a precursor to Seafair. But one year, it erupted in violence over the issues of politics, patriotism and free speech. Learn how a good time became a pivotal moment in the city’s history.

A pimpled prairie south of Olympia is an enigma. Were the mounds made by floods, ice, earthquake or ancient gophers? An old story says they are the remains of ancient whales. For 200 years, researchers have pondered their origins with competing theories.