Jean Godden

Jean Godden wrote columns first for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and late for the Seattle Times. In 2002, she quit to run for City Council where she served for 12 years. Since then she published a book of city stories titled “Citizen Jean.” She is now co-host of The Bridge aired on community station KMGP at 101.1 FM. You can email tips and comments to Jean at jgodden@blarg.net.

The Five Keys to Winning a Debate

“Don’t speak to your opponent but to the audience. First impressions matter, the candidates’ early statements are the ones that stick with viewers. Style towers over substance.”

This is what Blowing it Looks Like

When the nation’s voters – many millions of them – tuned in to last night’s debate, what they first heard was the nation’s president, an aging white man struggling with a mouth full of cotton.

Burn it Down: Kara Swisher’s Love Affair with Tech

Over the years, she’s shed light on the self-entitled billionaires, chronicled the triumphs and failures, and roasted an industry that has often gone off the rails.

My Favorite War: The Pig War of 1859

Underlying the dispute was confusion over whether San Juan belonged to the United States or to Great Britain. An earlier settlement had clouded ownership.

Will They Ever Learn? Closing Seattle Schools

This review of the results of one failed solution illustrates the danger of adopting a wrong-headed approach. But don’t count on past lessons learned. The district seems determined to close schools.

Should the Steinbrueck Park Totems be Returned to the Market?

Whether those poles will be returned to the park as originally promised is now open to question.

Growing Chasm: How Men and Women are Voting

Gen Z young women are not alone in their leftward move. Polling shows an older set of women – Baby Boomers and Millennial women among them – are beginning to move left.

Micro-casting Radio: SPACE101 for the Community

Community radio has become a wonderful resource, a way of communicating that we’re most fortunate to have.

1883’s Comstockery Rises Again

George Bernard Shaw coined the term “comstockery” and said that it had made America the laughing stock of Europe. In return, Comstock raided a Shaw play and derided the playwright as “an Irish smut dealer.”

Unique Seattle: The Quirks That Won’t go Away

It isn’t fair to say that adding density is going to wipe out Seattle-ness. There are many other Seattle Uniques: places and objects that define this city’s character. Here's a list.

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