Avant Gossip

Hope and Jackie talk about blight, aka the city's ability to seize land, and how it enabled Urban Renewal in a post WWII Seattle. They talk about the code enforcement program that was another tool for land grabbing, largely from Black families, and reference the 2021 Seattle Times piece written by Dr. Robert Jeffrey Sr. about the seizure of land from the New Hope Missionary Church. Bringing it to the now, they talk about City Council's recent bill that allows the fire department to seize vacant land for demolition, pointing to the continuation of Seattle's land grabbing tactics. They also seed the idea of "running" for the Planning Commission (not an elected office) and ask why orgs like Habitat for Humanity don't step in and help people with building restoration. Thanks for listening! xoxo We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram And make sure to rate us 5 stars on Spotify!!!

Hope and Jackie try to recall their experience when parks was trying to put a playground at a queer nude beach. We get into the leaked texts, the community outcry, the QFC and University Village owner Stuart Sloan of it all. This is a juicy one! xoxo We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram And make sure to rate us 5 stars on Spotify!!!

episode is 1 hour. Spotify is saying 2 hours 7 min, don't believe the propaganda! Jackie and Hope ask the hard hitting questions in this gay ass episode. Such as, what are queer spaces? what makes a queer space heterotopia? and who the fuck is Denny Blaine? Come join us, as we explore!   Sorry this is late! We were up to a lot of stuff and something about mercury in retrograde and the full moon being in aquarius really set me (Jackie) back. We did it tho, it is here! So enjoy us giggling and chit chatting our asses off.   xoxo 

Third Ave has been a thorn in Seattle's side for years. Now, the Third Avenue Strategic Forum Report has put out recommendations for how to create "a welcoming and safe neighborhood the provides efficient transportation connections to Seattle and the broader region." As always, the question is: for who? Hope and Jackie break down this plan, and honestly could have gone harder on it. Think ANTM, only instead of giving someone a pixie cut against their will, Seattle is trying to eradicate crime with "joyful banners" and people who occasionally sweep the sidewalk. As per usual, it's a not-so-mini mini-sode focused on a local Seattle issue. Thanks for listening! xoxo We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram And make sure to rate us 5 stars on Spotify!!!

Hope and Jackie discuss "dead zones" which have a lot of names but essentially describe holes in the hegemonic fabric. The myth that "nothing is happening" in these spaces has historically fueled both colonization and urban redevelopment, a pattern that continues today. We reference examples in Tel Aviv and Seattle. It's an episode made with equal parts philosophy, urban planning, and giggles, with appearances from The Situationists, Superstudio, and us almost crying talking about bulletin boards. xoxo We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram And make sure to rate us 5 stars on Spotify!!!

If the episode on the history of zoning left you with a deep yearning for details about Seattle's future land plans use sprinkled with opinions about urbanists and cops, you came to the right place. Seattle is about to put out a new comprehensive plan, which means it's looking at what kind of housing is allowed where. People have opinions on it and Hope and Jackie are two of those people! Buckle up, it's a mini-sode. xoxo We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram And make sure to rate us 5 stars on Spotify!!!

Hope and Jackie discuss the history of zoning in U.S. cities - How did it come about? What are incompatible uses? Why is this an example of heterotopia? From Chinese Laundries to Euclidian Zoning, we talk about the 20th century's obsession with the idea of space, the way cities are built for cars, and why queerness might just be the antidote to it all. Foucault makes an appearence, as does Jackie's cat Cobbie. Still working through some teeny weeny sound issues - the IT guy told us we gotta podcast in a room with no internet or devices lol xoxo We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram And make sure to rate us 5 stars on Spotify!!!

Hope and Jackie discuss Seattle's budget and how it has affected the library. What does all this say about how we are moving forward as a city anywhoooo? Get mad with us! xoxo    We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram And make sure to rate us 5 stars on Spotify!!!

Seattle Central Public Library isn't like other girls.  Jackie and Hope are diving into the world of Heterotopia and what the f*ck does it actually mean. We discuss architecture, history, hysterectomies, polyamory, and of course, heterotopia.    We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram And make sure to rate us 5 stars on Spotify!!!   Love ya'll XOXO

Hope and Jackie discuss the gritty world of housing, but in their cool, fun way. The list of topics: 1. Utopia 2. Direct Action 3. Land Value Tax 1. Utopia: Lyon, France and Tony Garnier (like the shampoo) 2. Direct Action: Squatting is actually v cool 3. Land Value Tax: The guy with two first names Henry George popularized this idea. So what does Detroit got to do with him? xoxo We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram

Howdy ya'll. Jackie and Hope discuss elements of fascist design. Jackie focuses on showcasing each truth with an example of how the US and Israel have implemented these design values into the fabric of the landscape.    We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram

Speaking of art hoe cliques, did you guys know that FDR's New Deal included programs the employed artists full time to make paintings, murals, and sculptures for government buildings and institutions? It's the story of Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Jacob Lawrence and many more artists who championed modern art in America like never before. And so what happens when you create laws that protect workers, give artists full time jobs and encourage them to hang out together? That's right folks, a union.   Today's episode dives into what the New Deal art programs looked like what they meant for artists in America, and in particular for Jacob Lawrence and Lee Krasner. Sorry about Jackie's sniffles, turns out she had covid while we recorded this. (We chat in the beginning until 15:37 if you want to skip to the meat of the episode) We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram   Sources: Artists at Work: A Film on the New Deal Art Projects Lee Krasner: Making Art, Making Trouble, and Making Do in the 1930s (lecture by Prof Gail Levin) The Life and Work of Abstract Expressionist Lee Krasner: A Biographer's View (lecture by Prof Gail Levin) The New Deal for Artists: the birth of abstract expressionism (Thesis by Jennifer M. Boling)

The history of roller skating is that of segragation, of suffrage, and of sexual awakening. Since their inception, rinks have served as day cares, as concert venues, and as places of protest.  As rinks around the US continue to close, Hope and Jackie talk about why it matters and send a plea out into the ethers for urban planners to include them in public space. It's a good time!   We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram

Hi ya'll, Hope and Jackie discuss Hilma af Klint. Was she queer? for sure. Was she a girls girl? We suspect. Listen in to hear about what the "af" is about, if/how Kandinsky got a peak of her stuff to make his abstract art, and other goodies.   We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram   Sources: The Friday Night Club by Sofia Lundberg, Alyson Richman, and M.J. Rose Hilma af Klint: the Biography by Julia Voss Multiples short documentaries on Hilma af Klint  

Welcome to Avant Gossip, Jackie and Hope's excuse to hang out and converse about stuff that matters to them. They do some research and even go so as far as to read books (mostly around design, fashion, architecture, art history) and then have some chit chat about it.  This episode Jackie and Hope discuss the *street* in street style. How does public space affect the subcultural aesthetics that blossom around it? How do subcultural aesthetics move through time and space? What happens when the public realm moves to the internet? Come gossip with us!   It feels reckless not to mention the genocide that is currently happening, even if this just reaches two listeners. We are heartbroken and demand a ceasefire NOW. Please call your local representative, go protest, educate yourself. Here is some links to do that: Stop Gaza Genocide Jewish Voice For Peace Defund Israel