Director of The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS), Eric Dorfman joins Knute Berger to unveil the science, planning and the process of acquisitions for Dorfman’s former Museum’s (Carnegie Natural History Museum) upcoming exhibition, “Nature’s Rainbow,” illuminating diversity in gender and sexuality among fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals, including primates. In this talk, Eric shares how this diversity develops from the action of genes and hormones and how people come to differ from each other in all aspects of body and behavior.

Knute “Mossback” Berger is Crosscut’s Editor-at-Large and host of the Mossback’s Northwest TV series on KCTS 9. He writes about politics and regional heritage. Previously he served as Editor-in-Chief of Seattle Weekly, Editor & Publisher of Eastsideweek, and as Managing Editor of Washington Magazine. He is Editor-at-Large for Seattle Magazine and has written two books, “Pugetopolis” and “Space Needle, Spirit of Seattle.” He is a regular commentator on KUOW-FM and a Rainier Club Fellow.

Puget Sound Mycological Society Past President Marian Maxwell was featured in our Communiversity arts and lectures series on October 26, 2020 to explain the basics of mushroom collecting, including seasons for mushroom hunting, permits required, types of mushrooms to look for, cooking, dangers, and where to hunt. Marian studied mycology under the renowned Dr. Daniel Stuntz and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Washington. She is a Past President of the Puget Sound Mycological Society (2010-2015), is currently the Outreach Chairperson, and has served as one of their lead identifiers, educators, and scientific display chairpersons for over 20 years. Ted Alvarez moderated the dialog with Marian and our audience as we learned how to explore the outdoors by foraging for a vast Northwest resource—mushrooms!

Ted Alvarez is an editor at Crosscut and KCTS 9 focused on science and the environment. His work has also appeared in Backpacker, Grist.org, Air Canada En Route, Outside, Alaska Beyond, Rolling Stone, Men’s Health, Skiing, Scientific American and many other outlets. He is the author of The Survival Hacker’s Handbook and National Parks Coast To Coast: 100 Best Hikes.

Richard Ross is an internationally-recognized photographer focusing on the American juvenile justice system and social equity. Recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Annie E. Casey and MacArthur Foundations, Mr. Ross was awarded both Fulbright and Guggenheim Fellowships. His most recent work, the In Justice series, turns a lens on the placement and treatment of American juveniles housed by law in facilities that treat, confine, punish, assist and, occasionally, harm them. Shaminder Dulai will join Richard, in conversation, about his life’s work, many books, and traveling exhibitions of the work that continues to see great success while Ross collaborates with juvenile justice stakeholders, using the images as a catalyst for change.