The Lost Potter's Field: Modern Connections

The Lost Potter's Field: Modern Connections

From Invisible Histories by Cari Simson Elke Hautala

September 6, 2025 · 52 min · Season 4 · Episode 8

About this episode

This episode explores the historical treatment of marginalized individuals in Seattle and modern connections to homelessness through research and interviews.

Our Potter's Field research and memorialization project points to the past ways that people who died on the margins in Seattle and King County were treated leading up to 1912, and how their burial area was obliterated in the wake of the Duwamish river dredging and straightening in 1913. Invisible Histories seeks to make modern connections with all our stories, and our intern, Jacob Neville, assisted Elke with research and interviews with modern programs that seek to create memorialization and remembrance for those who die on the margins of Seattle today. As part of this research, Jacob wrote a research paper about the media's role in portraying people who are homeless. Thank you, Jacob for being our intern in 2025! Join us for this episode where Jacob shared his background and interests exploring these topics. If you are interested in being an intern with Invisible Histories please get in touch! ------------- Read Jacob Neville's research report,  "Who Gets to Speak: The Role a Media Outlet Plays in Shaping the Narratives About Homelessness in the United States (2025)" If someone is asked to point to a crisis taking place in the country right now, a common answer would be…

People in this episode

Hosts: Cari Simson, Elke Hautala

Guest: Jacob Neville

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Invisible Histories

Books & works: Who Gets to Speak: The Role a Media Outlet Plays in Shaping the Narratives About Homelessness in the United States (2025)

Places: Seattle, King County

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