Welcome back to the Ten Blocks podcast. This is your host, Brian Anderson, the editor of

City Journal. The cities of the Pacific Northwest have long been a magnet for street people. In 2017,

we did a podcast with City Journal writer Michael Totten on Portland's challenges with homelessness.

But today, we're here to talk about its next-door neighbor, Seattle, Washington.

Over the past half decade, the Emerald City has seen an explosion of homelessness as well

as crime and addiction, and the situation doesn't appear to be improving anytime soon.

In the autumn 2018 issue of City Journal, Seattle resident Christopher

Rufo documents the city's political struggle to deal with the crisis in an essay entitled

Seattle Under Siege. Chris joined us on the podcast from his home in Seattle, and our conversation

begins after this. We hope you enjoy.

Hello, everyone. This is Brian Anderson, editor of City Journal.

Joining me on the show today is Christopher Rufo. Chris is the executive director for the

documentary foundation and a research fellow at the Discovery Institute Center for Wealth

and poverty. He's directed three documentaries for PBS and his next and a research fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center for Wealth and Poverty.

He's directed three documentaries for PBS, and his next film, America Lost,

tells the story of life in three struggling American cities, Youngstone, Ohio, Memphis, Tennessee,

and Stockton, California.

But here we're going to talk about his first major essay

for City Journal, a story entitled Seattle Under Siege. It appeared in our autumn 2018 issue. Chris,

thanks very much for joining us. It's a pleasure. The first question, just how bad is Seattle's homelessness problem?

What kind of impact is it having on quality of life generally in the city?

And what's the mood of the city's residents like yourself?

...