Will James
@willjames.bsky.social
Seattle journalist trying to understand many of the worst things
Currently making audio documentaries with KUOW
Podcasts:
Lost Patients (2024)
The Walk Home (2022)
Outsiders (2020)
Married to @sydbrownstone.bsky.social
https://www.will-james.work/
Currently making audio documentaries with KUOW
Podcasts:
Lost Patients (2024)
The Walk Home (2022)
Outsiders (2020)
Married to @sydbrownstone.bsky.social
https://www.will-james.work/
Deleted a post because the court has decided to take today off from deliberations in the Antonio Mays case; Deliberations will resume on Monday!
January 9, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Deleted a post because the court has decided to take today off from deliberations in the Antonio Mays case; Deliberations will resume on Monday!
This is the way.
For anyone who creates anything, for anyone who values works of creativity at all.
As I get older, I find fewer and fewer things worth getting militant about. But this is one exception. Human creativity is a miracle and we’re at risk of snuffing it out.
For anyone who creates anything, for anyone who values works of creativity at all.
As I get older, I find fewer and fewer things worth getting militant about. But this is one exception. Human creativity is a miracle and we’re at risk of snuffing it out.
In case it doesn't go without saying: I have not used gen AI to create text in any of my books. I have not used Grammarly etc to "clean up" the text. I have not used it to research any of my books, except where it might be built into search engines under the hood (I do not use labelled AI results).
December 20, 2025 at 11:03 PM
This is the way.
For anyone who creates anything, for anyone who values works of creativity at all.
As I get older, I find fewer and fewer things worth getting militant about. But this is one exception. Human creativity is a miracle and we’re at risk of snuffing it out.
For anyone who creates anything, for anyone who values works of creativity at all.
As I get older, I find fewer and fewer things worth getting militant about. But this is one exception. Human creativity is a miracle and we’re at risk of snuffing it out.
Latest in the civil trial over the death of Antonio Mays Jr., the 16-year-old who was killed in Seattle's CHOP zone:
Today, the lead detective in the homicide case unveiled evidence that was previously not public, as lawyers debated whether Mays committed a felony in the minutes before he was shot.
Today, the lead detective in the homicide case unveiled evidence that was previously not public, as lawyers debated whether Mays committed a felony in the minutes before he was shot.
Seattle CHOP evidence revealed by city in wrongful death trial
City attorneys unveiled a weapon found in a jacket at the scene to help prove their argument that Antonio Mays Jr. was committing a felony when he was fatally shot.
www.seattletimes.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Latest in the civil trial over the death of Antonio Mays Jr., the 16-year-old who was killed in Seattle's CHOP zone:
Today, the lead detective in the homicide case unveiled evidence that was previously not public, as lawyers debated whether Mays committed a felony in the minutes before he was shot.
Today, the lead detective in the homicide case unveiled evidence that was previously not public, as lawyers debated whether Mays committed a felony in the minutes before he was shot.
Omari Salisbury and I were on @kuow.org’s Soundside today to talk about newly unearthed footage of Antonio Mays Jr. from 2020.
The footage, shot by Omari, shows Mays talking to a small crowd three days before he was shot and killed in Seattle’s CHOP. The case is unsolved.
omny.fm/shows/sounds...
The footage, shot by Omari, shows Mays talking to a small crowd three days before he was shot and killed in Seattle’s CHOP. The case is unsolved.
omny.fm/shows/sounds...
New video found featuring victim of unsolved CHOP killing - Soundside
On the eve of a civil trial over Antonio Mays Jr.'s death, new footage contradicts widely held account of the teenager's motivations
omny.fm
December 9, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Omari Salisbury and I were on @kuow.org’s Soundside today to talk about newly unearthed footage of Antonio Mays Jr. from 2020.
The footage, shot by Omari, shows Mays talking to a small crowd three days before he was shot and killed in Seattle’s CHOP. The case is unsolved.
omny.fm/shows/sounds...
The footage, shot by Omari, shows Mays talking to a small crowd three days before he was shot and killed in Seattle’s CHOP. The case is unsolved.
omny.fm/shows/sounds...
Reposted by Will James
My colleagues and I have interviewed dozens of people about the death of 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr., reportedly shot by CHOP security.
Themes we often hear: He was up to no good. Security was protecting us.
Here’s a video of Mays 3 days before his death.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
Themes we often hear: He was up to no good. Security was protecting us.
Here’s a video of Mays 3 days before his death.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
New footage of teen killed at Seattle CHOP discovered on eve of trial
The clip was in hundreds of hours of video livestreamed by Omari Salisbury, one of the first reporters on the scene after Antonio Mays Jr.’s unsolved shooting.
www.seattletimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:14 PM
My colleagues and I have interviewed dozens of people about the death of 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr., reportedly shot by CHOP security.
Themes we often hear: He was up to no good. Security was protecting us.
Here’s a video of Mays 3 days before his death.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
Themes we often hear: He was up to no good. Security was protecting us.
Here’s a video of Mays 3 days before his death.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
KUOW link (no paywall):
Victim of unsolved Seattle CHOP killing featured in newly unearthed video
A newly unearthed video has revealed what is likely the last known footage of Antonio Mays Jr. speaking at 2020’s Capitol Hill Occupied Protest just days before his death.
www.kuow.org
December 5, 2025 at 6:50 PM
KUOW link (no paywall):
New from The Seattle Times and KUOW:
Antonio Mays Jr. was capturing on video, speaking about police reform to a crowd of protesters, just three days before he was shot and killed at CHOP in 2020.
This is a new data point in the 5-year-old question of who Mays was and what he was doing at CHOP.
Antonio Mays Jr. was capturing on video, speaking about police reform to a crowd of protesters, just three days before he was shot and killed at CHOP in 2020.
This is a new data point in the 5-year-old question of who Mays was and what he was doing at CHOP.
New footage of teen killed at Seattle CHOP discovered on eve of trial
The clip was in hundreds of hours of video livestreamed by Omari Salisbury, one of the first reporters on the scene after Antonio Mays Jr.’s unsolved shooting.
www.seattletimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:38 PM
New from The Seattle Times and KUOW:
Antonio Mays Jr. was capturing on video, speaking about police reform to a crowd of protesters, just three days before he was shot and killed at CHOP in 2020.
This is a new data point in the 5-year-old question of who Mays was and what he was doing at CHOP.
Antonio Mays Jr. was capturing on video, speaking about police reform to a crowd of protesters, just three days before he was shot and killed at CHOP in 2020.
This is a new data point in the 5-year-old question of who Mays was and what he was doing at CHOP.
The industrialization of food eventually created a demand for a return to fresh, natural food.
One must hope that a similar thing will result from the flatting/narrowing of information.
One must hope that a similar thing will result from the flatting/narrowing of information.
November 28, 2025 at 10:26 PM
The industrialization of food eventually created a demand for a return to fresh, natural food.
One must hope that a similar thing will result from the flatting/narrowing of information.
One must hope that a similar thing will result from the flatting/narrowing of information.
My Bloody Valentine took away their major albums.
November 26, 2025 at 9:28 PM
My Bloody Valentine took away their major albums.
I agree with you, and yet this is an extremely Bluesky comment.
November 26, 2025 at 6:05 PM
I agree with you, and yet this is an extremely Bluesky comment.
Reposted by Will James
A huge bookstore with a tiny/nonexistent horror section is a shitty, incomplete bookstore. I said what I said.
November 24, 2025 at 5:37 PM
A huge bookstore with a tiny/nonexistent horror section is a shitty, incomplete bookstore. I said what I said.
Shame is probably the variable. Or at least *a* variable.
The system creates the incentive. Some participants see a path to money/fame/success and follow it. Others are cowed by shame. Or maybe pride.
An absence of shame is a superpower in a lot of systems at the moment.
The system creates the incentive. Some participants see a path to money/fame/success and follow it. Others are cowed by shame. Or maybe pride.
An absence of shame is a superpower in a lot of systems at the moment.
November 22, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Shame is probably the variable. Or at least *a* variable.
The system creates the incentive. Some participants see a path to money/fame/success and follow it. Others are cowed by shame. Or maybe pride.
An absence of shame is a superpower in a lot of systems at the moment.
The system creates the incentive. Some participants see a path to money/fame/success and follow it. Others are cowed by shame. Or maybe pride.
An absence of shame is a superpower in a lot of systems at the moment.
I was getting to it!
November 21, 2025 at 7:45 PM
I was getting to it!
One of my favorite things I learned while talking with students at @famu1887.bsky.social this week: At its founding, this historically black university was relegated to a former plantation infested with rattlesnakes. So they embraced the rattlesnake as their mascot.
November 20, 2025 at 10:00 PM
One of my favorite things I learned while talking with students at @famu1887.bsky.social this week: At its founding, this historically black university was relegated to a former plantation infested with rattlesnakes. So they embraced the rattlesnake as their mascot.
This may seem like a subtle distinction, but it points to different causes and different solutions.
November 4, 2025 at 7:58 PM
This may seem like a subtle distinction, but it points to different causes and different solutions.
This election season, a common perception has reasserted itself: that homelessness and public disorder are problems of big, progressive cities.
There's another way to view it: These are *American* problems that tend to pool in certain spots, and end up being disproportionately borne by big cities.
There's another way to view it: These are *American* problems that tend to pool in certain spots, and end up being disproportionately borne by big cities.
In Seattle, you can pass by corners where dozens of people are buying and selling fentanyl and stolen goods out in the open.
I asked an outreach worker what we’re seeing. His answer may be the most articulate description I’ve ever heard of the pockets of poverty/disorder on display in cities:
I asked an outreach worker what we’re seeing. His answer may be the most articulate description I’ve ever heard of the pockets of poverty/disorder on display in cities:
November 4, 2025 at 7:56 PM
This election season, a common perception has reasserted itself: that homelessness and public disorder are problems of big, progressive cities.
There's another way to view it: These are *American* problems that tend to pool in certain spots, and end up being disproportionately borne by big cities.
There's another way to view it: These are *American* problems that tend to pool in certain spots, and end up being disproportionately borne by big cities.
During your walk, run, chores, or commute today, pop in your earbuds and listen to this piece from my colleague @lizamelia.bsky.social (who edited Lost Patients).
It's the most intimate look at immigrant detention I've heard. It takes place at Tacoma's ICE facility.
It's the most intimate look at immigrant detention I've heard. It takes place at Tacoma's ICE facility.
She spent her wedding day in Tacoma’s ICE detention center, as policy changes swept through
"Inside ICE Detention: A Documentary" investigates Tacoma's immigration detention center during a time of swift policy changes under the Trump administration.
www.kuow.org
October 31, 2025 at 7:07 PM
During your walk, run, chores, or commute today, pop in your earbuds and listen to this piece from my colleague @lizamelia.bsky.social (who edited Lost Patients).
It's the most intimate look at immigrant detention I've heard. It takes place at Tacoma's ICE facility.
It's the most intimate look at immigrant detention I've heard. It takes place at Tacoma's ICE facility.
Yeah, it's too bad the "mainstream media" has not reported any negative stories about Bruce Harrell.
www.kuow.org/stories/moni...
www.kuow.org/stories/seat...
www.kuow.org/stories/seat...
www.kuow.org/stories/woma...
www.kuow.org/stories/moni...
www.kuow.org/stories/seat...
www.kuow.org/stories/seat...
www.kuow.org/stories/woma...
October 29, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Yeah, it's too bad the "mainstream media" has not reported any negative stories about Bruce Harrell.
www.kuow.org/stories/moni...
www.kuow.org/stories/seat...
www.kuow.org/stories/seat...
www.kuow.org/stories/woma...
www.kuow.org/stories/moni...
www.kuow.org/stories/seat...
www.kuow.org/stories/seat...
www.kuow.org/stories/woma...
Didn’t Katie Wilson tell KUOW the checks arrive every couple of months?
To me, that would suggest it started sooner than September.
To me, that would suggest it started sooner than September.
October 28, 2025 at 4:18 AM
Didn’t Katie Wilson tell KUOW the checks arrive every couple of months?
To me, that would suggest it started sooner than September.
To me, that would suggest it started sooner than September.
I think The Stranger should be careful about accusing a fellow journalist of making a factual error — a really serious thing — when they’re actually making a more subtle point about context and framing.
October 28, 2025 at 4:08 AM
I think The Stranger should be careful about accusing a fellow journalist of making a factual error — a really serious thing — when they’re actually making a more subtle point about context and framing.
Is there a difference? Sure. In the first case, a reader might assume the parental support has gone on for ~ two years. Now we know it’s closer to one year.
Helpful to know. Does this justify The Stranger calling another journalist’s reporting inaccurate?
Helpful to know. Does this justify The Stranger calling another journalist’s reporting inaccurate?
October 28, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Is there a difference? Sure. In the first case, a reader might assume the parental support has gone on for ~ two years. Now we know it’s closer to one year.
Helpful to know. Does this justify The Stranger calling another journalist’s reporting inaccurate?
Helpful to know. Does this justify The Stranger calling another journalist’s reporting inaccurate?