A Frederick & Nelson sales associate displays the latest fall fashion, 1920s, courtesy MOHAI.

Frederick and Nelson, Aftermath of Microsoft Layoffs, and Sea Lion Seizures

Megan Sukys
01/28/2009

Seattle's Frederick and Nelson department store once had a shooting range, a tearoom, and displays of live animals from the Woodland Park Zoo. Author Ann Wendell remembers the legendary store. Then, a look at Microsoft layoffs, sea lion seizures, and hospital chaplains.

At 2:05 p.m. – The Meaning of Microsoft's Layoffs

Analysts are divided on the leading cause of Microsoft's recent layoffs, but whatever caused it, the company's reorganization could mean an entirely new approach to software and hardware. Glenn Fleishman is a freelance technology reporter who joins us every week with a look at how hi–tech works in our lives. Today, we ask what Microsoft's changes mean for the future of the industry. We also explore how www.whitehouse.gov is transforming under the Obama administration, and we toy with LG's new wrist watch phone.

At 2:20 p.m. – Frederick and Nelson

Eddie Bauer, the clothing and sporting goods retailer, and Frango are part of the rich history of a Seattle institution that is long gone. For most of its 100–year history, the Frederick and Nelson department store was a thriving center of creativity and community in downtown Seattle for many shoppers and employees alike. But the store's elaborate display windows, elegant tea room, international fashions and legendary customer service weren't enough to prevent its demise in 1992. Ann Wendell is the Seattle–based author of a new history of Frederick and Nelson. She calls the old Seattle department store her second home.

At 2:40 p.m. – Greg Atkinson Cooking Klatch

Box cereal is to Baby Boomers what granola is to Gen X. The generational differences about eating are starting to have an impact on the food industry. That's just one culinary trend for 2009 that chef, writer and culinary consultant Greg Atkinson sees. Less meat, new dining spaces and corporate responsibility may also dominate our eating landscape.

At 2:50 p.m. – Sea Lion Seizures

In Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds," crazed avians attack people in Santa Cruz, California, inciting panic. Now, something similar is happening in real life, and scientists think they may have discovered why. Amy Coombs reports.

At 2:55 p.m. – StoryCorps: Hospital Chaplain

Janet Lutz tells her friend, Lori Armstrong, about working as a hospital chaplain. Lutz worked 30 years as a hospital chaplain. Before retiring, she came to StoryCorps with Armstrong to talk about ministering to hospital staff.