Below are selected interviews, podcasts and articles featuring Nathan, organized by media type. For speeches and storytelling video of Nathan, click here.

In Print

• The Seattle Times. "Nathan Vass brings readers onto his bus in new book ‘Deciding to See.'" By Aleenah Ansari. Published May 18, 2025. 

• The International Examiner. "Take a ride on Nathan Vass’ bus and see his insight and human connection with Seattle’s gritty side." Book review by David Takami. Published June 12, 2025.

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• Real Change News. "Deciding to See: The View From Nathan's Bus." Book review by Andrea Kreidler. Published June 25, 2025.

 

• Art Access. "Film, Time, and Memory: Nathan Vass at Gallery 110." By Elizabeth Bryant. Published in the July/Aug/Sept 2023 issue.

 

• International Examiner. "Q&A: Engaging ephemera with imagemaker Nathan Vass’ 'Present Perfect.'" By Kevin Phan. Published July 2023.

 

• Seattle Met. "100 Power Players:" The magazine's 2021 list of Most Influential People includes Nathan. Published December 2021.

 

• Democratic Left. "Give Us Shelter: A Bus Driver's Story." An essay on pandemic driving for Democratic Socialists of America's Fall 2021 issue.

 

• Seattle Met. Bus Drivers Had to Follow Some Wrenching Directions in 2020. Interview and writeup on Nathan's experiences driving a bus during COVID. By Nicole Martinson. Published December 21, 2020.

 

• The International Examiner. "'Positive energy has an interesting way of building on itself,' says Nathan Vass, artist, writer and route 7 Metro bus driver." By Roxanne Ray. Published August 20, 2020. More on this essay here.

 

• The Stranger. The Nicest Guy in Seattle. Feature article in the Stranger's books section; author profile. By Rich Smith. Published December 4, 2019.

 

• The Review. Remembering what matters: A story of kindness in Greenwood. By Rylan Bauermeister. Published April 9, 2019. Interview with Nathan about community interaction in Greenwood for Phinney’s local newspaper.

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• Seattle Magazine. Seattle’s Most Influential People 2018: The Next Generation. Seattle Mag's annual compilation of the city's 35 most influential people includes Nathan. By Naomi Ishisaka. Published November 2018.

 

• The Seattle Times. “Most Bus Drivers Avoid Metro Route 7; Then There’s Nathan Vass, Who Loves It.” Front-page article profiling the author, and The Times’ most-read article for the week of its publication. By Jessica Lee. Published August 15, 2017.

 

• The Seattle Times. “Seattle Artist Nathan Vass: Going Forward in All Directions.” Review of a solo show exhibiting the author’s work. By Michael Upchurch. Published June 27, 2013.

 

• Real Change News. “Reader of the Week: Nathan Vass.” Interview with the author regarding his bus driving, blog, and thoughts on homelessness. By Tricia Sullivan. Published December 11, 2013.

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Television

• KING 5. "'Deciding to See' shares the everyday beauty of riding a Seattle Metro bus." Host Kelly Hanson chats with Nathan about the book. Broadcast May 23, 2025. 

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• TED. "Why We Need Strangers: Nathan Vass." TEDxUofW hosts Nathan for a talk about what strangers offer that friends can't. Event held & broadcast May 4, 2019.

 

• KING 5. "This bus driver is making the most of his route." Broadcast Nov 21, 2018. Michael King interviews Nathan about his new book. 

 

• The Seattle Channel. "CityStream: Metro’s Merry Bus Driver." Broadcast Mar 29, 2018. KIRO, KING, KMTV and freelance reporter Diane Duthweiler interviews Nathan on his attitude and appreciation for serving the people.

 

• King County. “Secret Identity Metro Ad Campaign: Nathan Vass.” Published 2015-present, in conjunction with billboards, posters, bookmarks & brochures. Nathan is a lead face of this hiring campaign. Ongoing.

 

• Washington State University. "Nathan Vass on Shooting Exclusively With Film." Produced by Brian Bell for WSU’s Film and Television Communications Department. Published June 17, 2015.

Radio

• National Public Radio. "Cheers to the bus driver! Seattle’s Nathan Vass turns his daily bus exchanges into a book." Broadcast May 22, 2025. Nathan talks to Libby Denkman about his new book, Deciding to See. 

 

• National Public Radio. "KUOW The Record: Veteran Metro driver: ‘It's not that buses are unsafe… Seattle is unsafe.' Broadcast December 23, 2024. Host Rob Wood interviews me about Shawn Yim. Short and long versions of the interview included in the link; scroll to bottom of page for long version.

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• KIRO 97.3 FM. "Nathan Vass Interview with SMN.​" Nathan Vass joins Seattle's Morning News with Charlie Harger and Manda Factor to discuss what he has learned about Seattle in nearly 20 years as a bus driver. Broadcast May 16, 2025.

 

• National Public Radio. "KUOW The Record: The Friendly Bus Driver in Socially Distant Times (scroll down for my 11-minute segment). KUOW Host Bill Radke interviews Nathan on driving during the the Coronavirus. 

 

• KIRO. "Nathan Vass, Metro Bus Driver." Radio Broadcast by KIRO. Broadcast date: March 31, 2020. KIRO radio host Dave Ross interviews Nathan about his job driving during COVID.

 

• KIRO. “Nathan Vass, The Friendliest Bus Driver in Seattle.” Radio broadcast by KIRO. Broadcast date: January 6, 2020. KIRO radio host Dave Ross interviews Nathan about his job driving the night shift in South Seattle.
  
  
• National Public Radio. "KUOW The Record: Answering your questions about crows, jaywalking, and the bus." KUOW host Deborah Wang interviews Nathan in the studio on a variety of transit-related human-interest topics. Radio broadcast by NPR: KUOW. Broadcast date: July 3, 2019, 12pm PST.

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• KVRU. "Nathan on Route 7." KVRU host Simon Kidde, interviews Nathan and Metro's Robyn Austin on the transition of Metro's flagship route to RapidRide. Radio Broadcast by KVRU 105.7. Broadcast date: October 5, 2019, 6pm PST.

 

• National Public Radio. "KUOW The Record: How far can kindness go? Pretty far, it turns out." [alternate link] KUOW host Ross Reynolds interviews Nathan in the studio on a variety of transit-related human-interest topics. Radio broadcast by NPR: KUOW. Broadcast date: May 24, 2018, 12pm PST.

 

• National Public Radio. "KNKX Sound Effect: Traffic." KNKX host Gabriel Spitzer interviews Nathan in the studio and on the road, focusing on his connection with the people. Radio broadcast by NPR: KNKX. Broadcast date: Dec 2, 2017, 10am PST. Available on iTunes.

Podcasts

• CityCast Seattle. Affordable Eats at T-Mobile Park, Amazon Lawsuits, and Building Community on the Bus. Jane Hu interviews guest Nathan for Bus Driver Appreciation Day (first section of the segment). Broadcast March 19, 2026.

• You Know Me Now. EP033: Magic Bus. Rex Hohlbein, founder of Facing Homelessness, dives deep with Nathan on homelessness. Published March 2026.

• A Fresh Face in Hell. Nathan Vass - The View from Nathan's Bus. NYT Bestselling author Jonathan Evison interviews Nathan about bus driving. Published January 7. 2026.

• Pay Your Dues. Seeing Seattle: The Bus Driver and Author | Nathan Vass on Community, Compassion & Urban Life. Greg Inglin interviews Nathan about his new book. Published September 9, 2025.

• Washington Talking Book and Braille Library. Nathan Vass: The Lines That Make Us: Stories From Nathan's Bus. Chris Snee interviews Nathan about his first book and other topics. Published June 12, 2025.

• The Urbanist Podcast by  By Ray Dubicki. The Human Side of Transit with Author and Artist Nathan Vass. Ray Dubicki interviews Nathan on his life and work. Published February 18, 2023.

 

• Career Spotlight Podcast by Holli and Casey Margell. Season 1, Episode 22: Seattle Bus Driver By Night Fuels Creative By Day. Holli and Casey interview me on the intersection between my work... and my artwork. Published January 23, 2023.

 

• High Frequency by TransitCenter. Nathan Vass - Operating a Bus During a Pandemic. The New York-based podcast interviews me on driving during COVID. Published May 11, 2020.


• Seattle Growth Podcast. Season 6, Episode 3: Finding Community in Public Spaces. UW Professor Jeff Shulman continues his nationally renowned podcast interviewing Seattle luminaries on the changing face of the city. Here he talks to Nathan about how shifts in community are realized on transit. Published June 11, 2019.

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• Bare Naked Bravery. 042: Empowering Others: Public Transit, Storytelling, Driving a Bus & Making Art with Nathan Vass. BNB’s Emily Ann Peterson interviews luminaries representing bravery from around the United States, usually for half an hour; here she sits down with Nathan for an hour. Published May 16, 2017. 

 

• The Northwest Urbanist. CascadiaCast Episode 6: Nathan Vass. Scott Bonjukian, architect, writer and founder of The Northwest Urbanist, interviews Nathan on transit, urban development, and housing issues. Published March 2, 2016.

Online

• Tokyo International Short Film Festival. "Men I Trust: An Interview with Nathan Vass." TISFF interviews Nathan about his film, inspirations, and advice for emerging filmmakers. June 2022.

 

• Pacific Lutheran University. "Saxifrage 47: Interview with Nathan Vass." PLU's editorial staff interview Nathan, their visiting writer for Spring 2020.

 

• New Renaissance Film Festival Amsterdam. "NRFF Artist of the Month: Nathan Vass." (PDF) Anya Patel interviews Nathan on his 9th film, strong female characters, the creative process and more. Published May 2020.

 

• Dreamers of Dreams International Film Festival. "Anya Patel interviews Nathan Vass, director ‘Men I Trust’." Anya Patel interviews Nathan (video) for the London Fest. Published November 2020.

 

• Wiki.Ezvid.com. "6 Talented Authors From the Pacific Northwest." Video and article including Nathan as one of 6 notable area writers. 

 

• The Huffington Post. "Driving A Bus Through A Pandemic." Nathan and colleagues sound off. by Erica C. Barnett. Published April 10, 2020.

 

• Slate. "Coronavirus Diaries: I’m a Bus Driver in Seattle, but No One’s Riding." Nathan on the Coronavirus, as told to Jane Hu. Published March 19, 2020.

 

• TransitCenter. “What Can Bus Operators Teach Us?” New York’s nationally recognized transit advocacy agency hosts Nathan on a four-person panel exploring the subject of the title. March 4, 2020. Event info; event transcript.
  
  
• Washington Center for the Book. 2019 Washington State Book Award finalists. Announcement. Nathan's book is a finalist in the non-fiction category. Nathan's thoughts here.

 

• The Seattle Review of Books. Literary Event of the Week: Susanna Ryan and Nathan Vass in conversation. Paul Constant on the appeal of Nathan and Susanna's books. Published December 2, 2019.

 

• KUOW Online. This Seattle bus driver decided to be extra nice to his passengers. Here's how it went. Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong adapts Nathan's 2018 Ross Reynolds interview for print. Published November 29, 2018.

 

• NPR Online. “Bus Driver Finds Beauty in Even the Toughest of Routes.” One of Quirksee’s (a division of NPR) top five most read articles of 2013. By Martha Kang. Published on September 19, 2013.

 

• The Seattle Review of Books. “Talking with Seattle’s blogging bus driver, Nathan Vass.” By Paul Constant. Published March 2017.

 

• Here in Seattle. “33 Questions with Nathan Vass, Artist, Photographer, Filmmaker… and Metro Bus Driver.” By William Pennington. Published June 2017. 

 

• Seattle Shines. “Why He’s On Board.” By Holli Margell, for Seattle Shines: a Look at the Unexpected Beauty and Unsung Heroes of Seattle. Published March 11, 2016.

 

• Erica Weiland. An Interview with Nathan Vass – Part 1, and An Interview with Nathan Vass – Part 2. By Erica Weiland. Published June 24 and July 8, 2014. 

 

• Have You Nerd? “5 Blogs that I Love (That you just might too).” By Virginia Eader. Published September 8, 2013. 

 

• The Sunbreak. “‘Here We Go!’ Riding with Metro Operator Nathan Vass.” [stand by for link update] By Lucas Anderson. Published February 8, 2010.    

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