— Seattle Arts and Lectures is hosting a conversation with Kara Swisher on May 7. Known for her New York Times opinion column and as the editor of Recode, she was called “Silicon Valley’s most feared and well-liked journalist” by New York Magazine. In her column, Swisher has interviewed everyone from President Obama to Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. In this lecture, Kara will speak to the state of big tech, accountability in the tech industry, and the role of social media in our current political landscape.

— Every year, GeekWire has a celebration to honor the best startups and tech companies in the Pacific Northwest region. The GeekWire Awards will take place May 2 at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. Winners will be chosen in more than a dozen categories, from Startup of the Year to Next Tech Titan to Geek of the Year. Past winners of the awards include Tableau, Zulily, Tune, PopCap Games, OfferUp, Brown Paper Tickets, Avalara’s Scott McFarlane, University of Washington computer science professor Ed Lazowska and many more. Attendees will also have full access to all of the museum’s exhibits.

Here are more highlights from the GeekWire Calendar: