How comfortable are you with AI in your news? The Tacoma News Tribune, Tri-City Herald, Bellingham Herald, the Olympian. For over a century all of these local papers have brought in-depth reporting and local news to their communities. But new policies instituted by publisher McClatchy Media have left reporters at the papers worried that the company is adopting artificial intelligence tools for efficiency’s sake, at the cost of accurate information. Union members from the Idaho and Washington Sta...
Jan 15, 2026•20 min
Another week down, only... 50 left to go in 2026. If you need a bit of distraction from your doom scrolling, we’ve got just the thing… Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows is here with local events you can check out over the next few days, plus some really great stuff coming up to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr Day… LINKS: SEATTLE SEAHAWKS vs San Francisco 49ers - Saturday 5pm Seattle Torrent vs Boston Fleet - Sun 7pm Seattle Kraken vs Pittsburgh Penguins - Mon 2pm Seattle Retro Fest Monst...
Jan 15, 2026•5 min
The state’s general fund budget is in trouble, as is its transportation budget. Inflation, higher than expected costs, lower than anticipated revenues, state services scheduled to expand. If you listen to KUOW, you’re probably aware of why the state is facing budget shortfalls. This next segment is about a bright spot in the state’s budget: the money generated from the cap and invest system. That’s part of the Climate Commitment Act which voters upheld in 2024. Here’s how it works: The state set...
Jan 15, 2026•30 min
Tensions across the country remain high one week after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. The shooting has sparked nationwide protests, including in the Seattle area. Accounts of what happened have split along political lines. Since the shooting, the administration is doubling down on its immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities. The number of federal immigration enforcement agents deployed to Minnesota is expected to reach 3,000 in the coming days, the largest operat...
Jan 15, 2026•21 min
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments in two cases challenging state bans on trans athletes competing in girls' and women's sports. Twenty-seven states have bans on trans girls and women competing in school sports consistent with their gender identity. But Washington passed a law in 2007 that protects trans athletes' participation in school sports. It was the first state to do so. For more than a decade, that law received very little attention. But in recent years, questions abo...
Jan 13, 2026•52 min
Doctors have long recommended regular cervical cancer screenings. Traditionally doctors perform these exams using a speculum, which often say is uncomfortable and, for many, quite painful. Some recent developments could make a large number of these screenings easier. In early January, the Health Resources and Services Administration, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, updated its guidelines to say that self-administered tests are an acceptable way to screen for human p...
Jan 13, 2026•18 min
Every Monday on Soundside we catch you up on the top stories that are fascinating right now – and what they say about the Pacific Northwest. It’s our chance to talk about the latest news with a rotation of plugged-in journalists and guests, taking a look at the headlines from the weekend and the stories that we'll be following as the week moves forward. GUEST: Paige Browning - KUOW News Anchor & Podcast Host RELATED LINKS: After Minneapolis killing, protests in Seattle, U.S. demand: ‘ICE out...
Jan 12, 2026•22 min
From new transportation fees to requirements for closed captions in movie theaters, you might have already noticed the effects of several new laws and taxes with a January 1 start date. And we’re about to begin a new legislative session on Monday, January 12th. In Olympia, lawmakers are facing a yawning budget shortfall and uncertain funding from the federal government. We review the new laws we need to follow and preview the upcoming session. GUESTS Jake Goldstein-Street, reporting, Washington ...
Jan 08, 2026•18 min
We’ve reached the end of our first full week of 2026, and it’s time to get out there & do something FUN. LINKS: 2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour - Northwest Film Forum David Horsey | Elliott Bay Book Company OrcaCon Tabletop Games Convention Seattle Travel and Adventure Show Great Train Show 2026 - Ridgefield, WA Seattle Bach Festival Jules Maes Saloon - Prohibition Party Seattle Torrent vs Minnesota Frost Official Watch Party at Rough & Tumble Ballard Thank you to the support...
Jan 08, 2026•6 min
A lot has changed in Seattle in the last 7 days. The city has a new mayor, a new city attorney, two new council members, and, as of Tuesday afternoon, a new city council president. District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth won unanimous support yesterday from her colleagues to lead the council over the next two years. The stakes of leading the city are always high, but this looks to be an especially packed year: there’s the ongoing project of finishing the city’s growth plan, another budget de...
Jan 08, 2026•24 min
Less than a week after the U.S. captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, the Coast Guard seized two oil tankers accused of violating U.S. sanctions. One of the vessels, seized in the North Atlantic, was registered in Russia. The Trump Administration is leaning on Venezuela to open up its oil industry to U.S. companies and oust the influence of Russia and China. President Trump said Tuesday that Venezuela will turn over 30 to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. As this new era of interven...
Jan 08, 2026•24 min
It has been three days since the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in an audacious military raid. It was a sudden and intense escalation of an ongoing campaign by the United States to oust Maduro. Maduro, and his wife Cilia Flores, appeared in a Manhattan court yesterday in an arraignment hearing over drug trafficking and weapons charges. Those charges were central to the government’s rationale for capturing Maduro. But since Maduro’s capture, the Trump administration ha...
Jan 07, 2026•40 min
Being a movie buff in Seattle feels a little… unsettled right now. That’s because there’s been a lot of changes at SIFF, the Seattle International Film Festival, which has been the vanguard when it comes to all things movies. The organization announced Monday, it was undergoing an organizational restructuring, including some layoffs. This follows a somewhat tumultuous year for SIFF. For more, we're joined by... GUESTS: Chase Hutchinson , critic and freelance reporter, who often covers SIFF for t...
Jan 06, 2026•14 min
There are plenty of headwinds affecting affordable housing construction and maintenance right now. Building costs are going up, and federal funding is uncertain. Affordable housing providers in Seattle and beyond have struggled as COVID-era rent subsidies disappeared. Colleen Echohawk has been thinking about these issues a lot. She is the new CEO of Community Roots Housing, a Public Development Authority that manages over 2,300 affordable housing units in Seattle. They’re set to open more units ...
Jan 06, 2026•28 min
Every Monday on Soundside we catch you up on the top stories that are fascinating right now – and what they say about the Pacific Northwest. It’s our chance to talk about the latest news with a rotation of plugged-in journalists and guests, taking a look at the headlines from the weekend and the stories that we'll be following as the week moves forward. Guest: Geekwire contributing editor, journalist, and owner of the Streamline Tavern - Mike Lewis Related stories: Maduro and wife plead not guil...
Jan 05, 2026•22 min
It’s New Year’s Eve. At midnight, many of us will be raising glasses, kissing loved ones, and trying to remember the words to “Auld Lang Syne.” That song, if you don’t recall, begins with a question: “Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?” We here at Soundside say, NO! We will remember. This year, we brought on a couple new producers, and they have been fantastic additions to our team! I am super excited to see how they help us grow. But we will never forget those who help...
Dec 31, 2025•51 min
This week, we’re revisiting some of our favorite segments of the year. And today, we're talking about transit. And translators. A now-former King County Metro Bus driver tells us what passengers should know when they ride the bus. But more importantly, we got some insight into why the 8 in downtown Seattle is so often called the late bus. Plus, we sat down with a Seattle-based translator to discuss her National Book Award-nominated work translating the novel We Computers into English. She said t...
Dec 30, 2025•51 min
It’s the holidays and, to round out 2025, the Soundside team is sharing some of our favorite conversations we had on the show this year. For this episode, we devoted the entire hour to a conversation we originally aired last month on Bruce Lee. This year, author Jeff Chang published an in-depth biography on Lee’s life. It's called “Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America." In it, Chang shows how the rise of Bruce Lee mirrored the rise of Asian American identity. In this inte...
Dec 29, 2025•51 min
Christmas Eve begins our holiday break here on Soundside. We’re taking some time off to enjoy the holidays with our friends and family… or to just eat lots of good food while staying indoors. But we’ve still got plenty of jam packed shows ready for you. Today - we’re focusing on local businesses here in the Pacific Northwest. RELATED LINKS: A tech startup helping the visually impaired "watch" sports with their fingertips Will people always love Costco? At 75, Cougar Gold canned cheese is still a...
Dec 25, 2025•53 min
A lot has changed during Sara Nelson’s time in Seattle government. She was a centrist outlier on a progressive city council when she was first elected in 2021. But the dynamics changed: Nelson became the center of power, and ended up running the show as council president, after a moderate slate of candidates swept the 2023 election. She helped oversee pandemic-era recovery, worked with two different mayoral administrations and two very different presidential administrations during her time on th...
Dec 23, 2025•51 min
Every Monday on Soundside we catch you up on the top stories that are fascinating right now – and what they say about the Pacific Northwest. It’s our chance to talk about the latest news with a rotation of plugged-in journalists and guests, taking a look at the headlines from the weekend and the stories that we'll be following as the week moves forward. GUEST: Former KIRO-FM host Dave Ross TODAY'S TOPICS: Flooding Seattle Times: A damaged King County levee awaited fixes for years. Then it failed...
Dec 23, 2025•32 min
The holidays: a time to gather with friends and family, to enjoy one another’s company as we light candles or sit by a tree and contemplate the year’s passing. It’s also a time to argue with said friends and family about some really dumb stuff. Is Die Hard a holiday movie? Should Mariah Carey officially be crowned “Queen of Christmas?” Has there ever been a good Hanukkah song? You’ll be debating hard hitting questions like this. And on Soundside, we’re here to help you win the argument. It’s our...
Dec 22, 2025•32 min
Seattle may have to say goodbye to a longstanding vintage shop in the new year. Red Light Vintage & Costume sits in the heart of the University District. It has been a fixture in Seattle’s fashion scene since it opened in the mid 90s. Now the shop could close because owner Niz Marar is retiring. He’s hoping to sell the business before his lease expires at the end of January. If he can’t find a buyer, fashion lovers will have to let go of this cherished spot. We talk to Marar about his final ...
Dec 19, 2025•5 min
There are only a few weeks left in 2025. That means for those of you who resolved, at the beginning of the year, to do more reading — it's crunch time. Did you actually put down your phone long enough to get through a book this year? It's not too late. Many great books came out this year. If you need suggestions for something to read or to give to someone who really ought to be reading more, we've got you covered. GUESTS: Misha Stone, reader services librarian, Seattle Public Library Spencer Ruc...
Dec 18, 2025•27 min
The end of the year is just around the corner, and with the next two Thursdays each being holidays, this is the final Weekend Warmup of the Year! LINKS: TNF! Seahawks vs Rams Thurs 12/18 The 29th Annual Model Train Festival - Washington State Historical Society Opens Fri 12/19 - runs through Jan 1, 2026 2025 Winter Beer Fest – WA Brewers Guild Fri/Sat - 12/19-20 Hell’s Belles at the Croc Sat 12/20 United Indians Native Art Market » United Indians of All Tribes Foundation - Daybreak Star Sat/Sun ...
Dec 18, 2025•5 min
Skagit County has been hit by multiple waves of catastrophic flooding over the past week. Amid the devastation, there is a bright spot: A floodwall in Mount Vernon successfully held off the Skagit River as it rose to a record 37.7 feet . That floodwall only exists because it sits in an area determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be at highest risk of flooding. Many residents of Skagit county might be unaware of the current flooding risk to their homes or businesses – because, a...
Dec 18, 2025•14 min
Approximately 10,000 people are still under evacuation notice after multiple levee failures across Western Washington. In King County: flood controls have breached in the last 48 hours. As of this morning, residents in the city of Pacific, east of Tacoma, are under a "go now" evacuation order after a flood control breach on the nearby White River. A levee was breached yesterday in Tukwila and Kent, the evacuation order for the area is no longer in effect. Guests: Casey Martin, KUOW reporter Josh...
Dec 16, 2025•20 min
The Department of Homeland Security may be shifting its approach to deportation flights by ICE. According to reporting by the Washington Post, DHS recently signed a contract to purchase six Boeing 737 planes. Currently, ICE primarily uses charter planes for deportations. This purchase suggests the agency has plans to expand its capacity to deport people using its own fleet. What implications does this have for immigration enforcement and the way detainees are moved in and out of the United State...
Dec 16, 2025•18 min
Every Monday on Soundside we catch you up on the top stories that are fascinating right now – and what they say about the Pacific Northwest. It’s our chance to talk about the latest news with a rotation of plugged-in journalists and guests, taking a look at the headlines from the weekend and the stories that we'll be following as the week moves forward. GUEST: KUOW Politics Editor Cat Smith TODAY'S TOPICS: Flooding Live updates: Western Washington braces for more rain and flooding this week - KU...
Dec 15, 2025•16 min
It’s been a busy year for the Seattle Police Department. A new chief was sworn in, the longstanding federal consent decree ended and the city reached a new contract with the Seattle Police Officers Guild that changes how it can approach unarmed crisis response. Plus, a new mayor will take office in January. Mayor-elect Katie Wilson announced this week that she planned to retain Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes, despite some rumors to the contrary. Soundside's Libby Denkmann talked with Barnes on...
Dec 12, 2025•25 min
