33,000 Boeing factory workers walked off the job Friday, demanding higher wages and for the company to restore pensions. Most are based here in the Pacific Northwest. The overall labor landscape in the U.S. has changed significantly since the last machinists strike 2008 – nationally, union membership remains at historically low levels, but work stoppages have increased in recent years and the number of striking workers skyrocketed in 2023.The UAW strike late last year won historic concessions fo...
Sep 16, 2024•24 min
K-beauty is not a niche market. Built around dewy skin with no visible pores, big eyes, a thin body, it’s the “ideal” for pop stars, celebrities, and regular people across the world. The industry, built on Korean skincare and makeup products, is the result of “hallyu” — exporting of South Korean pop culture that the government has helped sponsor since the 1990s. In her new book, “Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital,” Elise Hu describes how digital filters and a boomi...
Sep 16, 2024•22 min
Today is Mexican Independence Day, and we’ve got a bit of a musical treat to take us out. Yesterday, Orquesta Northwest put on a concert at Town Hall Seattle, celebrating “El Grito” -- the day that father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla called for Mexicans to rise and fight for freedom. The concert was part of the Mexam NW Festival, which features dozens of Mexican cultural events around the Seattle area. The festival is curated by the Mexican Consulate of Seattle and runs through October 19th. Sounds...
Sep 16, 2024•5 min
If you’ve ever tried to find a therapist who takes your insurance and failed -- you're not alone. Many in-network providers are bailing on insurance companies, and it’s affecting access to care. A new investigation from ProPublica surveyed over 500 therapists nationwide – compiling their answers in a new investigation called “Why I left the network”. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a...
Sep 12, 2024•22 min
For months, parents, students, and faculty at Seattle schools have been nervously awaiting news about potential elementary closures throughout the district. Back in May, Seattle Public Schools announced it would need to close roughly 20 schools , citing a $105 million budget shortfall… Now, the wait to know FOR SURE about the fate of Seattle schools isn’t over YET, but the elementary schools on the chopping block have been identified. Wednesday, the district’s “Well Resourced Schools” website pu...
Sep 12, 2024•9 min
You won’t see Brian Heywood’s name on your ballot this November but you will see his impact. Heywood is a Redmond based hedge fund manager who spent millions of dollars of his own money to fund citizen’s initiatives against the state’s cap and invest system, capital gains tax, and long term care insurance program. His PAC, Let’s Go Washington, also gathered signatures for another initiative on your ballot about natural gas regulations. Brian Heywood joins Soundside host Libby Denkmann to discuss...
Sep 11, 2024•52 min
To ratify, or to strike: those are the options in front of 33,000 Boeing workers this week. On Monday, machinists at Boeing sites across the West Coast woke up to news that union leadership had reached a tentative contract agreement with the company. The last contract was ratified 16 years ago -- in 2008. However, not everyone is excited about the terms of the agreement. On Thursday, those union employees will decide to take or reject the offer. If they vote it down, machinists could walk off th...
Sep 10, 2024•8 min
Last March, it was reported that the Nordstrom family was interested in once again taking their storied retail company private. There hadn’t been much word until last week, when we finally heard a price proposal – $23 a share. Another bid by the Nordstrom family was rejected six years ago. So - why try again now? And what is the future of this iconic Seattle brand? Seattle Times business reporter Alex Halverson breaks it all down. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show poss...
Sep 10, 2024•9 min
This November, Washington voters will be asked to weigh in on complicated policies like a capital gains tax and a long-term care fund. Maybe the most complex one is the future of the Climate Commitment Act, an initiative on the November ballot seeks to repeal the key part of this 2021 law: the “cap-and-invest” system. It’s essentially an auction for major polluters where companies can purchase carbon allowances – kinda like permission slips for emitting planet-warming carbon dioxide. Over the ne...
Sep 10, 2024•34 min
This November, Washington voters will be asked to weigh in on complicated policies like a capital gains tax and a long-term care fund. Maybe the most complex one is the future of the Climate Commitment Act, an initiative on the November ballot seeks to repeal the key part of this 2021 law: the “cap-and-invest” system. It’s essentially an auction for major polluters where companies can purchase carbon allowances – kinda like permission slips for emitting planet-warming carbon dioxide. Over the ne...
Sep 10, 2024•26 min
This week (September 8th to 14th) is National Suicide Prevention Week. Deaths by suicide in young people have risen by more than 60% in recent decades. And in 2022, it was the second leading cause of death for people aged 10-14 . Behind that tragic statistic is a lot of nuance, though. For example: Alaska Natives, American Indians, and White youth are more likely to take their own lives than their Asian American peers. But researchers say even that statistic masks the reality of suicide rates in...
Sep 09, 2024•19 min
At the turn of the 20th century, Asahel Curtis was a prolific photographer who traveled throughout Washington. His work captured the state as it underwent big changes, owing to rapid industrialization. For decades, a massive collection of Asahel’s glass plate negatives has been held at the Washington State Historical Society in Tacoma. The plates, however, are aging. In the 1980s, historians and staff were able to digitize around 3,000 of his most essential photographs. That left about 58,000 to...
Sep 05, 2024•10 min
If someone asked you to name three Rock musicians that are Black, could you? Some people might be able to, but in general there aren’t a lot of them. This is despite the fact that the genre traces its roots back to Black blues, gospel, and rhythm and blues artists in the United States. The rock music industry and academic scholarship of the genre instead tend to focus on white voices. That’s according to research from the University of Ottawa . Cameron Lavi-Jones says that’s part of what inspire...
Sep 05, 2024•20 min
There’s a new wrinkle in the debate over homelessness policy in the city of Burien. Last September, Burien passed a controversial ordinance banning camping in much of the city, Meanwhile, a local church decided to step in and offer its property as a temporary encampment for the homeless. Burien requested that the church, the Oasis Home Church, get a “temporary use permit” for the encampment. They declined to do that and are now bringing another lawsuit against the city, arguing that Burien was i...
Sep 04, 2024•16 min
Spokane County Commissioner Al French is facing a recall effort over his handling of disclosures of contaminated groundwater in the West Plains. The “Clean Water Accountability Coalition” is sounding the alarm about PFAS—sometimes called 'forever chemicals’—in well water. And let's not forget to mention that French is also running for re-election this year, adding another layer to the already heated debate. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to hel...
Sep 04, 2024•14 min
One of the best coffee spots in Bellingham isn’t a cafe, at least according to some of the folks in the city’s unhoused population. Instead, it’s a casual coffee cart that pops-up twice a week, at a free lunch program, known as the Maple Alley Inn. While the coffee is decent, the main attraction is the person running the cart. 85 year-old Ursula DeWit is known for her easy smile and exceptional listening skills. Her kindness has made a significant impact in the lives of people she serves coffee ...
Sep 04, 2024•20 min
Riders packed trains on Friday to see four new stations on the One Line, which now stops in Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, and Lynnwood. At the 148th Street Station, Shoreline celebrated the occasions with a marching band, speeches, and bubble machines. The suburb has been planning for this moment for years, that’s apparent when you step off the train. Across I-5 from the light rail station, new apartment buildings are going up. Townhomes line a couple blocks near Meridian Avenue. There’s also ro...
Sep 03, 2024•10 min
Being a sports fan in Washington State is akin to riding the Extreme Scream at the fair: big highs, and REAL SUDDEN LOWS. Yes, I’m looking at you, Seattle Mariners… With the Seahawks kicking off their regular season at home this weekend against the Denver Broncos, hope springs eternal! And it felt like a good time to check in on what’s been cooking at VMAC all summer. The team has a new head coach, and a new slate of players… so, what should we expect? To answer that question, we’re talking to a...
Sep 03, 2024•15 min
Members of the King County Council have moved to officially say the county’s youth jail should remain open. The council voted last week eight-to-zero in favor of a non-binding resolution to declare its support for keeping the Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center in operation – with some improvements. The move comes just over four years after King County Executive Dow Constantine pledged to shutter the facility by 2025 It was a promise made during the summer of George Floyd racial...
Sep 03, 2024•25 min
The Democratic party is riding the Good Vibes Express after its Chicago convention. And a look at polling averages gives them reason to celebrate: Since becoming the nominee, Vice President Harris has shaken up a relatively static presidential race: She’s now running slightly ahead of former President Trump nationwide. In swing states, she has pulled even in key areas of the sun belt like Georgia and North Carolina. Some analysts say you have a more concrete expression of the electorate’s mood c...
Aug 29, 2024•21 min
Washington State University's MT James Entomological Collection is the largest insect museum in the state, it holds around three million specimens. In 2022, state legislators allocated $50,000 for the collection to digitize pollinators, like bees, moths, flies, butterflies and other insects that carry pollen. Adding the 30,000 pollinators in WSU’s collection to a digital database will open up collaboration for researchers worldwide. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show po...
Aug 29, 2024•10 min
Last year, the Yakima City Council made a landmark decision by passing a proclamation to designate the month of June as LGBTQ+ Pride month. Less than a year later, the council voted to reverse that decision. The move was celebrated by far right religious leaders like Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk and Sean Feucht, who took to X to applaud the decision. And while pride celebrations defiantly went on in the city, it’s raised a lot of concerns about the ties between public officials and prominent...
Aug 28, 2024•20 min
For many Washington students, and parents, the school year is just about to start - if it hasn’t already. And they're not the only ones gearing up for the new year. Teachers and school staff are about to step into a new year with all sorts of new questions about how their respective school systems will be run. So, we wanted to check in with a panel of education experts, to hear about how they’re preparing for both an incoming class of students, and the realities of working in the Washington educ...
Aug 28, 2024•30 min
Earlier this month, City of Seattle workers were told most of them will have to return to the office at least 3 days a week starting this fall. Meanwhile… a certain large tech and online retail company (named after a river in South America) has reportedly started a mulling the minimum number of hours employees must stay on site to count towards its three day in-office mandate. These changes had us wondering – is remote work gradually eroding in the Puget Sound region? One study looking at 2022 C...
Aug 28, 2024•26 min
In the early 90s, Seattle was at the center of a sonic revolution. Grunge, a homegrown sludgy rock sound, became a global commodity. At the same time, another sound was making its mark on Seattle. The Gits were a band on the precipice of national stardom, standing out with their punk sensibility and charismatic female vocalist, with music labels circling. But the promise of a big break came to a violent end. The band’s lead singer, Mia Zapata, was murdered in 1993. It happened in the early morni...
Aug 27, 2024•18 min
Addressing homelessness is looking a little different in Thurston County these days. The county, which includes Olympia, just became the fifth community in the nation to collect data on every single adult experiencing homelessness. The county’s partner organization says that data includes the names and circumstances of each person counted. And the county vows to update the information monthly. It’s part of a model called “Built for Zero”. Guests: Keylee Marineau, homeless response program manage...
Aug 26, 2024•24 min
We know a few things about the woman known as Lou Graham, for sure: She was a brothel madam in Seattle at the turn of the century. And she’s immortalized in one of the city’s popular ghost tours. Maybe you’ve even felt her spiritual presence while passing through tunnels underneath Pioneer Square. Beyond that, facts are sparse. But plenty of legends about Graham’s life and impact on Seattle are served up to tourists and YouTube viewers who care to search her name. From Geographics : “Technically...
Aug 26, 2024•25 min
Last winter, federal officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a program to save the perpetually threatened northern spotted owl. The problem? Invasive barred owls are crowding out our local forest -- they're bigger, and more aggressive. The solution? Culling half a million of those owls over the next 30 years. On its face, the issue seems pretty straightforward: barred owls are invasive, and because of them, Northern spotted owls are disappearing. But for Jay Odenbaugh, a phil...
Aug 22, 2024•20 min
At this point, most of Washington’s primary election results have been called. Bob Ferguson will face Dave Reichert in the race for governor. Tanya Woo and Alexis Mercedes Rinck are vying for a spot on the Seattle City Council. Goodspaceguy once again failed to get onto the November ballot. But – in one race, the drama has remained at a fever pitch as votes trickle in. Nearly 2 million people cast ballots, but in the end, just 51 votes separated second and third place in the race to be Public La...
Aug 22, 2024•14 min
When some people picture political conventions, they might imagine a grand stage lit up with dazzling lights, a seemingly never ending stream of speeches - and a sea of enthusiastic supporters cheering their hearts out, waving lots and lots of American flags. Since Monday, the Democratic National Convention has been underway in Chicago. There have been speeches and high-profile moments. like a visit from Michelle Obama and her husband, former President Barack Obama. But there’s a whole other wor...
Aug 21, 2024•13 min
