Dujie Tahat can be described in many ways: a poet, a critic, podcast host, and political consultant. In addition to all those titles, they can now add a new descriptor: Seattle’s Fifth Civic Poet. Guest: Dujie Tahat, Seattle Civic Poet Links: Poetry Foundation: salat to be read from right to left Northwest Review: All American Ghuzal Four Way Review: BALIKBAYAN FILLED WITH THEORY Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate...
Mar 25, 2025•22 min
Humans have changed a lot from our cave dwelling days, but one thing that has stayed the same is our need for connections with others. Maybe it’s not so much the need for protection from animal predators anymore, or cooperating to take down a mammoth. Still, our evolution has instilled in us the need to connect with others. And we don’t do so well when that connection gets tenuous. Vivek Murthy, the former U.S. Surgeon General, called loneliness an epidemic in this country. Chronic social isolat...
Mar 25, 2025•14 min
For the past 80 years, the Fulbright Program has supported scholars, artists, writers, and professionals in connecting with international institutions to do cutting-edge work. At its heart, the Fulbright is an exchange program that funds research and projects outside of participants’ countries. It aims to build international relationships and cultural competency between Americans and the rest of the world. However, the recent federal funding freezes and layoffs have impacted several educational ...
Mar 24, 2025•17 min
This Saturday, March 22nd, the Wing Luke Museum will hold a gala that honors its namesake. Wing Luke was born in 1925 in China. He moved to Seattle at age 6, and grew up helping his family run their laundromat and store. In 1962, he became the first person of color on Seattle’s City Council. Wing Luke would have turned 100 last month, but he died tragically at an early age. In his short time, he made lasting impacts to Seattle – many of which are still felt today. Guests: Ruby Luke, Wing Luke's ...
Mar 21, 2025•9 min
Last year, pro-Palestinian “liberation zones” popped up all over American campuses, demanding that universities divest from Israel and advocating for an end to the war in Gaza. Now, ICE’s arrest and detainment of Mahmoud Khalil, a leader in Columbia University’s student protests, has created a climate of fear and frustration among student protesters across the country. Khalil was arrested and forced into an unmarked car before being taken to a detention facility in Louisiana. He has not been acc...
Mar 20, 2025•23 min
If you are looking outside, seeing a little sunshine peeking through the rain, some tulip bulbs starting to sprout, maybe you have some buds on your flowering trees... You might be thinking, "What can I do to really get in the Spring spirit today?" Well, Producer Jason Megatron Burrows is here to help you fill your weekend with whimsy and get out there and enjoy the first day of Spring. LINKS: Spring Equinox Potluck at Golden Gardens Spring Equinox Art Party at Freeway Park Seattle Moisture Fest...
Mar 20, 2025•5 min
Washington’s Democratic lawmakers are pushing forward with a promise they made last year to change a law they saw as problematic … but that they helped pass anyway. The law in question came from a voter initiative, commonly known as the Parents’ Bill of Rights. It was a Republican-led effort to increase parents’ ability to monitor their kids’ school records, including medical and mental health and counseling. Many were concerned that it erodes students’ privacy protections – especially for LGBTQ...
Mar 20, 2025•12 min
Every Monday, Demar, Red, Cambo, Anthony and Vik give listeners a glimpse of life inside the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla on their podcast Concrete Mama. The show focuses on the experience of being incarcerated. Three of the hosts are currently at Washington State Penitentiary, two were formerly incarcerated there. They all share their perspectives and explore the complexities of prison relationships, re-entry, and day to day life for people at the penitentiary. Guest: Vik Chopra...
Mar 19, 2025•15 min
For a year and a half, Monisha Harrell served as Senior Deputy Mayor of Seattle – the number two position in the executive office. The last name she shares with the Mayor, Bruce Harrell, is no coincidence. Monisha Harrell is the mayor’s niece. She was the first Black lesbian senior deputy mayor in the City of Seattle’s history, and she also says that her tenure with the city was marred by bullying and sexism. Guest: Ashley Hiruko - KUOW investigative reporter Links: KUOW: Monisha Harrell breaks ...
Mar 18, 2025•12 min
WWAMI is an acronym for Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho… and it refers to a program created by the University of Washington that allows dozens of medical students from those states to study at the UW School of Medicine. The aim is to produce highly-skilled doctors who will go back and practice in rural, underserved areas of the Western U.S. But not everyone is happy with the 54-year-old program. Two bills have been introduced in the Idaho legislature: one that decreases the state’...
Mar 18, 2025•14 min
The state’s Department of Natural Resources says it’s coming up with backup plans to address the growing threat of serious wildfires in Washington. This, as it's typically close working relationship with federal forest managers has frayed under the Trump Administration. Some of this started in mid-February, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut thousands of probationary employees at the U.S. Forest Service. The USDA is in charge of stewarding places like the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National...
Mar 17, 2025•16 min
The federal government will be funded through September after several Senate Democrats joined Republicans in passing a continuing resolution late last week. However, the deal provoked a huge backlash against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who organized a handful of Democrats to avert a government shutdown. House Democrats from Nancy Pelosi to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wanted their Senate counterparts to maximize one of the party’s only points of leverage under a Republican-controlled Congr...
Mar 17, 2025•13 min
TGIF, amirite? I mean, yeah, it’s Thursday, but I know you’re thinking about it. Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows is here to help you make your weekend epic. LINKS: Taste Washington - Every day, from March 13–17 The Grand Tasting Nosferatu with Radiohead: A Silent Synced Film Seattle Reign FC - Home Opening Match vs Gotham FC Seattle Reign FC Game Days | Hatback Sports Bar & Grill - ALL AGES Rough & Tumble Pub - ALL AGES St. Patrick's Day Dash SIFF 'n' Stitch: Hairspray A Trip t...
Mar 13, 2025•5 min
Breakthrough Energy, a collection of organizations founded by Bill Gates in 2015, announced a slew of staffing cuts this week. These organizations focus on accelerating things like sustainable energy and other environmental technologies. They had a promising beginning with a range of wealthy investors joining Gates to provide funding. But now, dozens of employees have been let go. And according to some, it’s a signal that one of the world’s most climate-conscious billionaires is rethinking his s...
Mar 13, 2025•13 min
The One Seattle Comprehensive Plan is working its way through city council. It dictates how the city will grow over the next twenty years, including where density is allowed. While the details are still being worked out, the comprehensive plan has a new type of zoning: Neighborhood Centers. This part of the plan could affect up to 30 neighborhoods in Seattle – including places like Montlake, Madrona and Queen Anne – and has met with vocal opposition from many residents. But there is one constitu...
Mar 13, 2025•15 min
Huckleberries appear in any number of Northwest products like ice cream, syrups, jams, teas, pies, tinctures, and vodka, but they are incredibly difficult to grow on farms. Instead, huckleberries grow at high elevations in fields, and are found mostly in forests that have recently burned. Native people have been picking huckleberries for generations and huckleberry harvests in the mountains are one of the major food gathering events for Tribes. But many say a combination of federal forest manage...
Mar 12, 2025•23 min
The Washington state House on Tuesday approved $100 million in funding aimed at helping local police departments hire more officers. House Bill 2015 aligns with Governor Bob Ferguson’s priorities, and he’s threatened to torpedo any state budget that doesn’t include increased police funding. It’s been a contentious budget cycle in Olympia. The state’s facing a massive shortfall -- but the progress on police funding may indicate state democrats’ willingness to cooperate with the new governor. To b...
Mar 12, 2025•12 min
Behold the Rain-beers, a herd of giant bottles with human legs galloping majestically across the Cascade foothills. This motif was part advertisement, part cinema — the brainchildren of Heckler Associates, a local ad agency that made Rainier Beer’s personality and brand into the stuff of Seattle legend. Today Rainier is no longer an entirely local product — it’s owned by Pabst and brewed in California — but go to any antique shop and you’re destined to find beer memorabilia sporting that red cal...
Mar 12, 2025•22 min
The government’s about to run out of money. There’s an ongoing, multi-fronted showdown in the courts over who has the power to cut federal spending after it’s been appropriated. And also a little bit of a trade war brewing with new U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel just announced. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal shares her view from the House of Representatives with Soundside. *Note: since this conversation aired, President Trump has halted his plan to double tariffs on Canadian metals. Guest: Congre...
Mar 11, 2025•24 min
On March 10, 2025, Soundside aired a segment about a high number of deaths among people detained at the South Correctional Entity, commonly known as SCORE. After it aired, our staff was contacted by a SCORE official, who objected to two claims made in our broadcast. One, was an assertion that reports regarding unexpected fatalities that occurred at the facility were not posted within the required timeframe and that some reports remained outstanding. After looking into the Washington State Depart...
Mar 10, 2025•3 min
Artificial intelligence is starting to underpin everything we do, whether we like it or not. And at the highest levels, companies like Google and Open AI are saying their AI is on the verge of crossing a humanlike threshold that we’ve only seen in science fiction. This is prompting all kinds of conversations about sentience and the possible dangers of a superintelligent computer system. But the definition of “Artificial General Intelligence,” or AGI, is controversial. And many researchers aren’t...
Mar 10, 2025•32 min
It’s the end of the week for us here at Soundside, and we’ve been making our weekend plans. That means if you’re searching for something to keep you occupied this weekend, you’re in the right place. Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows is here in the nick of time to give you all the highlights. LINKS: Emerald City Comic Con Sequim Sunshine Festival Penn Cove Mussel-Fest Seattle Opera - The Magic Flute Carnival Of Cocktails Tacoma Beer Week 5th Annual Alki Beach Winter Beer Festival Asian Co...
Mar 07, 2025•6 min
70,000. That’s the number of jobs the Department of Veterans Affairs will cut over the next six months. This comes from an internal VA memo leaked to the public this week. It’s the latest in a series of mass layoffs conducted by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. In a video released yesterday, VA Secretary Doug Collins said that the changes are necessary to make the department more efficient, accountable, and transparent. But, In another video released last month Collins promised ...
Mar 07, 2025•19 min
In the 1980s, Seattle's music scene was hooked on disco. The success of "Saturday Night Fever" meant venues opted for groovy vinyl over live band performances, and songs like Chic's "Good Times" were on constant rotation. That made room for a similar but modified version of the song's simple breakbeat by a group called The Sugarhill Gang, who quickly brought "rapping" to a nationwide audience. As Ben Camp tells the story, “Rapper’s Delight” – rap’s first hit – made an imprint in Seattle and kick...
Mar 06, 2025•25 min
Surge pricing. When there is a lot of demand for rideshares, fares can double or triple their usual rate – or even more. But a first-of-its-kind bill is looking to slow the surge in Washington State. SB 5600 would cap surge pricing and make sure drivers get more of a share of those extra dollars. The bill was inspired by the expected flood of attendees Seattle will be handling during the 2026 World Cup games, but it would also apply to other large events. Rideshare companies say this will only i...
Mar 06, 2025•12 min
On Sunday, comedian Bowen Yang joined other actors onstage at the Academy Awards, dressed in his costume from the movie 'Wicked' -- to praise the artist who dreamed it up. It’s hard to list all the projects the award-winning costume designer Paul Tazewell has been responsible for on Broadway, but here’s a sample: Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk, The Color Purple musical, In The Heights, and Hamilton - for which he won a Tony. On screen, he won an Emmy for his work on The Wiz! Live. And now, ...
Mar 05, 2025•15 min
President Trump will address a joint session of congress tonight – it is his first major speech since his inauguration. Washington Democrats have been reeling since he took office a month and a half ago. The latest issue they are sounding the alarm on is tariffs: taxes on Mexican and Canadian goods went into effect this morning. President Trump ordered a 25% tax levied on foreign goods from the United States’ two largest trading partners. The US also once again raised tariffs on its third larges...
Mar 04, 2025•16 min
The Democratic Republic of Congo is a country in the center of Africa. It’s home to spectacular things, like: a majority of the Congo Basin rainforest, the second largest in the world, with magnificent flora and fauna found nowhere else on earth, and a population of one hundred million people belonging to 250 ethnic groups who speak more than 200 languages. The country also has an estimated $24 trillion worth of untapped minerals. That fact has put Congo in the center of international conflict f...
Mar 04, 2025•17 min
As a Mariner’s fan, it’s tradition to quibble with offseason moves. But there has been ONE personnel change that the majority of longtime fans are cheering. Not on the field, mind you… but in the Broadcast booth. Angie Mentink is joining a roster of former players providing color commentary during TV broadcasts, becoming the first woman in Mariners history to have this regular gig. There’s been lots of shifting around on the broadcast side for the M’s: Longtime voice of the Mariners Dave Sims le...
Mar 04, 2025•27 min
How much will Seattle change under the Trump administration? And what options does the city have to keep the policies it prioritizes? The city depends on the feds for millions of dollars in funding -- impacting services like transportation, law enforcement and emergency preparedness. Threats to cut off federal grants have left some local politicians considering how to prepare for an uncertain future. This week, Seattle city councilmember Alexis Merceredes Rinck will chair the first meeting of th...
Mar 03, 2025•21 min
