Congress is barreling toward a government shutdown and Democrats are weighing whether they should use their leverage in this negotiation. They want to extend Obamacare subsidies and potentially roll back some cuts to Medicaid. President Trump has threatened mass firings of federal workers in the event of a shutdown. All of this is going on as the country is grappling with a rise in political violence – and political rhetoric that blames the other side for the problem. Congresswoman Pramila Jayap...
Sep 29, 2025•19 min
It’s crush season in Washington, a time when grape growers and winemakers are usually very busy, working insane hours to make new wine. But a huge percentage of the state’s highest quality wine won't get made this year. Sluggish wine sales have meant growers are letting some of their best fruit rot, sometimes right on the vine. And Washington growers and winemakers alike are concerned about the future of their businesses. We talk about what's behind the wine glut. Guest Anna King, senior corresp...
Sep 26, 2025•12 min
The Mariners have made the playoffs as the AL West champs, and they're facing the Dodgers for the final games of the regular season, but hey... there's ALWAYS more to do this weekend! Check it out: LINKS: SPORTS!! Mariners vs Dodgers - Final games of the season! Fri/Sat/Sun UW Huskies vs The Ohio State Buckeyes Sat 12:30p Sounders vs Vancouver Whitecaps Sat 7:30pm Reign vs NC Courage Sun 5pm Kraken vs Calgary Flames - Preseason Game #2 MON 7pm Prosser Balloon Rally Festa Italiana Seattle Northwe...
Sep 25, 2025•6 min
This week, we're looking at the special election in Washington’s 5th Legislative District, which covers Issaquah to Enumclaw. State Sen. Victoria Hunt, a Democrat, was appointed to the seat and is running to keep her job this fall. Republicans think they could flip this district. They’d like to claw back a little power from Democrats, who currently hold majorities in both the state House and Senate. We talk with Sen. Victoria Hunt about her campaign. Guest State Sen. Victoria Hunt, Washington's ...
Sep 24, 2025•25 min
Did you catch Kimmel last night? It was his first night back after Disney pulled him off air about a week ago. Most likely, you only saw it after the fact. That's because Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns 38 ABC affiliates, including KOMO here in Seattle, announced earlier this week that they would continue to pre-empt Jimmy Kimmel Live! until further notice. Kimmel’s show was suspended by ABC after he discussed the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during an opening monologue ...
Sep 24, 2025•11 min
After a few marathon public comment sessions last week, the Seattle City Council is considering the final version of a comprehensive plan. This is the document that dictates where and how the city will grow over the next two decades. Over the last week, balancing tree canopy with growth emerged as one of the most controversial issues in the plan. And there’s a history here: In 2023, Mayor Harrell and the Seattle City Council passed a so-called tree protection ordinance that would limit the amoun...
Sep 24, 2025•12 min
NASA announced its next batch of potential astronauts this week. Out of 8,000 applicants, just ten were chosen to attend the two year training program, including Lauren Edgar from Sammamish. When those astronaut candidates complete the training, they will be eligible for missions to low earth orbit, the moon, and Mars. Guest: Lauren Edgar, NASA astronaut candidate Relevant Links: NASA Selects All-American 2025 Class of Astronaut Candidates NASA Astronaut Candidate Lauren A. Edgar Thank you to th...
Sep 24, 2025•9 min
What happens when you become the target of hate, spread across wide swaths of the media? Of a movement that is as frightening and violent as it is just factually wrong? You might want life to go back to normal. But those who’ve experienced this know things can’t ever be the same. A Belligham resident told us about her experience. Guest: Jenn Mason, owner of WinkWink sex shop in Bellingham, sex educator, and school board director Related stories: Right-wing trolls harassed this Bellingham sex edu...
Sep 24, 2025•11 min
This week, we're looking at the special election in Washington’s 5th Legislative District, which covers Issaquah to Enumclaw. State Sen. Victoria Hunt, a Democrat, was appointed to the seat and is running to keep her job this fall. Republicans are hoping to flip a couple of seats in the legislature and claw back some lawmaking power from Democrats, who currently hold majorities in both the House and Senate Former State Rep. Chad Magendanz is challenging Hunt for the 5th district’s Senate seat. M...
Sep 23, 2025•25 min
Log onto Instagram and you’ll see videos of celebrity interviews, food recipes and, lately, homes for sale. These days realtors are leaning more on social media to show property listings. They take their audience on immersive tours and give details about a home’s price, features and neighborhood. These posts get plenty of attention from casual viewers, but they do also attract potential buyers. A real estate agent shares how she's using social media to sell homes around the city. Guest : Candace...
Sep 23, 2025•16 min
There's a flurry of health news happening these days: Decisions and announcements being made at federal agencies. State governments vowing to fight changes. It can be hard to know what the impacts will be at the ground level. We're going to set aside some time every now and then to check in with doctors and medical professionals about the latest developments -- and what they mean for you. In this segment, we're digging into the latest news on childhood vaccinations: Last week, a vaccine panel fo...
Sep 23, 2025•35 min
There is a disconnect between the high level of homelessness in Seattle and the high number of affordable housing units that are sitting unused at the moment. As of the end of last year, nearly 11% of affordable housing in the city were empty – more than 2700 apartments. . That’s more than five times the number of vacancies compared to 7 years ago. So what happened? Well, for many, affordable housing is, ironically, no longer the affordable option. A flattening of rents overall has made these un...
Sep 19, 2025•18 min
Well, with Fall officially beginning at 11:19 on Monday morning, we’ve reached the FINAL weekend of the summer. How will YOU be celebrating the end of the season? Are you sad to see the summer slip away, or are you excited for the Autumnal goodness that the season change brings? Either way, we’ve got Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows here with nearly EVERY option available! LINKS: West End Beer Fest - Spokane Oktoberfest | Rotary Club of Edmonds Fremont Oktoberfest Whidbey Island Cider F...
Sep 18, 2025•6 min
In 2019, the remote plains of Harney County, Oregon made national news. Scattered amongst groves of ponderosa pine were a handful of mutilated cattle. The cows had an almost surgical removal of their tongues and other organs. But the most astounding thing is that the scenes where these cattle were found were pristine. No tracks. And not one drop of blood – the carcasses were drained dry. That detail became the inspiration for a documentary by co-directors Jackson Devereux and Lachlan Hinton, and...
Sep 18, 2025•22 min
A state Senate seat in Washington’s 26th district is looking like a barn burner. The district covers Gig Harbor, Bremerton, Port Orchard and the Key Peninsula. And Republicans see this race as a way to chip away at the Democratic majority in the Senate. Republican state Representative Michelle Caldier has served the district for 6 terms in the House. She’s trying to unseat Democratic state Senator Deb Krishnadasan who was appointed to the position last year. And the race is tight, 1,000 votes se...
Sep 18, 2025•28 min
Washington’s great outdoors are famous for breathtaking mountain views, crystal blue lakes and…. roads? You could start seeing more of that last one on your hikes and camping trips in the coming years. That’s because President Trump is trying to get rid of the Roadless Rule. It’s a 2001 federal policy that prohibits road construction and logging in protected national forests and grasslands. A repeal of the policy could impact close to 45 million acres in the United States, including around 2 mil...
Sep 18, 2025•24 min
A new school year has started; kids are sharpening pencils and breaking in backpacks. Many are also getting used to another new tool: Artificial Intelligence. A slew of tech companies have been offering free or low-cost AI products to schools that will purportedly engage students and help them learn, while also aiding teachers with their day-to-day responsibilities. In a survey by the Consortium for School Networking, more than 50% of districts across the nation said they were training teachers ...
Sep 17, 2025•28 min
In May, King County prosecutors filed sexual assault charges against a King County sheriff’s deputy. They said he raped a 17-year-old girl. Prosecutors claim the abuse started while the two were alone on a ride-along in his police SUV while she was participating in Explorers, a national youth mentorship program, with the Burien Police Department. And that allegation mirrors a disturbing pattern of abuse within Explorers programs at law enforcement agencies nationwide. We talk with a reporter who...
Sep 17, 2025•19 min
A Senate seat in Washington’s 26th district is looking like a barn burner. The district covers Gig Harbor, Bremerton, Port Orchard and the Key Peninsula. And Democrats are hoping to keep that district from flipping. Democratic state Senator Deb Krishnadasan is the appointed incumbent in this fight. She finished the primary about 1,000 votes ahead, setting up an incredibly tight race for this November. She’ll square off against Republican state Representative Michelle Caldier, who has served the ...
Sep 16, 2025•22 min
This is a story about the internet and our country’s political polarization. It’s also a story about our thirst for answers, and the race to score ideological points following a tragedy. And that rush to blame and to explain creates an environment where totally innocent people are run over by the runaway train of internet speculation, viral misinformation, and prejudice. That’s what happened to one Seattleite a few days ago. She’s a paralegal, and a trans woman – and last week, to a portion of t...
Sep 15, 2025•32 min
At 11am on Monday, September 15th, students at high schools across Seattle walked out of class, and headed to Seattle Public Schools’ district office downtown. They were protesting changes to lunch times, announced last week by the district, that they say will negatively affect student experience at school. KUOW reporter Noel Gasca was at the Seattle Public Schools district office, where students are gathering to protest, and joined us to explain. Guest: KUOW reporter Noel Gasca Related stories:...
Sep 15, 2025•10 min
Since May 8, 1792, European colonists have called the large volcano just off the coast of Puget Sound "Mount Rainier." It was given that name by a British explorer, Captain George Vancouver – a gift to his friend, Rear Admiral Peter Rainier. But prior to Vancouver’s arrival in what eventually became Washington state, the Indigenous peoples in and around the Salish Sea called it by many names. A linguistic paper from the Puyallup Tribe of Indians traced those many names for the mountain – where t...
Sep 12, 2025•14 min
You know what time it is. It's WEEKEND WARMUP TIME! Links: SPORTS Mariners - LA Angels - 9/11-14 Sounders - LA Galaxy - 9/13 Reign - Racing Louisville FC - 9/14 Seahawks - AWAY vs Pittsburgh 10am 9/14 Wallingford Bratwurst Festival The Chehalis Flying Saucer Party Seattle — Cider Summit Hops & Crops Music and Beer Festival - Kent Sip Suds & Si - North Bend Autumn Sip & Stroll - Gig Harbor Historic Downtown Snohomish Wine Walk Vino in the Village – Magnolia Black & Loud Fest at Th...
Sep 11, 2025•6 min
November’s general election could bring a group of new faces to Seattle City Government. Today we’re diving into the race for City Council’s Position 8 seat. That’s a city-wide post, representing ALL of Seattle, as opposed to just one geographic district. The incumbent in this race is Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck. She won the seat after a special election last year. Now, Rinck is widely seen as the most progressive voice on the council. In this summer’s primary, she got a whopping 78% of ...
Sep 11, 2025•25 min
A brand new contemporary art space opened up last month in downtown Seattle. It's called Cannonball Arts, and Soundside recently got a sneak preview. GUESTS: Brent Watanabe , a Seattle based artist who specializes in computer-controlled installations Greg Lundgren , Creative Director of New Rising Sun RELATED LINKS: Cannonball Arts Downtown Seattle’s Bed Bath & Beyond building to become an arts center Real-Deal Out-There Art - The Stranger Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make t...
Sep 10, 2025•11 min
November’s general election could bring a group of new faces to Seattle City Government. Today we’re diving into the race for City Council’s Position 8 seat. That’s a city-wide post, representing ALL of Seattle, as opposed to just one geographic district. Our first candidate in this Position 8 race is Rachael Savage. She’s a small business owner in Capitol Hill – she runs a crystal and incense shop on Broadway. And she’s a member of the Broadway Business Improvement Association. Savage is runnin...
Sep 10, 2025•24 min
What will it take to save the Lake City Fred Meyer? Is it even possible? Lawmakers and local shoppers are asking those questions after Kroger announced last month that the Lake City location would be part of a wave of regional closures. Local residents remain worried about where people will go for prescriptions and fresh produce, especially elderly and low-income residents, who may not have access to a car. Guest Paul Roberts, Seattle Times business reporter Related Links Lake City Fred Meyer fa...
Sep 09, 2025•12 min
He’s back. Well, he never really left. Conservative megadonor Brian Heywood wants to put two new policy proposals in front of the Washington state Legislature next year. Both deal with kids in schools, specifically, with parents’ access to school records, and trans kids playing sports. Heywood spent millions of dollars on a slate of initiatives last year. Some of them passed the legislature, like a ban on income taxes, a loosening of restrictions on police car chases, and a law codifying parenta...
Sep 09, 2025•1 hr
Almost a year ago, an Israeli soldier shot and killed Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi in the West Bank. She was a Seattle resident and a University of Washington graduate. We spoke to her family about their memories of her and their push for an independent investigation into her killing. Guest Hamid Ali, Ayşenur's husband Ozden Bennett, Ayşenur's sister 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 production...
Sep 04, 2025•15 min
School starts up this week for some districts in our region, others started last week – before Labor Day! For some students, gym classes may include a surprising throwback: The Presidential Fitness Test. President Trump reestablished the program over the summer. It had been quietly phased out in 2013 by President Obama, and people are split over the value and impact of this test. Teachers and fitness experts alike have criticized the test, suggesting it’s not effective in helping students develo...
Sep 04, 2025•22 min
