Into The Archives

What began as a small software company founded by two young Seattle-area programmers became one of the most influential forces in Washington history. In this episode of Into the Archives, we trace Microsoft's journey from Albuquerque startup to global technology giant and explore how Bill Gates, Paul Allen and the company they built transformed Washington's economy, universities, philanthropy, gov...

In 2004, Washington voters chose a governor—but it took recounts, a courtroom battle, and months of uncertainty to determine who actually won. In this episode, Into the Archives traces the closest gubernatorial race in U.S. history, the trial that followed, and how a crisis of confidence reshaped the state’s election system—accelerating Washington’s path to vote-by-mail. This is a public episode....

On a Saturday afternoon in 1928, smoke began pouring from the clock tower of Washington’s Old Capitol building in downtown Olympia. Within minutes, flames engulfed one of the state’s most recognizable landmarks — drawing half the town into the streets to watch it burn. In this episode of Into the Archives, we step inside that moment: the fire, the frantic effort to save irreplaceable government re...

The Pig War - Talking It Out at the BorderA pig in a potato patch nearly sparked a war. In 1859, American settler Lyman Cutlar shot a Hudson’s Bay Company hog on San Juan Island, igniting a sovereignty dispute between the United States and one of the British colonies that would become Canada. British warships soon appeared offshore as tensions rose. In this episode of Into the Archives, historian...

A government file labeled “Sasquatch.” A fake law citation. A taped strand of “hair.” In this episode of Into the Archives, the Washington State Archives reveal how a legendary forest being found its way into official state records. Through archivists, historians and Indigenous perspectives, the story moves from Coast Salish traditions to the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film and the rise of American Big...

On its debut episode, Into the Archives explores the hidden history of Washington’s State Archives, tracing its origins from a Cold War–era fallout shelter beneath the Capitol campus to its role as the state’s institutional memory. Through archival audio and interviews with historians and archivists, the episode examines how Washington came to preserve its public records, why only a small fraction...