Sound Politics

This week, the Soundside and Sound Politics teams join up for a crossover episode breaking down the biggest takeaways from Election Day with guests who weighed in on what this year's election could mean for Washington Democrats and Republicans.   Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/politics . Sound Politics...

Should we be anxious about the midterms? Will Trump accept the results? Is illegal voting canceling your ballot? This week on Sound Politics, we're joined by KUOW reporter Amy Radil to talk through our election scaries. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/politics . Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle,...

No matter where you sit on the political spectrum, chances are you’ve been burned by a poll before. So, should we trust anything we see in the pre-election polls right now? This week on Sound Politics, we’re bringing you an episode from KUOW’s Control F podcast. Sound Politics host Scott Greenstone and Control F host Teo Popescu dive into how we should be reading the polls less t...

Ballots for the November election are here – and the attack ads are hitting your screens and your mailbox. This week on Sound Politics, we get into who’s trying to sway your vote – millionaires, state employees, and... Ken Jennings? – and whether they're telling the truth.  The show is joined by state government reporter Sarah Mizes-Tan  and Paul Queary from The W...

We’re less than a month from election day. It’s the time of year people really look to polls to tell them what is going to happen... and a couple of polls have local Democrats feeling nervous. This week on Sound Politics, what do the numbers say about support for banning trans girls from playing in girls’ sports? And is an initiative seeking to repeal the state's millionaire...

Democrats in D.C. may be poised to take back the House -- and possibly even the Senate. But in Washington state's only swing district, Democrats have to defend a seat from a different kind of Republican than they’ve faced for years. This week on Sound Politics, host Scott Greenstone is joined by State Government Reporter Sarah Mizes-Tan and Seattle Times' D.C. Correspondent Anumita Kaur to b...

This week on Sound Politics, can socialists budget… better? Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is saying yes -- and that she solved the city’s budget deficit. But her proposal to add cops, cut elsewhere, and not raise taxes on businesses or the wealthy, has some saying she’s budgeting the same as her predecessors. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If...

It's our fall fund drive; we hope you'll take a second to donate to show how much you love Sound Politics . This week, we answered your questions -- in front of you! -- at our first live taping of Sound Politics, hosted in partnership with Seattle CityClub. Initiatives, state Supreme Court races, AI -- you brought some really great questions. We quizzed you about Washington state political history...

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson has staked a lot of her political project on the fact that Seattle is majority renters: she’s trying to make life more affordable for them.  She’s promised to build a lot of housing over her term, and to set Seattle up for a better-housed future. We’re going to check in on that… and to do that, we’re going to the one-bedroom apart...

This week on Sound Politics, we’re talking about breakdowns in communication.  First: a Seattle public school strike averted at the 11th-hour, and one very unconventional communication might’ve averted it.  Then, over at city hall, Mayor Katie Wilson is really trying to show us she is fixing communications with her office and the public after the mass shooting at the Bite of...

Music legend Dolly Parton died this week, and her legacy can even be felt in Washington state, through a reading program she brought to all 39 counties. But then, the state defunded it. This week on Sound Politics... what does that say about our education funding at a time when kids are heading back to school, and a lack of funding is causing tension between teachers and school administrators? Joi...

How much sway does one South Seattle fish fry hold on local politics? We teamed up with KUOW's Seattle Eats podcast to find out. This episode originally ran last month in the Seattle Eats feed, and we have a piping hot update at the end that you'll want to stick around for.  Join Sound Politics on Wednesday, September 16 at 6:30pm at The Collective Seattle for "Voters Guide Live." This event...

This week on Sound Politics... we’re having leftovers, tying up last week's primary elections before heading off to Seattle City Hall, where political pressure is building on the mayor and the police department.  Plus: Join Sound Politics on Wednesday, September 16 at 6:30pm at The Collective Seattle for "Voters Guide Live." This event is a collaboration between KUOW and Seattle City Cl...

If you want to help shape our coverage for the general election, fill out our survey . On this week's episode: early results are trickling in for the August primary. How did incumbents fare against a slew of challengers? Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/politics Sound Politics is a production of KUOW i...

We now know that Seattle Police Department Chief Shon Barnes has resigned. It caps off a dramatic day at the city where it was unclear whether the Chief Barnes had a job. We're wading through it on this week's Sound Politics. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/politics Sound Politics is a production of K...

Two former Democratic Governors of Washington -- Christine Gregoire and Gary Locke -- have concerns about how much Democrats in Olympia are spending and whether a huge new program like the "millionaires tax" will fix the state’s budget woes. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/politics Sound Politic...

Washington Republicans come in many flavors, and right now, all of them are competing to represent the center of the state in Congress. On this week’s Sound Politics, we meet the top candidates for an open seat in the 4th Congressional District, and untangle the drama behind the all-important Trump endorsement. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you wan...

Across the country, progressive Democrats are ousting establishment candidates who have, in some cases, been in office for decades. Could we see the same dynamic play out in Washington? Or are establishment Democrats here too progressive to be challenged to the left? Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/po...

The Supreme Court says states like Idaho can ban trans girls from sports.  But what does that mean for our state and the initiative we will vote on in November? Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/politics Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our edito...

Voting by mail is under attack -- from the Supreme Court, from President Trump -- and big changes could be coming this year. Should you be worried about dropping your ballot in the mail? Guest: Jake Goldstein Street, reporter at The Washington State Standard Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/politics So...

College sports is chaos right now. But Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Washington's Maria Cantwell are trying to do something about that with the Protect College Sports Act . It just passed the Senate Commerce Committee and heads to the Senate floor next . What's in the bill? And what do politicians gain when they take on this type of legislation? Guest Danny O'Neil, Seattle sportswriter and author of The...

Mayor Wilson joins Sound Politics to talk about Seattle's preparedness for the World Cup, CCTV cameras, and her goal to stand up 500 shelter beds before the first match Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/ . Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network...

Both parties are rushing to gerrymander their Congressional districts as fast as they can. Nobody thinks this is good for Democracy. Is there a better way? The team at More Equitable Democracy thinks there is, and it is being used right across the Columbia in Portland, OR. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our produ...

As state legislatures across the country rush to redraw Congressional maps, will Washington follow their lead? Democrats in Olympia think it’s possible, but they need to win some local elections first. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/ . Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Sea...

Washington’s state prisons have come under the eye of the federal Department of Justice for housing a little over a dozen trans women in a women’s prison. There’s a lot of anger over this policy on the right. And lawsuits on both sides of the issue claiming peoples’ constitutional rights are being violated.  We’ll dig into the facts with the Seattle Times' Lauren...