Soundside

We’re a week away from the start of the OLYMPICS! It’s the final week of January, and I’m amazed that it feels simultaneously like New Year’s Eve was just yesterday, but also that this month has felt like an entire year long. Let’s do something FUN this weekend! Here with all the stuff to do is Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows!! LINKS: Washington Sportsmen's...

Seattle’s new city attorney, Erika Evans has been on the job for a little over 3 weeks – one of several newly elected officials moving the city in a more progressive direction.    We’re discuss a range of topics - from drug laws and diversion, to federal immigration enforcement in the city.  And a quick reminder about the city attorney’s duties: They enforce...

The Trump Administration might be dialing down some of its most confrontational immigration enforcement operations focused on the Twin Cities. Alex Pretti, a 37 year old VA nurse, was shot and killed on Saturday by Customs and Border Patrol agents. It was the second deadly shooting in one month by immigration officers in Minnesota.  Federal officials said Pretti “approached U.S. Border...

Minnesota courts are reportedly overwhelmed by the number of civil rights lawsuits being filed by immigrants and observers interacting with ICE and CBP during “Operation Metro Surge.” Politico has documented more than 2,400 cases across the country, in which judges have rejected the administration’s detention policy.   Across our own state local police departments have...

The federal government wants parents to breastfeed more.  In a press conference last month, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. argued that infant formula falls short in comparison to breast milk.  And in a strategy report published last September called “Make Our Children Healthy Again," the White House said it would “work to increase breastfeeding rates.” ...

At the start of every week we talk about the most fascinating stories in the news and what they say about the Pacific Northwest. We call it Front Page. It’s our chance to talk about the latest news with a rotation of plugged-in journalists and guests, taking a look at the headlines from the weekend and the stories that we'll be following as the week moves forward. Guest: Seattle Times report...

You know what they say... where there's a weekend, there's a warmup.  And here with all the random stuff you can do this weekend is Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows! LINKS: Edible Books — Shorelake Arts GameSymphonic with Eímear Noone | Seattle Symphony Pacific NW Reptile & Exotic Animal Show Jet City Roller Derby 20th Anniversary Season Game 1 5th Annual Viking Bear...

When you visit the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma, you’ll see a red circular structure with a four-letter phrase written across the top: “This Is Native Land.”  It’s the name of the museum’s permanent exhibit that opened in October. The phrase is a reminder that you’ve probably seen many times... But don’t be lulled into thinking you’...

For over 30 years (since 1995) Ira Glass has been one of, if not THE voice of public radio.  His show, This American Life, has won Peabody awards, the first ever audio journalism Pulitzer. And it’s also shaped generations of listeners and audio makers. As an early adopter of podcasting (2006), the show was for many a first foray into digital listening. It spawned major hits like Serial,...

There’s not a lot of places like Seattle Center... Where else can you take in the opera, a professional hockey game, and an iconic tourist attraction (y’know, the pointy one with a disk on top,) plus a world-famous radio station, and Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning on a six story movie screen… all in the same place? The 13 square block campus draws over  10 million visi...

At the start of every week we talk about the most fascinating stories in the news and what they say about the Pacific Northwest. We call it Front Page. It’s our chance to talk about the latest news with a rotation of plugged-in journalists and guests, taking a look at the headlines from the weekend and the stories that we'll be following as the week moves forward. Guest: KUOW reporter Casey...

Seismic activity at sporting events is nothing new to Seattle fans.  Many of us remember Marshawn Lynch’s 2011 BEAST-QUAKE. Seahawks fans revel in Lumen Field’s reputation for noise when opposing teams are on offense…  Even T-Mobile Park has experienced its fair share of shaking. Earlier this year when the Mariners made it to the playoffs, the Pacific Northwest Seismic...

In recent years, Washington state has made two major policy changes to keep more birth families together. Since then, fewer kids in Washington have been taken from their birth families, especially infants. But over the same time period, more babies and children from families who’ve been investigated by child welfare workers have died. That’s why critics say those changes have made chil...

How comfortable are you with AI in your news?  The Tacoma News Tribune, Tri-City Herald, Bellingham Herald, the Olympian. For over a century all of these local papers have brought in-depth reporting and local news to their communities. But new policies instituted by publisher McClatchy Media have left reporters at the papers worried that the company is adopting artificial intelligence tools f...

Another week down, only... 50 left to go in 2026.  If you need a bit of distraction from your doom scrolling, we’ve got just the thing…  Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows is here with local events you can check out over the next few days, plus some really great stuff coming up to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr Day… LINKS: SEATTLE SEAHAWKS vs San Francisco 49e...

The state’s general fund budget is in trouble, as is its transportation budget. Inflation, higher than expected costs, lower than anticipated revenues, state services scheduled to expand. If you listen to KUOW, you’re probably aware of why the state is facing budget shortfalls.  This next segment is about a bright spot in the state’s budget: the money generated from the cap...

Tensions across the country remain high one week after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.  The shooting has sparked nationwide protests, including in the Seattle area. Accounts of what happened have split along political lines. Since the shooting, the administration is doubling down on its immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities. The number of federal immigration...

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments in two cases challenging state bans on trans athletes competing in girls' and women's sports. Twenty-seven states have bans on trans girls and women competing in school sports consistent with their gender identity.  But Washington passed a law in 2007 that protects trans athletes' participation in school sports. It was the first stat...

Doctors have long recommended regular cervical cancer screenings. Traditionally doctors perform these exams using a speculum, which often say is uncomfortable and, for many, quite painful.  Some recent developments could make a large number of these screenings easier. In early January, the Health Resources and Services Administration, which is part of the Department of Health and Human S...

Every Monday on Soundside we catch you up on the top stories that are fascinating right now – and what they say about the Pacific Northwest. It’s our chance to talk about the latest news with a rotation of plugged-in journalists and guests, taking a look at the headlines from the weekend and the stories that we'll be following as the week moves forward. GUEST:  Paige Browning - KU...

From new transportation fees to requirements for closed captions in movie theaters, you might have already noticed the effects of several new laws and taxes with a January 1 start date.  And we’re about to begin a new legislative session on Monday, January 12th.  In Olympia, lawmakers are facing a yawning budget shortfall and uncertain funding from the federal government.  We...

We’ve reached the end of our first full week of 2026, and it’s time to get out there & do something FUN. LINKS:  2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour - Northwest Film Forum David Horsey | Elliott Bay Book Company OrcaCon Tabletop Games Convention   Seattle Travel and Adventure Show Great Train Show 2026 - Ridgefield, WA Seattle Bach Festival Jules Maes Saloon - Pro...

A lot has changed in Seattle in the last 7 days. The city has a new mayor, a new city attorney, two new council members, and, as of Tuesday afternoon, a new city council president. District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth won unanimous support yesterday from her colleagues to lead the council over the next two years.  The stakes of leading the city are always high, but this looks to be an...

Less than a week after the U.S. captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, the Coast Guard seized two oil tankers accused of violating U.S. sanctions. One of the vessels, seized in the North Atlantic, was registered in Russia. The Trump Administration is leaning on Venezuela to open up its oil industry to U.S. companies and oust the influence of Russia and China. President Trump said Tue...

It has been three days since the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in an audacious military raid.  It was a sudden and intense escalation of an ongoing campaign by the United States to oust Maduro. Maduro, and his wife Cilia Flores, appeared in a Manhattan court yesterday in an arraignment hearing over drug trafficking and weapons charges. Those charges were ce...