Soundside

2025 has been a busy year for Danni Askini. As Executive Director of the Gender Justice League, Askini is involved in multiple lawsuits fighting Trump Administration policies related to trans rights. She’s also the co-chair of the Washington Families for Freedom coalition, created this year to fight potential state ballot measures that could impact trans youth. And – by the way –...

Idaho’s governor has ordered that flags be flown at half-staff following the killing of two firefighters, and wounding of a third, in Coeur d’Alene yesterday. Firefighters were responding to a grass fire in a natural area with hiking and mountain biking trails. When they arrived, a man opened fire, in what the local county sheriff is calling an ambush.  And a note: this interview...

Skamania County Sheriff Summer Scheyer says she has a problem. As more visitors get into the great outdoors in her rural Washington county, more and more people are calling for help, and requiring search and rescue operations.  Scheyer says things need to change: She’s announced plans for an ordinance that would impose a fine on anyone who requires a search and rescue due to what she te...

Civil rights groups are scrambling to get ahead of a looming change to the status of babies born to immigrant parents without permanent legal status.  Unless additional legal actions are successful, there are just a few weeks until the Trump administration’s restrictions on birthright citizenship are set to take effect in a majority of states across the country, following a Supreme Cour...

Voters will pick a new King County Executive this November. And the race has taken a dramatic turn as candidate and current King County Assessor John Wilson has been repeatedly accused of stalking and harassment. Last month his ex fiancee and domestic partner Lee Keller was granted a second restraining order against him. Members of the King County Council have called on Wilson to resign, which he...

Bankruptcy is an unfortunate reality for thousands of Americans every year, but cities declaring bankruptcies are far more rare.  Since the 1930s, municipality bankruptcies have only happened around 700 times in the U.S. And in Washington State it’s only happened once, until this week when the city of Cle Elum declared itself insolvent in bankruptcy court, saddled with significant...

We’ve been celebrating Pride all month with a TON of events across the state, but now, we’ve hit critical mass, because it’s PRIDE WEEKEND! There is SO MUCH happening, so let's get to it: LINKS: Indigiqueer Festival Trans Pride Seattle Seattle Dyke March PRIDE-FEST: Capitol Hill Seattle Pride Parade 2025 PRIDE-FEST: Seattle Center Dungeons and Drag Queens at The Crocodile Brewolo...

Washington State started conducting all-mail elections in 2014 and it’s mostly been smooth sailing since then.  But a national explosion of vote-by-mail during the 2020 election due to Covid sparked a partisan backlash against the practice. President Trump made claims that voting by mail would lead to widespread fraud, accusations that grew louder after he lost that election to Presiden...

A festival celebrating the city’s only river won't happen this year.  The organization hosting the Duwamish River Festival shut the August celebration down, due to concerns about Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in South Park, the neighborhood where the festival usually takes place.  We talk about the decision with the head of the Duwamish River Community Coalition, the...

Over the last three years, the shortage of public defenders in Washington state has built to a crisis. It’s been taking a toll on the lawyers who represent clients that need representation but can’t afford it. Since that representation is promised in the U.S. and state constitutions, these lawyers are a critical aspect of the legal system.  When there aren’t enough lawy...

A ceasefire between Israel and Iran appears to be holding at this hour. President Trump spoke briefly to reporters this morning on the White House lawn.  He used an expletive and said he was unhappy that the two countries had both initially violated the agreement to pause attacks. More than a week after Israel kicked off the new war with Iran, Trump intervened on Saturday by ordering a U.S. s...

Washington state is taking quick action to meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As part of it, last year the state spent $45 million dollars to help lower income people buy or lease electric vehicles.  To do this, they lowered the barrier for getting a rebate – all you needed to do was self-report your income or say you were enrolled in an assistance program, and the deal...

A new book examines the theory that lead and arsenic poisoning may have affected the brain development of serial killers like Ted Bundy and Gary Ridgway.  Childhood exposure to these poisons might provide a partial explanation for these horrific crimes. The book is “ Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers .”  It’s part memoir; part examination of...

Upstairs at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture, MoPop, right now you can take a trip through the musical genres and artists that trace the arc of Black history in America, from gospel foremothers like Rosetta Tharpe and Mahalia Jackson, to the soul songs of Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. The exhibit is called Never Turn Back: Echoes of African American Music. Soundside host Libby Denkmann c...

We are officially in the summer busy season. Solstice, pride, Juneteenth — if you’re looking for something to do this week, have no fear, there’s something for you. Soundside is off tomorrow for Juneteenth, so we're bringing you an EARLY edition of the WEEKEND WARMUP.  Here with stuff to do this weekend is Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows! LINKS:  Juneteenth |...

Boys and ghouls, allow me to tell you about the mad doctor who injects himself with an experimental serum, turning the scientist into a hideous monster that terrorizes a hospital. This twisted tale is from the mind of Richard Lyford, a 19-year-old indie filmmaker in Seattle, who wrote, directed and starred in the short horror film The Scalpel . But he wasn’t influenced by horror legends like...

Israel and Iran continue to trade missile and drone attacks as the war stretches into its fifth day.  This conflict started last week with Israeli airstrikes that targeted top military commanders and nuclear facilities in Iran.  Here in the Seattle area, members of the Iranian diaspora are experiencing a familiar anxiety: Trying to keep tabs on friends and family during a bloody conflict...

Have you ever walked into a bookstore, lonely and single, and hoped you’d meet the love of your life?  We know there are at least a few of you out there. That's part of the setup for Moira Macdonald’s debut novel “Storybook Ending.” It’s a story about loneliness, friendship, reading – and of course, the singular pleasure of spending time between the shelves...

Millions of Americans across the country gathered over the weekend in support of “No Kings Day”, a nationwide protest against the Trump Administration.  Marches were planned to contrast with a military parade at the nation’s capital, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Army. The events also coincided with President Trump’s birthday. And it all came after a week...

Lawmakers in D.C. are still working on President Trump's big beautiful bill. That's the budget reconciliation measure focused on extending his first term tax cuts, boosting defense spending and immigration enforcement and cutting some spending. Should it become law, it's expected to cut into benefits for millions of Americans –  specifically, federal food assistance programs. It's expec...

Well, I don't know about YOU, but President Trump has big weekend plans: On Saturday, he's going to be enjoying a military parade in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Army, which also happens to fall on his birthday. There are hundreds of protests planned in cities across the country as counter-programming to this parade. They're organized under the umbrella of the "No Kings" theme. That inclu...

This weekend, the FIFA Club World Cup descends on Seattle. This isn’t the big tournament that pits national teams against each other that’s coming in 2026. Instead, this tournament features club teams from around the world. Spectators in Seattle will be able to see storied squads take the pitch throughout June.  For clubs, there is big money at stake but the majority of that...

The Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire is the largest ren faire in the state. It will bring out fairies, pirates, knights in shining armor, and more for five weeks, starting in mid-July, near the Skykomish River outside of Monroe. It has a whole lot of fans including one of our colleagues at KUOW,  Vicky VanHout. She says Ren Faires are all about dressing up in medieval garb, dancing to m...

The Trump Administration’s efforts to deport more unauthorized immigrants have led to protests in major cities across the United States. Evidence of stepped-up immigration enforcement can also be seen at the U.S.-Canada border. But it’s not always drawing protests or media attention. A family of six at the Blaine border crossing was detained earlier this year. The family, originally fr...

For a long time, if you wanted to know what the future looked like for Washington’s climate policies, you just had to look at California.   The Golden State put a carbon auction in place in 2012. 10 years later, state lawmakers here set up our own cap and trade system. California passed legally binding emissions goals in 2006. Washington did that about a decade later. And let&rsquo...