Soundside

KUOW has uncovered a controversial period in the life of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell -- one that he's rarely discussed in public. In 1996, while at a casino in Iowa, Harrell brandished a gun in a late-night confrontation over a parking spot. Harrell was arrested over the incident before the charges were dismissed five months later. He says he was racially profiled in the events leading up to...

Wednesday on Soundside, host Libby Denkmann asked if your shopping habits had changed in recent months. Recent polling by the Guardian found that a large portion of Americans have changed where they're purchasing due to their political affiliations or beliefs. Have you changed where you spend cash based on the political situation?  Lots of you responded, and Soundside shares your comments. Th...

If you enjoy skiing, you probably know it takes more than just some skis, boots and poles to slide down a hill.  It also takes money, sometimes a lot of it.  Tickets at Washington's big ski resorts run from $65 to $150 a day.  That's not the case at Badger Mountain ski area in Central Washington. There, the price is a mere $15 a day.  That's because the hill is a nonprofit enti...

It’s the end of the week, and the first time in a while where there’s not a Super Bowl, Valentine, or President’s Day to keep you busy.  If you’re searching for something to keep you occupied this weekend, you’re in the right place.  Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows is here in the nick of time to give you all the highlights…  LINKS:&nbsp...

DEI policies – short for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – have been in the crosshairs since President Donald Trump arrived back in the White House. Many corporations have been proactively choosing to downsize their DEI programs or eliminate them completely. But one company is facing a unique level of backlash: Target.  The retail giant announced last month it would eliminate mult...

KEXP DJ Tory J (AKA Tory Johnston) is the co-host of Sounds of Survivance , a show featuring indigenous artists from all over the world.  Johnston explains how he ended up feeling inspired to host the show, why he feels it's important to showcase these artists, and he plays some of the incredible music that can be heard on his show.  Guest: Tory Johnston (DJ Tory J), host of Sounds of Su...

It hasn’t even been a month since President Donald Trump was sworn into office, but the sudden and drastic changes he – and Elon Musk – have ordered are being felt at every level of the federal government.   Thousands of federal workers got notice over the weekend that they were being terminated – in departments ranging from the U.S. Forest Service to the CDC and...

For decades, a Washington law has empowered prosecutors to pursue felony charges against those who assault healthcare workers. Which, on a base level, makes sense. Healthcare workers don’t want to be harmed while doing their jobs. But some are worried that a potential felony charge – which would apply to both physical attacks, and typically minor offenses like spitting on someone &ndas...

Today, there is a Spotify playlist for any genre, mood, or activity you could ever think of. But, in the not-so-distant past, you’d have to tune your AM or FM radio until you found a sound you liked.  If you wanted to hear soul music in Seattle circa 1970, there was one local station that would never disappoint. It was called KYAC, and it was a true rarity at the time. The station was B...

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.&nbs...

Universities, cancer centers and hospitals will soon go under the knife, if the Trump Administration gets its way. Last Friday, the National Institutes of Health announced they would immediately slash four billion dollars of funding for research institutes across the country.  This would directly impact at least 70 research facilities in Washington State.  Critics of the plan have said i...

It’s Valentine’s Day weekend,  So if you’re looking for a great idea for something to do with your sweetie, OR you just want to avoid the love-birds as much as possible, Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows has you covered…  EVENTS: Wonderland Gear Exchange — Pitch-A-Trailmate Psychic Medium: Travis Holp FUN & FLIRTY - The Crocodile Science After D...

On the campaign trail last year, Dave Upthegrove promised that if elected to Commissioner of Public Lands, he would preserve forests starting on day one.  Well, Upthegrove is now in charge of the state’s Department of Natural Resources – sworn in last month – and he held true to his promise. On Jan. 15 – day one – Upthegrove announced he would be pausing log...

The Urban Raptor Conservancy's Ed Deal and Patti Loesche are running a decades long study on the population health of Cooper's Hawks in Seattle. What does that involve? Spending a lot of time looking for and observing the city's hawks. This piece originally aired in October of 2024. Guests: Patti Loesche, co founder of the Urban Raptor Conservancy Ed Deal, co founder of the Urban Raptor Conservanc...

Have you tucked into a romance novel lately? If not, you might be in the minority of readers. Romance sales are soaring. Last year, they grew twice as fast as the rest of the fiction market. In the past, the genre’s commercial value was widely accepted - romance books have always been big sellers. But now, its literary merit is being recognized, too. So this Valentine’s Day, there&rsqu...

Local author David B. Williams’  Seattle Walks: Discovering History and Nature in the City leads readers through loops and one-way strolls, traversing terrain ranging pockets of downtown, to North and West Seattle.  Each walk tells a story, exploring how Seattle came to be the city it is today through both big and small details. But in the years since it was first published in 2017...

The Trump Administration’s moves to downsize the federal workforce and reshape agencies around the president’s “America First” agenda are repeatedly running into stop signs as challenges to these policies hit the courts.  But at least one federal judge says it’s not playing out that way in the case he’s overseeing – the Administration is not fully com...

For years, Grant County sat on enough clean hydroelectricity to power more than a million homes. Then came the tech companies, interested in the cheap and plentiful electricity. They built data centers all over rural Washington to help fuel the modern internet. The data centers use so much energy that in the next few years, Washington state could struggle to keep up with local electricity needs.&n...

A growing body of research shows that cell phones inhibit learning and distract students in class. But should they be banned in schools? It’s a question that districts across Washington state are struggling with.  Last year State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal issued guidance that basically said… yes. It  encouraged districts statewide to adopt policies t...

Mark Solomon might be a new name to you. But it’s time to get to know him if you live in Seattle. Because last month, he was appointed to fill the District 2 seat on the City Council.  He’s taking over from Tammy Morales, who stepped down in January - two years before the end of her term.  After five rounds of voting, Solomon beat out six other finalists for the seat. He will...

Residents of Altadena, California are facing difficult choices in the wake of the devastating Eaton fire, which started just over a month ago in the foothills northeast of Los Angeles. Rebuild, or sell their properties to developers and leave the neighborhood?  Angela King is KUOW’s host of Morning Edition, and she grew up in Altadena..  She recently took a trip back to her hometow...

For over 50 years, the little theater at the corner of 50th & University Way has been showing movies to passionate filmgoers. And in that span, it’s changed owners, it was renamed, and for the past 20 years, has been the longest running completely volunteer run cinema in the country. But like all good things, the Grand Illusion’s time at its current location has come to an end. The...

He just may be the most celebrated travel writer and show host of our time.  When he’s not touring the hidden gems of Europe, Rick Steves spends a lot of his days in Edmonds, his hometown since he was 12. Did you know he was in the Husky marching band in college?  Steves may not have known back then that he would dedicate his life to travel writing, but there were hints. One was a...

U.S. foreign aid is in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. Workers at USAID woke up on Wednesday to an order putting nearly all personnel of the foreign assistance agency on administrative leave starting Friday. This follows a day-one executive order by the President to “reevaluate” foreign aid the United States sends so that it aligns with his “America First” agend...

After just a few years on the market, a new wave of GLP-1 drugs approved for weight loss have upended what we know about obesity. By now, these are household names: Mounjaro. Wegovy. Zepbound… and yes, Ozempic. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that one in 8 American adults reported trying a GLP-1 medication . “Body by Ozempic” has become a punchline on red carpets. Doc...