Soundside

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has fired former Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz. The decision was announced Tuesday in a letter from the mayor to the Seattle City Council.  Ashley Hiruko is a KUOW investigative reporter who has been covering news about former Chief Diaz for the past year. She joined Soundside's Libby Denkmann to give a little more insight into what’s happening at Sea...

The light touch of tea glasses. Jasmine vines. Cigarette kisses. These are some of the images the Redmond-based poet, essayist, and translator Lena Khalaf Tuffaha conjures of Palestine in her most recent poetry collection, Something About Living. Last month, the collection earned Tuffaha the National Book Award for poetry.  Through her poems, Tuffaha chronicles the legacy of violence and colo...

What does the Northwest sound like to you? It’s a question we’ve asked local sound artists. And this week, we’ve been sharing some of their  sound choices.  Yesterday, Christopher DeLaurenti played a recording of the bygone squeak of a metro bus.  Our next piece of tape comes from Gordon Hempton.  Guest: Gordon Hempton , acoustic ecologist and Emmy Award winni...

What does the Northwest sound like to you? It’s a question we’re asking local sound artists. And, over the next week, we’ll be hearing some of those sounds. Yesterday, Perri Lynch Howard shared the sound of coyotes in the Methow Valley .  Today’s sound has a bit more of a metropolitan flare. This sound originally appeared on a compilation called phongraphy.org 1 on and...

Breakups are always hard. Especially when you’re two of the largest grocery mega-conglomerates in the country.  Last week two judges – including a federal judge in Oregon and a superior court judge based in Seattle – officially blocked a merger between grocery chains Kroger and Albertsons. The companies had argued they needed to unite to compete with the likes of Wal-Mart.&n...

Emily Randall has been a “person to watch” in Washington politics for a while now.  Randall’s first electoral victory was in 2018, when she flipped a Republican held state Senate seat in the 26th district.  Now, Randall is headed to Congress. Last month, she won the election to become the U.S. Representative-elect for Washington’s 6th district. That includes both...

What does the Northwest sound like to you? Is it light drizzle on you window? The sound of waves pushing against rocky beaches or dry grass blowing in the Palouse.  It’s a question that we’ve asked local sound artists in the area. And, over the next week, we’ll be hearing some of those sounds.  Today, we take you to the Methow Valley. Guest:  Perri Lynch Howard - I...

Washington State has a brand-new Superfund site: the Upper Columbia River. It’s the latest development in the federal government's attempts to force a Canadian company to pay for pollution that flowed down stream into U.S. waters. So what’s the next step for cleaning up the river? Well, it’s a long process, which Seattle-ites can see in their own backyard. Cleanup is also be...

For the first time in 24 years, Washington has a new state Insurance Commissioner stepping into the role. Patty Kuderer is currently a state senator representing the 48th district, which covers areas including Redmond, Bellevue, and Medina.  She’ll become Washington’s 9th insurance commissioner in January. It’s a big job - Kuderer will be in charge of licensing and regu...

Once again, thanks for listening to Soundside during our Winter Fundraising Drive! Here at Soundside, we work really hard to bring you the news, like our conversation with Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson, and shows like Sound Politics, but we also like to keep things fun! So, in that spirit, here’s somebody who loves fun: producer Jason Megatron Burrows with a few sneak peeks of t...

Toxicity. Gaslighting. Undermining.  These are some of the ways Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales has described the behavior of her colleagues since she announced her resignation last week. She’s vacating her position three years before her term ends. "When I raise the issues on the dais, I am met with this seething anger just for expressing my policy priorities or my perspective...

Spokane mayor Lisa Brown is raising red flags about a plan to move liquid nuclear waste from Hanford through her city.  She wrote a letter to the federal Department of Energy, the EPA, and Washington’s Department of Ecology asking those agencies to reconsider a plan for trucks filled with the waste to travel Eastbound I-90 out of Washington on their way to Utah and Texas.  The 2,00...

Come January, when lawmakers sit down for the new legislative term in Olympia , there will be several new faces. More than a dozen legislators make up the new freshman class, and they’ll be facing what some have described as a ‘perfect storm’: the state is bracing for an anticipated 10 to 12 billion dollar budget gap. It’s been nearly 15 years since Washington faced a fisca...

King County continues to ramp up its behavioral health services following the  approval of a $1.25 billion by voters. With the latest development being the launch of an expanded and streamlined mobile crisis team-program last week. Guest: Taylor Blatchford, engagement reporter for the mental health project at the Seattle Times Relevant links: Seattle Times: King County expands mobile teams th...

Stories about the newspaper industry struggling - aren’t necessarily breaking news. Over the last 10 to 15 years, we’ve read and listened to plenty of coverage about the challenges news organizations are facing: corporate buyouts and layoffs, and the rise of social media misinformation. But now, there’s another challenge local news journalists have to watch out for - artificial i...

In fall of 2023, San Juan County transitioned to a 32-hour work week for county employees. It was meant to keep the county within its budget while staying conscious of the cost-of-living in San Juan. One year later, the county released a check-in report based on resident and employee feedback. So, how’s the new system working out? San Juan County Manager Jessica Hudson joined Soundside to gi...

Pianist Salo was a longtime member of a Seattle post-rock band called “Joy Wants Eternity.” Their music was instrumental -- and all of it was made close to ten years ago. The band went their separate and amicable ways in 2015.  So, imagine Salo’s surprise when just this year, Joy Wants Eternity was listed as a collaborator on a new project: an album from a musician called the “Illusory Explainer....

Seattle City Council Member Tammy Morales is leaving her post. She announced last week she is resigning from the council.  Morales has represented Seattle’s 2nd District, which includes Yesler Terrace, the CID, Beacon Hill, Rainier Valley and Rainier Beach, since 2019.  Her last day in the seat will be January 6th.  It’s a surprise decision considering Morales was re-elected to a four year term ju...

For '90s kids, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were the dominant force in twin fiction. Over the years, other generations have been fascinated by characters like Wrigley's Doublemint Twins, or Hayley Mills and Lindsay Lohan in the 1961 and 1998 versions of the film "The Parent Trap," respectively. Twins are rich narrative terrain and raise questions about individuality. "They're a natural kind of hook...

Thanksgiving may be over, but there is still so much to celebrate this month. We're about 3 weeks out from Christmas and Hanukkah, then there's all the New Year festivities. If your calendar isn't already packed with wintry, holiday fun, we've got you covered. Soundside Producer Brooklyn Jamerson-Flowers made a list of weekend events for you to add to your list of end of year goodness. She even ch...

It can be challenging for anyone to stay on top of their mental health. One organization in Bellingham has come up with a creative solution to make it easier for its clients to access consistent therapy.  Lydia Place has turned a Ford Transit cargo van into a therapy office on wheels.  Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to  kuow.org/d...

Winter is here. The nights are long, cold, and let’s face it … dark. Instead of scrolling endlessly on Netflix, maybe rewatching Hot Frosty (you know, the one about the magical snowman who turns into a hot dude), why not escape into a good book instead? If you’re not sure where to start, no worries, we got you.  We’ve got a panel of book nerds ready with some book recommendations to help you get t...

Today, there was a surprise announcement from Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales. After 5 years on the council, Morales, the representative for the 2nd District, said she is resigning, effective January 6th. KUOW Investigative reporter Ashley Hiruko gives us some insight into the decision and the council. Guest: Ashley Hiruko, KUOW Investigative Reporter Related Links: KUOW - Seattle City Co...

Tacoma can sometimes feel like a place for the little-er guy. Where an aspiring entrepreneur can start a small business without the hyper expensive rents and other daily costs of a city like Seattle.  But, according to recent reporting by the News Tribune, one city regulation may be stifling small food businesses in Grit City. And it has to do with some of the … greasier parts of the job. Most cit...

Seattle Public Schools continues to stare down a $100 million budget deficit.  It’s a problem that’s sparked frustration, protests, and even a legal battle over the district’s leadership.  Plans to close schools drew a lot of backlash— and have been shelved, for now. Yet, the question remains: how will the district balance its books? To help answer that question and a few more is KUOW’s education...