Soundside

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"You don't have to fight me on this" - Gluesenkamp Perez on being booed by her own party Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

On Monday, Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez stood on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and fought her own party.

The subject of the disagreement? Whether or not a fellow Democratic member of congress, Chuy Garcia of Illinois, had crossed ethical lines and rigged the 2026 election for his chief of staff. By, among other things, announcing his retirement after the filing deadline.

Gluesenkamp Perez introduced a nonbinding resolution to disapprove of the maneuver, to the apparent surprise of Democratic leadership.

After speaking out, she was skewered by many of her fellow party members. One called her opposition a “cheap political stunt”

Gluesenkamp Perez is known for bucking the party. Just last week she was one of only 6 House Democrats who voted to end the federal shutdown.

She also represents one of the few purple districts in the country: Washington’s 3rd, which includes Lewis, Cowlitz, Clark and Skamania County.

GUEST:

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez represents Washington’s 3rd congressional district, which includes Lewis, Cowlitz, Clark and Skamania County

RELATED LINKS:

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Soundside's "Weekend Warmup" - Nov 20-23 and Nov 28-30 Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

While it has been so nice being back behind the microphone this week after a little time off, we’ve got Thanksgiving ahead of us!

And since we won’t have a show NEXT Thursday, Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows is doing double duty this week with an extra large Weekend Warmup…

THIS WEEK:

NEXT WEEK:

SPORTS
- PWHL Home Opener! Seattle Torrent vs Minnesota Frost - Fri 11/28
- UW Men’s Football vs Oregon Ducks - Sat 11/29
- Kraken vs Edmonton - Sat 11/29
- Seahawks vs Vikings - Sun 11/30
- Seattle Marathon - Sun 11/30
GeekCraft Expo
NOVEMBER ART MARKET — Duwamish Tribe

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From pizza to policy: how Katie Wilson won this year's mayoral race Nov 19, 2025

Show notes

In the week since Katie Wilson officially became Seattle’s mayor-elect, there have suddenly been a lot of think pieces about her from the national press.

Editorial boards at the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal have taken a certain “doom mongering” stance on another socialist winning office. The President of the United States added his two cents, and called her a communist.

Wilson’s election is making waves in a year when both democrats and democratic socialists scored high profile wins across the country.

But let’s be honest: national reporting is usually scant here in the PNW, and pretty late to the game. KUOW listeners – many of them, have been clued into this race for weeks if not months.

What we haven't heard is the inside story of the Wilson campaign – how the team took a newcomer to electoral politics – a policy wonk, whose style she herself has called “pretty dumpy” – and got her elected mayor.

And what does the future look like for progressives in a city with a historically fickle electorate?

Two key figures from the Wilson campaign team joined Soundside to share their view on how it all went down.

GUESTS:

Katie Wilson campaign manager Alex Gallo Brown
WinPower strategies political consultant, and Katie Wilson’s consultant, Jake Simpson

RELATED LINKS:

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Common PNW fish, uncommon feature: teeth on its forehead Nov 18, 2025

Show notes

Earlier this year, researchers at the University of Washington published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on the spotted ratfish, sometimes called a ghost shark.
It’s one of the most common fish you’ll find in the Puget Sound and it has teeth in an unexpected place. The study’s authors say that, not only is this unusual, but it also tells us something very interesting about evolution.

GUEST:

Karly Cohen, post-doctoral researcher at Friday Harbor Labs

Smithsonian: This Deep-Sea Fish Has Teeth on Its Forehead—and It Uses Them for Sex

University of Washington: This common fish has an uncommon feature: Forehead teeth, used for mating

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How air traffic controllers are doing post shutdown Nov 18, 2025

Show notes

Air traffic controllers are getting paid again, now that the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is over.

Air traffic controllers dominated headlines during the shutdown as they continued to work their stressful jobs without pay. Some of them took on side gigs to make up for lost income. And as the shutdown dragged on, controller shortages led to flight delays and cancellations around the country.

Now things are slowly getting back to normal, as the FAA lifts restrictions on air traffic ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Steph Winder of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association tells us how controllers are doing now that they're out of shutdown mode.

GUEST:

Steph Winder, Northwest Mountain Regional Vice President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association

RELATED LINKS:

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is Rad Power Bikes powering down? Nov 18, 2025

Show notes

If you purchased or rode an e-bike in the last 10 years, there’s a good chance it was a Rad Power Bike.

The company, based in Seattle, was one of the first to popularize e-bikes with the general public, and grew to be the largest electric bike company in North America.

But now, the company is on the brink of collapse. A spokesperson told Geekwire last week that Rad faces potential closure as early as January due to “significant financial challenges.”

After virtually building the e-bike industry, and seeing demand quadruple during the pandemic, what went wrong for Rad Power Bikes?

And can they recover?

GUEST:

Geekwire editor Taylor Soper

RELATED LINKS:

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's happening in Sudan? Nov 18, 2025

Show notes

In 2023, Bellevue organizer Mubarak Elamin made the decision to bring his mother to the United States.

At the time, she was living in Sudan, where a brutal war had broken out between the country’s army, the Sudanese Armed Forces, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The situation deteriorated into what the U.N. has called one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.

Thousands have been killed and millions displaced. Some regions are suffering from famine. In January, the United States declared Sudan was experiencing a genocide.

And despite this upheaval, Mubarak says it seems like a lot of people don’t know what's going on in Sudan.

GUEST:

Mubarak Elamin, a Sudanese community organizer in Bellevue
Nisrin Elamin, assistant professor of Anthropology and African Studies at the University of Toronto

RELATED LINKS:

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why your local Starbucks might be closed today Nov 17, 2025

Show notes

Unionized Starbucks workers have started their fourth day on strike.

Workers walked off the job in over 40 cities last week.

And this year’s strike has gotten attention from high-profile politicians. Both Seattle mayor-elect Katie Wilson and New York's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani called on customers to boycott the coffee chain.

Last week, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) urged Starbucks to cut a deal with the union.

So what’s holding up negotiations?

GUEST:Casey Martin, KUOW reporter covering the strike

RELATED LINKS:

Unionized Starbucks' workers strike in Seattle, across the country

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ask a doctor: Microplastics edition Nov 17, 2025

Show notes

You’re probably heard the term “microplastics.” And you’ve probably also heard that they’re bad for you.

A write up from Stanford Medicine says, quote, “they’re in the water we drink, the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the air we breathe.”

But what exactly are they?

A local doctor is helping us understand what exactly these particals are, and how or if we should avoid them.

GUEST:

Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana, a professor of pediatrics and adjunct professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington and the Seattle Children's Research Institute

RELATED LINKS:

Microplastics and our health: What the science says - Stanford Medicine

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lights, Camera, Closures? - The state of independent movie theaters in Seattle Nov 13, 2025

Show notes

In early October, film buffs around the region received some bittersweet news…

The historic Egyptian Theater in Capitol Hill – which had been closed for repairs – would not reopen as a public theater. The Seattle International Film Festival decided to end its lease, saying it was a difficult decision but that it just wasn’t financially feasible.

This comes on the back of the closing of the Grand Illusion and AMC 10 theaters in the U-District.

In an era of streaming services and movie studio consolidations… What DOES it take to keep the independent theater scene thriving?

GUESTS:

Beth Barrett - Artistic Director SIFF
Kenny Alhadeff - Owner, Majestic Bay Theater
Chase Hutchinson - Freelance Writer and Movie Critic

RELATED LINKS:

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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