Soundside

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IAM 751 President Jon Holden gives a strike update Sep 30, 2024

Show notes

The Boeing machinists’ strike is in its third week. On Friday, the company and the union were back at the negotiating table.

This came after Boeing made another offer earlier in the week, its “Improved Best and Final” one. It was quickly rejected.

There were criticisms that it didn’t go far enough. Also, that the company had disrespected the negotiating process by releasing the offer’s details to the media.

Meanwhile, the company has begun requiring thousands of managers and non-union employees to take one week off without pay. This will occur every four weeks as part of temporary rolling furloughs.

They’ve also implemented a hiring freeze, cut back on business travel, and reduced spending with suppliers.

Currently, 33,000 machinists are on strike, pushing for higher wages and the restoration of their pensions, among other demands.

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.

GUEST: Jon Holden - President of the International Association of Machinists District 751

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From SeaTac to the public library, high-profile hacks are plaguing the region. Why? Sep 26, 2024

Show notes

It’s been a tough few months for many local IT departments.

Last week, hackers posted a handful of files stolen from SeaTac airport on the dark web. A ransomware gang is attempting to sell a trove of stolen Port of Seattle data for 6 million dollars in Bitcoin – after the Port refused to pay up.
The cyber-attack a little over a month ago snarled travel when it took down ticketing, baggage, and other SeaTac services.

But that’s just the highest profile ransomware case in the Seattle area in recent months.

A few weeks ago, the Highline School District canceled classes because a cyberattack had wormed its way into the local system. There was also a crippling ransomware attack on Seattle Public Libraries back in May, which put their book checkout and online systems in limbo for months

For more on what’s happening – and how organizations can protect themselves –Soundside caught up with Robby Winchester, the vice president of services and a co-founder of SpecterOps, a Seattle cybersecurity company.

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.

Guests:

Robby Winchester on the line. He’s the vice president of services and a co-founder of SpecterOps, a Seattle cybersecurity company.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The legacy of capital punishment in Washington Sep 25, 2024

Show notes

Washington state has officially closed the chamber where executions took place, marking the end of capital punishment here in the state. The journey to decommission this chamber involved a lot of moving parts across all branches of government.

First, Governor Jay Inslee put a moratorium on executions in 2014, then the state Supreme Court declared the practice unconstitutional four years later, and finally, the legislature outlawed the practice last year.

Guest:

Nina Shapiro, Seattle Times reporter covering social issues

Relevant Links:

Seattle Times: WA death penalty chamber officially closes, ending tumultuous history

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ChatGPT: a useful study buddy, or cheating machine? Educators at the UW are trying to figure that out Sep 25, 2024

Show notes

Classes at the University of Washington are back in full-swing. And as students try to find their classes, and figure out what to avoid at the dining hall – the university’s administration and faculty are trying to figure out their own conundrum: How to address artificial intelligence– chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini.

For some students and teachers, AI programs can be a useful tool. While for others, it’s another way to cheat on exams and classwork.

KUOW web editor Stephen Howie took a deeper look at the complicated relationship between AI and higher education.

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.

Guest:

KUOW web editor Stephen Howie

Relevant Links:

KUOW newsroom: Learning tool or BS machine? How AI is shaking up higher education

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Hear it again: Ethical mushroom foraging Sep 25, 2024

Show notes

As we step into fall, and back into the rain... we thought we'd revisit a segment from last year about MUSHROOMS...

Mushroom foraging is a very popular pastime here in the Pacific Northwest.

Our rainy climate helps a wide variety of the fungi thrive, as well as the community that collects them.

After all, who doesn’t love a good mushroom? Producer Alec Cowan, that’s who.

Last fall, Alec took an excursion with some amateur mycologists to learn what it takes to become a good mushroom hunter... and why he should give the fungi another chance.

You can check out Alec's original story HERE, complete with a plethora of wonderful photos from his adventure.

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.

RELATED LINKS:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New study finds pandemic lockdowns prematurely aged teenage brains Sep 24, 2024

Show notes

Everyone is a current, former, or future teenager.

You probably know this period of life is an especially difficult time for kids. Throw in a deadly pandemic and the subsequent disruption of school and social life? It got a lot more complicated. And new research suggests COVID-19 lockdowns may have hadlasting consequences for adolescent minds.
In a new study from the University of Washington Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LABS for short), researchers found that pandemic isolation actually accelerated the aging of teen brains.

Soundside spoke with the study's lead author about what that means for the mental health of teens post-pandemic, and we can learn about teenage brain development going forward.

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.

Guests:

Neva Corrigan, the lead author of the study and a research scientist at the University of Washington’s I-LABS.

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Amid harmful lies about Haitian immigrants, members of the diaspora vow to tell their own story Sep 24, 2024

Show notes

They’re repeated over and over in debates, speeches and media appearances during this presidential campaign: harmful lies about Haitian immigrants.

Springfield, Ohio has been at the center of the fabrications. Former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance have falsely asserted that Haitian immigrants are eating people’s pets.

Despite thorough debunking by local officials, including the Republican Governor of Ohio – Trump and Vance have doubled down on these falsehoods.

The dehumanizing rhetoric didn’t exactly shock members of the Haitian diaspora in the United States, but it has saddened them and put people in Springfield at risk.

Guest:

David Zhu Pierre-Louis, founder of Kay Tita

Relevant Links:

New York Times: Far From Ohio, Haitian Americans Feel the Sting of Threats in Springfield

New York Times:Trump’s Derision of Haitians Goes Back Years

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Seattle Public Schools pauses closure meetings Sep 24, 2024

Show notes

Seattle Public Schools leadership is taking a minute to think.

Earlier this month, the district released plans to potentially close almost two dozen elementary schools to shore up a budget gap. Unsurprisingly: many parents were not thrilled with the idea. Hundreds packed a school board meeting demanding the district reconsider.

Now, Superintendent Brent Jones says he is pausing further meetings about the closures.

Guest:

Sami West, KUOW education reporter

Relevant Links:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Microsoft details increased Russian interference in the presidential election Sep 23, 2024

Show notes

There are just a handful of weeks until the election, reports about outside interference from countries like Iran, China, and Russia are still popping up.

Recently, Microsoft shared new findings about Russian efforts to interfere with the US presidential election, with a focus on the Harris-Walz campaign.

This follows the tech giant’s announcement in August about Iranian-backed efforts aimed at Republican campaigns.

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.

GUEST: Maggie Miller - cybersecurity reporter for POLITICO, covering the intersection of cybersecurity and national security.

RELATED LINKS:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How the director of 'All We Carry' went behind the headlines of the refugee crisis Sep 23, 2024

Show notes

As candidates prepare to make their final pitch to voters ahead of the 2024 election, former president Donald Trump is once again using lies and hateful rhetoric about immigrants to fuel his pitch to voters.

Trump has doubled down on falsehoods about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, and claimed at a rally on Saturday that migrants are “attacking villages and cities all throughout the Midwest.”

During Trump’s time in the White House, his administration pursued a policy of separating children from their families at the U.S. border to deter would-be migrants.

But even at the height of “zero tolerance,” many families weighed the risks, and made the difficult decision to leave their homes in Central America and make the dangerous trek to seek asylum in the U.S.

The new documentary 'All We Carry' tells the story of one such family: Magdiel, Mirna, and their young son, Joshua.

They fled violence in Honduras, and the camera follows as they make the difficult and dangerous journey through Mexico on foot and on cargo trains. At the U.S. border, they claim asylum.

Eventually, Magdiel, Mirna, and Joshua wind up in Seattle. With the help of a local synagogue, they begin building a new life for themselves.

But looming over them – is the question of whether or not they’ll be able to stay together, in their adopted home.

Soundside talks to journalist and director Cady Voge about 'All We Carry' and the family behind it.

All We Carry is screening this Friday, September 27th at the Northwest Film Forum’s Local Sightings Film Festival.

Guests:

Cady Voge, journalist and director of 'All We Carry'

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