Seattle Now

Today, we’re bringing you the best from another KUOW show, Soundside. A lot has changed during Sara Nelson’s time in Seattle government. She was a centrist outlier on a progressive city council when she was first elected in 2021.  But the dynamics changed: Nelson ended up running the show as council president, after a moderate slate of candidates swept the 2023 election.  Now - her time in office is coming to an end. Next month, there will be a new, more progressive representative in the citywide Position 9 seat that Nelson’s held the past four years. Nonprofit leader Dionne Foster will take Nelson’s place after winning by a wide margin of votes in November.  Last week, Nelson spent an hour with Soundside to reflect on her tenure and the direction Seattle politics is moving. Listen to more Soundside here. Soundside is produced by Sarah Leibovitz, Jason Burrows, Gabrielle Healey, Hans Anderson, Jed Kim and Maleeha Syed. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this discussion, James McCafferty, the Director of the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western Washington University, dives into Seattle's high cost of living. He reveals that Seattle ranks around 14th for expenses, similar to San Diego and parts of LA. McCafferty explains how the C2ER study tracks a vast array of goods, highlighting surprising bargains like potatoes and doctor visits. He clarifies why average prices can mislead personal experiences and shares tips on navigating grocery pricing and economic news.

Here's a special Christmas episode brought to your feed from KUOW's arts and culture podcast Meet Me Here: The holiday season means trees, cookies, family, spirituality, or presents to many. For Meet Me Here's Dyer Oxley, it means it's time to watch his favorite Christmas movie — "Die Hard." This 1988 action flick starring Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman has become a Christmas tradition for many. But not everyone agrees that "Die Hard" can be a Christmas tradition. Week in Review host Bill Radke is in that camp. He challenges Dyer's "Die Hard" opinion in a special holiday throwdown. Bill and Dyer debate a modern holiday question: Is "Die Hard" a Christmas movie? We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we’re bringing you the best from another KUOW show, Seattle Eats… The holidays are here—  The season for cookies, roasts, seafood… and wine. And if you want the best deals on good wine… Seattle Times food critic, Tan Vinh  says… head to Costco. On the latest episode of Seattle Eats, Tan sat down with Seattle Times politics reporter David Gutman to taste-test Costco’s best wines that are 20 dollars or less. Listen to more Seattle Eats here. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Communities in Washington are beginning their recovery efforts after flooding and landslides, Governor Bob Ferguson is joining Democrats in proposing an income tax on millionaires, and people who have season passes for the Stevens Pass ski resort are angry that the resort is not offering refunds. It’s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Zaki Hamid. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we have an episode from our friends at Booming. The recent flooding in Washington is a reminder of the extreme weather impacts of climate change. But the Northwest has become a destination for people seeking a more livable climate. Climate migration is difficult to study, and even harder to predict. But some researchers say a historic population shift has already begun. On today's episode: is the Pacific Northwest ready for an influx of climate refugees? Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes. Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Governor Bob Ferguson is mobilizing the National Guard to monitor levees, a University of Washington professor wins a case against the university over land acknowledgements, and Seattle's longest serving police chief has died. It’s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Zaki Hamid. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed.  Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Atmospheric rivers can be very destructive. But they don’t have to be a surprise. There are weather scientists whose mission is to improve atmospheric river forecasting. Today, we’ll hear from one of those scientists. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed.  Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we’re bringing you the best from another KUOW show, Soundside…  It’s been a busy year for the Seattle Police Department.  A new chief was sworn in, the longstanding federal consent decree ended and the city reached a new contract with the Seattle Police Officers Guild that changes how it can approach unarmed crisis response. Plus, a new mayor will take office in January. Mayor-elect Katie Wilson announced this week that she planned to retain Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes, despite some rumors to the contrary.  Soundside's Libby Denkmann talked with Barnes last week. Listen to more Soundside interviews here. The Soundside team includes Sarah Leibovitz, Jason Burrows, Hans Anderson, Gabrielle Healy, Maleeha Syed, and Jed Kim. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gov. Ferguson proposes new investments in roads, bridges, and ferries, the Seahawks clinch a playoff spot, and more snow is expected in the mountains. It’s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Paige Browning. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.