Soundside

There’s a war being waged in Seattle right now. But you won’t see it out on the streets, among your fellow citizens. Instead – look to the sky.  For years, two airlines: Delta and Alaska have battled for supremacy at Seatac.  Now, The Wall Street Journal says Alaska Airlines is making a big play to expand international flights – and Delta is striking back.  Guest: Alison Sider, a reporter covering airlines and air travel for the Wall Street Journal Related stories: Battle for Seattle: Can Delta Keep Dominating International Flights? - Wall Street Journal Delta Gets Blowback for Using AI to Set Airfares - Wall Street Journal 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.

The Trump administration is trying to restrict access to a substance you might find at your local smoke shop.  The FDA in late July announced plans to crack down on 7-OH. Commissioner Marty Makary described it as an opioid that can be more potent than morphine and the agency's pushing to get it classified as a Schedule 1 substance -- like ecstasy or heroin.  You may not have heard of 7-OH, but you’ve probably heard of kratom. It’s the substance that 7-OH comes from – and it’s controversial in its own right. Some states have banned kratom. The federal government tried to classify it as a Schedule 1 substance in 2016 but opted not to after getting a wave of pushback. This year Washington state regulators withdrew a proposal to designate kratom as a Schedule 1 substance, saying it didn’t meet the criteria. So for now, you can buy kratom products in the state.  We wanted to know more about both kratom and 7-OH, so we checked in with a research professor at the University of Washington for insight.  Guest: Caleb Banta-Green, research professor at the University of Washington and director of the Center for Community-Engaged Drug Education, Epidemiology and Research. Related stories:  FDA recommends concentrated Kratom be scheduled as illicit substance | The Hill What to know about changes to kratom sold in Seattle | Axios Seattle Kratom & 7-OH: What do we know about use, safety, and overdose risk? | Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute (University of Washington) What is 7-OH? Opioid-like product may get banned by FDA | USA TODAY 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.

So far in 2025, Seattle is on track for a decline in homicides for the second year in a row.  The city’s finally catching up to other parts of the country that started to see drops in lethal violence a few years ago, according to a new story published in The Seattle Times.  The country saw a surge in homicides when the pandemic hit. Seattle was no exception, and the violence continued. The city experiencing one of its deadliest years on record in 2023.  But lately things have been trending in a safer direction for the city and King County as a whole.   Guest: Sara Jean Green, reporter at The Seattle Times. Related stories:  Seattle is seeing fewer homicides, catching up with national trend | The Seattle Times  KUOW - Seattle passes grim milestone with record high homicides | KUOW   Seattle had 'highest number of murders in 26 years' in 2020 | MyNorthwest  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.

Pre-season football is here. The Seattle Seahawks have a rejuvenated roster, but they are far away from being a pre-season favorite for the Superbowl. So, let’s remember some good times: I’m talking a Superbowl win, a Superbowl loss, the Legion of Boom, Beast Mode ... in the early 2010s, the Seahawks were a football juggernaut. And now, they’re the subject of a new book called The Franchise: Seattle Seahawks: A Curated History of the Legion of Boom Era.  Guest: Michael-Shawn Dugar, staff writer at The Athletic and author of The Franchise: Seattle Seahawks: A Curated History of the Legion of Boom Era Michael-Shawn Dugar will be at Elliot Bay Books on Tuesday August 12th and Third Place Books Seward Park on Monday August 25thSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two familiar Republican names from last year’s election are back in the news: Joe Kent and Pete Serrano. They’re not running for election, but they may be finding success instead with federal appointments.  Kent is a former Green Beret who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House twice in District 3. The Senate approved his appointment as director of the National Counterterrorism Center late last month.  Serrano was the mayor of Pasco and ran for Washington Attorney General against Nick Brown. It was reported last week that he is the presumptive pick to take over as  U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. For many candidates who lose statewide office, a failed campaign is the end of the line, so how have these GOP candidates from a deep blue state been able to give new life to their political careers?   Guest: Jim Brunner, Seattle Times political reporter Relevant Links: Seattle Times: Senate confirms former WA candidate Joe Kent to counterterrorism post Seattle Times: Former GOP AG candidate chosen as Eastern Washington’s U.S. attorney 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.

Sound Transit has a busy few years ahead.  Trains are set to start running to Federal Way in December, but a long-awaited east side expansion across Lake Washington has been delayed again – to at least April 2026.  That comes as riders and public transit enthusiasts alike are clamoring for additional light rail service to Ballard, West Seattle and beyond. Amid all of this, Sound Transit has a new CEO, former King County Executive Dow Constantine. Constantine came to KUOW for a long conversation about the future of Sound Transit and to answer several questions from our audience.  Guest Dow Constantine, CEO of Sound Transit 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.

Salmon recovery efforts have had mixed success in Washington, where salmon habitat and spawning routes have been disrupted for generations. But what if human consumption wasn't part of that equation? What if the salmon we eat were no longer wild-caught in the ocean or pulled out of a farm?  What if that salmon was grown in a lab? Starting in late August, you could try some at one Seattle restaurant, so we're talking about the future of cultivated fish and meat. Guests Frida Garza, staff reporter, GristClaire Bomkamp, senior lead scientist for cultivated meat and seafood at The Good Food Institute (GFI), a nonprofit advocating for alternative proteins Editor's note: A previous version of this text described The Good Food Institute as an advocacy group for alternative proteins. We've updated the Claire's title to note GFI's nonprofit status. Links Want to try lab-grown salmon? The US just approved it. - Grist No bones, no scales, no problem: The first lab-grown salmon sold in the U.S. - The Washington Post Lab-Grown Salmon Set to Hit the Menu at Hot Seattle Oyster Bar - Bloomberg 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.

The forecast for the weekend is sunshine & 80 degrees, so Soundside producer Jason Megatron Burrows wants YOU to get outside & DO STUFF!! LINKS: MARINERS - Fri/Sat/Sun - vs Tampa Bay Edmonds Block Party West Seattle Glass Float Hunt Ananda Mela Coupeville Arts & Crafts Festival WA Midsummer Renaissance Faire! Jacques ze Whipper Secret Show Festival At Mt Si Sundae Runday Tunnel Marathons Omak Stampede Issaquah Film Festival SIFF CatVideoFest 2025 SIFF Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (40th Anniversary)  SIFF 'n' Stitch: 10 Things I Hate About You  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.

Happy post-election day to all those who celebrate! Maybe you're the type who eagerly awaits each wave of results, or maybe it's something you've already forgotten about. Regardless, pat on the back to everyone who made the time to turn in a ballot.  Now... we might make you question the way you formed your decisions -- especially if you asked ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok for elections information. Today the University of Washington announced the results of a study looking at the potential influence artificial intelligence can have on our political decision making.  It’s something that’s coming up a lot these days as AI becomes more prevalent. So we want to know what exactly this new study found - and if we should be worried about the results.  Guest: Jillian Fisher, lead author of the study. Related stories:  Could AI tilt the outcome of elections? - The Economist How artificially-generated content could dominate the 2026 campaign - The Boston Globe 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.

For 12 years, researchers in Washington and British Columbia have been tracking down a mystery.  Along the Pacific coast, sea stars were dissolving into goo. This phenomenon was given a name: sea star wasting disease and it killed billions of these marine creatures.  For more than a decade, scientists studied the wasting disease but couldn’t figure out why it was happening.  A new paper published this week in Nature Ecology and Evolution details a likely culprit.  Guest: John Ryan, KUOW environment reporter Relevant Links: KUOW: Scientists crack the case of the melting sea stars. It only took a decade 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.