According to a Harvard economist, spending on data centers and artificial intelligence accounted for 92% of U.S. economic growth in the first half of last year.   

That's fueled speculation that we’re in an AI bubble, because spending on that level doesn’t feel sustainable. If the bubble pops and the spending stops, the shockwave could hit all of us. Past economic collapses led to bankruptcies, lost retirement savings, and disappearing jobs. 

But sometimes, the crash leaves something good behind... that we may not fully appreciate for years. 

This week, we look at bubbles from the past and ask: When the money burns away, what’s left? 

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.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Austin, Texas is not a cheap place. But for the last few years, it’s been a real outlier. While many cities saw rent go up, Austin’s average rent actually fell. A lot. 

On today's episode, what is Austin doing right? And what could Seattle learn from it? 

GUEST:
Audrey McGlinchy, Housing reporter at KUT Austin

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.

Coming up:  We want to know what your economic hacks are for getting by in a city with such a high cost of living. Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail with your hacks-- it could be featured on an upcoming episode. You can also email us at [email protected].

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.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy New Year! The Booming team is taking a week to rest and recharge before the new year begins...we’ve got lots of new episodes up our sleeve that we’re excited to share with you.  

In the meantime, we wanted to revisit some of our favorite episodes. This one is about the rising costs of Seattle sports tickets, and how you can enjoy games on a budget.

This episode first aired in November 2024 -- you can read the original story here: Why are Seattle sports games so expensive? We looked into that and ways to save.

If you want to give Booming a gift this holiday season, you can give us a rating and review on your favorite podcast app.

Finally, a big thank you from all of us at Booming. We appreciate everyone who listens to the show, and we hope you have a great holiday season.

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.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Booming team is hard at work on some new episodes coming out next year. In the meantime, we wanted to revisit some of our favorite stories this holiday season.

We think this one will be particularly useful for those of you still doing some last-minute holiday shopping. It explores the ways AI is being used by some of your favorite retailers to get better at selling you stuff.

This story first aired in December 2024 -- you can read the original story here: How Stores are Spying on You

If you want to give Booming a gift this holiday season, you can give us a rating and review on your favorite podcast app.

Finally, a big thank you from all of us at Booming. We appreciate everyone who listens to the show, and we hope you have a great holiday season.

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.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all know the cost of living is really high in Seattle. Whether it's housing or groceries, this town is a tough place to make ends meet. 

But just how expensive is Seattle compared to other cities?

On today's episode, Monica talked to a researcher who sends armies of shoppers to find out. And we get his tips for making your dollar stretch as far as possible in this very expensive city.

GUEST:
James McCafferty, Director of the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western Washington University

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.

Coming up:  We want to know what your economic hacks are for getting by in a city with such a high cost of living. Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail with your hacks-- it could be featured on an upcoming episode. You can also email us at [email protected].

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.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Pacific Northwest has been booming for decades, and home builders have struggled to keep up.  

That’s led to a housing shortage, homelessness crisis, and transportation headaches. But we may see an even bigger population boom here as climate change makes more places unlivable.  

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.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You may have heard that the economy is maybe... definitely... probably... in an “AI bubble.” 

Companies are spending hundreds of billions of dollars to build the AI infrastructure of the future. The hope is all that spending will pay off with super-advanced AI that will more than cover the cost of building it.

But that payoff isn’t coming — at least not yet. Companies are struggling to make a profit on the AI of today. So, is that future real, or just a mirage?  

Today: What happens to Seattle’s economy if the AI bubble bursts?

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.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you enjoy this bonus episode.

The Booming team recorded a live event a few weeks ago at the Seattle Public Library about the future of Seattle’s highways – so we wanted to drop it in the feed in case you missed it.  

Booming's Joshua McNichols co-hosted the event with Ian Coss. Coss is a reporter from WGBH in Boston and host of The Big Dig, a podcast about one of Boston’s biggest and most controversial infrastructure projects – to bury a downtown highway – and the lessons it offers today. 

We dug into two major projects in Seattle – one from the past, and one that is very much live and ongoing – to look at how big decisions are made about our public infrastructure and what they mean for the communities they serve.

We'll be back with a regular episode next week.

Guests:
Greg Nickels, former mayor of Seattle
Cayce James, strategic advisor for the city of Seattle
José Manuel Vásquez, activist from the South Park neighborhood

We want to know what you think of the show, and what you'd like us to cover. Fill out our audience survey, linked here, to tell us your thoughts.

Coming up:  If you live in the Seattle area, you may have noticed that it's gotten pretty darn expensive here. We want to know what your economic hacks are for getting by in a city with such a high cost of living. Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail with your hacks-- it could be featured on an upcoming episode. You can also email us at [email protected].

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.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our power grid is maxing out. We're plugging in electric cars, massive data centers, and heat pumps all at once. And it's not stopping anytime soon. Demand is expected to grow by 30% over the next ten years.  

And the increasing demand is spiking our energy bills. But Big Tech is betting on a solution straight out of science fiction. Nuclear fusion.

Today, could nuclear fusion fix our growing electricity crisis? Or is it too good to be true?

We want to know what you think of the show, and what you'd like us to cover. Fill out our audience survey, linked here, to tell us your thoughts.

Coming up:  If you live in the Seattle area, you may have noticed that it's gotten pretty darn expensive here. We want to know what your economic hacks are for getting by in a city with such a high cost of living. Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail with your hacks-- it could be featured on an upcoming episode. You can also email us at [email protected].

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.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On our most recent episode, we reported on how tons of young people are choosing trade school over college out of fear of white-collar jobs drying up. Companies appear to be making big bets that AI can replace huge chunks of their workforces. 

It seems like “go to trade school” has become the new “learn to code.” 

But Dan Grossman -- professor and vice director of the University of Washington's Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering -- says the outlook isn’t so bleak for students who still want a career in tech. 

On today's episode: Are reports of AI driving a “white collar bloodbath” greatly exaggerated?  

We want to know what you think of the show, and what you'd like us to cover. Fill out our audience survey, linked here, to tell us your thoughts.

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.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.