For the first time ever, cities across Mexico, Canada, and the United States will be sharing the world’s most viewed sporting event... the FIFA men’s World Cup. 

But sports economists will tell you, the cost of hosting these games isn't always worth the reward.

On today's episode, will the World Cup be an economic win for the city?

GUEST:
Lynnette Buffington, chief of staff for the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce

Do you have a question for the Booming team? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. 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.

If you have sticker shock at the grocery store, you’re not alone. In Seattle, the cost of groceries is about 30% higher today than before the pandemic. 

Those high prices are straining family budgets and causing many people to change how they shop.

Today, creative hacks for putting food on the table now that your dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to. 

GUESTS:
Rebecca Chobat, Dollar Tree Dinners
James McCafferty, Director of Western Washington University's Center for Economic and Business Research

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.

Twenty years ago, buying a house in Seattle felt like a stretch. Today, it feels like you need to win the lottery. 

Homeownership is slipping out of reach for a lot of people, especially those with modest incomes. 

But there’s a movement underway in Washington State -- one that could bring housing costs back within reach. 

State legislators want to make it legal to live in an RV in someone’s backyard or driveway year-round.  

On today's episode: could letting people live in tiny houses on wheels on someone's property actually reduce our state’s housing shortage? And could it be a solution for 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/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.

Data centers needed more space, so they literally moved there. 

This week, Elon Musk announced he has merged his rocket company, Space X – with his AI company, xAI. The reason? He wants to build AI data centers in space. 

But his company is not the only one that wants to take the cloud... off the planet. Various companies from Google to Blue Origin to smaller startups are looking to Earth's orbit as the next data center frontier. And companies in Seattle are leading the charge.

Today, how close are we to actually putting data centers in space? And why would you want to? 

GUEST:
Dr. Saadia Pekkanen, professor of Law, International Studies and Political Science at the University of Washington

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:  Have you been laid off from a tech company in the last couple of years? We'd love to hear from you. 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.

This week, Amazon announced it's laying off 16,000 employees. 

It’s part two of a continued downsizing Amazon started in October, when it laid of 14,000 employees. Taken together, this is Amazon’s biggest reduction in force ever. This week's layoffs are also the latest in a series of tech downsizings over the past few years that have pushed Seattle’s unemployment rate well above the national rate.  

On today's episode, is Seattle facing a tech recession?

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 cost of child care is at an all-time high. The typical American family with young kids now spends more on child care than housing.

In most of the developed world, the government pays for child care so parents can work and contribute to the economy. But free, universal child care is nearly unheard of in the U.S.  

At least it was until a few months ago. In November, New Mexico became the first state to launch free, universal child care.

On today's episode, what can Washington learn from a state that managed to pull it off?

GUEST:
Elizabeth Groginsky, Cabinet Secretary for New Mexico's Early Childhood Education and Care Department

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.

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.