Inside Olympia

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping government, business and daily life, raising urgent questions about trust, transparency and accountability. Arthur Jago from the University of Washington Tacoma and former Seattle Chief Technology Officer Rob Lloyd, now executive director of the Center for Digital Government and the Center for Public Sector AI, discuss AI’s promise and risks, from algorithmic discrimination and workforce disruption to cybersecurity, public services, emotional reliance on chatbots, and the future role of humans in decision-making.

On this episode of Inside Olympia:  Host Austin Jenkins sits down with Former Executive Editor at The Seattle Times and current president of the WA Coalition for Open Government

On this episode Inside Olympia: Austin Jenkins sits down for an exit interview with former WA State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Madsen.

This week’s Inside Olympia examines the unintended harms of the foster care system, featuring The Seattle Times reporter Claudia Rowe, who shares insights from her research on what happens to children after they are removed from their homes.

This week on Inside Olympia ... Washington State Ferries Assistant Secretary John Vezina and WSDOT Passenger Rail Manager Kirk Fredrickson outline plans to manage heavy summer travel demand ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Officials detail ferry fleet readiness, staffing and backup capacity, while rail leaders say they sought an additional Amtrak coach to meet demand. Long-term fixes remain years away, including new ferries, while new Airo trainsets for Amtrak Cascades are expected to roll out in phases beginning in late 2026.

Energy consultant Arne Olson, senior partner at Energy and Environmental Economics, warns the Northwest faces a near-term electricity shortfall driven by rising demand, data centers, and resource retirements. He outlines risks of rotating blackouts, limits of wind and solar, the role of natural gas backup, and the cost of meeting reliability and decarbonization goals.

On this episode of Inside Olympia...Former chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Mel Tonasket, reflects on 55 years of leadership in Indian Country. He discusses the fight against termination, tribal sovereignty, the Centennial Accord, state-tribal relations, economic development, and his message to the next generation of Native leaders.

On this episode of Inside Olympia and for the full hour Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal.

Is government functioning as intended? That's a question the state Auditor's Office is increasingly asking. How is the office evaluating government effectiveness and accountability? On the program this week: State Auditor Pat McCarthy and Jim Brownell, Assistant Director for State Audit and Special Investigations.

This week on Inside Olympia:  Our focus this week is police accountability and specifically Washington's Office of Independent Investigations (OII) which is responsible for investigating police deadly force cases. We hold an exit interview with the first director of OII, Roger Rogoff.  Plus we talk with the lawmaker at the forefront of Washington's efforts to hold police more accountable to the public, Representative Debra Entenman.