Sound Effect

This week on Sound Effect, we share the stories that won national awards this year. Our first story, from Jennifer Wing, profiles a group of men that have been playing an elaborate game of tag for decades. Next, we’ll meet Sophie , a curly-haired six-year-old girl from Bellingham who was born a boy, and learn about new research from the University of Washington that suggests trans kids who are accepted by their parents tend to have positive mental health measures.

This show originally aired on April 30, 2016. This week on Sound Effect we present stories of war and peace. Ground Zero Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor has what may be the highest concentration of nuclear warheads at a single site in the world, according to the Federation of American Scientists. And in neighboring Poulsbo, activists under the banner of “Ground Zero” don’t want you to forget it. Tom Rodgers is committed to direct action against the base, and guesses he’s been arrested four times in the

This week on Sound Effect, our theme is "One of Many" ... the tension between standing out and fitting in. Host Gabriel Spitzer heads to St. Francis of Assisi school in Burien to talk to kids about how they stand out when they have to wear uniforms. We meet a man who battled addiction and landed a felony conviction, only to become a lawyer after his sentence was over. Jennifer Wing introduces us to a group of women with HIV , who have found comfort in sisterhood with others diagnosed with it.

This week on Sound Effect, our theme is "Blood Ties." Host Gabriel Spitzer heads to a class at the University of Washington where midwives learn how to deal with potential blood loss during pregnancy. Alex Ashley profiles a Jehovah Witness who had to find an alternative to a blood transfusion during a medical emergency. We’ll meet a woman who found her birth mother, and then worked to keep her native language alive . Also, Jennifer Wing introduces us to a man who had been seeking a family for

This week on Sound Effect, our theme is "In Traffic." Host Gabriel Spitzer checks out the winning entry for the “ Sorriest Bus Stop in America ,” which happens to be in Seattle. We talk to a bus driver who finds inspiration for his art from his riders. Meet a quadriplegic with a seriously tricked-out wheelchair . We meet a man who decided to move to avoid a five hour commute to work. Also, the detective who worked to stop local animal trafficking . The show wraps up with a conversation with a

This week on Sound Effect, it’s our annual tradition of sharing our favorite music stories from the past year. We open the show by sitting down with the Lewis family, and look back on how each generation has influenced the next to get behind a drum set. We then hear how tragedy and music intersect as the result of a shooting on the campus of Seattle Pacific University. Next, a performance and interview from John Roderick, who decided on a satirical take on a post-election song that ended up

This week on Sound Effect, our theme is "Can’t Let Go." KNKX newsies Ariel Van Cleave and Ed Ronco reminisce about their obscure instruments. Then we talk to Jillian Venters, who gives advice to people of the gothic subculture , including those who are aging within it. Next, we head to Tacoma where a man is making an effort to celebrate author Frank Herbert. Then we take a ride in one of the oddest vehicles you’ll ever see: a hearse, decked out in pink , and available for parties. We get out of

This show originally aired on May 27, 2017. This week on Sound Effect, our theme is "Up in the Air." We open the show by meeting Space Needle elevator operator B.J. Listman gets to see one of the best views in the world every single day for his job. We then talk to UW Earth and space sciences faculty member Robert Winglee who has designed a drone that can fly at an altitude of about 80,000 feet. Next, a conversation with Jesse Hayes, a Boeing engineer and president of the Red Tailed Hawks Flying

This week on Sound Effect, our theme is "What Are the Odds?" We'll meet the grandson of Holocaust survivors who calculated the very low probability that he would even be born. Then a typo may have saved Bob Hofferber's life, by keeping him off of a military plane bound for Tacoma in 1952. In another story of the twists of fate, group of nuns walking along a Washington beach are overtaken by a rogue wave, changing their lives and their relationship with God forever. We'll get to know a scientist

This week on Sound Effect, our theme is "ghosts." We open with host Gabriel Spitzer having his son taste-test a ghost pepper. Gabriel then heads out to learn about a forest of dead trees , and how that came to be. We then meet a woman who lost her husband to cancer , but contemplates his lingering presence.