Sound Politics

State government reporter Jeanie Lindsay is joining us for one final time to talk about access to lawmakers in Olympia. Reporters don’t like being the story, but some drama in the press corps covering Washington’s government was one of the stories of this year’s session. This is an issue that the press is grappling with in D.C., too. The Associated Press was blocked from covering the president because they wouldn’t refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. They sued and a federal judge reinstated their access. But it’s not just President Trump or the right wing, the press corps in the state capitol face some intense pressures from the Democrats running Olympia.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/politics. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer this week is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

And we want to hear from you!Send us your politics questions by emailing [email protected] or give us a call at 206-221-0511.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is a tense week in Seattle, and the country, as we prepare for a military parade in the capital this weekend on Trump’s birthday. In response, there are over 1,000 “No Kings” protests planned nationwide, including in Seattle, Olympia, and Tacoma. The ramp up in the tension is because of another thing Trump has done with the military: order them into L.A. to respond to protests there. 

Washington Congressman Adam Smith (WA-09) has been voicing his opposition to the President's actions. He joins Sound Politics to discuss his concerns and responds to criticism from his new opponent in the 2026 election, former Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/politics. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer this week is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

And we want to hear from you!Send us your politics questions by emailing [email protected] or give us a call at 206-221-0511.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For years, lefty democrats and socialists in the Seattle area have been trying to unseat Democratic Congressman Adam Smith in Washington's 9th congressional district. His challengers have always fallen way short in elections. But none of them was as well-known, or as far to his left, as his latest opponent: former Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant.

Sawant joins Sound Politics to talk about her return to politics and responds to criticism about her approach to "movement building."

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/politics. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer this week is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann. And we want to hear from you!Send us your politics questions by emailing [email protected] or give us a call at 206-221-0511.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The biggest story out of Washington is the Republican spending bill or, as the President has branded it: the One Big Beautiful Bill.This bill would solidify much of the President’s agenda, but its future in the Senate is unclear some Senate Republicans are balking at the estimated 3.3 trillion dollars it would probably add the national debt.

To talk about the future of this 1,000-plus page piece of legislation, Sound Politics sat down with Representative Pramila Jayapal, who represents Seattle, Shoreline, Vashon Island and Burien in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/politics.

Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Gabriel Spitzer. Our producer this week is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann. And we want to hear from you! Send us your politics questions by emailing [email protected] or give us a call at 206-221-0511.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ferguson's pens have been on the minds of a lot of people for weeks: Democrats, who worried he'd bring out the red veto pen on the budget, and fiscal conservatives, who worried he'd use his blue pen and pass it.The pens have also been on our hosts' minds -- because they represent a big stylistic change from previous governors, and maybe an extension of Ferguson himself? This week on Sound Politics -- what did Ferguson pass, and what did he use the veto pen on, in the state budget?

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/politics. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Gabriel Spitzer. Our producer this week is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.And we want to hear from you!

Send us your politics questions by emailing [email protected] or give us a call at 206-221-0511.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's an odd year election coming up, and something odd is happening: NINE state legislative districts will hold elections, more than any odd year for the past decade. Why is that happening? In a word: dominoes. Today on Sound Politics we'll talk about the Democratic domino effect, and how these races are exposing intra-party fault lines over the Democrats' new tax plan.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/politics. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Gabriel Spitzer. Our producer this week is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

And we want to hear from you! Send us your politics questions by emailing [email protected] or give us a call at 206-221-0511.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been a busy first term so far for U.S. Representative Emily Randall of Bremerton, one of two freshman members of Congress, in the other Washington. She's a Democrat representing Washington's 6th congressional district.

This week, she joins Sound Politics to talk about her initial months in Congress, her visit to an ICE detention facility in Tacoma, and why she appeared at a town hall in Spokane -- in the district of her fellow freshman, a Republican.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/politics. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Gabriel Spitzer. Our producer this week is Gabrielle Healy. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.
And we want to hear from you! Send us your politics questions by emailing [email protected] or give us a call at 206-221-0511.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been dubbed “muzzle velocity.” Or a “blizzard.” Fast and expansive changes to the federal government during President Trump's first one hundred days in office. Immigration policy, tariffs, even the size of the federal workforce has been drastically altered. We've talked to Democrats about this change and heard words like "disaster" or "catastrophe." Trump critics on the Left are numerous and loud here in Washington state.

But what about the Right side of the political spectrum? Almost 45% of our electorate voted for a Republican for governor last year, after all. How are conservatives feeling about the direction of the country, 100 days into Trump 2.0?

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/politics. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Gabriel Spitzer. Our producer this week is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

And we want to hear from you! Send us your politics questions by emailing [email protected] or give us a call at 206-221-0511.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Washington Legislature’s final week in session has brought bills (and debates) to the floor on topics ranging from rent caps to recycling to gun permits. 

This week Axios Seattle reporter Melissa Santos and Washington Observer publisher Paul Queary join Sound Politics to discuss what the legislature managed to pass this year, and what was left on the cutting-room floor. Oh yeah, and there’s also the little matter of the budget.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/politics.

Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Gabriel Spitzer. Our producer this week is Sarah Leibovitz. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

And we want to hear from you! Send us your politics questions by emailing [email protected] or give us a call at 206-221-0511.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Democrats released their plan to cover the state's multi billion dollar budget gap this week. Notable progressive proposals like the wealth tax and a payroll tax weren't a part of that plan. Did the progressive wing lose out to big business? And what does a hacked crosswalk button have to do with all of this? KUOW's Jeanie Lindsay and Seattle Times’ Jim Brunner talk about the latest tax proposals and whether the push to tax the rich is still alive.

And just a note, since we recorded this episode, Gov. Ferguson has released his response to the legislature's tax plan, you can read about it here: https://www.kuow.org/stories/tension-over-new-taxes-mounts-in-olympia-as-ferguson-slams-latest-pitch-from-democrats

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/politics.

Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Gabriel Spitzer. Our producer this week is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

And we want to hear from you! Send us your politics questions by emailing [email protected] or give us a call at 206-221-0511.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.