The University of Washington's Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team, or COASST, is a network of nearly a thousand volunteers who walk beaches in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California. Those citizen scientists are counting dead birds and their work has been critical to understanding the effects of warming ocean waters on the marine ecosystem.

Guests:

Julia Parrish, Associate Dean at the University of Washington's College for the Environment and founder of COASST

Carl Haynie, COASST volunteer

Relevant Links: 

COASST Website

Science: ‘Blob’ heat wave killed millions of seabirds—and they haven’t bounced back

New York Times: Ocean Heat Wiped Out Half These Seabirds Around Alaska

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

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

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This month marks 10 years since the Kalakala was removed from the shores of Tacoma and demolished.

The ferry, which looked a little like if the Titanic was mixed with a spaceship, was once the symbol of Seattle - a shiny, chrome vision of the future.

While the Kalakala is gone, it’s far from forgotten.

There’s even a song that follows the journey of the Kalakala: from its creation to its eventual demise.

And the story of the song itself is filled with twists and turns.

We sat down with the people behind this song to hear why they’ve spent years dedicated to remembering the Kalakala

Guests:

• Jack Broom, former Seattle Times reporter
• Jon Pontrello, Seattle musician

Relevant Links:

• Roll On Kalakala and Other Seaworthy Tunes Album Release Show - The Rabbit Box
• Jon Pontrello - Roll On Kalakala (Lyrics by Jack Broom)
• Roll On, Kalakala, Roll On - The Seattle Times

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

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we prepare for the holiday weekend, some folks are heading out of town, while others are looking locally for ways to celebrate the life & legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr… 

Producers Jason Megatron Burrows & Brooklyn Jamerson-Flowers are here with an early look at what's happening this weekend!

LINKS: 

• Monster Jam - Tacoma Dome - Tacoma, Fri-Sun

• Seattle Sister Cities Soup Sampling - Capitol Hill, Saturday

• The Aluminum Show - Olympia, Sunday

• NAAM | Annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration 2024

• Seattle MLK, Jr. Coalition MLK Day 2025

• Painting the Town Red: A MLK Day Tribute to Billie Holiday at The Royal Room

Other events we couldn't get to:

• MLK Celebration: With Liberty & Justice, For Whom? - Bainbridge Island Museum of Art - Bainbridge Island, Sunday

• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration - Washington State Historical Society

• Celebrating Dr. King’s Legacy | United Way of King County

• An Evening Honoring Dr. King’s Legacy - Olympia, Friday

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

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The game “Pacific Drive” came out last year from Seattle-based Ironwood Studios, and it made a BIG splash for the company.

So much so that Hollywood is taking notice: “Saw” creator James Wan’s production company announced last month it has optioned Pacific Drive to develop it into a television series.

The Pacific Northwest is home to some major power players in the videogame industry. But this is a big win for an indie game studio.

The game pays homage to the our region, with a setting that feels familiar: the Olympic Peninsula, in 1998. Albeit an alternate timeline, extra creepy version of the peninsula.

We wanted to learn more about the role of the Pacific Northwest in the game’s creation, and what success means for this local independent company.

GUEST: Cassandra Dracott - CEO & Creative Director of Ironwood Studios, the team behind the game Pacific Drive.

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

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

RELATED LINKS: 

• Pacific Drive

• ‘Pacific Drive’ TV Series Based on Indie Survival Game in the Works From James Wan - Variety

• ‘Pacific Drive’ takes players on supernatural adventure in the Pacific Northwest - OPB

• The Pacific Northwest in video games: It’s always weird | Polygon

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For over a week now, Los Angeles has been devastated by aggressive wildfire that are expected to be the most costly in California’s history.

While many have already seen their communities burned, we won’t know the full extent of the damage for weeks.

Already, thousands of families are wondering how they are going to recover and rebuild. 

Central to that question is how much of the costs insurance will cover. 

And it comes as California is going through a home and renter’s insurance crisis.

Guest Levi Sumagaysay has been covering California’s economy and its insurance market for CalMatters breaks down the crisis and some potential solutions.

Guest:

Levi Sumagaysay, CalMatter Economy Reporter

Relevant Links:

LA fires could worsen California’s stressed insurance market

Can California fix its home insurance market? - CalMatters

California fire insurance: FAIR Plan going through growing pains - CalMatters

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

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s as American as Apple Pie:

You come home from the hospital - maybe it was an accidental slice with your kitchen knife, or maybe something more serious. And as you recover… you wait. For thousands of dollars in medical bills. 

It’s a problem that radio reporter Dan Weissman had long been familiar with, due to a pre-existing condition. 

Learning how to navigate the arcane system behind those bills has become a full time gig for Weissman. He’s the host of An Arm and a Leg, a podcast exploring why healthcare costs so damn much.  

The show has been running since 2018, and starting this Thursday we’re very excited to welcome it to the KUOW family of podcasts. 

Guest:

• Dan Weissman, host of An Arm and A Leg

Relevant Links:

• An Arm and a Leg website 

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

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This past election, voters in Everett approved an initiative (24-03) that granted the Snohomish River watershed legally enforceable "rights."

24-03 is part of a broader legal trend called the “rights of nature" movement, an environmental legal theory gaining traction around the world in places like Ecuador, India, and Australia.

Here in the United States, communities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida have tried giving some bodies of water these extended legal designations -- like the right to exist, right to flow, and right to regenerate and flourish -- which proponents say add a layer of protections not covered by regulations. 24-03 passed with 57 percent of the vote.

The success of these efforts, however, has been watered down and challenged by courts and legislatures over issues of jurisdiction and scope -- issues voiced by skeptics of the initiative this past election. 

Soundside visited Everett to talk with proponents and opponents about what these new rights could mean for the Snohomish River now that they've been approved by voters. Additionally, Soundside spoke with a global expert in river rights and policy about how this legal theory works, and where Everett's initiative fits within the broader global movement for environmental personhood. 

Guests:

• Holly James and Abi Ludwig, Standing for Washington, a political action committee advocating for the legal rights of nature in Washington. 
• David Toyer, Toyer Strategic Advisors, a land use and economic development consulting firm in Everett. 

• Dr. Erin O'Donnell, a world-renowned expert in water policy and law. She’s a Senior Lecturer and ARC Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne Law School in Australia. 

Related links:

• City in Washington Votes to Grant Local River Legally Enforceable Right to Exist
• Initiative Text - Snohomish River Watershed Now Has Legal Rights

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

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Seattle City Council is starting its year by taking on one of  any city’s most controversial policy debates: growth. 

The Comprehensive Plan is now in front of the council. It dictates where and how Seattle can grow over the next two decades. 

Past comprehensive plans have concentrated growth in areas dubbed “Urban Villages” – places along major arterials, like Columbia City, Othello, Lake City, and Ballard. They largely kept neighborhoods with single family homes unchanged.

The current plan continues that legacy, but allows for more density in around 30 newly designated “neighborhood centers.” This comes as Seattle continues efforts to comply with a state law that mandates denser single family zoning.

Guest:

Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth, who represents Seattle's 3rd District

Relevant Links:

KUOW: How will Seattle's next comprehensive plan shape the city?

KUOW: Seattle's growth plan inches toward more housing, draft by draft

Seattle Times: Fault lines emerge as Seattle council takes up housing plan

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

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell is running for re-election in 2025. 

He’s hoping to break the long running streak of single term mayors in Seattle like Mike McGinn, Ed Murray, and Jenny Durkin.

The election is still nearly a year away, and in the meantime, the mayor will  finish the last year of his term addressing a long list of issues: public safety, the future of downtown, and the implementation of a new comprehensive plan. 

The mayor sat down with Soundside host Libby Denkmann to discuss his plans for 2025.

Guest:

• Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell

Relevant links:

• Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell is running for re-election in 2025 - KUOW
• Seattle’s next police chief: Mayor appoints Shon Barnes of Madison, Wisconsin to lead - KUOW

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

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marijuana has been recreationally legal here in Washington since 2012, and it's become big business for the state. 

Last year sales topped $1 billion, and the state earned hundreds of millions in taxes on marijuana.

As the drug’s popularity in the state has increased, so has its potency.

As this episode's guest would say, it’s not your dad’s weed.

Now, doctors are seeing more harmful, and sometimes fatal consequences from overuse of marijuana. 

KUOW online editor and producer Stephen Howie has reported a deep dive on the subject and he’s here to explain how a new generation of weed is impacting a new generation of users.

Guest:

Stephen Howie, KUOW online editor/producer

Relevant link:

KUOW - Weed sick: High-potency cannabis leads to ER visits, illnesses for some users

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

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.