Soundside

It’s been a tough few months for many local IT departments.

Last week, hackers posted a handful of files stolen from SeaTac airport on the dark web. A ransomware gang is attempting to sell a trove of stolen Port of Seattle data for 6 million dollars in Bitcoin – after the Port refused to pay up.

The cyber-attack a little over a month ago snarled travel when it took down ticketing, baggage, and other SeaTac services.

But that’s just the highest profile ransomware case in the Seattle area in recent months.

A few weeks ago, the Highline School District canceled classes because a cyberattack had wormed its way into the local system. There was also a crippling ransomware attack on Seattle Public Libraries back in May, which put their book checkout and online systems in limbo for months

For more on what’s happening – and how organizations can protect themselves –Soundside caught up with Robby Winchester, the vice president of services and a co-founder of SpecterOps, a Seattle cybersecurity company. 

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.

Guests:

• Robby Winchester on the line. He’s the vice president of services and a co-founder of SpecterOps, a Seattle cybersecurity company. 

Related Links: 

• Hackers demand $6 million for files stolen from Seattle airport operator in cyberattack | AP News
• Highline schools closing Monday because of cyberattack | The Seattle Times
• Why did ransomware hackers target Seattle Public Library? – GeekWire

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Washington state has officially closed the chamber where executions took place, marking the end of capital punishment here in the state. The journey to decommission this chamber involved a lot of moving parts across all branches of government.

First, Governor Jay Inslee put a moratorium on executions in 2014, then the state Supreme Court declared the practice unconstitutional four years later, and finally, the legislature outlawed the practice last year. 

Guest:

Nina Shapiro, Seattle Times reporter covering social issues

Relevant Links:

Seattle Times: WA death penalty chamber officially closes, ending tumultuous history

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Classes at the University of Washington are back in full-swing. And as students try to find their classes, and figure out what to avoid at the dining hall – the university’s administration and faculty are trying to figure out their own conundrum: How to address artificial intelligence– chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini.

For some students and teachers, AI programs can be a useful tool. While for others, it’s another way to cheat on exams and classwork.

KUOW web editor Stephen Howie took a deeper look at the complicated relationship between AI and higher education. 

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.

Guest: 

• KUOW web editor Stephen Howie

Relevant Links:

KUOW newsroom: Learning tool or BS machine? How AI is shaking up higher education

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As we step into fall, and back into the rain... we thought we'd revisit a segment from last year about MUSHROOMS... 

Mushroom foraging is a very popular pastime here in the Pacific Northwest. 

Our rainy climate helps a wide variety of the fungi thrive, as well as the community that collects them. 

After all, who doesn’t love a good mushroom? Producer Alec Cowan, that’s who. 

Last fall, Alec took an excursion with some amateur mycologists to learn what it takes to become a good mushroom hunter... and why he should give the fungi another chance.

You can check out Alec's original story HERE, complete with a plethora of wonderful photos from his adventure.

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: 

• Our local mushrooms are abundant. Here's how to forage them ethically. - KUOW
• Puget Sound Mycological Society
• Snohomish County Mycological Society

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Everyone is a current, former, or future teenager.

You probably know this period of life is an especially difficult time for kids. Throw in a deadly pandemic and the subsequent disruption of school and social life? It got a lot more complicated. And new research suggests COVID-19 lockdowns may have had lasting consequences for adolescent minds.

In a new study from the University of Washington Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LABS for short), researchers found that pandemic isolation actually accelerated the aging of teen brains. 

Soundside spoke with the study's lead author about what that means for the mental health of teens post-pandemic, and we can learn about teenage brain development going forward. 

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.

Guests: 

• Neva Corrigan, the lead author of the study and a research scientist at the University of Washington’s I-LABS.

Related Links: 

• COVID-19 lockdowns prematurely aged teenage brains, UW study shows | UW News (washington.edu)
• COVID-19 Pandemic Associated With Worse Mental Health and Accelerated Brain Development in Adolescents - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (nih.gov)

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They’re repeated over and over in debates, speeches and media appearances during this presidential campaign: harmful lies about Haitian immigrants.

Springfield, Ohio has been at the center of the fabrications. Former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance have falsely asserted that Haitian immigrants are eating people’s pets. 

Despite thorough debunking by local officials, including the Republican Governor of Ohio –  Trump and Vance have doubled down on these falsehoods.

The dehumanizing rhetoric didn’t exactly shock members of the Haitian diaspora in the United States, but it has saddened them and put people in Springfield at risk.

Guest:

David Zhu Pierre-Louis, founder of Kay Tita

Relevant Links:

New York Times: Far From Ohio, Haitian Americans Feel the Sting of Threats in Springfield

New York Times: Trump’s Derision of Haitians Goes Back Years

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Seattle Public Schools leadership is taking a minute to think.

Earlier this month, the district released plans to potentially close almost two dozen elementary schools to shore up a budget gap. Unsurprisingly: many parents were not thrilled with the idea. Hundreds packed a school board meeting demanding the district reconsider. 

Now, Superintendent Brent Jones says he is pausing further meetings about the closures.

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.

Guest:

• Sami West, KUOW education reporter
  
  

Relevant Links:

• Seattle Public Schools cancels closure meetings, is revisiting plan - KUOW
• 'Don't do this to our kids': Hundreds of Seattle parents rally against school closures - KUOW
  

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There are just a handful of weeks until the election, reports about outside interference from countries like Iran, China, and Russia are still popping up. 

Recently, Microsoft shared new findings about Russian efforts to interfere with the US presidential election, with a focus on the Harris-Walz campaign. 

This follows the tech giant’s announcement in August about Iranian-backed efforts aimed at Republican campaigns. 

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.

GUEST: Maggie Miller - cybersecurity reporter for POLITICO, covering the intersection of cybersecurity and national security. 

RELATED LINKS: 

• Russian election interference efforts targeting Harris campaign, Microsoft finds - POLITICO
• Russian election interference efforts focus on the Harris-Walz campaign - Microsoft On the Issues

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As candidates prepare to make their final pitch to voters ahead of the 2024 election, former president Donald Trump is once again using lies and hateful rhetoric about immigrants to fuel his pitch to voters.

Trump has doubled down on falsehoods about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, and claimed at a rally on Saturday that migrants are “attacking villages and cities all throughout the Midwest.”

During Trump’s time in the White House, his administration pursued a policy of separating children from their families at the U.S. border to deter would-be migrants. 

But even at the height of “zero tolerance,” many families weighed the risks, and made the difficult decision to leave their homes in Central America and make the dangerous trek to seek asylum in the U.S.

The new documentary 'All We Carry'  tells the story of one such family: Magdiel, Mirna, and their young son, Joshua.

They fled violence in Honduras, and the camera follows as they make the difficult and dangerous journey through Mexico on foot and on cargo trains. At the U.S. border, they claim asylum.

Eventually, Magdiel, Mirna, and Joshua wind up in Seattle. With the help of a local synagogue, they begin building a new life for themselves.

But looming over them – is the question of whether or not they’ll be able to stay together, in their adopted home.

Soundside talks to journalist and director Cady Voge about 'All We Carry' and the family behind it.

All We Carry is screening this Friday, September 27th at the Northwest Film Forum’s Local Sightings Film Festival.

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.

Guests:

• Cady Voge, journalist and director of 'All We Carry'

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This election season we’re taking a dive into the big races and big initiatives on your ballot this November. This week we’re taking a look at Initiative 2066 – the "Natural Gas Policies Measure." 

For a quick refresher, this initiative aims to keep natural gas as a consumer option as building codes, state policies, and utility companies begin a pivot to green and clean energy. 

Yesterday, Soundside heard from Leah Missik, who opposes the initiative to repeal provisions in this year’s natural gas law.

Today, Soundside heard from a supporter of the initiative: Greg Lane, the executive vice president of the Building Industry Association of Washington, which is the main sponsor of the initiative. 

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.

Guests:

• Greg Lane, executive vice president of the Building Industry Association of Washington.

Related Links:

• Washington's Energy Choice Initiative (protectenergychoice.com)
• Measure to prevent phasing out of natural gas in WA is on track for November ballot • Washington State Standard
• City Inside/Out: Gas or green? Debate over natural gas heads to voters | seattlechannel.org

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