Happy post-election day to all those who celebrate!

Maybe you're the type who eagerly awaits each wave of results, or maybe it's something you've already forgotten about. Regardless, pat on the back to everyone who made the time to turn in a ballot. 

Now... we might make you question the way you formed your decisions -- especially if you asked ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok for elections information.

Today the University of Washington announced the results of a study looking at the potential influence artificial intelligence can have on our political decision making. 

It’s something that’s coming up a lot these days as AI becomes more prevalent. So we want to know what exactly this new study found - and if we should be worried about the results. 

Guest:

• Jillian Fisher, lead author of the study.

Related stories: 

• Could AI tilt the outcome of elections? - The Economist
• How artificially-generated content could dominate the 2026 campaign - The Boston Globe

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.

For 12 years, researchers in Washington and British Columbia have been tracking down a mystery. 

Along the Pacific coast, sea stars were dissolving into goo. This phenomenon was given a name: sea star wasting disease and it killed billions of these marine creatures. 

For more than a decade, scientists studied the wasting disease but couldn’t figure out why it was happening. 

A new paper published this week in Nature Ecology and Evolution details a likely culprit. 

Guest:

John Ryan, KUOW environment reporter

Relevant Links:

KUOW: Scientists crack the case of the melting sea stars. It only took a decade

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.

If you’ve spent much time on social media here in Washington, you’ve likely seen a headline like this one:

Office Workers Secretly Waiting for Landing Seaplane to Decapitate Paddleboarder

That gem comes from “The Needling,” which describes itself as Seattle’s only real fake news. It’s the comedy creation of Lex Vaughn, the site’s founder and editor since 2018 – longevity enough to lampoon two presidential elections. 

Thursday night, she’ll be at SIFF Cinema Downtown, as part of its Talking Pictures series. Vaughn has chosen to screen and discuss Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

Today, Soundside is pleased to have her on to talk about how she came to be Seattle’s fake news maven, as well as what it means to do satire in 2025. 

GUEST: Lex Vaughn - Founder & Editor of The Needling

LINK: The Needling

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 primary election day. If you fail to perform that most sacred civic duty of a free democracy, you won’t be alone. In fact, you’re in the majority.

King County expects that just 35% percent of registered voters will send in a ballot for this primary. Is it fair when so few voters make decisions for everyone else? 

Guest: 

Zoltan Hajnal, professor of political science at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy

Relevant Links:

New York Times: Why Does No One Vote in Local Elections?

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.

When Governor Bob Ferguson’s chief strategy officer, Mike Webb, left his position in March, Ferguson said in a statement, quote, “I wouldn’t be governor without Mike.”

Webb resigned after allegations surfaced of a hostile work environment.

Ferguson told the Washington State Standard that he takes allegations against a team member seriously, quote “no matter how close that person is to me.”

Now, new reporting by Axios reveals that the Governor may have known about concerns about his longtime aid  years before Webb resigned.

Guest:

• Melissa Santos, Axios Seattle reporter

Related stories:

• Gov. Ferguson knew of concerns about top aide years ago, audio confirms - Axios Seattle
• WA governor admits ‘stupid’ decision to invite former top aide on state plane - Seattle Times
• Scoop: Ferguson's office was told of allegations against top aide years ago - Axios Seattle

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.

Yes, we’re talking about tariffs again. 

Many of the world’s countries are awaiting the impact of new American tariffs, which are slated to take effect on Thursday.

One country, however, is experiencing it now. The Trump Administration bumped up tariffs on Canadian goods to 35%, and that new rate went into effect on Friday.

Trump said he made the change, in part, because of Canada’s failure to curb the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the U.S. 

Now 35% sounds intense, but a lot of Canadian goods are actually exempt from the increase because of a trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.  

It’s kind of confusing to know exactly what these tariffs mean for our neighbor to the north, so we asked Thomas Davidoff, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia, to help us understand. 

Guest:

• Thomas Davidoff, an associate professor in the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business.

Related stories: 

• With new tariffs hitting, WA tallies costs of trade war | The Seattle Times
• Murray says Trump's Canadian tariffs could cause costly rift with WA - 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.

For over 60 years the quiz game show Jeopardy has been a beloved part of people’s lives.

Washington native Ken Jennings says, growing up, the show sparked his love of trivia. It’s a passion that led him to a 74 game winning streak in 2004, and a victory at the Greatest of All Time tournament – so we can officially call him The GOAT.

Eventually, he even won the title of “host” of Jeopardy.

Meanwhile he’s translated his trivia expertise into his own game - called Kennections. It’s a weekly puzzle he writes for Mental Floss. 

And while you can no longer get a home game of Jeopardy, you can bring home Kennections in Jennings’ latest book: The Complete Kennections: 5,000 questions in 1,000 puzzles. 

Guest:

• Ken Jennings, host of Jeopardy and author of The Complete Kennections: 5,000 questions in 1,000 puzzles

Related stories:

• The Complete Kennections: 5,000 Questions in 1,000 Puzzles

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 Western United States is in the midst of fire season. Here in Washington, the Burdoin Fire in the Columbia Gorge has burned more than 10,000 acres. The Bear Gulch Fire on the peninsula has closed portions of Olympic National Park.

Leading up to this summer, governors and lawmakers raised concerns about cuts to the US Forest Service, which fights wildland fires. Brooke Rollins is head of the USDA, which oversees the Forest Service. She told Fox News that the agency’s ability to fight fires hasn’t been affected by the cuts. But new reporting from ProPublica has found that the agency is facing staffing issues that could affect its ability to respond to fires.

Editor's Note: KUOW incorrectly stated that the Burdoin Fire had burned more than 100,00 acres, the correct number was more than 10,000 acres. 

Guest:

Abe Streep, reporter at ProPublica's Southwest Bureau

Relevant Links:

ProPublica: The Forest Service Claims It’s Fully Staffed for a Worsening Fire Season. Data Shows Thousands of Unfilled Jobs.

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 not just your imagination: Matcha is actually getting harder to track down these days.  

The green drink has become a hot commodity in the past few years, blowing up on TikTok and taking up more real estate on your favorite coffee shop’s menu. Japan’s tea industry has struggled to keep pace with the fervor. There’ve been reports of a global shortage and price hikes. 

In this episode, we hear about Miro Tea's experience of the shortage before checking in with Bettina Makalintal, a senior reporter at Eater, who gave us a broader look at what's going on with matcha. 

Guest:

• Jeannie Liu, owner of Miro Tea
• Bettina Makalintal, senior reporter at Eater 

Related stories: 

• A Matcha Shortage Hits TikTok’s Favorite Japanese Tea Brands | Eater
• It’s not easy finding green as matcha shortage hits Seattle shops | The Seattle Times
• Matcha: World's thirst for the tea swallows global supplies

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.

Do you hear that sound? It’s a bird, it’s a plane… Wait, yep, that is DEFINITELY  a plane, because the Blue Angels are practicing. Which reminds me, Seafair Weekend is here!

Let’s get the skinny on all the things to do with Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows!!

LINKS:

• SEAFAIR WEEKEND FESTIVAL
  • Hydroplane Races
  • Car Show
  • Blue Angels
  • Fleet Week
• SPORTS!!
  • Mariners vs Rangers - Fri/Sat/Sun
  • Reign vs Angel City FC - Fri 
  • Storm - vs LA Sparks Fri / Indiana Fever Sun 
  • Sounders vs Club Santos Laguna - Sun
• Kite Festival | Pierce County, WA - Sat/Sun
• Watershed Festival - The Gorge Amphitheater - FRI/SAT/SUN

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.