The day 65-year-old Julie Leon died was the hottest day ever recorded in Washington State history. Her death was officially ruled as hyperthermia, or overheating. 

Officially, more than 100 people died in the state due to that extreme 2021 heat wave, but many experts believe the number of deaths exceeds 400. Last week, Julie’s daughter, Misti Leon, filed a lawsuit, pointing the finger at who she thinks is responsible: big oil. 

The lawsuit claims that oil and gas companies have been knowingly misleading the public for more than 50 years about the effects of fossil fuels on the climate. It says this deception has made them trillions of dollars, while leading to the deaths of people like Julie Leon. 

Guest: 

Korey Silverman-Roati, a Senior Fellow at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School

Related Links: 

• Oil companies face a wrongful death suit tied to climate change
• Leon v. Exxon Complaint PDF
• Oil Companies Are Sued Over Death of Woman in 2021 Heat Wave

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

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It isn't officially summer, but it sure does feel like it in the Pacific Northwest. The sun is out and maybe you're planning on laying out by the water this weekend. But what to listen to as the warm season nears?

Well, we have something that might help you. We rounded up a panel of local music experts to give you some fresh recommendations for songs to check out.

Michael Reitmulder:

Deep Sea Diver, Billboard Heart

Sea Lemon, Diving for a Prize

Bunnie on the Board:

Sailorr, Soft Girl Summer

Envi Jordan, "Tonight"

Shaboozey, "Horses & Hellcatts"

Cameron Lavi Jones

OBGMS, "Get Up"

Orgone, "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" ft. Cyril Neville

Liv Victorino, "Neighborhood"

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:

Bunnie on the Board - live and studio audio engineer and Seattle Music Commissioner

Michael Reitmulder - Seattle Times music writer

Cameron Lavi Jones, lead singer and guitarist of Seattle band King Young Blood and co-creator of the Black and Loud music festival

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You know who we haven't discussed on this show in a while?

The Boeing company.

They're the 2nd biggest private employer in this state.

It’s good we haven't talked about ’em because when we do, it's usually bad news.
The fatal crashes a few years ago, the door panel blowing out last year, the machinist strike.

The US Senate held a whistleblower hearing and the title was “Examining Boeing’s Broken Safety Culture: Firsthand Accounts.” - Not a great sign.

So how is Boeing doing now?

Well, the stock price is up 20% this year, Qatar Airlines is buying 210 new jets, and Boeing might not face criminal charges after all for those fatal crashes - something the victims’ families are angry about.

Let’s catch up on Boeing...

GUESTS: 

• Lauren Rosenblatt, Seattle Times business reporter covering Boeing
• Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory

RELATED LINKS: 

• Federal prosecutors confirm they may drop Boeing criminal charge
• MAX crash families say DOJ is handing Boeing ‘get out of jail free’ card
• Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems furloughs workers on 737 program
• Boeing nears Spirit AeroSystems takeover after move by Airbus
• Boeing is nearly back on its feet — just in time for Trump trade war hit
• Boeing sets new values after ‘brutal’ employee feedback

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 has been a short week for most of us, thanks to Memorial Day. 

Here we already approaching another weekend, nd with ALMOST everything you need to know to keep yourself busy, we've got Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows!!

LINKS:

• Mariners - Nationals on Thurs, Minnesota Twins on Fri/Sat/Sun
• Sounders - Minnesota United FC on Sunday
• Storm - Fri vs Atlanta/Sun vs Las Vegas
• Salmon Bay FC - FRI vs Tacoma
• Rat City Roller Derby - Home Team Championships Saturday
• Two Dykes and a Mic - Fri/Sat
• Mason County Forest Festival - Fri/Sat/Sun in Shelton, WA
• HONK! Fest West
• Bite of Greece Seattle
• Stamp & Scrapbook EXPO - Puyallup
• Paws & Pride Dog Walk - Bellevue Downtown Park

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 Trump Administration’s health policies are upending years of advice about COVID vaccines. Since they’ve been available, experts have recommended the shot to almost everyone. The vaccines are safe and they work.

But now federal agencies are taking a much narrower approach. Health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. just announced the vaccines won't be recommended for children or healthy pregnant people. And the FDA plans to approve booster shots only for older adults and people with extra risk factors. 

We talk more about all of that with an expert on COVID-19, Dr. Helen Chu. Chu doesn't agree with the recommendations.

"I think the reason why we have COVID vaccines for young children and for pregnant persons is because they know we know that they work, that they're safe, they're effective," Chu says. "These are populations that are at high risk for severe disease."

Guest

Dr. Helen Chu, professor of medicine at the University of Washington. She’s run several landmark studies of how COVID spreads.

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.

Federal funding for research from the National Science Foundation is being awarded at the slowest rate in 35 years, according to an investigation from the New York Times.

Since the start of Trump’s second term, cuts to National Institutes of Health and NSF grants have totaled more than 1.5 billion, according to the research publication Science. 

Republicans have justified these cuts by claiming the administration is rooting out wasteful spending, or left-wing ideology run amok.  

And these attacks, along with threats of funding freezes for universities, have reportedly created a culture of fear for researchers. It’s left scientists wondering: do I speak up about what’s happening? Or do I stay quiet, in hopes my funding might be restored?

One Seattle researcher with a lot of experience in political communication and information systems is saying: speak up.

Guest:

• Kate Starbird is the co-founder of the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public. She’s also a professor at the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE).

Related stories:

• Trump’s ‘fear factor’: Scientists go silent as funding cuts escalate - Science
• Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades - NYT
• To understand right-wing media’s power, study improv and theater of influencers - 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.

Jason Megatron Burrows is out this week, so Shane NoCoolNickname Mehling rattles through some of the best things to do this Memorial weekend. 

• Northwest Folk Life
• Seattle Black Nerd Fest
• Second Breakfast - Hobbit Feast and Painting Party!
• Charcuterie Board Workshop
• Kevin Diers Benefit Show

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 you ride a Metro bus that Nathan Vass is driving, you might notice a few things.

It starts with when you get on the bus: he makes a point of saying hello to every passenger who climbs aboard. 

Once you grab a seat, you’ll see he’s also on the intercom, announcing every single stop. When he isn’t orienting riders, he’s chatty and talks with people sitting at the front of the bus. And when you step off the bus he says goodbye. 

What you may not notice is that Nathan is noticing everything happening around him: the conversations he’s having and the regulars who show up every day. 

He often writes about his interactions and those stories are compiled in a new book called “Deciding to See: The View from Nathan’s Bus.” 

The book is a collection of dozens of narratives of daily interactions across the city, touching on loss, joy, and connection on a King County Metro bus.

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:

Nathan Vass, author of Deciding to See: The View from Nathan's Bus

Relevant Links:

Seattle Times: Nathan Vass brings readers onto his bus in new book ‘Deciding to See’

KUOW: This Seattle bus driver decided to be extra nice to his passengers. Here's how it went

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The United States spends 30 billion dollars on foster care each year. Yet, according to author Claudia Rowe, the results have too often been damaging for the children in that system.  

The award-winning journalist claims our child welfare system is dangerously dysfunctional: by disconnecting kids from their biological families and extended networks, she says, foster care severs attachments that are important for healthy brain development.

Her new book, Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care, is a deep dive into what she says is a pipeline from foster care to crime, drug addiction, homelessness and prison.

Guest: 

Claudia Rowe

Related Links:

‘Wards of the State’ is a devastating look at the foster care system

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.

Recent ICE enforcement activity has made headlines across the region. 

This week, federal immigration agents arrested 17 people at a manufacturer in Kent.

And The Seattle Times reports ICE officers appeared to arrest at least 3 people at a Seattle immigration court. 

But if you're stopped by ICE, everyone is entitled to certain rights and protections by law, no matter what your legal status is. 

In case you could use help knowing what those rights are, we speak to one Seattle immigration attorney about your rights if ICE shows up at your door, what not to do if you're pulled over by ICE, bystander rights and more. 

Guest

Henry Hwang, one of the directing attorneys for Northwest Immigrant Rights Project

Related Links

NPR: What basic rights do people have if ICE stops them? A lawyer explains

WBUR and NPR: 'Never seen anything like this': An immigration attorney on the arrest of a Tufts student

The Seattle Times: Here’s what advocates are telling WA immigrants about ICE raids

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.