The Enchantments are on the up and up. 

Or at least, things are looking better than last year.  

The 18-mile stretch in the Cascades has long been a popular destination for hikers and backpackers in Washington.

But federal cuts and staffing shortages last year made the Enchantments pretty disenchanting.  

In 2025, only one ranger was in charge of patrolling the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest - which spans 900 miles. 

That made trail maintenance really difficult.

We’re talking trash on the trails, overflowing garbage cans, and overflowing toilets. 

It didn’t help that last summer, the area saw record-shattering crowds - with 2,400 people visiting on one day during the July Fourth weekend. 

It’s been a year, and while some things have improved, there’s still a lot of work to be done in the region.

Guest:

• Gregory Scruggs, outdoors reporter for The Seattle Times

Related Stories:

• Here’s where the Enchantments stand for WA summer hiking season | The Seattle Times

• The Enchantments face dire conditions amid staffing shortage | 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.

Last summer, hundreds of people protested outside of an ICE facility in Spokane. They were trying to stop agents from taking two asylum seekers to an ICE detention center in Tacoma. 

As the day wore on and the protest grew in size, law enforcement ordered demonstrators to disperse… and then deployed pepper balls and smoke grenades on the crowd. The mayor issued a curfew. 

By the end of the evening, around 30 people were arrested.

But the government’s response didn't end there: A month later, federal prosecutors indicted nine Spokane protesters on felony conspiracy charges.   

In May, three of those protesters were found guilty of charges related to “conspiracy to impede” federal officers. They face up to six years in prison.

It’s an example of the escalating legal strategy the Trump Administration has been using to charge anti-ICE protesters across the country, most recently in Minnesota.  

And, according to new reporting, federal law enforcement turned to an atypical surveillance tactic to fuel the Spokane case.   

An investigation from Mother Jones found that the FBI secretly extracted data from protesters’ cellphones confiscated during last year’s protest. 

Guest: Schuyler Mitchell, an assistant editor at Mother Jones

Related links:

• Public Records Show FBI Secretly Extracted Data From ICE Protesters’ Phones | Mother Jones
• More than 30 arrested at immigration protest in Spokane sparked by arrest of 2 immigrants | The Spokesman-Review

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 official, Team USA WILL be playing against Belgium in Seattle’s FINAL World Cup match… but that’s not until Monday. 

We’ve got the entire 4th of July weekend ahead of us, and I’ve got a feeling there will be a LOT of fireworks in our future. 

Here with a Holiday Edition of the weekend warmup is Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows!!

LINKS:

4th of July Activities!

• Chicago - Saturday in the Park (Official Audio)
• Seafair 4th of July at Gasworks & Lake Union!

PARADES!

• Arlington — 5 p.m. (kids 4:30 p.m.)
• Bainbridge Island — 1 p.m.
• Bothell — 12 p.m. (kids 11:15 a.m.)
• Burien — 11 a.m.
• Carnation — 11:30 a.m. (kids 11 a.m.)
• Dupont — 10 a.m.
• Edmonds — 12 p.m. (kids 11:30 a.m.)
• Enumclaw — noon
• Everett — 11 a.m.
• Issaquah — 10 a.m.
• Kingston — 12 p.m.
• Kirkland — 12 p.m. (kids 11:30 a.m.)
• Tumwater — 11 a.m.
• West Seattle — 10 a.m. kids

FIREWORKS!

• Arlington — Quake Park 10 p.m.
• Bellevue — Downtown Park 10:05 p.m.
• Carnation — Remlinger Farms 9:45 p.m.
• Everett — Port Gardner Bay 10:15 p.m.
• Federal Way — Celebration Park 10:15 p.m.
• Kenmore — Log Boom Park 10 p.m.
• Kent — Lake Meridian Park 10 p.m.
• Kingston — Mike Wallace Park 10:15 p.m.
• Marysville — Ebey Waterfront Park 10 p.m.
• Sammamish — Sam. Commons 10 p.m.
• Seattle — Lake Union 10:15 p.m.
• Snoqualmie — Community Park 9:45 p.m.
• Steilacoom — offshore 10:30 p.m.
• Tacoma — Ruston Way 10 p.m.
• Tumwater — Tumwater Valley Golf 10:15 p.m.

EVERYTHING ELSE!

• Mariners vs Blue Jays
• Seattle Paddle Rave
• Dolly Parton Fourth of July Drag Brunch
• Seattle World Cup Fan Celebration Locations

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.

In May of 2001, a building on the University of Washington’s Seattle campus went up in flames, in the middle of the night. 

It was the work of arsonists. An eco-sabotage group known as the Earth Liberation Front took credit for the attack. For group members, voting and publicly demonstrating wasn't enough to allay their fears of climate catastrophe.

The group had three core principles: public education, economic sabotage and to harm property, not people. 

But members torched the UW building over unfounded claims that professor was making genetically modified trees.

The group committed a string of arsons, from Colorado to Seattle. For several years, the FBI designated the ELF as the most dangerous domestic terror organization in the country. 

The group caused tens of millions of dollars in property destruction in the late 90s and early 2000s, according to the federal government.

Soundside host Libby Denkmann talks with the author of a new book about the development of the  ELF. 

Guest

Matthew Wolfe, author, “Fires In the Night: The Earth Liberation Front, the FBI, and a Secret History of Eco-Sabotage”

Related Links

The Rise and Fall of America’s Environmentalist Underground - The New York Times Magazine
The many lives of Joseph Dibee, codename 'Seattle' - 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.

Every week we talk about the most fascinating stories in the news and what they say about the Pacific Northwest. We call it Front Page.

It’s our chance to talk about the latest news with a rotation of plugged-in journalists and guests, taking a look at the headlines from the weekend and the stories that we'll be following as the week moves forward.

Guest: KUOW Politics Editor Cat Smith

Related Links:

• Seattle, King County announce sweeping changes to homeless service system
• How the SCOTUS trans athlete ruling affects WA
• Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump’s proposed limits
• Supreme Court Lifts Spending Limits on Political Parties and Candidates
• Takeaways from Supreme Court term: Trump’s power is enhanced, but he lost some high-profile cases
• Seattle dog, cream cheese and all, named country’s best hot dog by NYT
• Which of these 8 Famous American Hot Dogs is the Best? Chef José Andrés Weighs In

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.

Revenue in Washington State’s cannabis industry has been declining since it’s peak in 2021. What’s going on? Marijuana farmers say part of the problem is, they have too much pot.

Guest: 

Aaron Pickus - Media Spokesperson for Washington CannaBusiness Association

Michael Dykstra - Mount Baker Homegrown (Marijuana grower based in Bellingham) 

Relevant Links: 

Oversupply and taxes batter cannabis producers  - Tri-Cities Business News 

Annual Cannabis Sales in Washington - Washington State Information System 

Washington’s Evolving Cannabis Market - TVW Inside Olympia 

WA cannabis market faces pressure from federal changes and oversupply - Washington State Standard 

Cannabis rescheduling arrives, with limits: What the DOJ's final order does and doesn't do - Reuters 

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.

Comics publisher Fantagraphics is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It began as “The Comics Journal” – one of the first magazines that reviewed comics with a critics eye. At the time, it took an adversarial role against the big players in the comic industry: DC and Marvel. It tried to push comics into the realm of art instead of idle time waster for kids. And then it grew into so much more.

Guest:

Gary Groth, co-founder and president of Fantagraphics

Relevant Links: 

KUOW: Seattle comics publisher Fantagraphics celebrates 50th anniversary

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.

How much soccer have you been watching these days?

For millions of American soccer fans (and probably billions elsewhere), the World Cup has already been memorable: Cabo Verde advancing against the odds, Messi setting records, the U.S. team displaying some world-class offensive magic. In fact ALL of the host countries’ teams – USA, Canada and Mexico – have made it to the knockout rounds.

Seattle has played host to four matches so far, and things seem to have gone smoothly here. That’s despite all the anxiety in the lead up, over things like crowds and security. 

Now, are we at the point where we might be able to say it’s kind of fun to be a host city? 

Other parts of Washington have been playing host as well, including Spokane: the official tournament base camp for the Egyptian national team, with the team training at Gonzaga University’s Luger Field.

GUEST: Mitchell Roland

RELATED LINK:

• World Cup 2026 - Special coverage at The Spokesman-Review

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 21st Century Road to Housing Act, is kind of like a Washington D.C. unicorn, because it passed on a bipartisan basis. Both Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D) and Rep. Dan Newhouse R) were part of strong majorities supporting the legislation. 

The bill is a collection of measures focusing on the supply side of the housing equation: things that might make it easier for prospective owners to buy a home and for potential home builders to start constructing.

But President Trump hasn't signed it, even though it's on his desk. We talk about why not, and what the bill could mean for the Evergreen State.

Guest
Heidi Groover, real estate reporter, The Seattle Times

Related Links
What we know about the big housing bill Trump is refusing to sign - 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.

Hiking can be hard. So can trail running. Even harder than both of those? Performing a rescue in the woods. 

That’s why Seattle Mountain Rescue is using exoskeleton legs, under the brand name Hypershell, that you can wear on your legs to basically...  help you move. 

The hope is that these mechanical legs will help the volunteer rescue team navigate rough terrain and steep inclines to quickly get to people on the trail. 

We drove out to North Bend to see exactly how this gear works. 

Guest: Wes Cooper, an Emerging Technologies Director at Seattle Mountain Rescue. 

Related links: 

• Seattle Mountain Rescue deploys exoskeletons as second team in U.S. to use the tech | KING 5
• I Hiked Using Robot Legs in the Grand Canyon. I Didn’t Even Need My Cane | CNET
• I Hiked a Mountain Wearing $2,000 Robotic Legs. It Was a Walk in the Park. - WSJ

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.