The Record

There are more than 20 wildfires burning in British Columbia right now, but that’s just one reason why the air in Seattle is junk right now.

Bill Radke speaks with hydroplane drivers Brent Hall and Jerry Hopp about their love of racing. Hall speaks about his childhood dreams of being behind the wheel of a hydroplane and what it was like to start racing at the age of 36. Hopp talks about his long hydroplane career, racing for almost fifty years. And both of them explain some of the finer points of Seafair's most popular sport.

If you voted in the Seattle mayoral election and your candidate lost, how do you make your voice heard now? Some of our guests this hour have big voices. You'll also hear comedian Hari Kondabolu and his problem with Apu. And you'll hear the big voices of two Seattle slam poets.

Bill Radke speaks with Ian Martinez and Elisa Chavez about identity and slam poetry. The duo are members of the Rain City Poetry Slam . They will be competing at the national slam poetry competition in Denver on August 12.

Seattle has chosen two candidates for mayor. We just don't for sure which two. King County voted on a sales tax for the arts. We'll hit the highlights of the primary vote and why it matters. Also, President Trump today called for changing the U.S. immigration system to one that is merit-based. What does that mean? Who's trying it and what can we learn from them? And you're going to meet two hydroplane drivers who are racing in Seafair this weekend. One is in his 70s and the other has pretty much

Bill Radke talks to Sen. Patty Murray about the hearings she has planned with Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander. They hope to come up with a bipartisan fix to the Affordable Care Act.

A heat wave is coming to Seattle. The hottest day should be Thursday, which is also the day of maximum Blue Angels traffic impact. We'll talk Seafair and heat this hour. Also, is it OK to buy Seahawks tickets even knowing how dangerous football is for players' brains? And we hear about a roadtrip to leave the Seattle bubble and explore the rest of the state. We are joined this hour by Crosscut columnist Knute Berger to talk over the news.

Bill Radke speaks with Tom Nichols, professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College. He explains why he thinks, as a Trump critic, that he feels critics spend too much time being outraged about every aspect of the President's agenda, diluting their message and emboldening Trump supporters. Also, as the author of the book, "The Death of Expertise," Nichols discusses why he feels that anti-intellectualism has become pervasive in America and how it threatens countless aspects

Bill Radke talks to Seafair's King Neptune, John Roderick, and Queen Alcyone, Angela Shen, about the cultural resonance of this decades old festival. Roderick is a Seattle musician and Shen is the founder and CEO of Savor Seattle Food Tours, in their day jobs.

Your ballot is due tomorrow. You might research the candidates, review their endorsements, parse all the policy proposals or -- if you're like most people -- you'll just vote your self-image. We'll see if there's anything wrong with that. And here's a political question for people who are upset about the Trump presidency: Is your outrage effective? Or are you giving Trump exactly what he wants? Also, Seafair weekend is coming up. If you don't get Seafair, you're not alone. We'll tell you what