The Record

The Seattle City Council will likely pass an income tax in July, aimed at income above $250,000 for a single filer (above $500,000 for those filing jointly). Bill Radke speaks with Katie Wilson of the Transit Riders Union and Trump-Proof Seattle Coalition, who supports the tax, hoping that it leads to more economic equity in the city and pays for needed services. She also believes that the 2 percent tax is nominal for citizens, though it will potentially raise $125 million. Also in the studio,

Six years ago Seattle poet Tara Hardy was blindsided by a mysterious chronic illness. It nearly killed her. She talks with KUOW's Elizabeth Austen about what it was like to live with that mystery, what changed once the disease had a name, and why she believes we're all living with a diagnosis of "human frailty."

Bill Radke couldn't sleep last night because he was reading Sherman Alexie's new memoir. Alexie has so much to say he is with us this hour. And so is Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO. His new project is a website that crunches the numbers on the United States of America. Alexie and Ballmer overlap when it comes to NBA basketball, which is the talk of Seattle right now as the city chooses between Sodo and KeyArena. So we'll get into that too.

In Sherman Alexie’s deeply personal memoir, “You Don't Have to Say You Love Me,” he tells the story of growing up as the son of Lillian Alexie on the Spokane Indian Reservation.

Bill Radke talks with Dr. Willie Parker about how to have an honest disagreement about abortion.

Bill Radke speaks with Wally Walker, former general manager of the Seattle Sonics, about his support for a plan to build a NBA and NHL arena in Sodo. However, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray chose an investor group to renovate KeyArena. He said he wants hockey and basketball in Seattle Center, not Sodo. Has the city now abandoned the Sodo idea? Walker says no.

Seattle's mayor just chose an investor group to bring more pro sports to Key Arena. So does that mean the Sodo arena is dead? And here's how income inequality works in your brain: Even if you have enough money to live you compare yourself to people who have more and that comparison makes you suffer. We'll show you how that works and what you could do about it.

Bill Radke talks with Northwest News Network's Austin Jenkins about why lawmakers in Olympia need to agree on education funding before they can agree on a budget. We also hear from Liv Finne and Misha Werschkul about the two plans the state Legislature is considering to fund education. Finne is director of Center for Education at the Washington Policy Center and Werschkul is executive director of the Washington State Budget and Policy Center.

Bill Radke talks to KUOW arts reporter Marcie Sillman and Sean Nelson, arts and music editor at The Stranger, about the closing of two Landmark movie theaters in Seattle, Guild 45th and Seven Gables Theatre.

The doors of the Seven Gables and Guild 45th theaters are closed, most likely for good. Has Netflix killed the art house theater? Our state lawmakers are still in their second extra-special session and they still have not settled on a state budget. Why not? One giant reason is education funding. All that and more on The Record.