The Record

The way we define "family" has always changed. It's not as simple as blood relatives or extended legal family. But in Washington, getting legal recognition of your "chosen family" -- those who aren't related to us in a traditional sense, but are as close to family as anything else -- is still impossible. Plus, we talk summer solstice activities and host another conversation with Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan.

Did you know there used to be 17,000 varieties of apple in North American orchards?

Most of those varieties are gone! But one Washington group wants to find the fruits that might still be around. Bill Radke spoke with David Benscoter founder of the Lost Apple Project.

There are places of transit that embody coming and going and never arriving. In his new collection of essays, Jonny Sun captures these feelings in places like airports. Bill Radke spoke with Canadian author and illustrator Jonny Sun about his latest essay collection ‘Goodbye, again!’

When fires swept into Malden, WA on Labor Day, 80% of the town burned to the ground. It took months to get relief. Now, new legislation aims to get help after disaster much more quickly to rural communities like Malden. Bill Radke spoke with Scott Hokonson, a town council member for Malden, and the leading the Pine Creek Community Restoration force.

Turns out there are more new apples and you can help identify them. The introduction of the Malden Act could bring quicker relief to wildfire devastation in rural towns in Washington. Canadian author Jonny Sun joins us to talk about his latest work, "Goodbye, again!" And we continue our mayoral candidate conversations.

Seattle has reached a 70% vaccination rate and Washington is getting ready to reopen. Virologist Angela Rasmussen answers questions about vaccine protection, variants, boosters, and what precautions to take as the region lifts restrictions.

The veto is one of the most powerful tools at the disposal of our state and federal executive branches. Last week the Washington Supreme Court began hearing arguments for a case called Washington State Legislature vs. Jay Inslee. And at the center of the case is a question about just how far the veto power can go.

A new New York Times investigation says that a New York City Amazon warehouse was "achieving the impossible" during the pandemic. Profits soared while workers cranked out orders – often without information on covid conditions and cases.

Seattle has reached a 70% vaccination rate and Washington is getting ready to reopen. Virologist Angela Rasmussen answers questions about vaccine protection, variants, boosters, and what precautions to take as the region lifts restrictions. Plus, New York Times tech correspondent Karen Weise on conditions in an Amazon warehouse during the pandemic and Seattle Times reporter Joseph O’Sullivan on the limits of the governor’s veto powers.

Facebook says they aren't selling political ads in Washington because of our rigorous transparency law. But people like Zach Wurtz, whose job it is to track those ads, are saying otherwise. So he did what he could - he took Facebook to court. Small claims court, to be precise. It didn't quite go to plan.