Skip to main content

Soundside

Get to know the PNW and each other. Soundside airs Monday through Thursday at 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. on KUOW. Listen to Soundside on Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Additional Credits: Logo art is designed by Teo Popescu. Audio promotions are produced by Hans Twite. Community engagement led by Zaki Hamid. Our Director of New Content and Innovation is Brendan Sweeney.

Mission Statement:

Soundside believes establishing trust with our listeners involves taking the time to listen.

We know that building trust with a community takes work. It involves broadening conversations, making sure our show amplifies systemically excluded voices, and challenging narratives that normalize systemic racism.

We want Soundside to be a place where you can be part of the dialogue, learn something new about your own backyard, and meet your neighbors from the Peninsula to the Palouse.

Together, we’ll tell stories that connect us to our community — locally, nationally and globally. We’ll get to know the Pacific Northwest and each other.

What do you think Soundside should be covering? Where do you want to see us go next?

Leave us a voicemail! You might hear your call on-air: 206-221-3213

Share your thoughts directly with the team at soundside@kuow.org.


Join the Soundside Listener Network

Enter your number below or text SOUND to 206-926-9955 to get your questions in front of local government officials and share your thoughts on issues in the Puget Sound region. We’ll text you 1-2 prompts per week, and your response may be featured on the show!



Sponsored

Episodes

  • caption: "The Immortal King Rao" paints the picture of a future ruled by algorithms and all-powerful CEOs.

    Hear it again: A Puget Sound tech dystopia: Vauhini Vara's "The Immortal King Rao"

    The fictional tech company at the center of the new book, “The Immortal King Rao,” is called “Coconut.” It’s a rough amalgamation of Apple and Microsoft of the 1980s and 1990s, driving a personal computer revolution, and later it morphs into a Google, Amazon and Facebook avatar in the way it gobbles up peoples’ data and monetizes human interaction.

  • Solar panel panels

    What does the new climate bill mean for Washington state?

    Climate scientists say it’s now or never for governments to reassess their energy policies, before it’s too late to make a difference. The US is looking at doing just that. Earlier this month, congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes almost $370 billion dollars in climate provisions that could change how we get our energy. But will those investments bring us any closer to addressing climate change in an impactful way?

  • caption: The Happyanunoit balloon flies with Mount Rainier in the background.

    Hot air balloon crew takes hobby to new heights

    Carolanne Walter grew up in Indianola, Iowa, home of the National Balloon Classic - a nine day hot air balloon festival held every summer. She's now the pilot of the "Happyanunoit," and along with her crew, has found a new passion in competing in national hot air balloon events. The team, known as the "Ballooney Tunes Crew," just took FIFTH PLACE at the US Women’s National Hot Air Balloon Championship out of a field of 14 pilots. That competition took place in conjunction with the National Balloon Classic in Indianola, where 115 balloons and their pilots took to the skies earlier this month.

  • caption: Washington state has three national monuments, which include Mt. St. Helens National Monument, Hanford Reach National Monument, and San Juan Islands National Monument.

    The fraught political battle over national monuments

    The National Park System oversees more than 400 sites across the United States. These sites range from national parks to national forests, historical sites, and recreation areas. But the most fraught conflicts over our public lands often involve national monuments, which range from remote marine sanctuaries to millions of acres of red rock desert — all designated with a presidential signature.

  • caption: Garfield High School in Seattle on January 22, 2021.

    Seattle's Garfield High School celebrates 100 years

    This weekend, Garfield High School will celebrate its centennial. Technically, that 100-year mark happened two years ago, but because of the pandemic, that celebration was delayed until this coming Saturday, Aug. 27.

  • caption: FILE: A Seattle gun owner holds his M1 Garand firearm on Friday, February 21, 2020, at his home.

    Changes in law enforcement may be leading to fewer guns at home

    The City and County of Spokane have seen an unprecedented number of gun removals so far this year. And while there are different reasons a person can have firearms removed from their home, some of this increase appears to be driven by a change in how courts are treating domestic violence protection orders.

  • caption: Part of a mural celebrating August Wilson's work in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

    Remembering August Wilson's Seattle legacy

    August Wilson's "Century Cycle," comprised of 10 plays detailing and exploring the life of African Americans throughout the 1900s, is famously set in his hometown of Pittsburgh. But for the last 15 years of his life Wilson lived in Seattle, drawing inspiration from café windows and conversations at the local IHOP.