Soundside

Last week, the parents of a 16-year-old boy who died by suicide sued OpenAI, the company that owns ChatGPT. They say the bot fed into their son’s suicidal ideation, giving him technical advice on how to commit the act and even encouraging him to hide his plans.  The tragedy highlights the dark side of the emotional dependence some people have developed with AI. What potential power does AI hold over its users, and what safeguards will help us navigate this transitional period in tech history? Guest: Oren Etzioni, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at the University of Washington Links:  A Teen Was Suicidal. ChatGPT Was the Friend He Confided In. ChatGPT to get parental controls after teen user’s death by suicide 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.

Monsanto has settled with more than 200 people in Monroe, Washington, who were exposed to PCBs -- toxic chemicals once produced by the company.  Students, parents and staff at the Sky Valley alternative school in Snohomish County, had filed lawsuits against Monsanto starting in 2018, after reporting significant illnesses. The amount of the settlement has not been revealed, but it looks to possibly be the largest settlement over PCB exposure at a single site. Guest: Seattle Times reporter Lulu Ramadan Related Links: Monsanto settles with over 200 exposed to chemicals in Monroe school Monsanto must pay $857M in PCB lawsuit at Monroe, WA, school, jury finds 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.

If you’re a news junkie (or social media user) your feeds have likely been inundated lately with headlines and videos of immigration officers taking people into custody across our region. Like the story about federal agents arresting two people working to tame the Bear Gulch fire near Lake Cushman. Or the arrest of a Washington National Guard veteran who has lived in the U.S. for decades… who was taken into custody during his citizenship interview. And we might see activity ramp up: Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan recently told reporters that Seattle and other cities with “sanctuary” policies will soon see more immigration raids. We want to get a better understanding of ICE’s activity in Washington– and if we can expect it to change in the near future.  Guest: Elizabeth Benki, directing attorney at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.  Related stories:  More ICE raids coming to Seattle, elsewhere, Trump border adviser says | The Seattle Times ICE detains veteran during US citizenship interview | king5.com Border Patrol: Firefighters arrested at Bear Gulch fire illegally entered U.S. | 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.

In 22 states, people subject to certain domestic violence protection orders must surrender their guns.  Washington State has had that requirement since 2014, when lawmakers unanimously voted to strip abusers of their guns.  But not all judges here have been enforcing that law. That’s because of a 2022 appeals court decision that led many judges and judicial officers to view it as unconstitutional.  Now, a new ruling in a separate case may provide more clarity and keep more guns out of the hands of alleged abusers. Maybe. Guest: Kelsey Turner is an investigative reporter at InvestigateWest  Related stories: Some Washington judges aren’t ordering accused abusers to surrender guns. A new court ruling could change that. - Investigate West 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.

If you’ve driven from Seattle to Mount Rainier this summer, you might’ve had to find a different route from normal – one that misses the town of Wilkeson. Since April, this Pierce County town of just under 500 people has been cut off from a major source of economic activity: Through traffic, due to the closure of the Fairfax Bridge a few months ago.   And, to add insult to injury, another key bridge is also closed. The White River Bridge was blocked off following a crash involving a semitruck. Wilkeson Councilmember Jayme Peloli says her town is suffering due to these closures.  She’d been calling for Washington’s governor to issue an emergency proclamation in order to seek federal dollars to reimburse state efforts to fix these bridges. Yesterday, he did just that, in an effort to address the White River Bridge closure. We talk with Peloli about what's been going on in Wilkeson.  Guest Jayme Peloli, Wilkeson councilmember Editor's note: We received a statement from WSDOT after this episode aired on the radio. It reads, in part: "The Governor’s emergency proclamation is the first step in WSDOT seeking federal funds for repairs to the White River Bridge. While this does not guarantee that WSDOT will receive funding from the Federal Highway Administration, we believe the bridge strike qualifies as a catastrophic failure from an external cause under the statute, and we will actively pursue emergency reimbursement. Securing this funding will help ensure that state dollars can go further as we balance the many pressing needs across our transportation system."   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 Thursday, and on Thursdays, we hear from Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows with everything worth doing this weekend... but he's on vacation so here's Producer Shane Mehling instead. WA State Fair BUMBERSHOOT PAX West 2025 Seattle Indies Expo Dave Matthews’ Annual takeover of The Gorge Cypress Hill at Marymoore Park Blackberry Festival Olympia Harbor Days 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.

Have you been at a party recently and found yourself reaching for sparkling water instead of a glass of wine? Join the club.   A new Gallup poll found that Americans are drinking less than ever before. Only 54% of U.S. adults are reporting that they consume alcohol. That’s a record low since the survey company started asking about people’s drinking habits back in 1939.  And young people are drinking less than older Americans, a trend we’re seeing in our region, too: The Seattle Times reports that young people - especially young men - are reporting lower alcohol consumption than other age groups in the area.  We want to know how local businesses are navigating this -- and what could be behind this shift.  Guest: Emily Ritchie, executive director of the Northwest Cider Association. Malcolm Purinton, assistant teaching professor of history at Northeastern University.  Related stories:  U.S. Drinking Rate at New Low as Alcohol Concerns Surge | Gallup  How much do adults in Seattle drink? Here’s what new data shows | 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.

The story of Amanda Knox has been told many times, and there have been several versions: there were the sensational allegations laid out by an Italian prosecutor, of a University of Washington exchange student who, in 2007, murdered her British roommate as part of a sex-game-gone wrong.  That story landed Knox in Italian prison for almost four years; that story was fiction. Then, there were the clickbaity tabloid exploits of “Foxy Knoxy,” a sex-obsessed “luciferina.” This story, which is also wrong, kept Knox confined in another way: branded with a reputation she couldn’t shake.  There were also Lifetime Movies, documentaries and countless books, including a couple by Knox herself, that told the true story of a young woman wrongly convicted and caught up by legal and media forces larger than herself.  Now, for the first time, she is using a scripted TV series to tell her story the way she wants.  She is the Executive Producer of a new series called The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox. By the way, the series is also EP’d by Monica Lewinsky. The first two episodes are available now on Hulu. Guest:  Amanda Knox, Executive Producer of The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox Relevant Links: New York Times: For a ‘Twisted Tale,’ Amanda Knox and Grace Van Patten Became One Seattle Times: Amanda Knox reclaims her story in Hulu’s ‘Twisted Tale’ series See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Governor Ferguson continues to defy demands from the Trump Administration to end Washington’s “sanctuary state” policies. But lawmakers say there’s one place here where protections for immigrants are falling short: state prisons. That, says Tacoma state Representative Sharlett Mena, means the state isn’t doing everything it could to keep Washingtonians safe. According to reporting from the Washington State Standard, dozens of lawmakers are calling for the state Department of Corrections to change the way it interacts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  That effort may see some headwinds, however. Governor Bob Ferguson and Attorney General Nick Brown both say they don’t see any need to alter state policy. Guests: Washington State Standard reporter Jake Goldstein-Street Related stories: Washington governor and AG stand by state prison notifications to ICE - Washington State Standard As DOJ threatens WA over sanctuary laws, state officials double down on protections - 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.

President Trump has threatened to sign an Executive Order that would end mail-in voting in America.  His comments last week come at a time when the President is suggesting multiple ways to help Republicans hold onto Congress in the 2026 midterms. Nearly a third of national ballots came through the mail in the 2024 election. And the Washington State legislature required vote-by-mail starting in 2011.  Secretary of State Steve Hobbs talks to us about what President Trump can do and defends Washington State voting security.  Guest: Secretary of State Steve Hobbs Related links: Does Trump have the power to end mail-in voting? Legal scholar 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.