Soundside

The future of Seattle City Light might run through Oregon.  The city has contracted two solar fields in central Oregon in an effort to meet surging demand for electricity in the city. It’s estimated that by 2033, the utility will need to about double its current production in order to keep up. But where all of that new power will come from is still unclear. Guest David Kroman, Seattle Times reporter Links Seattle hopes to build its future in Oregon’s desert — or blackouts may follow - 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.

Recent tech company protests are highlighting the connection between worker power and free speech here in Seattle. On Sunday, protestors, including current and former Microsoft employees, kayaked across Lake Washington to the homes of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and President Brad Smith. From the water they unfurled banners reading “Microsoft kills kids” and “Satya + Brad = War Criminals”. This was the latest in a week of action calling for the company to cut ties with the Israeli government and military.  On Tuesday, protestors briefly occupied a plaza in Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters, declaring it a “Liberated Zone” encampment.  On Wednesday, another protest at the campus led to several arrests. KUOW labor and economy reporter Monica Nickelsburg was at Wednesday’s protest, and is here with us to discuss the specific demands of Microsoft, and how the state of the tech industry is changing employee power. Guest: Monica Nickelsburg is KUOW’s labor and economy reporter. She’s also the cohost of Booming: A weekly podcast about the economic forces shaping our lives here in the Pacific Northwest Related stories: Protesters occupy Microsoft HQ, demand it cut ties with Israeli military - 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.

Recently on Soundside, we took a ride into the world of micromobility. Specifically, we wanted to know as more e-bikes and scooters crowd the streets and sidewalks, how are cities like Seattle adapting? And after that segment, we got an interesting listener question about helmets, inspired by this Slate article. So we decided to investigate. "I think it's very wise to wear a helmet," our expert guest told us. "But they're not the whole story.. there are so many other public health interventions that are also crucial." Guest Kathleen Bachynski, a professor of public health at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania Links Shared bikes and scooters are getting more popular. How should cities adapt?  - Soundside The Cult of Bike Helmets - Marion Renault, Slate  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.

A brand new contemporary art space opened up this week in downtown Seattle. It's called Cannonball Arts, and Soundside recently got a sneak preview. GUESTS: Brent Watanabe, a Seattle based artist who specializes in computer-controlled installations Greg Lundgren, Creative Director of New Rising Sun RELATED LINKS: Cannonball Arts Downtown Seattle’s Bed Bath & Beyond building to become an arts center Real-Deal Out-There Art - The Stranger 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.

What does the Pacific Northwest sound like to you?  Is it the tide rolling over a rocky beach? The wind across the Palouse? Or maybe a ferry horn echoing across the Puget Sound? On Soundside, we occasionally ask field recordists about THEIR iconic sounds of the northwest. Today, we hear from Gordon Hempton, also known as the Sound Tracker. He sent us a recording of snow melting on Hurricane Ridge on the Olympic Peninsula.  GUEST: Gordon Hempton, acoustic ecologist and Emmy Award winning sound recordist  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! LINKS: A Clarinet Concert with Cameron DeLuca Bend It Like Booker WA State Garlic Fest The Evergreen State Fair Get Sauced! ZooTunes Comedy What the Funk Fest Makah Days in Neah Bay Everfree Northwest Dragonflight GameCon 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.

A group of current and former Microsoft employees briefly occupied part of the company’s Redmond campus yesterday to protest the relationship between the tech giant and Israel’s military.  The protest was led by a group called No Azure for Apartheid. Their name refers to a cloud computing service that has been contracted for use by Israel’s government. The demonstration follows recent reporting that Israel uses Azure as a mass surveillance tool against Palestinians, one that has shaped military operations in Gaza.  Yesterday’s protest is the latest action taken by Microsoft employees in speaking out about the company’s business practices.  Guest: Todd Bishop, co-founder of GeekWire Relevant Links: Geekwire: Protesters set up temporary encampment at Microsoft to pressure company on Israel contracts Geekwire: Microsoft launches formal review into alleged use of its Azure cloud in Palestinian surveillance Geekwire: Inside the Microsoft protests: Fired engineer speaks out on Palestine, Israel, AI, and big tech 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.

For college students, saying you majored in computer science used to be code (excuse the pun) for a six-figure salary and job stability.  Now some fear those days are behind us.  Since 2014, the number of undergraduates majoring in computer science has more than doubled, but the job offers aren’t flowing like they used to.  Natasha Singer, a technology reporter at The New York Times, tells us about her recent story on  computer science majors struggling to find employment as their field changes. Then we hear from Ed Lazowska, an emeritus professor at the University of Washington, about what he's seeing in our region.  Guest: Natasha Singer, technology reporter at The New York Times.  Ed Lazowska, an emeritus professor at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington. Related stories:  Goodbye, $165,000 Tech Jobs. Student Coders Seek Work at Chipotle. - The New York Times Ed Lazowska retires after 48 years at UW, reflects on AI, computer science, and what’s next – GeekWire 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 many ways, the homicide of Barbara Innis was a clear cut case. There were witnesses, a weapon, and a suspect immediately taken into custody.  The complication: the suspect, Barbara’s husband, can’t remember the crime. 87 year old George Innis had shown signs of dementia for years prior to the killing of his wife at their Bellevue assisted living center. His journey through the legal system highlights the questions surrounding prosecution and care of people with degenerative memory loss. Guest: Seattle Times lead breaking news reporter Paige Cornwell Related stories: A Bellevue man killed his wife. He has dementia. Now what? - 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.

If you got your coffee from a Seattle Starbucks this morning, it may have been prepared by a unionized barista.  At least 33 Starbucks in Washington have unions, including the cafe at the company’s headquarters in Sodo and the Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill, according to The Seattle Times. It’s the result of an organizing effort that began in 2021 in Buffalo, New York. Starbucks workers across that city kicked off a renewed push to unionize those coffee shops.  Jaz Brisack was one of the lead organizers on that campaign. They began working with unions while they were a student at the University of Mississippi. Brisack is also the author of "Get on the Job and Organize: Standing Up for a Better Workplace and a Better World," which came out earlier this year.  They stopped by the KUOW to talk about their book and why they think that if you have a job, you should have a union.  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.