The Record: Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Yesterday was an undesirable holiday: Equal Pay Day, when women's earnings finally reach the level of what men made the year before. Under Mayor Murray, the city touted its 90% pay parity rate. Crosscut David Kroman joined Marcie Sillman to explain why that's not the full picture.

Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan will not seek re-election, leaving the Speaker of the House position up for grabs in a party at war with itself. Does that spell trouble for the Republican Senate majority? Voters in Washington's 5th Congressional district might have a say in that, with a tight race shaping up between Republican incumbent Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Democratic challenger Lisa Brown. Spokane Public Radio's Doug Nadvornick is following the race.

Have you ever wanted to toss out your smart phone and flee to the woods for a vacation? How long could you keep it up? If 48-72 hours off the grid feels about right to you, you can live vicariously through Christopher Knight. Known as the North Pond Hermit, Knight walked away from his life and spent 27 years living alone deep in the woods of Maine. Michael Finkel is the author of a book about Knight's life called "The Stranger in the Woods."

Seattle is getting a new rugby team, and a hockey team (if ticket pre-sales don't turn out to have been an elaborate Ponzi scheme). The Mariners are losing again, and the Seahawks' Legion of Boom has been largely scattered to the four winds following a lackluster 2016on. 2016-only, that is: it was the first time in years that the team didn't make it into the postseason.

Meanwhile, women's soccer (The Reign) and football (The Storm) are the winningest teams we have - but they're almost never mentioned. What is the city's sports culture? Why do we love what we love, and is there room for more teams at the table? Kate Preusser of Lookout Landing, Michael-Shawn Dugar at the Seattle PI, and Geoff Baker from the Seattle Times discuss.