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Sound Politics

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A podcast about the candidates, policies, and perspectives shaping the Pacific Northwest. Produced by KUOW in Seattle.

There’s a lot to wade through when it comes to Washington State politics. The drama, the facts, the money, and the movers and shakers. In Sound Politics KUOW host Libby Denkmann and politics reporter Scott Greenstone go beyond the ballot to guide you through what’s happening in local politics, why it matters, and how you can use your vote to make a difference.

New episodes every week.

Team:

  • Libby Denkmann, Host
  • Scott Greenstone, Host
  • Gabriel Spitzer, Editor

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundpoliticsnotes.

Episodes

  • Gary Locke says WA will be caught in the China crossfire

    Hosts Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone are joined by former Governor, Secretary of Commerce, and Ambassador to China Gary Locke to get his insights on what an economic clash with China could mean for Washington state's economy -- the state exports more products to China than anywhere else.

  • All's Faire in love and trade wars

    Even though Canada was spared from the latest round of international tariffs, the relationships between the United States and our neighbors to the north has become frosty. And it could affects everything from sales tax revenue to who shows up to local Renaissance Faires.

  • Sound Politics gets overwhelmed

    Reporters Melissa Santos and Paul Queary discuss their favorite stories you might've missed.Plus, we tackle one big story with a Washington connection you may not know about: the Signal group thread.

  • Is this the year rent limits pass?

    For years, progressives have tried to fight the rising cost of living by instituting a kind of "rent control" – what proponents call "rent stabilization." There’s buzz this year that a rent stabilization bill could safely parachute onto the Governor’s desk. 

  • Republicans' unlikely ally: Gov. Ferguson

    Republicans might have more influence this legislative session than they have in almost a decade. A big reason why is Governor Bob Ferguson. The newly elected Democrat has been warmer toward the GOP point of view than the previous administration was, pushing to close the state’s budget deficit through cuts rather than raising more revenue from taxes. That’s a welcome change for Rep. Travis Couture, the Republicans’ lead budget wrangler in the state House. He says Ferguson has been more aligned with, and welcoming of, Republican ideas than his predecessor was – but just how much actual power the Republican caucus will have over the final product remains to be seen.

  • The graveyard shift: lessons from WA's dead bills (so far)

    It’s an old saw in Olympia: A lawmaker’s job is not so much to pass good bills, but to kill bad ones (because there are just a lot of bad ones). Good or bad, this time of year is “Bill Killing Season” at the state capitol, having just passed two deadlines for the hundreds of policy and fiscal bills introduced this session.

  • Firings and bad vibes hit PNW's federal workers

    KUOW investigative reporter Ashley Hiruko joins Sound Politics Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann to discuss the potential impact of the firings, and what it’s like inside federal government buildings right now - from Seattle’s VA hospital to the National Labor Relations Board.

  • For your ears only: The politics of privacy

    What do you have a right to? Your data? Your gender presentation? Your child’s health information? We talk through what the implications of privacy policies, and what lawmakers are proposing to do about it, on this week’s episode of Sound Politics.
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