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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!



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Episodes

  • caption: KUOW letters are shown before "That's Debatable: The Homelessness Crisis is Killing Seattle" on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019, as the sun sets at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute in Seattle.

    Sound it Out: Listeners sound off on ranked choice and approval voting

    One of our primary missions for Soundside is to make sure you're not just hearing US when you listen. You're hearing yourself, too. YOUR questions, YOUR thoughts - because you're our neighbors, you're the folks we make this for. This time, we're discussing the feedback you gave us two stories we did about potential changes to Seattle's voting system.

  • caption: A sailboat is shown in Elliott Bay as the sun sets on Monday, July 26, 2022, in Seattle. Temperatures are expected to reach 90 degrees this week in the Seattle area.

    Soundside's summer bucket list

    Schools are starting up again, Labor Day is this weekend, the sunset is inching closer to 7 pm. We can't deny it: fall is coming. So, in these waning days of Summer, the Soundside team hit the streets to record one activity we were hoping to accomplish before the rain and clouds show up. A "Summer bucket list" item that we can check off our lists.

  • 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.