Soundside

In 2019, the remote plains of Harney County, Oregon made national news. Scattered amongst groves of ponderosa pine were a handful of mutilated cattle. The cows had an almost surgical removal of their tongues and other organs. But the most astounding thing is that the scenes where these cattle were found were pristine. No tracks. And not one drop of blood – the carcasses were drained dry.  That detail became the inspiration for a documentary by co-directors Jackson Devereux and Lachlan Hinton, and reporter Anna King. Their documentary film – three years in the making – is titled “Not one Drop of Blood,” and it’s being announced as the headliner today for the Film Fort festival – part of Tree Fort in Boise. Soundside was joined by Anna King, alongside co-directors Lachlan Hinton and Jackson Devereux, to discuss the film and the mystery haunting Harney County, Oregon.  Guests: Anna King, senior correspondent for Northwest Public Broadcasting Jackson Devereux and Lachlan Hinton, directors of "Not One Drop of Blood." Related Links:  Not One Drop of Blood 'Not One Drop Of Blood': Cattle Mysteriously Mutilated In Oregon : NPR 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.

Universities, cancer centers and hospitals will soon go under the knife, if the Trump Administration gets its way. Last Friday, the National Institutes of Health announced they would immediately slash four billion dollars of funding for research institutes across the country.  This would directly impact at least 70 research facilities in Washington State.  Critics of the plan have said it would severely hamper medical progress in the US that could be felt for decades. 22 attorneys general filed suit to stop the action, and on Monday a federal judge put a hold on the cuts for those 22 states, then made the pause nationwide.  But the fate of this funding is still uncertain.  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.  Guest(s): Dr. Helen Chu, a board certified physician with UW Medicine and a UW professor of Medicine and Allergy and Infectious Diseases.  Related Links: Proposed NIH funding cuts leave WA research institutions fearing ‘fiscal chaos’ What’s at stake for Washington’s flagship research institutions in the legal battle over NIH funding Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost RatesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s Valentine’s Day weekend,  So if you’re looking for a great idea for something to do with your sweetie, OR you just want to avoid the love-birds as much as possible, Soundside Producer Jason Megatron Burrows has you covered…  EVENTS: Wonderland Gear Exchange — Pitch-A-Trailmate Psychic Medium: Travis Holp FUN & FLIRTY - The Crocodile Science After Dark: Valentine's Day at Pacific Science Center Mars Love Affair: A Night with Mary Roach | The Museum of Flight Noir City - SIFF Cinema Downtown Wild At Heart - Central Cinema Akira - SIFF Cinema Uptown Prom Date Mixtape: "Friday I'm in Love" - 8th Annual Valentines Ball at High Dive I'm Not Ok!: An Emo & Pop Punk Anti-Valentine's Day Dance Party at High Dive 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.

On the campaign trail last year, Dave Upthegrove promised that if elected to Commissioner of Public Lands, he would preserve forests starting on day one.  Well, Upthegrove is now in charge of the state’s Department of Natural Resources – sworn in last month – and he held true to his promise. On Jan. 15 – day one – Upthegrove announced he would be pausing logging sales on what the state calls “mature” forestland. These are forests that were last logged before World War II – not old enough to be designated “old growth, ”but host a diverse range of plants and animals.  While considered a win by conservationists, his plan was met with concern from those dependent on revenue from public trust timber sales to fund schools and county services in the state – something mandated by the state’s constitution.  Commissioner Upthegrove recently spoke with Soundside host Libby Denkmann about his plans to balance preservation with that mandate. Guests: Dave Upthegrove, Commissioner of Public Lands Related Links: Commissioner Upthegrove Calls “Timeout” on Harvesting Older State Forests | WA - DNR New WA lands commissioner orders pause on logging sales for some older forests • Washington State Standard Lands commissioner’s logging ‘pause’ upsets a careful calculation | 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 Urban Raptor Conservancy's Ed Deal and Patti Loesche are running a decades long study on the population health of Cooper's Hawks in Seattle. What does that involve? Spending a lot of time looking for and observing the city's hawks. This piece originally aired in October of 2024. Guests: Patti Loesche, co founder of the Urban Raptor Conservancy Ed Deal, co founder of the Urban Raptor Conservancy Related Links:  Urban Raptor Conservancy Website KUOW: What's that screeching? Maybe a hungry young Cooper's Hawk 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 tucked into a romance novel lately? If not, you might be in the minority of readers. Romance sales are soaring. Last year, they grew twice as fast as the rest of the fiction market. In the past, the genre’s commercial value was widely accepted - romance books have always been big sellers. But now, its literary merit is being recognized, too. So this Valentine’s Day, there’s more reason than ever to find love in a stack of books. And we won’t leave you hunting. GUESTS: Charlie Hunts, owner of Charlie’s Queer Books in Seattle Ren Rice, owner of The Romance Era Bookstore in Vancouver, WA Jenna Zarzycki, a librarian with the King County Library System RELATED LINKS:  NPR producer shares her pick of romance novels from our annual Books We Love list — KUOW A surprising genre of romance novels is gaining popularity — KUOW The Romance Era Bookshop Charlie’s Queer Books 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.

Local author David B. Williams’ Seattle Walks: Discovering History and Nature in the City leads readers through loops and one-way strolls, traversing terrain ranging pockets of downtown, to North and West Seattle.  Each walk tells a story, exploring how Seattle came to be the city it is today through both big and small details. But in the years since it was first published in 2017, the city has changed -- in more ways than one. Williams wanted his walks to reflect the history of that change too.  A new edition of Seattle Walks releases today with routes both new and familiar. To understand the changes in the book and on the ground, Soundside host Libby Denkmann joined Williams on one of his newly designed walks – a stroll through Seattle's Central District. Guests: David B. Williams, author of Seattle Walks: Discovering History and Nature in the City. Related Links: Seattle Walks 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 Trump Administration’s moves to downsize the federal workforce and reshape agencies around the president’s “America First” agenda are repeatedly running into stop signs as challenges to these policies hit the courts.  But at least one federal judge says it’s not playing out that way in the case he’s overseeing – the Administration is not fully complying with his temporary restraining order to stop the freeze on federal grants. It sets up a standoff between two branches of government.  Meanwhile, the third branch of government is gearing up for a fight. Guest: Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is a Democrat who represents Washington’s 7th District, including Seattle and surrounding areas from Shoreline to Burien.  Related Links: White House Failed to Comply With Court Order, Judge Rules - New York 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.

For years, Grant County sat on enough clean hydroelectricity to power more than a million homes. Then came the tech companies, interested in the cheap and plentiful electricity. They built data centers all over rural Washington to help fuel the modern internet. The data centers use so much energy that in the next few years, Washington state could struggle to keep up with local electricity needs.  Washington’s new governor, Bob Ferguson, has taken notice. Last week, he signed an executive order to evaluate data centers’ impact on energy use, state tax revenue, and job creation.  The executive order follows a Seattle Times and ProPublica investigation into the impacts of the state’s power-guzzling data center industry.  The report looked into the sustainability of data centers, the jobs surrounding them, and a controversial tax incentive that helps them proliferate.   Guests: Seattle Times investigative reporters Sydney Brownstone and Lulu Ramadan Related Links: WA governor orders team to study data centers’ energy, tax, jobs impact - The Seattle Times   Data centers guzzle power, threatening WA’s clean energy push - The Seattle Times   Gov. Bob Ferguson’s Executive Order - WA.gov  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 growing body of research shows that cell phones inhibit learning and distract students in class. But should they be banned in schools? It’s a question that districts across Washington state are struggling with.  Last year State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal issued guidance that basically said… yes. It encouraged districts statewide to adopt policies that would restrict cell phone use by students.  But many districts have yet to adopt these kinds of uniform restrictions, leaving parents, students and teachers in the dark about how this issue will be handled. We speak with some of the lawmakers tangling with this and physician and documentarian who thinks this is a crisis we need to face head on.  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. Guests: State Rep. Stephanie McClintock, State Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, Dr. Delaney Ruston Relevant Links:  WA bill would limit cellphone use in schools Banned from school? Teens picture life without cellphones Screenagers documentary series Away For The Day See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Solomon might be a new name to you. But it’s time to get to know him if you live in Seattle. Because last month, he was appointed to fill the District 2 seat on the City Council.  He’s taking over from Tammy Morales, who stepped down in January - two years before the end of her term.  After five rounds of voting, Solomon beat out six other finalists for the seat. He will now represent an area spanning from the Chinatown-International District to Rainier Beach. Solomon has said that he won’t run for the District 2 position in this November’s election. So - why did he apply for this position? And what does he plan to do during his relatively short time in office? Guest:Interim District Two city Councilmember Mark Solomon Related Links: Seattle City Council taps SPD crime prevention coordinator to fill District 2 seat - 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.

Residents of Altadena, California are facing difficult choices in the wake of the devastating Eaton fire, which started just over a month ago in the foothills northeast of Los Angeles. Rebuild, or sell their properties to developers and leave the neighborhood?  Angela King is KUOW’s host of Morning Edition, and she grew up in Altadena..  She recently took a trip back to her hometown to take stock of the wildfire damage – and document the resiliency of the community. Check out Angela's full story here. GUEST: Angela King RELATED LINKS: Love letter from Altadena: KUOW host revisits hometown in wake of LA fires Grammy-nominated singer Aloe Blacc performs at event encouraging Eaton Fire victims not to sell - CBS Los Angeles First Altadena property with home destroyed by Eaton Fire hits market, sells within days - CBS Los Angeles Stevie Wonder “Smile Please” 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 over 50 years, the little theater at the corner of 50th & University Way has been showing movies to passionate filmgoers. And in that span, it’s changed owners, it was renamed, and for the past 20 years, has been the longest running completely volunteer run cinema in the country. But like all good things, the Grand Illusion’s time at its current location has come to an end. The owners announced back in 2023 that the site was for sale, and that they would not be extending the Grand Illusion’s lease beyond January 31st, 2025. But that didn’t deter either the volunteers OR patrons from selling out the final week of screenings, with some intrepid fans waiting in the rain for HOURS before the final screening of 1985’s RE-ANIMATOR on 35mm. And this isn’t the END of the Grand Illusion - the staff have been working hard to find a new location here in the U-District, and they’ve got a few events scheduled in partnership with the Northwest Film Forum and Central Cinema. Soundside Producer Jason Burrows headed down the street to the Grand Illusion to find out how folks were feeling about the closing of this particular chapter of the storied theater’s history… GUESTS: Brian Alter - Executive Director Richard Gilbert - General Manager Spencer Sundell - Lead Projectionist Trevor Brandt - Lead Programmer RELATED LINKS: The Grand Illusion is Moving Seattle’s Grand Illusion Cinema closing this winter, hopes to relocate - Seattle Times Seattle's Grand Illusion Cinema, indie film buff favorite, faces uncertain future following $2.3 million sale - KUOW Grand Illusion Cinema (@gicinema) • Instagram 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.

He just may be the most celebrated travel writer and show host of our time.  When he’s not touring the hidden gems of Europe, Rick Steves spends a lot of his days in Edmonds, his hometown since he was 12. Did you know he was in the Husky marching band in college?  Steves may not have known back then that he would dedicate his life to travel writing, but there were hints. One was a journal he kept when he made a life changing trip in his 20’s. That journal has become a new book titled “On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer.” And it came out this week. We’ve asked the travel guru, philanthropist and social activist to join us to discuss his career, his new book, and his view of geopolitics. GUEST: Rick Steves RELATED LINKS:  Istanbul to India by Bus The Rick Steves guide to life - Washington Post Book Tour Events: Feb. 24 at Village Books in Bellingham Feb. 25 at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park Feb. 26 at Town Hall Seattle 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.

U.S. foreign aid is in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. Workers at USAID woke up on Wednesday to an order putting nearly all personnel of the foreign assistance agency on administrative leave starting Friday. This follows a day-one executive order by the President to “reevaluate” foreign aid the United States sends so that it aligns with his “America First” agenda. Within the week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio put a stop-work order on all foreign aid. That was later amended to exempt “life-saving” assistance like food and medicine, but employees and contractors say it isn’t clear which programs qualify for waivers. It’s left organizations that provide services like HIV treatment, famine relief, and landmine removals scrambling to make sense of what comes next. However, there are vocal critics of the new administration’s foreign aid policy. Democratic lawmakers rallied at USAID headquarters on Tuesday and are questioning the legality of the plan. Guest:Congressman Adam Smith of Washington’s 9th District and ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee. Related links:Landmine removal group pauses work after foreign aid freeze 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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After just a few years on the market, a new wave of GLP-1 drugs approved for weight loss have upended what we know about obesity. By now, these are household names: Mounjaro. Wegovy. Zepbound… and yes, Ozempic. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that one in 8 American adults reported trying a GLP-1 medication. “Body by Ozempic” has become a punchline on red carpets. Doctors and regulators have a strong body of evidence that GLP-1 drugs are remarkably effective at promoting weight loss and controlling diabetes.But new research looking at millions of patients in the VA medical system has suggested they may have surprising effects on a range of other medical conditions – from cognitive diseases like Alzheimer’s to substance use disorder. The new data also found possible side effects that were not previously known.  Soundside spoke with Dr. David Cummings, professor of medicine in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition at the University of Washington, about recent data dives into the widespread use of GLP-1 medications, and what those studies tell us about how we can rethink obesity.  Guests:  Dr. David Cummings, professor of medicine in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition at the University of Washington. Related Links:  Sweeping review suggests weight-loss drugs’ effect on 175 conditions - The Washington Post End of the Line for BMI? Experts Propose New Obesity Definition - Newsweek Most people quit Ozempic within one year. Here's why. 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.

On Tuesday the Senate Finance Committee voted to move forward with Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services.  His nomination now heads to the Senate floor, where he’s expected to be confirmed.  As the secretary of the HHS, Kennedy would have oversight over 11 agencies including the FDA, the CDC and the National Institutes of Health. Kennedy has come under fire from both Democrats and Republicans for some of his controversial beliefs – the most contentious being his extensive history of anti-vaccine work and rhetoric. Kennedy has in particular focused on Gardasil, the HPV vaccine. A lawyer by trade, he has helped facilitate hundreds of potential lawsuits aimed at pharmaceutical company Merck, which manufactures the drug.  The vaccine is nearly 100% effective against cancers caused by the human papillomavirus – most notably cervical cancer.  Kennedy has criticized the vaccine, calling it ‘dangerous and defective’ and claiming it can ‘increase the risk of cervical cancer.’ Guest:  Dr. Linda Eckert, a professor in the University of Washington School of Medicine, Women's Health Division of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. A leading expert in cervical cancer prevention, she's written a new book titled ENOUGH: Because We Can Stop Cervical Cancer.  Relevant Links: NYT: Committee Sends R.F.K. Jr.’s Health Secretary Nomination to Full Senate Associated Press: RFK Jr. kept asking to see the science that vaccines were safe. After he saw it, he dismissed it BBC: Fact-checking RFK Jr's views on health policy 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 United States is drastically retooling its foreign aid to meet a new presidential administration's “America First” goals. The State Department will reportedly absorb the foreign aid agency USAID, which is also a target of Elon Musk’s government efficiency agency, DOGE. Democrats say this move by the Trump Administration is illegal and unconstitutional and congress would need to act to make major changes to the agency. This is only the latest in a series of steps to claw back money Congress has approved to fund agencies helping people outside America’s borders.  Money for a diverse set of causes like HIV prevention, anti-narcotics training, and famine relief immediately stopped flowing after a stop work order was issued by the State Department.  Some of that work has since resumed after a temporary waiver was granted for life saving medical treatment, shelter and food assistance – but the abrupt shutdown had already disrupted many aid organizations ability to pay staff and continue operations.  And the stop work order is still in effect for most organizations, including here in the Pacific Northwest. Guest:  Crystal Oswald-Herold, program director at PeaceTrees Vietnam Relevant Links: NYT: U.S. Halt to Foreign Aid Cripples Programs Worldwide WaPo: Trump moves to wrest control of USAID as Musk says, ‘We’re shutting it down’ Slate: Why It’s A Huge Deal That Trump Is Trying to Shut Down USAIDSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The threat of a trade war against the United States' nearest neighbors is off for now. Last week President Donald Trump said he was placing a 25% tariff on goods from North American trading partners Mexico and Canada. In an executive order, Trump said he was using the United States’ economic leverage to push the countries into better border enforcement. He also said he was seeking to balance out a trade deficit. The announcement led to widespread anxiety and confusion across US borders. However, yesterday we learned that tariffs on Mexico have been paused for a month after negotiations with Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum, who activated 10,000 national guard members to the US border on Monday. In a last minute deal, Canada also announced their U.S. tariffs were pausing for 30 days after outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he was appointing a “fentanyl czar” to tackle drug trafficking. The saga has rankled the historic friendship between the two countries—one with which Washington has deep ties. Guests: Laurie Trautman, director of the Border Policy Research Institute with Western Washington University based in Bellingham Joshua McNichols is a reporter here at KUOW and the co-host of “Booming,” a podcast about the local economy Related Links: Booming - An economy podcast from a city that (almost) never stops growing 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.

When Brian Niccol took the helm as CEO of Starbucks last fall, his mandate was to reverse a decline in customer traffic.  He’s been rolling out changes in recent weeks. Niccol announced last month that the coffee chain would be reversing its open-door policy as part of something called the “Coffee House Code of Conduct.” That means no more sitting on the coffee house WiFi or squatting at a table without purchasing something. And yes, this will include use of the company’s restrooms (just about the only ones you reliably find on nearly every corner.)  Niccol took the reins of the company last fall amid lagging foot traffic, and the code of conduct is just one of the changes aiming to right the company’s wobbling ship. To discuss the changes and their impact on Starbucks' business, Soundside was joined by Julie Creswell, business reporter for the New York Times, where she covers the food industry.  Guests: Julie Creswell, business reporter for the New York Times, where she covers the food industry.  Related Links:  Starbucks Reports Weak Earnings as It Tries to Woo Back Customers - The New York Times Starbucks announces several changes, including plans to cut some menu items Starbucks reverses its open-door policy | AP News 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.