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PODCAST

Sound Politics

KUOW News and Information

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

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All Episodes

22:16

Bruce Harrell vs. everyone

Sound Politics ·

2025/07/18

We're taking a look at the Seattle mayoral election. Eight people are running, including incumbent Bruce Harrell. The primary election on August 5 will whittle that field down to two candidates. This office is nonpartisan, but the race has turned into a test of progressive versus moderate. Mayor Harrell is seen as a moderate, and he’s being primaried mostly from the left this year. Local Democrats are wondering how races like this one will shake out in the second President Trump era and

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27:53

Who's your lawyer?

Sound Politics ·

2025/07/10

It’s Law and Order: Local Government edition. We’re talking legal news and electing lawyers. We take a deep dive into the Seattle city attorney election and whether a Republican can distance herself from the president and win in that deep blue city. We also recap the week in legal stories in Western Washington municipalities, including an update on King County Assessor John Wilson (who recently dropped out of the executive race) and a conflict in Pierce County between the sheriff and

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20:55

SO MUCH IS HAPPENING

Sound Politics ·

2025/07/03

The U.S. House just voted in favor of a massive tax and spending bill. And, here in Washington, on Wednesday night, a high-ranking King County official was arrested. King County Assessor John Wilson is running for county executive – an open seat overseeing the Seattle-area metro system, county jail, sheriffs, and more. Wilson was arrested for allegedly violating a restraining order against his ex-fiancee. But who is Wilson, and why is he running for executive? Today, we’re re-broadcast a

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28:05

(Middle) Eastern politics with Eastern WA's Congressman

Sound Politics ·

2025/06/25

For now, a cease-fire between Iran and Israel appears to be holding, following a 12 day period of fighting between the two countries that culminated in an attack on three Iranian nuclear sites by the US, and a counterattack by Iran on an American military base in Qatar. The strikes, and subsequent peace agreement, have been met with a variety of responses from American lawmakers. Is this a military victory? A violation of constitutional oversight? A failed attempt to take out a nuclear power

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26:08

Sound Politics goes scorched-earth

Sound Politics ·

2025/06/19

State government reporter Jeanie Lindsay is joining us for one final time to talk about access to lawmakers in Olympia. Reporters don’t like being the story, but some drama in the press corps covering Washington’s government was one of the stories of this year’s session. This is an issue that the press is grappling with in D.C., too. The Associated Press was blocked from covering the president because they wouldn’t refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. They sued

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28:17

Protest is in the air. Plus, Rep. Smith punches left...

Sound Politics ·

2025/06/13

It is a tense week in Seattle, and the country, as we prepare for a military parade in the capital this weekend on Trump’s birthday. In response, there are over 1,000 “No Kings” protests planned nationwide, including in Seattle, Olympia, and Tacoma. The ramp up in the tension is because of another thing Trump has done with the military: order them into L.A. to respond to protests there. Washington Congressman Adam Smith (WA-09) has been voicing his opposition to the President's

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24:24

SaWant to Beat a Democrat?

Sound Politics ·

2025/06/05

For years, lefty democrats and socialists in the Seattle area have been trying to unseat Democratic Congressman Adam Smith in Washington's 9th congressional district. His challengers have always fallen way short in elections. But none of them was as well-known, or as far to his left, as his latest opponent: former Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant. Sawant joins Sound Politics to talk about her return to politics and responds to criticism about her approach to "movement building." Thank you to

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30:37

Who's footing the big, beautiful, budget bill?

Sound Politics ·

2025/05/29

The biggest story out of Washington is the Republican spending bill or, as the President has branded it: the One Big Beautiful Bill.This bill would solidify much of the President’s agenda, but its future in the Senate is unclear some Senate Republicans are balking at the estimated 3.3 trillion dollars it would probably add the national debt. To talk about the future of this 1,000-plus page piece of legislation, Sound Politics sat down with Representative Pramila Jayapal, who represents

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23:17

Ferguson's pen commandments

Sound Politics ·

2025/05/22

Ferguson's pens have been on the minds of a lot of people for weeks: Democrats, who worried he'd bring out the red veto pen on the budget, and fiscal conservatives, who worried he'd use his blue pen and pass it.The pens have also been on our hosts' minds -- because they represent a big stylistic change from previous governors, and maybe an extension of Ferguson himself? This week on Sound Politics -- what did Ferguson pass, and what did he use the veto pen on, in the state budget? Thank you to the

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30:41

Democratic dominoes and an odd election

Sound Politics ·

2025/05/15

It's an odd year election coming up, and something odd is happening: NINE state legislative districts will hold elections, more than any odd year for the past decade. Why is that happening? In a word: dominoes. Today on Sound Politics we'll talk about the Democratic domino effect, and how these races are exposing intra-party fault lines over the Democrats' new tax plan. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go tokuow.org/politics. Sound

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23:08

Rep. Emily Randall on UW, resisting Trump, tariffs...

Sound Politics ·

2025/05/08

It's been a busy first term so far for U.S.Representative Emily Randallof Bremerton, one of twofreshman members of Congress, in the other Washington. She's a Democrat representing Washington's6th congressional district. This week, she joins Sound Politics to talk about her initial months in Congress, her visit to an ICE detention facility in Tacoma, and why she appeared at a town hall in Spokane -- in the district of her fellow freshman, a Republican. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help

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55:56

The Grand Old Panel

Sound Politics ·

2025/05/02

It’s been dubbed “muzzle velocity.” Or a “blizzard.” Fast and expansive changes to the federal government during President Trump's first one hundred days in office. Immigration policy, tariffs, even the size of the federal workforce has been drastically altered. We've talked to Democrats about this change and heard words like "disaster" or "catastrophe." Trump critics on the Left are numerous and loud here in Washington state. But what about the Right side of the

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27:13

What bills are graduating this legislative session,...

Sound Politics ·

2025/04/24

The Washington Legislature’s final week in session has brought bills (and debates) to the floor on topics ranging from rent caps to recycling to gun permits. This week Axios Seattle reporter Melissa Santos and Washington Observer publisher Paul Queary join Sound Politics to discuss what the legislature managed to pass this year, and what was left on the cutting-room floor. Oh yeah, and there’s also the little matter of the budget. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this

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24:07

The Democratic civil war over taxes

Sound Politics ·

2025/04/18

Democrats released their plan to cover the state's multi billion dollar budget gap this week. Notable progressive proposals like the wealth tax and a payroll tax weren't a part of that plan. Did the progressive wing lose out to big business? And what does a hacked crosswalk button have to do with all of this? KUOW's Jeanie Lindsay and Seattle Times’ Jim Brunner talk about the latest tax proposals and whether the push to tax the rich is still alive. And just a note, since we recorded this

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33:34

Gary Locke says WA will be caught in the China crossfire

Sound Politics ·

2025/04/11

The U.S. stock and bond markets are continuing to see uncertainty amidst President Donald Trump's flips in tariff policy. While the tariffs placed on a majority of countries have been paused, those in China are continuing to rise as the two nations retaliate against one another. 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

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20:51

All's Faire in love and trade wars

Sound Politics ·

2025/04/03

This week, President Trump announced a slew of international tariffs. The United States will levy a 10 percent tax on goods imported from all trading partners except Canada and Mexico. That's just the start: there areanadditional, higher tariffs on the European Union, Japan, India, China, and many, many more countries. Washington state could be in for some special pain: one in four jobs here is tied to international trade. Even though Canada was spared from the latest round of international tariffs,

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27:47

Sound Politics gets overwhelmed

Sound Politics ·

2025/03/27

Scott got overwhelmed this week trying to keep track of everything happening in our political sphere.And where does he turn to when he feels overwhelmed? Email newsletters. The world condensed into less than 2,000 words. So this week, he's joined by two newsletter writer-reporters,Axios Seattle reporter Melissa Santos and Washington Observer publisher Paul Queary to discuss their favorite stories you might've missed. Plus, we tackle one big story with a Washington connection you may not know about:

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0:39

Now's your time to yell (questions) at us

Sound Politics ·

2025/03/24

Hey Sound Politics listeners. We're here in your feed because we want to know: what questions do you all have in this kind of bonkers political moment? Curious about what happens when lawmakers ignore court rulings? Why are the governor and the legislature getting a raise right now? Other burning politics questions you've been dying to have answered? Let us know: email soundpolitics@kuow.org, or leave us a voicemail at 206-221-0511.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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24:55

Is this the year rent limits pass?

Sound Politics ·

2025/03/20

For years, progressives have tried to fight the rising cost of living by instituting a kind of "rent control" – what proponents call "rent stabilization." Basically, a limit on how much the landlord can raise your rent. It's a divisive issue, even in the Democratic party -- in fact for years, it was Democrats that kept killing attempts at rent limits. But this could be the year that rent stabilization actually comes to pass. The same sponsor ofa failed stabilization bill last year–

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24:42

Republicans' unlikely ally: Gov. Ferguson

Sound Politics ·

2025/03/14

Republicansmighthave more influence this legislative session than they have inalmost 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

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