x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Booming

KUOW News and Information

Booming is a weekly podcast about the economic forces shaping our lives here in the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle area"s been home to many booms over the years. It’s brought jobs, people, and wealth to the region, but also real growing pains that people here feel every day. InBooming, KUOW economy reporters Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg help listeners make sense of our ever-changing economy. We"ll dig into what people are seeing or feeling and unpack the story behind it.

news business news

All Episodes

16:08

Can the power of a star lower our electric bills?

Booming ·

2025/11/19

Our power grid is maxing out. We're plugging in electric cars, massive data centers, and heat pumps all at once. And it's not stopping anytime soon.Demand is expected to grow by 30% over the next ten years. And the increasing demand is spiking our energy bills. But Big Tech is betting on a solution straight out of science fiction. Nuclear fusion. Today, could nuclear fusion fix our growing electricity crisis? Or is it too good to be true? We want to know what you think of the show, and what you'd

en-US

16:11

Is coding dead? This professor doesn't think so

Booming ·

2025/11/12

On our most recent episode, we reported on how tons of young people are choosing trade school over college out of fear of white-collar jobs drying up. Companies appear to be making big bets that AI can replace huge chunks of their workforces. It seems like “go to trade school” has become the new “learn to code.” But Dan Grossman -- professor and vice director of the University of Washington's Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering -- says the outlook isn’t so

en-US

20:14

Is AI fueling a trade school boom?

Booming ·

2025/11/05

When it comes to the white-collar workforce, warning signals are blinking red. That uncertainty has more kids going blue collar. Trade schools are booming. On today's episode, as artificial intelligence and economic uncertainty reshape the labor market, could trade schools be the new ticket to the American Dream? We want to know what you think of the show, and what you'd like us to cover. Fill out our audience survey,linked here, to tell us your thoughts. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you

en-US

16:18

Nine families, one roof: Urban cohousing in Seattle

Booming ·

2025/10/29

Seattle has more single people living alone than any major U.S. city. The average new apartment size in Seattle is just 650 square feet -- that’s the smallest in the nation. If you’re single, that might work for you. But if you want to raise a family in a larger space, that can get expensive: $3500 a month on average for a 3-bedroom apartment. That’s more than double what a studio would cost. A house with a backyard could cost thousands more. Now, a growing number of people are

en-US

19:18

Babies aren't booming. Is that a problem?

Booming ·

2025/10/22

Seattle and Portland are wrestling for the title of the city with the lowest birth rate.But it's not just the Pacific Northwest. Birth rates are declining across the country. Environmentalists say there are benefits to slowing population growth, like less consumption and strain on resources. But economists start to worry when birth rates dip well below the replacement rate. That’s because it can mean slower economic growth and labor shortages down the road. There are a lot of things driving

en-US

16:03

Can AI really cure cancer?

Booming ·

2025/10/15

In the debate over how fast we should be embracing artificial intelligence, one thing comes up again and again.The claim from tech CEOs that AI can cure cancer. So can it? On today's episode, we get into what new AI developments in Seattle's biotech industry could mean for finding a cure. Sign up for our first FREE live event at KUOW.org/events. Join Joshua andThe Big Dig podcast to explore the future of Seattle’s highways and hear some experts making big decisions about what’s next for

en-US

22:45

Does AI mean game over for video game developers?

Booming ·

2025/10/08

Electronic Arts (EA), one of the largest video game companies in the world, just sold for $55 billion, a record for a leveraged buyout. The sale is sending shockwaves through Seattle's video game industry. Not just because a lot of people in Seattle worked on EA games, but because the company is banking its future on generative AI. Generative AI has created a cultural conflict so deep, it's sliced the video game industry in two -- like a battle axe through a rotten zombie. On one side: indie game

en-US

18:14

The cleanup crew mopping up AI slop

Booming ·

2025/10/01

Coding looks like one of the first real-world skills AI is close to mastering. And AI coding tools are helping a lot more people build apps and websites – no technical expertise required. But there’s a problem. It turns out, handing the keyboard over to a robot can end up costing more time and money than hiring a human to do that work. Today, the unintended consequences of replacing human coders with AI. And what can we learn about embracing this technology too fast from the cleanup

en-US

9:31

Inside Amazon's surprising settlement

Booming ·

2025/09/26

The long-awaited trial between Amazon and the FTC is over... after just a few days. Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle the case over its Prime membership program. On this bonus episode, Joshua and Monica were in the courtroom during the trial, so they sat down to chat about what they heard during the hearings and why they think Amazon might have settled the case so soon. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go

en-US

20:54

'Dark patterns' and the case against Amazon

Booming ·

2025/09/24

Have you ever found it impossible to find the “unsubscribe” button? Maybe you’ve accidentally opted into “accepting all cookies?” Then you may have fallen for a "dark pattern." Dark patterns are at the heart of a lawsuit between Amazon and the federal government. The FTC claims Amazon used dark patterns to trick millions of users into subscribing to Prime without meaning to. And the complaint says Amazon created a long, difficult process full of roadblocks that stopped

en-US

20:46

Who should profit from college sports?

Booming ·

2025/09/17

College football season is here! If you follow college athletes on Instagram, you may have noticed -- they're doing a lot more commercials lately. And for doing this work, some athletes are raking in big bucks. A court settlement this summer determined that students have a right to make money from sports. And for the first time ever, universities will be the ones to pay them. How this new money flows will determine which college athletic programs thrive, and which ones will watch from the sidelines

en-US

26:03

How can Seattle keep tourists from loving it to death?

Booming ·

2025/09/10

Every year, tens of millions of tourists visit Seattle’s Pike Place Market, the Elliot Bay waterfront, and sports stadiums. That tourism industry is growing -- this year, a record number of cruise ships are expected to fill Seattle’s piers. Next year, the population of Seattle will swell- to about double its normal size when it hosts the Word Cup. On today's episode, Seattle needs tourists to keep downtown economically viable — so how do we make sure theydon’t love the city

en-US

14:46

Is thrifting still thrifty?

Booming ·

2025/09/03

Thrifting has long been a favorite pastime of Seattleites, so much so that we have the biggest Goodwill store in the world. But buying second-hand is also an economic survival strategy for people who can't pay full price on back-to-school clothes or home appliances. Now, in this increasingly expensive city, there's a sense that thrift stores are no longer fitting that need. On today's episode, Monica talks to an expert on thrift culture about the economic forces shaping second-hand shopping and

en-US

24:21

Why music festivals can't find their rhythm

Booming ·

2025/08/27

It's music festival season. Seattle's own Bumbershoot is just days away. But music festivals across the country are on shaky financial ground, and their futures could be in trouble. Over the past few years, dozens of small festivals have been canceled, and even the biggest ones are showing some signs of softening demand. On today's episode, why is it so hard for this generation of music festivals to find their rhythm? Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want

en-US

22:51

So much for starter homes

Booming ·

2025/08/20

For decades, owning a home was considered a golden ticket to economic security. The reality looks a lot different today -- the median price of a single-family home in Seattle is around $1 million, and the greater Seattle area is the third most expensive in the nation. So, why do prices keep going up? And what would it take to make the dream of owning a home in this city affordable again? We put those questions to a real estate economist. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show

en-US

25:09

Is our AI obsession good for small town America?

Booming ·

2025/08/13

Millions of people are asking tools like ChatGPT questions every day. But your questions don’t just fly up into the ether. They go to a real place. AI has a backend, and it looks like massive data centers sprawling across farmland in places like central Washington. Data centers provide the essential infrastructure needed to run AI apps and everything else we do on the internet. And tech companies say they bring economic prosperity to communities that desperately need it. But those benefits

en-US

23:40

The next earthquake is coming. Is old Seattle worth...

Booming ·

2025/08/06

It's been almost 25 years since the Nisqually earthquake, the last "big one" to hit Seattle. But the region is due for an even bigger one -- one that could be more massive than the underwater quake that just hit off the coast of Russia. The Nisqually quake did at least $2 billion worth of damage across the Puget Sound region. It hit Seattle’s historic brick and stone buildings hard, and the city has learned a lot of expensive lessons about what would make them safer. So... is old Seattle worth

en-US

12:46

Can light rail make Bellevue hip?

Booming ·

2025/07/30

Bellevue, Washington – Seattle's neighbor to the East - is having a bit of an identity crisis. For decades it’s been the younger sibling... trying to get out from under Seattle’s shadow. But now, Bellevue is preparing for a major change. Workers are putting finishing touches on the long-awaited link across Lake Washington. When it’s finished next year, two of the largest cities in our region will be connected by light rail for the first time. Bellevue’s older sibling,

en-US

13:10

Is AI the new electricity?

Booming ·

2025/07/23

Microsoft is spending $4 billion dollars on workshops, technology, and other initiatives to get artificial intelligence into the hands of millions of people around the world. The company pioneering the AI revolution says it could be bigger than the Internet, bigger than mobile, and that the best comparison is the advent of electricity. So, what does it mean for all of us? Booming host Monica Nickelsburg spoke with a tech historian who takes us back in time to search for lessons learned the last

en-US

20:31

Could tariffs bring back the lumberjack?

Booming ·

2025/07/16

For nearly a century, Washington’s timber industry produced everything from paper to 2x4s to the massive wood beams that hold up the Tacoma dome. But the industry’s been on a long decline since the 1990s. Now, President Trump wants to reduce foreign competition and increase U.S. logging to bring back those jobs.Could Trump’s strategy revive the timber industry in the Northwest? We went to a sawmill in the foothills of Mt. Rainier to find out. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW,

en-US

61 results

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

PBS News Hour - Full Show

PBS News

CD Voice

China Daily

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report

Noa Levi

Jeffrey Epstein: The Coverup Chronicles

Bobby Capucci