Sound Politics

Trump admin takes on WA's transgender prison policy

Washington’s state prisons have come under the eye of the federal Department of Justice for housing a little over a dozen trans women in a women’s prison. There’s a lot of anger over this policy on the right. And lawsuits on both sides of the issue claiming peoples’ constitutional rights are being violated.  We’ll dig into the facts with the Seattle Times' Lauren Girgis [https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/civil-rights-clash-over-wa-transgender-prison-policy-now-involves-doj/]. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/ [https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/]. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Is Seattle killing big biz?

The discourse has gotten really heated about progressive politics versus business growth. But is this overblown? We talk to a former tax-the-rich Democrat who now reps Seattle's business community: Joe Nguyen. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/ [https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/]. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Catharine Smith and Scott Greenstone. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Gerrymander? Mutiny? Dems fight it out

Washington state Democrats feel hopeful, some are talking about winning a two-thirds supermajority, a real longshot this year. But first: they will look to fend off attacks from inside their own party. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/ [https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/]. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Where is Governor Bob Ferguson?

Since Governor Ferguson took office in 2025, he’s done few media availabilities or sitdowns with podcasts like the one you’re listening to. He’s also overhauled how the state government communicates with the public. What does that mean for people trying to understand what’s going on in Olympia? Read Melissa Santos' reporting at Axios Seattle here [https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2026/04/28/washington-governor-media-approval-policy-delays-state-agencies-communications]. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/ [https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/]. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Hans Anderson. Our host is Scott Greenstone. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Historic Supreme Court races: Could they sink the 'millionaires tax'?

Very few people pay attention to Supreme Court elections in the Evergreen state. In 2024, two of three judges ran unopposed. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/ [https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/]. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.