With August Primaries Approaching: How Do Democracy Vouchers Work? Plus, How To Make Friends In Seattle

With August Primaries Approaching: How Do Democracy Vouchers Work? Plus, How To Make Friends In Seattle

Today on the show, host Jane C. Hu sits down with City Cast CEO David Plotz to talk about Democracy Vouchers. With August primaries coming up, it felt like a good time to refocus on one of Seattle’s most iconic political innovations. For the last decade, Seattle has issued $100 in vouchers to every voter to donate to the candidate of their choice in municipal elections. For the August primary this applies to residents of District 5. Jane and David discuss how these Democracy Vouchers work, how many people are participating, and what the impact on local elections has been. Plus, is the “Seattle Freeze” a real thing? Learn more about the sponsor of this July 13th episode: Seattle Theatre Group [https://www.stgpresents.org/] Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastSeattle on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/citycastseattle/], or email us at seattle@citycast.fm [seattle@citycast.fm]. You can also call or text us at 206-880-3931. For more Seattle news, make sure to sign up [https://seattle.citycast.fm/newsletter] for our morning newsletter, City Cast Seattle. Support City Cast Seattle by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm/seattle [https://membership.citycast.fm/seattle] Looking to advertise on City Cast Seattle? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise [http://citycast.fm/advertise].

June Sets Record for Zero Homicides, Pro Tips for Ballard Seafood Fest, and a "Life Skills" Class for WA High Schools

Today on the podcast, host Jane C. Hu is joined by contributors Marcus Harrison Green and Chase Hutchinson. The trio talk about the Seattle Police Department declaring last month to be “homicide free” for the first time in decades. Then they get into how Washington’s superintendent has proposed a mandatory “life skills” class for high school seniors and what they wish we’d all learned before graduating. Plus, updates from Harbor Island Studios, our weekend recommendations, and for our City Cast Seattle Neighbors, a crash course in the beauty of cyberdecks.  Learn more about the sponsors of this July 10th episode: pFriem Beer [https://www.pfriembeer.com/] Grand Central Bakery [https://www.grandcentralbakery.com/] Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastSeattle on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/citycastseattle/], or email us at seattle@citycast.fm [seattle@citycast.fm]. You can also call or text us at 206-880-3931. For more Seattle news, make sure to sign up [https://seattle.citycast.fm/newsletter] for our morning newsletter, City Cast Seattle. Support City Cast Seattle by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm/seattle [https://membership.citycast.fm/seattle] Looking to advertise on City Cast Seattle? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise [http://citycast.fm/advertise].

Anti-ICE Protest Convictions, FBI Phone Data Grabs, and Is Spokane Beating Seattle on Urbanism?

Today, on the podcast, host Jane C. Hu speaks with two reporters about the federal conspiracy charges brought against three protestors in Spokane [https://www.rangemedia.co/spokane-3-trial-protesters-federal-conspiracy-political-prosecution/], what conspiracy charges actually mean in practice, and what it signals for protesters everywhere. Erin Sellers, a staff reporter at RANGE Media, takes us through the story from the anti-ICE protests last summer to the nine indictments [https://www.rangemedia.co/spokane-9-protests/] and the three protestors who ultimately were found guilty in June. Then Schuyler Mitchell, assistant editor at Mother Jones, explains how the FBI in Seattle secretly extracted data from the phones of at least a dozen of the protesters [https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/cellebrite-phone-protest-ice-dhs-spokane-fbi-conspiracy-surveillance-privacy/] and what this means for data privacy going forward. Finally, producer Sam J. Leeds joins Jane and Erin to discuss the similarities and differences between Seattle and Spokane and what the two cities can learn from each other.  Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastSeattle on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/citycastseattle/], or email us at seattle@citycast.fm [seattle@citycast.fm]. You can also call or text us at 206-880-3931. For more Seattle news, make sure to sign up [https://seattle.citycast.fm/newsletter] for our morning newsletter, City Cast Seattle. Support City Cast Seattle by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm/seattle [https://membership.citycast.fm/seattle] Looking to advertise on City Cast Seattle? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at https://citycast.fm/advertise/citycast.fm/advertise [http://citycast.fm/advertise].

How the World Cup Failed the CID. Plus, I-5 Closes Again

Seattle has hosted its final World Cup match, and on today’s episode, host Jane C. Hu reflects on some of the wins and losses of one of the biggest events in recent Seattle history. First, she is joined by Vince Vu of Anh Ơi Bakery [https://www.ohanhoi.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoqXWPUidfZSskGRcMecRV6IJTy21jTLTMwCKa27VSJca4PoaYHI] to talk about how the World Cup hurt small businesses in the CID [https://www.knkx.org/business/2026-07-02/some-seattle-cid-businesses-arent-seeing-world-cup-boom] and the distance between visiting sports fans and local culture. Then Seattle Times Social Justice columnist Naomi Ishisaka [https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/what-seattle-world-cup-matches-show-us-about-u-s-as-country-turns-250/]and contributor Brett Hamil [https://www.instagram.com/bretthamilcomix/?hl=en] join Jane to talk about their World Cup experience in Seattle and how it challenged their cynicism. Finally, the three go through a medley of news, including Mayor Wilson shutting down the Stadium District cameras [https://wilson.seattle.gov/2026/07/07/update-on-stadium-district-cctv-cameras/], Snohomish County’s experiment in AI policy [https://www.knkx.org/government/2026-07-07/snohomish-county-tasks-citizens-with-writing-artificial-intelligence-policy-civic-assembly], and I-5 shutting down [https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/world-cup-ends-revive-i-5-begins-seattle/2YOHV7MQAVAFDKAOH5ZV2GKEKU/]…  again. Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastSeattle on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/citycastseattle/], or email us at seattle@citycast.fm [seattle@citycast.fm]. You can also call or text us at 206-880-3931. For more Seattle news, make sure to sign up [https://seattle.citycast.fm/newsletter] for our morning newsletter, City Cast Seattle. Support City Cast Seattle by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm/seattle [https://membership.citycast.fm/seattle] Looking to advertise on City Cast Seattle? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at https://citycast.fm/advertise/citycast.fm/advertise [http://citycast.fm/advertise].

What Has Seattle Learned From The World Cup? Plus, Economic Highs and Lows

Today on the show, Jane C. Hu is joined by contributor Hannah Krieg and creative producer Liam Billingham to talk about, despite an apparently growing economy in Washington [https://www.seattletimes.com/business/wa-economy-grows-fastest-in-nation-thanks-to-ai-spending/], why are so many people being laid off [https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/microsoft-cuts-4800-across-xbox-sales-divisions-redeploys-hundreds-more/]and feeling frustrated? Then they talk about how Seattle has felt so neighborly during the World Cup, and Hannah argues that we don’t need FIFA to experience brotherly love. They also talk about the positive things we hope the city can keep doing, like public bathrooms in Pioneer Square and nice spots for us to hang out together. Finally, they discuss the new app Sniff [https://www.geekwire.com/2026/pet-project-emerges-from-seattle-startup-studio-a-new-app-that-connects-dogs-and-their-parents/], which helps bring together dog owners through technology. The trio talk about how the internet is good for meeting people, but you have to get out in the world and hang out! Learn more about the sponsors of this July 7th episode: pFriem Beer [https://www.pfriembeer.com/] Grand Central Bakery [https://www.grandcentralbakery.com/] Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastSeattle on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/citycastseattle/], or email us at seattle@citycast.fm [seattle@citycast.fm]. You can also call or text us at 206-880-3931. For more Seattle news, make sure to sign up [https://seattle.citycast.fm/newsletter] for our morning newsletter, City Cast Seattle. Support City Cast Seattle by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm/seattle [https://membership.citycast.fm/seattle] Looking to advertise on City Cast Seattle? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at https://citycast.fm/advertise/citycast.fm/advertise [http://citycast.fm/advertise].