It’s election day … officially. 

But don’t hold your breath, everyone. We’re still possibly days away from knowing the results of many races, both local and national. 

Even so, we wanted to get a sense of how voters in Washington have been feeling and thinking about the choices on the ballot this season. KUOW has been speaking with people across the political spectrum, to get their takes on what’s driving their decisions.

Guest:

• Alex Rochester, KUOW digital community outreach producer 

Related links:

• What do Democratic, Republican, and Independent Washington state voters think about the 2024 ballot? - KUOW

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Months and months of anticipation – or maybe dread? – have led to today. Election day. 

Over the coming days and weeks, there will continue to be a lot of talk about candidates, polls, the state of democracy. But we also want to recognize the emotional difficulty of election day... of election season. 

Politics can leave a lot of people bitter and divided. It’s cost treasured relationships and led to feelings of anger, contempt, and fear. Bridging divides and finding common ground aren’t simple or easy. Over the past year, Mónica Guzmán and April Lawson have been thinking a lot about how to do it. 

Mónica Guzmán works with Braver Angels, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to political depolarization. Her podcast – produced in partnership with KUOW – is called "A Braver Way."

Guests:

• Mónica Guzmán is a senior fellow at Braver Angels.
• April Lawson is the cofounder of Insight Debate and Dialogue.

Related Links: 

• Braving the unknown: Your election survival guide - Braver Angels
• Consumed by the news? How to stay sane in a polarized election - Braver Angels

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. 

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Americans are at the polls right now voting for the next president – among a lot of other important state and local races.

And if you’re highly engaged in the outcome of Donald Trump versus Kamala Harris – you’re not just casting a ballot. You’re reading, watching and listening to tons of content about this presidential race, and in some cases agonizing over public polling in the weeks leading up to election day.

This year, the polls are showing one thing: neither candidate holds a clear edge. 

So how can you avoid getting burned by faulty expectations? And how should we prepare for the rush of election night and the cascade of state-by-state returns we’re about to experience?   

Guest:

• Armin Thomas is a political analyst at Split Ticket, a non-partisan election analysis firm

Relevant Links:

• ticket.org/2024/11/04/our-final-forecast/">Our Final Forecast - Split Ticket
• Why Washington is a bellwether for the presidential election - 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. 

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He was one of the greatest musical minds of the 20th century… and he hailed from Seattle.

Songwriter, composer, arranger and producer Quincy Jones, died yesterday at the age of 91. 

The 28-time Grammy winner moved to the Pacific Northwest at the age of 10 and eventually graduated from Garfield High School. Jones credited Seattle's musical openness with shaping his style. He met Ray Charles here. In a typical night, they would play across the city, from the tony Seattle Tennis Club to hangouts on Jackson Street, which was in the city's red light district, playing classical, jazz, marches, and pop music.  

Jones played jazz trumpet. Quincy Jones described his time in Seattle for PBS' “American Masters” in 2021:

"We had to play everything with school. We played Sousa. And you play classical music and Debussy… on the jobs… Ray Charles, we, played Debussey on some of the jobs and we had to play Big Fat Butterfly parody, a parody on a poor butterfly. We had to play absolutely everything."

That musical openness and genre defying attitude was a thread that he carried throughout his life. 

In the 50's, Jones played with some of the jazz greats, including Herbie Mann, Zoot Sims, Hank Jones and Charles Mingus on Evening in Paris from his 1957 LP, “This Is How I Feel About Jazz."

A few years later Jones played with Ray Charles on "One Mint Julep."

But soon, Jones was branching out stylistically.

He left an indelible mark on the music industry through his film scores... And while Soul Bossa Nova wasn't specifically WRITTEN for Austin Powers, it certainly became known as the theme song for the "International Man of Mystery..."

He arranged songs for legends like Frank Sinatra.

And in the 70's, when funk was EVERYWHERE, Jones turned it into gold, including the track "The Streetbeater," which became the theme song to Sanford & Sons...

In the 80's Jones famously produced Michael Jackson's meteoric rise to stardom, with tracks like "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough."

He butted heads with Jackson on the opening to Billie Jean... (He thought it was too long, Jackson disagreed.)

And made the notorious phone call that got Eddie Van Halen in the studio to play guitar on "Beat It..."

Quincy Jones, a giant of American music, is one of few producers to have number one records in three consecutive decades, the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s...

Jones passed Sunday night at his home in Los Angeles. He was 91.

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. 

RELATED LINK: 

jones-hit-songs.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share">Quincy Jones’s Legacy in 14 Essential Songs - New York Times

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Boeing machinists are voting today on a new contract offer that could end their seven week-old strike.

More than 33,000 workers walked off the job on September 13 – after they overwhelmingly voted to reject an offer from Boeing that included a 25 percent pay increase over 4 years.

In late October, Machinists also voted down Boeing’s second offer – which would have raised wages 35 percent over four years.

Boeing says this third deal is their best and final offer. It includes a pay bump of 38 percent over four years, as well as a 12,000 dollar ratification bonus.

IAM District 751, which represents Boeing workers, has endorsed the proposal.

Guest:

• Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory

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.

Seattle’s Public School District is grappling with a nearly 100 million dollar budget shortfall, as student enrollment in the district has dropped in recent years.

In a letter last month, Superintendent Brent Jones said that SPS was proposing the closure of North Beach, Sacajawea, Sanislo, and Stevens elementary schools next year, pending school board approval.

The district says the latest plan will save around $5 million dollars - much less, notably, than the close to 30 million the broader closure plan was expected to yield.

So, where will the rest of the money come from to shore up the budget? 

Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Brent Jones sat down with Soundside host Libby Denkmann to talk school closures, highly capable programs, and more.

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:

• Dr. Brent Jones, Seattle Public Schools Superintendent

Relevant Links:

• 4 Seattle schools up for closure revealed - KUOW
• Seattle Public Schools enrollment ticks up slightly as district moves ahead with closures - KUOW
• School closures: No answers for my 5-year-old - Seattle Times
• Seattle private school enrollment spikes, ranks No. 2 among big cities - Seattle Times

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Famous fiends like zombies, vampires, and werewolves are hallmarks of All Hallow's Eve. But how much do you know about why that is, and where those creatures come from? 

It’s an origin story that’s fascinated University of Washington professor Charity Urbanski. Charity teaches medieval history at the UW, and she wrote a new book based on her research and seminars on the origins and meaning behind some of Europe’s most famous monsters. It's titled "Medieval Monstrosity: Imagining the Monstrous in Medieval Europe."

She joined Soundside to talk about the ways werewolves, revenants, and other monsters came to be popular -- and what they tell us about the people who invented them. 

Guests: 

• Charity Urbanski, teaching professor of history at the University of Washington and author of "Medieval Monstrosity: Imagining the Monstrous in Medieval Europe." 

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.

Do you have weekend plans yet? On Soundside, we figure it’s never too early to make plans, plus, we’re not on the air Fridays...We’ve been looking at some of the exciting things happening around the region over the next few days. 

Producer Jason Megatron Burrows has this roundup for you, in a segment that, for now, we’re calling the “Early Weekend Guide.”

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: 

• Anita Spritzer aka Johnny Marzano - Seattle Opera
• Kelly Froh - Short Run Comix & Arts Festival

LINKS TO THE EVENTS LISTED:

• "This is Halloween" Burlesque at the Triple Door
• Skeleton Skate at Southgate Roller Rink
• QUEENS OF THE NIGHT at the Seattle Opera
• SeaMeowCon at Seattle Center Exhibition Hall
• Short Run Comix & Arts Festival at Fisher Pavilion
• Coco performed by Orquesta Folclórica Nacional de México at Benaroya Hall

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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD is often perceived as a static diagnosis– one that people carry with them throughout their lives with little to no change.

But, new research may just change that view of ADHD all together. A recent study in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry suggests that ADHD symptoms can actually fluctuate over time due to influence from environmental factors. In fact, for many individuals, symptoms can mellow out year after year - especially for people who are navigating a busy life. 

Guest:

• Maggie Sibley, a clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and Seattle Children’s Hospital. She's also the lead author of the new study.

Relevant Links:

• Characteristics and Predictors of Fluctuating Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in the Multimodal Treatment of ADHD (MTA) Study - The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry

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The Everett AquaSox's home for 40 years, Funko Field, is no longer in compliance with new stadium regulations implemented when Major League Baseball took over the minor leagues in 2020. 

Now the city of Everett is exploring a replacement stadium that could cost up to $120 million. The city isn't shouldering the whole burden of this stadium, the state has chipped in money, along with Snohomish County, and AquaSox ownership has pledged $5 to $10 million.

The city estimates that a new stadium downtown could generate up to $55 million dollars a year, whether that makes the stadium a good investment is up for debate.

Guests:

Will Geschke - General Assignment Reporter at the Everett Herald

Nola Agha - professor at the University of San Francisco’s Sport Management Program

Relevant Links:

Everett Herald: Everett takes next step toward new AquaSox stadium

Everett Herald: Everett faces June deadline to present AquaSox stadium plan

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.