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Booming

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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. In Booming, 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.

Cover art by Alicia Villa.

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Episodes

  • What happens to Seattle if the AI bubble pops?

    Companies are spending hundreds of billions of dollars to build the AI infrastructure of the future. But companies are struggling to make a profit on the AI of today. So, is that future real, or just a mirage?  

  • BONUS: The future of Seattle's highways

    Live event recorded at the Seattle Public Library hosted by Joshua McNichols and Ian Coss about the future of Seattle's State Route 99.

  • caption: Helion's polaris reactor lights up as nuclear fusion creates a burst of power inside.

    Can the power of a star lower our electric bills?

    Electric bills are rising. AI data centers are gobbling up power. In Everett, two fusion companies are racing to invent the world’s first economically viable nuclear fusion reactor. And investors are opening up their wallets to fund it.

  • Is coding dead? This professor doesn't think so

    Companies appear to be making big bets that AI can replace huge chunks of their workforces. But this computer science professor says the outlook isn’t so bleak for kids who still want a career in tech. 

  • Is AI fueling a trade school boom?

    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.
  • caption: Grace Kim outside Capitol Hill Urban Cohousing, where she lives and works.

    9 families, 1 roof: Urban cohousing in Seattle

    Seattle’s housing scene is defined by high prices and shrinking apartments, leaving many people feeling both financially squeezed and socially disconnected. Cohousing offers an alternative.

  • Nine families, one roof: Urban cohousing in Seattle

    A growing number of people are building a different kind of housing to get the benefit of more space without the added cost. It’s called co-housing, where people come together with friends and strangers to live in modest apartments with more shared spaces -- all designed from scratch.

  • Can AI really cure cancer?

    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?

  • The cleanup crew mopping up AI slop

    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.