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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

  • Who should profit from college sports?

    A court settlement this summer determined that students have a right to make money from sports. But for the first time, universities will be the ones to pay them.

  • How can Seattle keep tourists from loving it to death?

    Every year, tens of millions of tourists visit Seattle’s Pike Place Market, the Elliot Bay waterfront, and sports stadiums. That industry is growing --this year, a record number of cruise ships are expected to fill Seattle’s piers.

  • Is thrifting still thrifty?

    Monica talks to an expert on thrift culture about the economic forces shaping second-hand shopping and why some say it might not be the place for bargain-hunters anymore. 

  • So much for starter homes

    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? 

  • Is our AI obsession good for small town America?

    AI has a backend, and it looks like massive data centers sprawling across farmland in places like central Washington. Today, we travel to a place where the data center boom is well underway to find out how the AI boom is reshaping small towns.

  • The next earthquake is coming. Is old Seattle worth saving?

    The Nisqually earthquake 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. 

  • Can light rail make Bellevue hip?

    Bellevue’s older sibling, Seattle, has been in the limelight for a long time. Can light rail make it Bellevue’s time to shine?

  • Is AI the new electricity?

    Microsoft's Brad Smith says the AI revolution 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?

  • Could tariffs bring back the lumberjack?

    President Trump wants to reduce foreign competition and increase U.S. logging to bring back lumber 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. 

  • Layoffs, lost faith, and 'cruel optimism' in tech

    Microsoft’s latest round of layoffs leaves even more tech workers in Washington without a job – and with a new worldview. What does it mean for an industry that was once seen as the last bastion of the American Dream?