New ProPublica reporting reveals how a new AI tool, made by Anthropic, is reportedly detecting software bugs faster than Microsoft can address them. And the clock to patch those vulnerabilities is ticking fast.

Soundside talked with ProPublica tech reporter Renee Dudley about her reporting on this issue, and how it's raising major questions about the security of the wider U.S. tech industry, and products consumers rely on daily.

Related Links

Anthropic’s New AI Model Can Identify More Software Bugs Than Ever. Microsoft Is Struggling to Fix Them Fast Enough. - ProPublica

Editor's note: Microsoft is a financial supporter of KUOW, but we cover them like we do any other company.

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Soundside is going on a working hiatus for the month of August, but we'll be back and better than ever the day after Labor Day...

But until then, Soundside producer Jason Megatron Burrows has a bunch of events to keep you busy until we're back!

LINKS:

• Seattle Mariners vs Tampa Bay
• CAPITOL HILL BLOCK PARTY
• Edmonds Block Party
• CatVideoFest 2026
• Sherlock Jr at Magnolia Lutheran Church
• Seattle Tattoo Expo
• Get Sauced: Mountlake Terrace
• Seahawks vs. Cowboys Preseason Game
• WA State Garlic Fest
• Dragonflight GameCon
• Cake at Remlinger Farms
• PAX West 2026

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to donate.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.

If you didn’t know, we are in the middle of an El Niño. Scientists say it has the potential to be one of the strongest in recent years.

This is the weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean that periodically pushes warm water toward the West Coast.

El Niños cause all kinds of problems, including worsening Washington droughts.

And they can be a real pain for the region’s fishing industry.

Guests

• Bob Alverson, general manager of the Fishing Vessel Owners' Association
• Anthony Rogers, a fisheries economist at Ocean Conservancy

Related links:

• The 2026 El Niño Is on Track to Be the Strongest on Record | WIRED
• Record-breaking El Niño could gut California’s crab and salmon fleets | Los Angeles Times
• What a ‘very strong’ El Niño could mean for WA | The Seattle Times

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to donate.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.

Long summer nights with the Mariners on the radio are a rite of passage in the Pacific Northwest.

This weekend the team is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and whether you grew up with the M’s as a kid during the glory days of Ken Griffey Jr. in the Kingdome, just started following as the Big Dumper was breaking records last season, or stuck with the team, faithfully, through a 20 year playoff drought, one voice has stood out.

Rick Rizzs started with the Mariners back in 1983... He had a brief stint in Detroit, coming back to Seattle in ‘95 where he put in a record breaking 41 years with the team

He announced earlier this year that he would be retiring at the end of the 2026 season, and this week sat down with Soundside producer Jason Burrows.

GUEST: Rick Rizzs

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to donate.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.

Should the president of Seattle’s teachers union keep her position?

That’s the question on the minds of many local teachers and parents.

Last week, parents of a student of Ibijoke Idowu began the process of pursuing a civil lawsuit against the teacher and the district, claiming she had physically harmed their child.

This follows a Seattle Public Schools investigation, released in June, which concluded that Idowu “more likely than not” grabbed the student hard enough to cause bruising.

Idowu was elected to lead the Seattle Education Association while she was on leave pending the results of this probe.

Idowu has denied allegations of misconduct.

Guest:

• KUOW education reporter Noel Gasca

Related stories:

• Demands for Seattle teacher’s union president to resign intensify amid student abuse allegations - KUOW
• Seattle teacher, union president, responds to report she ‘likely’ harmed student - Seattle Times
• Petition to initiate RECALL of SEA President Ibijoke Idowu-Holiday - change.org
• Petition support Idowu: Protect Devoted Educator from targeted harassment, intimidation & cultural bias! - change.org

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to donate.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.

Police took a 15-year old into custody in connection to a mass shooting at the Seattle Center that left three dead and several others injured. Police later said that 15-year old had a “ghost gun."

This refers to a type of firearm that’s often assembled at home and manufactured without a serial number.

In charging documents, prosecutors allege the teenager fired into the crowd. Police say the gun doesn’t appear to be involved the deaths of two bystanders from last week.

Washington is a leader in trying to prohibit ghost guns.

Back in 2022, the state passed a law to ban them. Earlier this year, lawmakers prohibited the unlawful manufacture of guns using 3-D printers or CNC milling machines.

And yet, ghost guns continue to be a concern here in the state.

Guest: Garen Wintemute is the founding director of the Centers for Violence Prevention at UC Davis in California. He's also an emergency department attending physician.

Related links:

• 15-year-old Seattle Center shooting suspect charged with first-degree assault; prosecutors seek adult trial | KUOW
• Ghost gun used in Seattle Center shooting, police say | The Seattle Times
• Ghost guns explained—how they are made, used? | FOX 13 Seattle
• Bullets from 15-year-old's gun did not kill 2 Seattle Center victims, according to early findings | KUOW

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to donate.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.

We are officially deep into a Pacific Northwest summer: we’ve already experienced wildfire smoke, 90 degree temperatures and for the unlucky amongst us, you may have also have seen small black ants crawling across your kitchen counters and floors.

I’m talking about odorous house ants. So named because of the smell they emit when they are squished (I won’t say by who).

These little guys are annoying, and they’re everywhere this time of year. I even saw a Reddit post referring to Seattle as being “placed on top of a giant ant hill”. Now, that’s not actually true… but it can certainly feel like it around now.

That’s because, if you live in a city like Seattle, you actually are in an ideal ant environment, one that has led to the little insect’s proliferation.

So before we get mad at odorous house ants, maybe it’s best to understand this creature? Maybe instead of a war on ants… we can make peace.

Guest:

Todd Murray, the Director of Washington State University's Puyallup Research and Extension Center

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The Washington state Clemency and Pardons Board hears cases of people currently incarcerated and makes recommendations to the governor for commutations.

These recommendations can allow someone to leave prison before their sentence is completed. In Washington state law, someone’s case would need to be “extraordinary” in order to qualify.

Last year, the board heard a little over 30 cases and recommended 10 people for commutations. Governor Ferguson rejected all of the cases, some of which had the support of every board member.

The Governor has approved pardons for some people who had already completed their sentences and his office said he was "considering the recommendation of the board while also accounting for victim impacts and public safety."

His approach hasn’t sat well with members of the Clemency and Pardons Board.

Guests:

Raymond Delos Reyes, chair of the Washington Clemency and Pardons Board

Dan Berger, professor at the University of Washington-Bothell and director of the Washington Prison History Project

Relevant Links:

Cascadia Daily News: Governor’s disrespect for clemency process extends mass incarceration

KOMO: Case questions Washington's clemency process after governor rejects board's recommendation

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