Host Rachel Belle chats with the retired director of the Chile Pepper Institute about the history and migration of spicy peppers, which involves everything from bird poop to Christopher Columbus. Then Jesse tells us about his lunch with Weird Al at one of the country’s most woo-woo restaurants. Subscribe...

Black Arts Legacies has returned for its third season. The project dedicated to documenting the impact and stories of Black artists in Seattle has showcased dozens of people — from dancers and musicians to architects and curators — through written and video profiles, podcast episodes and photography. Subscribe...

Twenty-four years after Washington became the first state to commit to decreasing pedestrian traffic deaths to zero, the numbers continue to move in the wrong direction. Last year was one of the worst years ever for Washington traffic deaths, including pedestrians. Accounting for a full 20% of those traffic deaths...

State and federal officials on Monday released another new plan to clean up Hanford, the Western Hemisphere’s most polluted site, a full 16 years behind their previous schedule to turn most of the 56 million gallons of nuclear waste into benign glass. The tentative new plan, announced after four...

In 1973, with exactly zero acting experience, Tee Dennard walked into an audition at Black Arts/West in Seattle’s Madrona neighborhood, hoping to meet some single women. The theater was casting for J.E. Franklin’s Black Girl, a play about a young woman who dreams of escaping the confines of her home life to become a ballet dancer.

Around 25 demonstrators gathered Monday morning on the quad of the University of Washington’s Seattle campus to establish an encampment in solidarity with Gaza, joining a wave of similar efforts on campuses across the nation. Student organizers from UW’s Progressive Student Union say they are demanding the university cut...

Sound Transit’s long-anticipated East Link debuted over the weekend, connecting Bellevue with Redmond via light rail. The train, which will eventually travel across Lake Washington, has been a long time in the works. The extension project, formally approved by voters in 2008, was expected to cost about $3.68 billion for the line. By next year, Sound Transit expects to connect Bellevue to Seattle – where Link Light Rail opened in 2009.

Rachel Belle joins Truffle Dog Company to forage for the coveted delicacies in the Snohomish County woods.

This story was originally published by Cascadia Daily News. Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu is refusing to resign following a demand from the Whatcom Democrats’ board that he step down for his handling of sexual harassment allegations against a former Public Works director. Sidhu said he welcomed a formal...

Washington’s wolf population increased by 20% last year, the 15th year in a row that the number of endangered gray wolves in the state has grown, according to new state figures. As of the end of 2023, Washington had 260 wolves in 42 packs. That’s up from 216 wolves...

According to the Haida First Nations people of the northern British Columbian coast, the origins of humanity began on a beach. Raven found a large clam shell and noticed some creatures protruding from it and squirming inside. He coaxed the reluctant creatures to come out and join the rest of the world. They were the first men.

Clams are among the Pacific Northwest’s most vital natural resources. From thousands of years of aquaculture to folk songs and university mascots, the celebration and consumption of clams permeates local food and culture. Cascade PBS’ resident historian Knute Berger dug up some of these stories in a recent episode...

Andy Juris, a dryland wheat and alfalfa grower in Bickleton, in Klickitat County, knows precisely how much fertilizer to put on different areas of his farm. Juris needs to ensure he uses the right amount of fertilizer. Too much can damage the plant, but not enough may prevent full development.

If waiting two whole weeks for a new episode of Your Last Meal is way too long, we’ve got something to tide you over. On the weeks we’re not releasing a full-length episode of Your Last Meal, we’re airing The Leftovers: audio left on the cutting-room floor, interviews that host Rachel Belle really wants to do that don’t fit into the show’s usual format and, as you’ll hear today, a speed round with last week’s guest.

Rachel Belle’s video series views food through the lens of art, nature and community. Plus, a homeless youth hotline closes and WA’s low FAFSA rates.

When Sound Transit unveils the newest link in the light-rail system this weekend (April 27, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.), the Eastside station celebrations will include live music, food trucks, a “Baby Sasquatch on the loose” and a communal mural painting — in addition to a new way to get from Redmond to Bellevue and back.

Rachel Carson. David Brower. Aldo Leopold. These luminaries are often credited with igniting the modern environmental movement. Yet there’s another monumental figure, now sometimes overlooked, who spearheaded many of the movement’s most important ideas and initiatives: Stewart Udall. A Westerner who fought what he called “the myth of...

The beloved video series has returned, and host Knute Berger continues to explore Pacific Northwest history. The fifth season of the companion podcast that Knute co-hosts with Stephen Hegg is back, too. Subscribe to Northwest Reports on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Podbean. A couple of episodes are already...

For Gina Owens, the parallels between herself and Gloria Johnson — one of the plaintiffs in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court about criminalizing homelessness — are all too striking. Owens used to be a nurse, but a car crash in the year 2000 disabled her spinal...