Only 11 percent of rental units in the United States allow “big” dogs – but what does that mean? Is a labrador a big dog? How about a pit bull? And why does your landlord care so much, anyway? Inspired by the story of one dog who ran afoul of an HOA rule, Clare tells Teo why so many dogs end up booted from loving homes to shelters and how advocates are trying to stop it. 

We want to answer your questions about how our world works! Click here to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org

Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle.

Sources in this episode:
Data on dog weights from Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital
Data analysis on pet restrictions in housing from the Pet Inclusive Housing Initiative, based on Smart Apartment Data
2025 State of Shelter Pet Adoption Report, The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement
Pets & Housing Data 2025 Edition, Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative 
Interview with Dr. Jessica Bell, Veterinarian and professor at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine
Interview with Alexandra Alvarado, American Apartment Owner’s Association
Interview with Ross Barker, lead of the Pet Inclusive Housing Initiative
Interview with Tor Berg, Poochie’s dad

Only 11 percent of rental units in the United States allow &ldquo;big&rdquo; dogs &ndash; but what does that mean? Is a labrador a big dog? How about a pit bull? And why does your landlord care so much, anyway? Inspired by the story of one dog who ran afoul of an HOA rule, Clare tells Teo why so many dogs end up booted from loving homes to shelters and how advocates are trying to stop it.&nbsp;
We want to answer your questions about how our world works!<a href="https://forms.office.com/r/4nGSfCuAML"> Click here</a> to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org
Support the show by supporting our home,<a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/control-f-notes"> KUOW Public Radio</a> in Seattle.
Sources in this episode:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Data on dog weights from Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital</li>
<li aria-level="1">Data analysis on pet restrictions in housing from the Pet Inclusive Housing Initiative, based on Smart Apartment Data</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://theaawa.org/hills-2025-shelter-report/">2025 State of Shelter Pet Adoption Report</a>, The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://heyzine.com/flip-book/2025petsandhousingdata.html">Pets &amp; Housing Data 2025 Edition</a>, Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with Dr. Jessica Bell, Veterinarian and professor at Washington State University&rsquo;s College of Veterinary Medicine</li>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with Alexandra Alvarado, American Apartment Owner&rsquo;s Association</li>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with Ross Barker, lead of the Pet Inclusive Housing Initiative</li>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with Tor Berg, Poochie&rsquo;s dad</li>
</ul>

Control F is a podcast about data — hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data — and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.

Control F is a podcast about data &mdash; hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data &mdash; and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.

Control F is a podcast about data — hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data — and all the ways it influences our daily lives. 

Control F

Who decided my dog is ‘too big’ for my home?

Someone who has to survive without a regular place to sleep at night is vulnerable to danger, illness, and the more insidious harm of being shunned. One way to quantify the harm caused by homelessness is to understand how many people are experiencing it. How do we do that? We try to count them, and one city is leading the charge on a new approach. Teo tells Clare how it could change our view of our unhoused neighbors. 

We want to answer your questions about how our world works! Click here to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org

Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle.

Sources in this episode:
Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2024
Full Point-in-Time Counts, Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Canada
Point-in-Time Count Underway, King County Regional Homelessness Authority
Point-in-Time Count presentation, King County Regional Homelessness Authority
Evaluation of Respondent-Driven Sampling prevalence estimators using real-world reported network degree, Lisa Avery and Michael Rotondi, Sage Journal 
Point-in-Time Count: Volunteer training, Texas Homeless Network, 2020
Point-in-Time Count standards and methodologies training, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2018 
Interview with Maria Arnes, PIT volunteer, 2026 
Interview with Jack Almquist, University of Washington, 2026
Interview with William Towey, King County Regional Homelessness Authority, 2026
Interview with Ann Oliva, National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2025

Someone who has to survive without a regular place to sleep at night is vulnerable to danger, illness, and the more insidious harm of being shunned. One way to quantify the harm caused by homelessness is to understand how many people are experiencing it. How do we do that? We try to count them, and one city is leading the charge on a new approach. Teo tells Clare how it could change our view of our unhoused neighbors.&nbsp;
We want to answer your questions about how our world works! <a href="https://forms.office.com/r/4nGSfCuAML">Click here</a> to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org
Support the show by supporting our home, <a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/control-f-notes">KUOW Public Radio</a> in Seattle.
Sources in this episode:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ahar/2024-ahar-part-1-pit-estimates-of-homelessness-in-the-us.html">Annual Homelessness Assessment Report</a>, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2024</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://housing-infrastructure.canada.ca/homelessness-sans-abri/resources-ressources/point-in-time-denombrement-ponctuel-eng.html">Full Point-in-Time Counts</a>, Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Canada</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://kcrha.org/news-point-in-time-count-2026-underway/">Point-in-Time Count Underway</a>, King County Regional Homelessness Authority</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PviXXAhVmKw">Point-in-Time Count presentation</a>, King County Regional Homelessness Authority</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00811750231163832">Evaluation of Respondent-Driven Sampling prevalence estimators using real-world reported network degree</a>, Lisa Avery and Michael Rotondi, Sage Journal&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.thn.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/2020-PIT-Volunteer-Training.pdf">Point-in-Time Count: Volunteer training</a>, Texas Homeless Network, 2020</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/trainings/courses/point-in-time-pit-count-standards-and-methodologies-training/">Point-in-Time Count standards and methodologies training</a>, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2018&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with Maria Arnes, PIT volunteer, 2026&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with Jack Almquist, University of Washington, 2026</li>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with William Towey, King County Regional Homelessness Authority, 2026</li>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with Ann Oliva, National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2025</li>
</ul>

Can we get better at measuring homelessness?

In 1964, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty. Johnson wanted to lift the nation’s poor into a better life, via programs like food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid. But more than 60 years later, our country is still grappling with how to alleviate the challenges of poverty – including how we measure it.

In this episode, Teo explains how the Federal Poverty Line is calculated and what it has to do with Jello. 

We want to answer your questions about how our world works! Click here to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org

Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle.

Sources in this episode:
U.S. Census Bureau Timeline of Poverty Measure, 2014
How the U.S. Census Bureau Measures Poverty, 2022
What does living at the poverty line look like?, USA Facts, 2023
Poverty Guidelines vs Poverty Thresholds, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Poverty Line Matrix, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2026
Remembering Mollie Orshansky — The Developer of the Poverty Thresholds, Society Security Administration, 2008
Relatively Deprived, New Yorker, 2006
Mollie Orshansky, Statistician, Dies at 91, The New York Times, 2007
Mollie Orshansky: Inventor of the Poverty Line, NPR, 2007
Thrifty Food Plan, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2021
Thrifty Food Plan: Better planning and accountability could help ensure quality of future reevaluations, U.S. Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Requesters, 2022
Family Food Plans and Food Costs, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1962
The Indians in the Lobby, Season 3, Episode 8, The West Wing, 2001
NPR audience call out on SNAP benefits, 2025
Legacies of the War on Poverty, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political & Social Science, 2024

In 1964, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty. Johnson wanted to lift the nation&rsquo;s poor into a better life, via programs like food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid. But more than 60 years later, our country is still grappling with how to alleviate the challenges of poverty &ndash; including how we measure it.
In this episode, Teo explains how the Federal Poverty Line is calculated and what it has to do with Jello.&nbsp;
We want to answer your questions about how our world works! <a href="https://forms.office.com/r/4nGSfCuAML">Click here</a> to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org
Support the show by supporting our home,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/control-f-notes">KUOW Public Radio</a> in Seattle.
Sources in this episode:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2014/demo/poverty_measure-history.html">U.S. Census Bureau Timeline of Poverty Measure</a>, 2014</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2021/demo/poverty_measure-how.html">How the U.S. Census Bureau Measures Poverty</a>, 2022</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://usafacts.org/articles/what-does-living-at-the-poverty-line-look-like/">What does living at the poverty line look like?</a>, USA Facts, 2023</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines/frequently-asked-questions-related-poverty-guidelines-poverty">Poverty Guidelines vs Poverty Thresholds</a>, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/57079d323990db17e9ceaaab212c5680/detailed-guidelines-2026.xlsx">Poverty Line Matrix</a>, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2026</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v68n3/v68n3p79.html">Remembering Mollie Orshansky &mdash; The Developer of the Poverty Thresholds</a>, Society Security Administration, 2008</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/04/03/relatively-deprived">Relatively Deprived</a>, New Yorker, 2006</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/us/17orshansky.html">Mollie Orshansky, Statistician, Dies at 91</a>, The New York Times, 2007</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.npr.org/2007/04/21/9750949/mollie-orshansky-inventor-of-the-poverty-line">Mollie Orshansky: Inventor of the Poverty Line</a>, NPR, 2007</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cnpp/thrifty-food-plan-2021">Thrifty Food Plan</a>, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2021</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-105450.pdf">Thrifty Food Plan: Better planning and accountability could help ensure quality of future reevaluations</a>, U.S. Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Requesters, 2022</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/private/pdf/106751/familyfoodplan.pdf">Family Food Plans and Food Costs</a>, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1962</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://youtu.be/q9EehZlw-zk?si=foDZKEv74m4WRbJF">The Indians in the Lobby</a>, Season 3, Episode 8, The West Wing, 2001</li>
<li aria-level="1">NPR audience call out on SNAP benefits, 2025</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00027162241289754">Legacies of the War on Poverty</a>, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political &amp; Social Science, 2024</li>
</ul>

The Poverty Line decides who qualifies for benefits like  Medicaid, food stamps and many other government programs. But the way we calculate poverty in the United States hasn't changed in 60 years.  

What is the poverty line? And why does it matter?

The United States spends more on health care than any other country on earth. Most health care products in the U.S. cost at least twice what other countries pay, sometimes up to ten times as much. And everyday Americans are often left footing the bill, grappling with sky-high premiums and medical debt. Clare tells Teo how the forces in our health care system keep costs high, and what you can do about the (possibly giant) number at the bottom of your next medical bill. 

We want to answer your questions about how our world works! Click here to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org

Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle.

Sources in this episode:
The Insane Things Hospitals Can Charge You for When you Give Birth, Vice, 2018
Health Care Costs and Affordability, Kaiser Family Foundation, 2025
Health costs associated with pregnancy, childbirth, and infant care, Peterson-KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) Health System Tracker, 2025
Utah Dad Posts Hospital Bill With Nearly $40 Fee for Skin-to-Skin Contact After Son's Birth, ABC News, 2016
As Americans Struggled, Health Insurers Made a Record-Breaking $71.3 Billion in Profits, Wendell Potter on Substack, 2025
Health Care Debt In The U.S.: The Broad Consequences Of Medical And Dental Bills, Kaiser Family Foundation, 2022
The Marshall Allen Project
Cost Data from the British Columbia Ministry of Health
Interview with Gerard Anderson, Johns Hopkins Professor of Health Policy and Management
Trump struck deals with 16 drug companies. But they're still raising prices this year, NPR, 2026

The United States spends more on health care than any other country on earth. Most health care products in the U.S. cost at least twice what other countries pay, sometimes up to ten times as much. And everyday Americans are often left footing the bill, grappling with sky-high premiums and medical debt. Clare tells Teo how the forces in our health care system keep costs high, and what you can do about the (possibly giant) number at the bottom of your next medical bill.&nbsp;
We want to answer your questions about how our world works! <a href="https://forms.office.com/r/4nGSfCuAML">Click here</a> to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org
Support the show by supporting our home, <a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/control-f-notes">KUOW Public Radio</a> in Seattle.
Sources in this episode:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/giving-birth-hidden-hospital-costs/">The Insane Things Hospitals Can Charge You for When you Give Birth</a>, Vice, 2018</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.kff.org/health-costs/health-policy-101-health-care-costs-and-affordability/?entry=table-of-contents-how-do-high-health-costs-affect-affordability-of-care">Health Care Costs and Affordability</a>, Kaiser Family Foundation, 2025</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/health-costs-associated-with-pregnancy-childbirth-and-postpartum-care/">Health costs associated with pregnancy, childbirth, and infant care</a>, Peterson-KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) Health System Tracker, 2025</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://abcnews.com/Health/utah-dad-posts-hospital-bill-40-fee-skin/story?id=42585001">Utah Dad Posts Hospital Bill With Nearly $40 Fee for Skin-to-Skin Contact After Son's Birth</a>, ABC News, 2016</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://healthcareuncovered.substack.com/p/as-americans-struggled-health-insurers">As Americans Struggled, Health Insurers Made a Record-Breaking $71.3 Billion in Profits</a>, Wendell Potter on Substack, 2025</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.kff.org/health-costs/kff-health-care-debt-survey/">Health Care Debt In The U.S.: The Broad Consequences Of Medical And Dental Bills</a>, Kaiser Family Foundation, 2022</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.marshallallenproject.org/">The Marshall Allen Project</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Cost Data from the British Columbia Ministry of Health</li>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with <a href="https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/11/gerard-anderson">Gerard Anderson</a>, Johns Hopkins Professor of Health Policy and Management</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/01/16/nx-s1-5678915/trumprx-pharma-drug-price-deals-list-prices">Trump struck deals with 16 drug companies. But they're still raising prices this year</a>, NPR, 2026</li>
</ul>

Healthcare costs are higher in the United States than any other country, thanks to a complex system of healthcare providers, insurers and patients that keep prices high. 

Who decided my dog is ‘too big’ for my home?

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