Attendance at the big movie theater chains has been slowly creeping back up since it dropped off a cliff during the pandemic. But a lot of smaller, neighborhood movie theaters are still struggling to survive -- the kind with just a few screens and show a lot of independent or low-budget films. 

On today's episode, what could save small cinemas? Spoiler: It’ll take more than just movies.  

Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at booming@kuow.org.

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

Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.

Attendance at the big movie theater chains has been slowly creeping back up since it dropped off a cliff during the pandemic. But a lot of smaller, neighborhood movie theaters are still struggling to survive -- the kind with just a few screens and show a lot of independent or low-budget films.&nbsp;
On today's episode, what could save small cinemas? Spoiler: It&rsquo;ll take more than just movies.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at <a href="tel:2062217158" data-stringify-link="tel:2062217158" data-sk="tooltip_parent">(206) 221-7158</a> and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:booming@kuow.org">booming@kuow.org</a>.
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes">kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes</a>. Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/carol-smith">Carol Smith</a>. Our producers are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/lucy-soucek">Lucy Soucek</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/alec-cowan">Alec Cowan</a>. Our hosts are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/joshua-mcnichols">Joshua McNichols</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/monica-nickelsburg">Monica Nickelsburg</a>.

Booming is 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.

Booming is 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&rsquo;s brought jobs, people, and wealth to the region, but also real growing pains that people here feel every day. In&nbsp;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.

Booming

Some of our most beloved theaters are teetering between keeping their doors open, and closing them forever.

What will it take to save our favorite small cinemas? 

Data centers were on the ballot this midterm, and they lost big. Dozens of initiatives and candidates promising to slow the artificial intelligence buildout prevailed. 

That could spell trouble for Seattle's tech giants. Microsoft and Amazon are among the biggest data center developers in the country. And increasingly, they've been building them in states that just elected governors promising to close that open door to data centers. 

That could push these companies to start looking outside the country... or beyond. 

On this week's episode, will the blue wave dump cold water on the tech industry's AI ambitions? Or will they raise them... all the way to the stratosphere? 

Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at booming@kuow.org.

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

Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.

Data centers were on the ballot this midterm, and they lost big. Dozens of initiatives and candidates promising to slow the artificial intelligence buildout prevailed.&nbsp;
That could spell trouble for Seattle's tech giants. Microsoft and Amazon are among the biggest data center developers in the country. And increasingly, they've been building them in states that just elected governors promising to close that open door to data centers.&nbsp;
That could push these companies to start looking outside the country... or beyond.&nbsp;
On this week's episode, will the blue wave dump cold water on the tech industry's AI ambitions?&nbsp;Or will they raise them... all the way to the stratosphere?&nbsp;
Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at <a href="tel:2062217158" data-stringify-link="tel:2062217158" data-sk="tooltip_parent">(206) 221-7158</a> and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:booming@kuow.org">booming@kuow.org</a>.
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes">kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes</a>. Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/carol-smith">Carol Smith</a>. Our producers are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/lucy-soucek">Lucy Soucek</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/alec-cowan">Alec Cowan</a>. Our hosts are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/joshua-mcnichols">Joshua McNichols</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/monica-nickelsburg">Monica Nickelsburg</a>.

Data centers were on the ballot this midterm, and boy did they lose big time. That could spell trouble for Seattle's tech titans. 

Will the blue wave dump cold water on the AI buildout? 

The U.S. spends over a hundred million dollars a year importing seaweed from faraway places like Korea. Entrepreneurs have long hoped to build a local industry in the hospitable waters of the Salish Sea and use seaweed to make everything from food to fabric. 

But getting kelp farming off the ground requires a lot of trial and error -- and some farmers are running out of time and money.  

On today's episode, what will it take to get commercial seaweed off the ground (or the seafloor) in the Puget Sound region? And how much could it boost our local economy?

Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at booming@kuow.org.

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

Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.

The U.S. spends over a hundred million dollars a year importing seaweed from faraway places like Korea. Entrepreneurs have long hoped to build a local industry in the hospitable waters of the Salish Sea and use seaweed to make everything from food to fabric.&nbsp;
But getting kelp farming off the ground requires a lot of trial and error -- and some farmers are running out of time and money. &nbsp;
On today's episode, what will it take to get commercial seaweed off the ground (or the seafloor) in the Puget Sound region? And how much could it boost our local economy?
Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at <a href="tel:2062217158" data-stringify-link="tel:2062217158" data-sk="tooltip_parent">(206) 221-7158</a> and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:booming@kuow.org">booming@kuow.org</a>.
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes">kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes</a>. Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/carol-smith">Carol Smith</a>. Our producers are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/lucy-soucek">Lucy Soucek</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/alec-cowan">Alec Cowan</a>. Our hosts are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/joshua-mcnichols">Joshua McNichols</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/monica-nickelsburg">Monica Nickelsburg</a>.

Getting commercial kelp farming off the ground requires a lot of trial and error, and some farmers are running out of time and money.  

The dreamers risking everything to grow a seaweed industry in the PNW

Millions of people have enlisted AI agents to do everything from ordering dinner to booking a family vacation.

Open AI has Dots. Anthropic has Claude Duet. And Meta has Muse. Together, agents like these are transforming the way people automate their daily lives. 

But trusting these personal AI task rabbits to make decisions on our behalf can come with real risks... especially when businesses use them. 

On today's episode, what are the risks if we let AI agents make decisions for us? And as agents run more and more of the economy, where do humans fit in? 

GUEST:
Chirag Shah, professor at the University of Washington's Information School. He’s the author of Agent Nation: How Autonomous AI Is Rewriting the Rules of Society—and What We Can Do About It.  

Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at booming@kuow.org.

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

Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.

Millions of people have enlisted AI agents to do everything from ordering dinner to booking&nbsp;a&nbsp;family vacation.
Open AI has Dots. Anthropic has Claude Duet. And Meta has Muse.&nbsp;Together, agents like these are transforming the way people automate their daily lives.&nbsp;
But trusting these personal AI task rabbits to make decisions on our behalf can come with real risks... especially when businesses use them.&nbsp;
On today's episode, what are the risks if we let AI agents make decisions for us?&nbsp;And as agents run more and more of the economy, where do humans fit in?&nbsp;
GUEST: <a href="https://ischool.uw.edu/people/faculty/profile/chirags">Chirag Shah</a>, professor at the University of Washington's Information School. He&rsquo;s the author of Agent Nation: How Autonomous AI Is Rewriting the Rules of Society&mdash;and What We Can Do About It. &nbsp;
Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at <a href="tel:2062217158" data-stringify-link="tel:2062217158" data-sk="tooltip_parent">(206) 221-7158</a> and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:booming@kuow.org">booming@kuow.org</a>.
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes">kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes</a>. Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/carol-smith">Carol Smith</a>. Our producers are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/lucy-soucek">Lucy Soucek</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/alec-cowan">Alec Cowan</a>. Our hosts are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/joshua-mcnichols">Joshua McNichols</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/monica-nickelsburg">Monica Nickelsburg</a>.

What are the risks if we let AI agents make decisions for us? And as agents run more and more of the economy, where do humans fit in? 

What will it take to save our favorite small cinemas?

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