Just this morning, the NBA Board of Governors approved exploring two possible expansion teams in Seattle and Las Vegas. 

Yes, you’re allowed to squeal, but listen carefully: this is not a done deal, the team is not back yet. 

But here's why one sportswriter (and Sonics enthusiast) won't be apologizing to any Thunder fans in Oklahoma City anytime soon. 

Guest

Danny O'Neil, sportswriter


Related Links

OKC wants apology before giving back Sonics history? Are you kidding? - The News Tribune

The Dang Apostrophe (Danny's newsletter)

NBA owners vote to explore Vegas, Seattle expansion bids - ESPN

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

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Just this morning, the NBA Board of Governors approved exploring two possible expansion teams in Seattle and Las Vegas.&nbsp;
Yes, you&rsquo;re allowed to squeal, but listen carefully: this is not a done deal, the team is not back yet. 
But here's why one sportswriter (and Sonics enthusiast) won't be apologizing to any Thunder fans in Oklahoma City anytime soon.&nbsp; Guest
Danny O'Neil, sportswriter 
Related Links <a href="https://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/article315176047.html">OKC wants apology before giving back Sonics history? Are you kidding?</a> - The News Tribune
<a href="https://www.dannyoneil.com/newsletters">The Dang Apostrophe</a>&nbsp;(Danny's newsletter) <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/48304338/sources-nba-votes-explore-vegas-seattle-expansion-bids">NBA owners vote to explore Vegas, Seattle expansion bids</a> - ESPN Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
Soundside&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Soundside

The Sonics are closer to coming back than they've ever been before. 

The Seattle SuperSonics and why "the king of the latte missed out huge"

If you watch HBO's hit series "The Pitt', you'll actually see a real-life nurse on screen: Ned Brower. He plays nurse Jesse Van Horn. 

Brower is an actor with real-life ER experience. 

Two careers are usually enough for most people. But he's also a musician. He started working as an EMT and later became a nurse after making his name with the band Rooney.  

Brower’s new project is the electro-pop band, Bloodwerk. Listen to one of their singles, Truth Will Tell, here.

Guest

Ned Brower, nurse, actor and musician

Related Links

‘The Pitt’ star Ned Brower strikes balance between nursing and acting - The Seattle Times

On ‘The Pitt,’ Ned Brower’s Nurse Jesse Has Captured the Hearts of Fans — Now He Wants Their Ears - Rolling Stone


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

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

If you watch HBO's hit series "The Pitt', you'll actually see a real-life nurse on screen: Ned Brower. He plays nurse Jesse Van Horn.&nbsp;
Brower is an actor with real-life ER experience.&nbsp;
Two careers are usually enough for most people. But he's also a musician. He started working as an EMT and later became a nurse after making his name with the band Rooney. &nbsp;
Brower&rsquo;s new project is the electro-pop band, Bloodwerk. Listen to one of their singles, Truth Will Tell, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzJni_5BPKY">here</a>.
Guest
Ned Brower, nurse, actor and musician Related Links <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/tv/the-pitt-star-ned-brower-strikes-balance-between-nursing-and-acting/">&lsquo;The Pitt&rsquo; star Ned Brower strikes balance between nursing and acting</a> - The Seattle Times
<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/the-pitt-ned-brower-nurse-jesse-interview-bloodwerk-1235525917/">On &lsquo;The Pitt,&rsquo; Ned Brower&rsquo;s Nurse Jesse Has Captured the Hearts of Fans &mdash; Now He Wants Their Ears</a> - Rolling Stone
 Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
Soundside&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Brower plays nurse Jesse Van Horn on HBO's "The Pitt."

How Bellevue's Ned Brower got from real-life nursing to 'The Pitt'

From New York to Phoenix, at least fourteen major airports across the country will see ICE agents deployed today, according to White House border Czar Tom Homan. 

The immigration agents are being sent to bolster TSA staffing amid an ongoing partial federal government shutdown.

In many places, that has led to security checkpoint lines that stretch for blocks and have travelers waiting hours to get to their flights. 

But it’s been a different picture at SEA Airport, at least for now.

Guest:
Port of Seattle Commissioner Sam Cho

Related links:
Support SEA TSA Workers During the Government Shutdown! - gofundme

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

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

From New York to Phoenix, at least fourteen major airports across the country will see ICE agents deployed today, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/tsa-wait-times-ice-airports-03-23-26?post-id=cmn37qf65000q3b6rfo32wpep">according to White House border Czar Tom Homan</a>.&nbsp;
The immigration agents are being sent to bolster TSA staffing amid an ongoing partial federal government shutdown.
In many places, that has led to security checkpoint lines that stretch for blocks and have travelers waiting hours to get to their flights.&nbsp;
But it&rsquo;s been a different picture at <a href="https://www.portseattle.org/places/sea-tac-airport">SEA Airport</a>, at least for now.
Guest:
<ul>
<li>Port of Seattle Commissioner Sam Cho</li>
</ul>
Related links:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-sea-tsa-workers-during-the-government-shutdown?attribution_id=sl:fed975bf-e448-4ea0-962c-5eac8025a665&amp;amp;lang=en_US&amp;amp;ts=1774322833&amp;amp;utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&amp;amp;utm_content=amp17_te-amp20_t1&amp;amp;utm_medium=customer&amp;amp;utm_source=copy_link">Support SEA TSA Workers During the Government Shutdown! - gofundme</a></li>
</ul>
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
Soundside&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

In many places, that has led to security checkpoint lines that stretch for blocks and have travelers waiting hours to get to their flights. But it’s been a different picture at SeaTac, at least for now.

Why Sea-Tac has been spared insanely long TSA lines...so far

Washington, like the entire country, has been hit hard by fentanyl. 

in 2025, King County has recorded more than 650 overdose deaths involving the synthetic opioid, which can be 50 times stronger than heroin. 

650 is a devastating number but it’s actually down from a peak in 2023, when more than 1,000 people died from fentanyl-related overdoses in the county. The drop mirrors a downward trend that we’ve seen across the entire country… 

But the crisis is still overwhelming many communities. 

A biotech company called ARMR Sciences is hoping to solve at least one piece of this very complicated puzzle: Instead of reversing these overdoses, they want to stop them from happening in the first place... through a fentanyl vaccine. 

This segment first aired in December of 2025. 

Also - We wanted to share a response we got from a listener about our update on Kratom.

In case you missed it, Kratom is a plant from Southeast Asia that can have psychoactive effects. You’ve probably seen the signs for it - they’re plastered on just about every smoke shop in the city.

We previously spoke with UW Medicine researcher Caleb Banta Green about what we know about kratom.

And we replayed a short bit of that conversation last week in an update…. Because Spokane and Spokane Valley recently banned the sale of the substance. 

We also asked you to give us your thoughts on Kratom and whether it should be a banned substance.

Erik from Bothell responded with a really interesting personal take on the substance, and its effects. 

GUESTS:
Dr. Colin Haile, a research associate professor at the University of Houston and he’s also one of the co-founders of ARMR Sciences.
Erik from Bothell

RELATED LINKS: 
A Fentanyl Vaccine Is About to Get Its First Major Test | WIRED
Scientists Create a Vaccine Against Fentanyl

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

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Washington, like the entire country, has been hit hard by fentanyl.&nbsp;
in 2025, King County has recorded more than 650<a href="https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dph/health-safety/medical-examiner/reports-dashboards/overdose-deaths-dashboard"> overdose deaths </a>involving the synthetic opioid, which&nbsp;can be <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/stop-overdose/caring/fentanyl-facts.html">50 times stronger than heroin</a>.&nbsp;
650 is a devastating number but it&rsquo;s actually down from a peak in 2023, when more than 1,000 people died from fentanyl-related overdoses in the county. The drop<a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/03/07/nx-s1-5295618/fentanyl-overdose-drugs"> mirrors a downward trend </a>that we&rsquo;ve seen across the entire country&hellip;&nbsp;
But the crisis is still overwhelming many communities.&nbsp;
A biotech company called ARMR Sciences is hoping to solve at least one piece of this very complicated puzzle:&nbsp;Instead of reversing these overdoses, they want to stop them from happening in the first place... through a fentanyl vaccine.&nbsp;
This segment first aired in December of 2025.&nbsp;
Also - We wanted to share a response we got from a listener about our update on Kratom.
In case you missed it, Kratom is a plant from Southeast Asia that can have psychoactive effects. You&rsquo;ve probably seen the signs for it - they&rsquo;re plastered on just about every smoke shop in the city.
We previously spoke with UW Medicine researcher Caleb Banta Green about what we know about kratom.
And we replayed a short bit of that conversation last week in an update&hellip;. Because Spokane and Spokane Valley recently banned the sale of the substance.&nbsp;
We also asked you to give us your thoughts on Kratom and whether it should be a banned substance.
Erik from Bothell responded with a really interesting personal take on the substance, and its effects.&nbsp;
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Dr. Colin Haile,&nbsp;a research associate professor at the University of Houston and he&rsquo;s also one of the co-founders of ARMR Sciences.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Erik from Bothell</li>
</ul>
RELATED LINKS:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/a-fentanyl-vaccine-is-about-to-get-its-first-major-test/?mkt_tok=NTI3LUFIUi0yNjUAAAGejZOL5L40JIAgQjcmqH8JQYrky14JSFbjl1AMnLEIZ6yMA7_lanoO5j-ii0_USQn0VDUYqjGzmk09t_87Ms-WW9G9c4HbTpBfgUL0dkLkyqfb">A Fentanyl Vaccine Is About to Get Its First Major Test | WIRED</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-create-a-vaccine-against-fentanyl-180981301/">Scientists Create a Vaccine Against Fentanyl</a></li>
</ul>
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
Soundside&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Hear It Again - Soundside's story of a fentanyl vaccine to curb overdoses and addiction, plus a listener response to our update on Kratom.

The Seattle SuperSonics and why "the king of the latte missed out huge"

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