Seattle's tech industry blues episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 17, 2026 · 20 MIN

Seattle's tech industry blues

from Make Me Smart · host Marketplace

Recently, Seattle’s tech workforce has been hit by wave after wave of layoffs. Some company execs say it’s AI’s fault. KUOW’s Monica Nickelsburg joins Kimberly on today’s show to share what she’s hearing from tech workers. And, we’ll get into another side of the AI boom: the push to build more data centers and the pushback from locals. Plus, a round of Seattle trivia!Here’s everything we talked about today:"Booming" from KUOWWhy Seattle tech companies are still laying off workers from The Seattle Times"From coder to shuttle driver: Where Seattle's laid off tech workforce is now" from KUOW"A small town in Central Washington is Microsoft's answer to the data center backlash" from KUOW"What produce prompted the creation of the Market?" from the Pike Place Market Foundation"Seattle doesn't have many unicorns. Does it matter?" From GeekWire"Scents from a Mall: The Sticky, Untold Story of Cinnabon" from Seattle Met"Seattle area expected to generate $845 million from FIFA World Cup" from Fox 13 SeattleWe love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email [email protected].

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Apr 17, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

Seattle's tech industry blues

0:00 20:10

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Make Me Smart?

This episode is 20 minutes long.

When was this Make Me Smart episode published?

This episode was published on April 17, 2026.

Can I download this Make Me Smart episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!