There’s a lot of debate in Seattle right now over whether it's still a good place to do business.

It's hard to tell whether recent high profile moves by companies are signs of a wider exodus, or if they’re outliers -- but there may be lessons from the past that provide clues to what the future will hold.

On today's episode, is big business souring on Seattle? We look at one of the city's most infamous tax battles to learn more.

Do you have a story idea for us? We'd love to hear about it. 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.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Remember when bookstores were an endangered species? Well not anymore.

Thousands of independent bookstores across the country just celebrated Independent Bookstore Day.

Brick-and-mortar places like Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle didn't just survive the e-commerce revolution. They’re thriving ... by leaning into doing what online sellers can’t do.

On today's episode, how did independent bookstores escape Amazon’s shadow? And what lessons could other businesses learn from their revival?

Check out the KUOW Book Club.

Do you have a story idea for us? We'd love to hear about it. 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.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People everywhere followed along as Artemis astronauts made their historic mission around the moon.

But what made that possible was research -- and that kind of scientific discovery is in jeopardy after ongoing cuts to federal research funding.

For decades, the University of Washington has received more federal research money than almost any other public university.

And the research that's come out of the institution has fed the growth of the region’s biggest employers… and its most innovative startups.

On today's episode: What could cuts to federal research funding mean for Seattle’s future economy?

Do you have a story idea for us? We'd love to hear about it. 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.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.