KBTC's Weekly Public Affairs Show - Friday at 7:30pm

Northwest Now is KBTC's weekly public affairs television show hosted by veteran journalist Tom Layson. Now in its 17th season, Northwest Now takes a closer look at the issues and people who are part of Western Washington. 

WATCH LIVE| Friday nights at 7:30pm on KBTC and the KBTC Livestream.  

STREAM | Available here and on-demand on the free PBS App.  

LISTEN | Listen here, download, or find episodes at Apple Podcasts.

Explore the Northwest Now Collection  

Northwest Now Digital Extra | Northwest Now Digital First | Open Government | Saving the Salmon |Specials

Northwest Now Host - Tom Layson 

Tom Layson is KBTC's Managing Editor and worked in Yakima, Terre Haute, Louisville, Sacramento, Columbus, and New York-New Jersey. Tom anchored 13 hours of live coverage in the NY/NJ market during 9-11 - just one example of the many thousands of hours he’s been on set or in the field covering politics, natural disasters, courts and crime, economic development, personal finance and the environment the past 40 years. Tom grew up in the Maple Valley area and is a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University.

Free Speech Concerns

A decade of cancel culture and the assassination of Charlie Kirk have reinvigorated the discussion about free speech - what exactly it is, and what it isn't. Two renown local professors who focus on the Constitution and our democracy on this edition of Northwest Now.

Audio Preview

Listen to an audio preview of this week's show by Northwest Now's Associate Producer, Chris Anderson. 

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11/7 | Free Speech Concerns Free speech may not be what you think it is, and that’s one of the problems political extremeism is fueling as people make irresponsible statements and think they’re immune from consequences. We’re talking with University of Washington Political Science professor James Long and Seattle U Law School professor Andrew Seigel about the difference between the First Amendment protection against government overreach when it comes to speech, and a lot of the venom that’s otherwise spewed across the internet that has people losing jobs and getting cancelled.

11/14 | Tariff Concerns The Trump administration’s tariffs have been all over the place, making it extremely difficult for businesses to plan and restock the goods they sell. Consumers are able to keep pace for now, but some analysts say it won’t be long before spending slows down and the true impact of the tariffs will put a dent in the economy. We’ll hear from Seattle Port Commissioner Ryan Caulkins on this important topic.

11/21 | Street Drug Chemicals (Encore) Fentanyl is killing thousands in Western Washington, but a new wave of highly adulterated street drugs threatens to make a bad problem even worse. We're talking about it with Tacoma's needle exchange program - doing battle with a wave of toxic additives on this edition of Northwest Now.

11/28 | Dennis Worsham We sit down to speak with Washington’s newly appointed Secretary of Health, Dennis Worsham. The state’s Women Infants and Children nutrition program is facing a crisis with the loss of federal funds due to the government shutdown While the department of health doesn’t deal with medical insurance or healthcare delivery, it does deal with the public health issues faced by the uninsured, and the problems associated with the erosion of the nation’s public health infrastructure including the prevention of infectious diseases.