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.
Friday at 7:30pm
We Heart Seattle
Washington has the third-highest number of homeless people in the United States. Into that walks We Heart Seattle a group of volunteers working at the intersection of the effort to save the city's environment and influence homeless policy 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.
Click here to listen:
The latest from Northwest Now
Free market resistance.
Uncertainty reigns.
The untold stories of the Olympic Games.
Coming Up
2/13 | We Heart Seattle We Heart Seattle Community organizer Andrea Suarez talks about the ongoing homeless crisis in Seattle and her efforts to mobilize volunteers to clean up toxic trash piles in some of the city’s long-neglected neighborhoods.
2/20 | Willie Stewart Community organizer and long-time Tacoma civic father, Willie Stewart, joins Northwest Now for a discussion about his more than five decades of service to public education and the youth of the City of Tacoma through the Boys and Girls Club and the Tacoma Athletic Commission. Stewart recently celebrated his 90th birthday and is widely regarded as a living legend in the South Sound
2/27 | Dr. Sheila Edwards Lang She’s been the Chancellor of the University of Washington Tacoma for four years now, so we’re talking with Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange about her perspectives on the evolution of Tacoma and the challenges associated with federal funding during the Trump administration and an era of tightening state budgets.
Northwest Now's 2024-25 Season
Free market resistance.
Uncertainty reigns.
The untold stories of the Olympic Games.
Balancing conservation and exploitation.
In service to veterans.
Celebrating America.
Defending the science of public health.
Billions of dollars at stake.
Speaking your mind is complex.
Leader of the state GOP
Leading the way at UWT.
A warning to Western Washington.
Progressives on a roll.
Leading The Resistance.
Fighting for fairness.
Coming full circle at The News Tribune.
Public schools under pressure.
Sellers still in control.
Managing through a trade war.
Local lawmakers wrestle with uncertainty.
Leading the Seattle Art Museum.
Documenting the people and places of the past.
A pathway to college.
Meet the new Pierce County Executive.
A bad problem getting worse.
Your Right To Know In Jeopardy.
Women's History Month 2025.
Reality TV leveraged for good.
Putting history into context.
Fighting a losing battle?
Battling the real travel bugs.
A trade war looms.
Documenting the unhoused.
Culture and history come together in theatre.
Ted Bundy's cousin speaks out.
Combining the practical with the intellectual.
The legend of the Willits canoe.
A Northwest television icon.
Salmon recovery starts at 14,411 feet.
Discussing the races to watch.
Progressive victories in the crosshairs.
Will the race for the Governorship in the state of Washington be competitive this time around?
Meet the candidates.
Who will lead the state's legal team?
A memorial of remembrance.
The race for Superintendent of Public Instruction
The host of Homemade Live!