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.

ARCHIVE | Visit the Northwest Now Archive to explore episodes by year.

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.

Jerry Wennstrom

Viewers of Jerry Wennstrom’s art might walk away inspired or disturbed – or both. From a hot New York painter to a homeless wanderer to a renown sculptor now in his second act - we're talking with Whidbey Island's Jerry Wennstrom 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:

4/10 Jerry Wennstrom Viewers of Jerry Wennstrom’s art might walk away inspired or disturbed – or both. Wennstrom started as a painter in New York City, but destroyed his entire body of work and gave away all his possessions. For fifteen years, he lived a nomadic existence, fasting and eventually finding his way to Whidbey Island, where the next 25 years were spent creating a collection of highly crafted mechanical sculptures displayed in his home studio - where none of his work is for sale.

4/17 World Cup Economy Seattle is one of 16 host cities for the FIFA World Cup. Six matches will be played at Lumen Field starting on June 15th. 750-thousand visitors from all around the world are expected to flood into Western Washington, and the goal in Tacoma and Pierce County is to try to get a lot of those people staying, eating, and sightseeing in the South Sound at one of FIFA’s dedicated “Fan Zones.”

4/24 Fire on the Horizon (encore) Catastrophic wildfires are a present-day reality in much of the American West, but Western Washington has always enjoyed its benign marine environment to keep wildfire at bay. In this special edition of Northwest Now, many of the experts say residents of Western Washington need to come to grips with a new reality - that neighborhood or town killing wildfires are now a distinct possibility here.

5/1 J'Nai Bridges The South Sound’s own (Both Tacoma and Lakewood claim her) three-time Grammy award-winning opera superstar J’Nai Bridges joins us on this edition of Northwest Now to talk about her amazing career and her upcoming performance as Carmen at the Seattle Opera.