It’s the first Blabbermouth of 2016! Happy New Year! This week we begin by talking about 14-term Seattle Congressman Jim McDermott’s retirement decision (and its consequences). To do that, we check in with a longtime Seattle politician who's pretty much the only longtime Seattle politician to announce he's not gunning for McDermott’s newly open seat: State Senator Reuven Carlyle. Carlyle believes—truly, deeply—that our state legislature is a better place to work than Congress, and he tells me why.

After that, Danni Askini from the Gender Justice League is on the show to discuss a bathroom panic in Olympia. It seems Republicans are freaking out about a new state rule that allows transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity. Danni explains why this panic is nonsense, and what she'd do if she ran into one of the freaked-out Republican lawmakers in a public restroom.

Next, sports expert Spike Friedman tells me how to jump on the Seahawks bandwagon like a boss (and what names I should shout in order to get a high-five from the dude next to me at a bar).

And finally, Charles Mudede talks about the Vanilla ISIS Crisis—that's those white militants who took over a federal facility in Oregon—and what it all means.

Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo!