Alec Cowan
Senior Podcast Producer
About
Alec Cowan is a senior podcast producer at KUOW, where he works on Booming and other podcast projects.
Alec has worn many hats at KUOW. He helped launch Soundside and brought many eclectic stories to the program, from a late-night patrol with real life superheroes to the sewing machine sounds of an artisanal sail loft. Additionally, he was previously a producer for The Record with Bill Radke and the Primed podcast.
Before joining KUOW Alec worked in NPR's Story Lab, where he helped pilot the Louder Than a Riot podcast, about hip-hop and mass incarceration, and assisted in producing a story on volunteerism in Iraq for Rough Translation. Originally from Grand Junction, Colorado, his roots in the Northwest begin in Eugene, where he studied English and philosophy at the University of Oregon and worked as a news reporter for NPR member station KLCC. He is likely neglecting his saxophone, growing book collection, and expanding personal project list in favor of boosting his online Xbox ranking.
He's proud to be KUOW's unofficial "boat guy."
Location: Seattle
Languages Spoken: English
Pronouns: he/him/his
Podcasts
Stories
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This author used ChatGPT as a mirror for her life — and for big tech, too
The book is part-memoir, part critique of how tech companies have positioned their products as “collaborators,” or even companions, in our lives.
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The White House killed this one of a kind report. The scientists behind it aren't giving up
Over two years, Phil worked at the White House and coordinated a massive team of authors and federal agencies. The team was ready to submit their first draft of the assessment in February this year, before they heard from the Trump administration that the whole project was being shut down.
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New Wing Luke exhibit explores the power of objects with Ten Thousand Things
For the past four years, Poet Shin Yu Pai’s podcast Ten Things has explored how objects – from the extraordinary to the mundane, the literal to the figurative – communicate stories of Asian American meaning, identity, and culture.
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Trump Administration opens half of national forest land for logging
Last week, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins sent a memo establishing an “emergency situation determination” covering more than 112 million national forest acres. That includes five national forests in Washington state. Rollins identified these acres as having either high wildfire risk or declining forest health – allowing timber harvesting to be fast-tracked through environmental regulations.
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Gary Locke says WA will be caught in the China crossfire
Hosts Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone are joined by former Governor, Secretary of Commerce, and Ambassador to China Gary Locke to get his insights on what an economic clash with China could mean for Washington state's economy -- the state exports more products to China than anywhere else.
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Is this the year rent limits pass?
For years, progressives have tried to fight the rising cost of living by instituting a kind of "rent control" – what proponents call "rent stabilization." There’s buzz this year that a rent stabilization bill could safely parachute onto the Governor’s desk.
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Federal forestry changes leave state officials in the lurch
The state’s Department of Natural Resources says it’s coming up with backup plans to address the growing threat of serious wildfires in Washington. This, as it's typically close working relationship with federal forest managers has frayed under the Trump Administration.
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$100 million police hiring bill moves on to the state Senate
The state House on Tuesday approved $100 million in funding aimed at helping local police departments hire more officers.
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How Rainier Beer went from an old fashioned brew to an advertising icon
For decades, Rainier Beer commercials captivated audiences through its Northwest spirit and eclectic style, and it owes its success to this small local advertising firm.
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Can the artificial really be 'intelligent'? This researcher wants us to think bigger
In his new book, "What is Life?" Blaise Agüera y Arcas argues for a broadened definition of “intelligence,” to include things like single celled organisms and even basic tools. And he says humans’ development of technology -- most recently, AI -- is part of a long history of symbiotic relationships that have pushed our evolution forward.
