Alec Cowan
Producer, Soundside
About
Alec Cowan is a producer for Soundside. His interests have brought many eclectic stories to the program, and his segments gravitate toward history, technology, arts and culture, and the environment. After reporting a handful of stories aboard Puget Sound, he's proud to be KUOW's unofficial "boat guy."
Prior to joining Soundside, Alec wore many hats at KUOW. He was a producer for The Record with Bill Radke, and was the producer of Primed season two and three. He also reported and produced an episode of SoundQs detailing how prohibition forever changed Seattle policing and assisted with reporting a breakthrough cold case solved with the use of genetic genealogy.
Before joining KUOW Alec worked in NPR's Story Lab, where he helped pilot the Louder Than A Riot podcast on 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 instead.
Location: Seattle
Languages Spoken: English
Pronouns: he/him/his
Podcasts
Stories
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Should mental health treatment be forced if someone needs care, but refuses it?
A new podcast from KUOW and The Seattle Times sets out to explore why so many people with severe mental illnesses — who make up 7% of the state's population — go untreated in Washington. Episode 2 of Lost Patients focuses on "involuntary commitment," a legal mechanism that allows someone to be forced into medical treatment if they are deemed a danger to themselves, a danger to others, or are gravely disabled.
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As Congress pushes potential TikTok ban forward, users wonder what happens next
Last week, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to force TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the video sharing platform within 180 days. If that doesn’t happen, TikTok could be banned from U.S. app stores and web hosting platforms. Now the legislation heads to the Senate, and its future is far from clear.
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School budget shortfalls mean hard choices for Seattle area districts
Schools around the region are dealing with serious budget shortfalls. The Northshore School District says it’s $26 million in the red, and Seattle Public Schools is reporting a more than $100 million gap in funding. Making up that money is no easy task – and in many cases, the scarcity means cuts to programs students and parents hold dear, like AP and music classes.
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As Bitcoin surges to new heights, so do concerns over its energy use
Earlier this year, the Department of Energy sought to do a survey on the total power usage of crypto operations throughout the country. But that plan was scrapped following legal pushback from those in the industry, leaving a big question mark about the impacts of crypto mining on electrical grids and greenhouse gas production.
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Washington's legislative maps were challenged by someone who helped draw them
In Washington State, every ten years, a bipartisan commission takes the latest census data and negotiates over district lines that determine who you vote for. But in a very real sense, redistricting is about power and which voices will be heard, and catered to. The latest round of maps was finished in 2021 – but from the jump, the 15th District faced legal challenges. And in an unusual twist, it turns out one of those challenges was orchestrated by someone responsible for drawing the map in the first place.
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Objections hamper plans for Tri-Cities wind farm, other renewable energy projects in Washington state
When it was proposed in 2021, the Horse Heaven Hills wind farm was set to be the largest wind farm in Washington. Hundreds of turbines -- potentially taller than the Space Needle -- were planned for a range of rolling hills outside the Tri-Cities. But renewable projects in this area of the state have faced opposition from locals and environmentalists, meaning a potential blow to the state’s long-term renewable energy goals.
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After a protest at City Hall, asylum-seekers in Seattle wonder what's next
A dramatic scene unfolded at Seattle City Hall earlier this week as several protesters were arrested for disrupting a city council meeting on Tuesday. The protesters came to demand more support for hundreds of asylum-seekers from countries including Venezuela, Angola and Congo who have been sheltering at a Tukwila church and elsewhere in King County.
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Public defender shortage slows the wheels of justice in Washington state courts
Prestige TV or Hollywood legal dramas might inform the image: loose tie, crinkled suits, bags under the eyes… public defenders are stressed out, overworked and undercompensated. But something pop culture tends to overlook is how stretching these attorneys so thin affects everyday people caught up in the justice system.
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Safe parking lots are trending, but can the Seattle area meet the need?
Safe parking programs have gained traction in recent years – there are now an estimated dozen lots available across the state, many sponsored by churches. They’re responding to an often invisible problem: people who sleep in their vehicles, with nowhere to legally park and access a restroom. But identifying the need – and ramping up services – are two different challenges.
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WA bill aims to make dancing in strip clubs safer. What would change?
Dancers say working in Washington strip clubs carries a lot of risks, from the physical danger of aggressive customers to the thin financial margins that put dancers at an increased risk of sex trafficking. To try and mitigate some of these issues, Washington legislators are considering SB 6105 – what some are calling the “strippers' bill of rights.”