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Carol Smith

Editor

About

Carol is an editor of news, features, documentaries, and podcasts at KUOW. She specializes in narrative approaches. Her team of reporters has covered a range of beats, including regional growth issues, homelessness, the economy, public health, immigration, food, arts, and culture.

Prior to joining KUOW, Carol was a long-time print journalist for The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Los Angeles Times, and others. Her enterprise reporting has won multiple national awards for investigative and explanatory journalism. She is author of the memoir: Crossing the River: Seven Stories that Saved My Life (Abrams Press, 2021).

Location: Seattle

Languages: English

Pronouns: she/her

Professional Affiliations: Society of Professional Journalists

Podcasts

Stories

  • The cleanup crew mopping up AI slop

    It turns out, handing the keyboard over to a robot can end up costing more time and money than hiring a human to do that work. 

  • Inside Amazon's surprising settlement

    The long-awaited trial between Amazon and the FTC is over... after just a few days. Joshua and Monica sat down to talk about what they heard during the hearings and why they think Amazon might have settled the case so soon.

  • Who should profit from college sports?

    A court settlement this summer determined that students have a right to make money from sports. But for the first time, universities will be the ones to pay them.

  • How can Seattle keep tourists from loving it to death?

    Every year, tens of millions of tourists visit Seattle’s Pike Place Market, the Elliot Bay waterfront, and sports stadiums. That industry is growing --this year, a record number of cruise ships are expected to fill Seattle’s piers.

  • Is thrifting still thrifty?

    Monica talks to an expert on thrift culture about the economic forces shaping second-hand shopping and why some say it might not be the place for bargain-hunters anymore. 

  • So much for starter homes

    The median price of a single-family home in Seattle is around $1 million, and the greater Seattle area is the third most expensive in the nation. So, why do prices keep going up? 

  • Is our AI obsession good for small town America?

    AI has a backend, and it looks like massive data centers sprawling across farmland in places like central Washington. Today, we travel to a place where the data center boom is well underway to find out how the AI boom is reshaping small towns.

  • The next earthquake is coming. Is old Seattle worth saving?

    The Nisqually earthquake did at least $2 billion worth of damage across the Puget Sound region. It hit Seattle’s historic brick and stone buildings hard, and the city has learned a lot of expensive lessons about what would make them safer. 

  • Can light rail make Bellevue hip?

    Bellevue’s older sibling, Seattle, has been in the limelight for a long time. Can light rail make it Bellevue’s time to shine?