Joshua McNichols
Reporter
About
As KUOW's Growth and Development reporter and co-host of KUOW's Booming podcast, Joshua's "growing pains" beat sits at the nexus of housing, transportation, urban planning, government and the economy. His favorite stories also include themes of history, technology, and climate change.
Joshua holds a B.A. in Architecture from the University of Washington. Public Radio is his second career; architecture was his first. He is proud of the many odd jobs he's held in his life, such as salmon fisher, author, bike courier, and bed-and-breakfast cook.
Location: Seattle
Languages Spoken: English
Pronouns: he/him
Professional Affiliations: The Society of Professional Journalists, Western Washington Chapter
Podcasts
Stories
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We’re living longer. Can Alexa help us live better?
On this week’s episode of Primed, we explore how smart speakers like Amazon’s Echo fit into the lives of older people. Some elders find Alexa annoying or intrusive. But others interact with the technology in practical, creative ways. Here are a few of their stories.
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How is Amazon changing our lives?
Over the last year or so, the SoundQs team has gotten a lot of questions about one Seattle-based company. Amazon. Happily, KUOW's podcast Primed is finding answers to questions about how Amazon is changing our lives. Here's the first episode of their newest season, about Alexa and kids.
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Amazon can track you by your voice print
Parents are suing Amazon, alleging the company records children without their consent. A trial could come next year. But the case brings up issues beyond those recordings.
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Parenting in the age of Alexa? It’s complicated
This week’s episode of Prime(d) talks about the relationship between children and Alexa, Amazon’s AI-powered virtual assistant. Kids love to ask Alexa questions. And Alexa is listening.
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Preview: Primed Season 3
Amazon is ending up in more and more of our homes. But are we asking the right questions when we invite Amazon and Alexa into our lives?
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What Sammamish's high median income really means
The Seattle Times reports that Sammamish is the nation's richest city. Its median household income of $183,000 even beats San Francisco. We wondered – what’s it feel like to live in a city that rich? So we went to find out.
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This robot garage in Seattle can be taken apart like LEGOs
It's not easy driving cars in Seattle, with all the traffic. That’s driving some developers to rethink parking entirely and to plan for its eventual extinction. And in the meantime, they're making use of less space by involving using robots to pack more cars into less space.
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'Missing link' connects with Ballard City Council contest
The Burke Gilman Trail "missing link" has been held up by legal appeals for years. That’s a stretch of bike trail along Ballard’s working waterfront. Now, it’s become an issue in the upcoming city council elections.
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How not to get hit when crossing Seattle's most dangerous street
Wear neon colors to avoid getting hit by cars when crossing Rainier Avenue S. That’s what Seattle's Department of Transportation has been telling people on billboards and ads in a campaign called “Don’t Blend In.” Rainier Avenue is Seattle’s most dangerous street. One out of every 20 pedestrians hit by cars in Seattle – are hit within a block of Rainier. The campaign has drawn a mixed response.
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Seattle traffic is so bad that Domino’s Pizza has gone to all e-bike delivery
Seattle traffic is making people “hangry.” Drivers get stuck in traffic on their way home, which makes people angry. And then that same traffic can make their dinner late – which makes them hungry. Now, restaurants are trying to beat traffic – with electric bikes.