Libby Denkmann
Host, Soundside
About
Libby Denkmann has covered veterans issues, homelessness and local politics during her radio journalism career. She became the host of KUOW's Soundside in November 2021. Previously she was a producer, reporter, anchor and host for stations KIRO, KFI and KPCC in Seattle and Los Angeles. During a yearlong hiatus from journalism in 2011, she worked as a congressional staffer in Washington, D.C.. Libby was born in Seattle, grew up on the eastside, and graduated from the University of Washington. Her favorite things include soccer, video games and her dog, Monty.
Location: Seattle
Languages: English, limited Japanese and Portuguese
Pronouns: she/her
Podcasts
Stories
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Soundside
WA recently expanded voting access for formerly incarcerated people. But barriers remain
Washington state now gives everyone convicted of a felony the right to vote when they leave prison. But some challenges remain for people who were once incarcerated when it comes to casting their ballots.
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Soundside
After years of sewage spills, King County settles tribal lawsuit, agrees to plant upgrades
In 2017, catastrophic failures at the West Point Treatment Plant in Discovery Park turned into one of the worst infrastructure disasters in the region’s history – sending 30 million gallons of untreated sewage into the Sound. The Department of Ecology fined King County and ordered improvements. But smaller spills have continued: In 2018 and 2019 the plant dumped more than six million gallons of untreated or improperly treated sewage into the Puget Sound. So, the Suquamish Tribe took a big step: In 2020, it announced its intent to sue the County.
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Soundside
Sound It Out: Librarians and the ArriveCan App
Soundside revisits the story we aired last week about crossing the border into Canada and the help that local librarians give when navigating the ArriveCan app.
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Soundside
Hear it again: How dramatic pandemic shifts affected Northwest birds
While we were cooped up in Covid lockdowns, birds in the cities and suburbs of the Pacific Northwest were spreading their wings! And in a new University of Washington paper, ornithologists suggest that birds like crows, hummingbirds, finches, and chickadees were using a wider variety of public spaces during the early days of the pandemic. Olivia Sanderfoot was the lead researcher on the study.
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Soundside
New Seattle Police chief promises greater collaboration, improved mental health services
Seattle, meet your new Chief of Police. Well, new-ish.
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Soundside
Hear it again: 'Sweetheart Deal' – Inside sex work and addiction on Seattle's Aurora Avenue
In the documentary "Sweetheart Deal," co-directors Elisa Levine and Gabriel Miller follow four sex workers along Seattle's Aurora Avenue. The film tells the stories of Tammy, Sara, Kristine, and Amy and their battles with drug addiction, dangerous circumstances, and a man called Laughn Elliot Doescher, the self described “Mayor of Aurora.”
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Soundside
What effect is 'remote work' having on the local video game industry?
KUOW's Joshua McNichols joins Soundside to talk about the effect remote work is having on the Pacific Northwest video game industry.
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Soundside
Hear it again: Understanding how our brains work through 'The Neuroscience of You'
According to Dr. Chantel Prat, "The point of the brain is to take in as much information in the world around the being that it's driving, and use this information to guide that being through life in a way that maximizes its success." But how individual brains work comes down to a fascinating combination of factors, with each person's experiences changing how they engage with the world.
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Soundside
Choir Boy examines intimacy and friendship between Black teenagers
KUOW Arts and Culture reporter Mike Davis joins Soundside to share his interview with Jamil Jude, director of Choir Boy at ACT Theater. Jude spoke about how he used staging and stylistic choices to shape the way teenagers attending the elite Black male prep academy, Charles R. Drew, were perceived by the audience.
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Soundside
NASA is going back to the moon ... eventually
First it was a technical issue with the rocket's engines, then Hurricane Ian, but, NASA's Artemis mission will soon begin and eventually put someone on the moon for the first time in 50 years.