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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

  • caption: "Missing Addresses" is a posthumous collection of poems from Beth Bentley.

    Remembering the intellectual clarity of the late Beth Bentley's poetry

    Beth Bentley was a teacher and poet who, along with her husband — poet Nelson Bentley — left an indelible mark on Seattle's literary scene. When she died in 2021, she and her son Sean were working on her final poetry collection, titled "Missing Addresses," which is set to publish this month.

  • peter blecha stomp and shout book

    Searching beyond grunge to the rock 'n' roll heart of the 'Northwest sound'

    But long before the region made its mark through indie rock and hip hop, there was another golden era of music here in the Pacific Northwest. From the 1940s to the 1960s, cities like Seattle, Olympia, and Tacoma were developing a distinctly Pacific Northwest flavor of R&B and rock and roll.

  • caption: A snow covered calf and its mother feed on hay dropped on top of snow.

    Calves born during Spring blizzards face an uphill battle

    NW News Network correspondent Anna King joins Soundside host Libby Denkmann to talk about the newest issue troubling NW ranchers - Freezing temperatures well into Spring that kill calves before they're able to get up off the ground.
  • caption: The M/V Walla Walla is towed away at high tide around midnight, April 16, 2023, after the ferry boat ran aground at south Bainbridge Island.

    Could an aging WA fleet lead to more ferry mishaps?

    The M/V Walla Walla has been running for 50 years and Seattle Times transportation reporter David Kroman says aging boats are having cascading effects on the state’s ferry system.

  • forest trees northwest oregon

    Celebrate Earth Day with these local environmental orgs

    Earth day began in 1970 as part of a public pressure campaign to support policies that became the Clean Air Act, the establishment of the EPA, things like that. Today the environmental movement has come so far -- is Earth Day still necessary? These environmental stewards say yes.

  • Classroom_Stock

    Washington schools need more deaf educators

    Late last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a deaf student could sue his Michigan school system – under the Americans with Disabilities Act – for providing inadequate services. The family of Miguel Luna Perez says his constitutional rights were violated because he was provided an ASL aide who did not, in fact, know American Sign Language. Nationwide, there’s a shortage of qualified deaf education teachers for public schools, including here in Washington.

  • caption: Washington state has three national monuments, which include Mt. St. Helens National Monument, Hanford Reach National Monument, and San Juan Islands National Monument.

    Hear It Again: The fraught political battle over national monuments

    With the news of new national monuments in Nevada and Texas, and a renewed push for a national monument around Grand Canyon National Park, we revisit our conversation with McKenzie Long about her book: "This Contested Land: The Storied Past and Uncertain Future of America's National Monuments."
  • caption: Yasmin Mohammed (left) and Roberto Ascalon (right) pose in the corner of the Bureau of Fearless Ideas, in Beacon Hill.

    Charting change in Beacon Hill with poet Roberto Ascalon

    The Bureau of Fearless Ideas (BFI) is one large classroom on the ground floor of the Yesler Terrace complex, a multi-use housing development in Beacon Hill. The walls are packed with language – words, rhymes, and creative affirmations. It's here that Roberto Ascalon, the poet in residence, is a mentor to new poets.
  • caption: Eddie Vedder performs during his concert, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, Calif.

    A curtain call for MoPop's Pearl Jam exhibit

    Since 2018, Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture has given fans a first-hand look at the band’s journey through more than 1,000 artifacts directly from Pearl Jam’s members. But it’s the final curtain call for the exhibit. After five years, "Pearl Jam: Home and Away" will close on April 23.

  • caption: Tents line South Weller Street near the intersection of 12th Avenue South on Tuesday, May 19, 2020, in Seattle.

    With costs mounting, some hotel shelters are at risk of closing

    Hundreds of people in King County and Tacoma may soon need to vacate hotel rooms they’ve been living in for the past several months. Last year, the Lived Experience Coalition, or LEC, moved hundreds of unsheltered people into these rooms through the help of a series of federal grants. But as PubliCola’s Erica Barnett reports, the money quickly ran out. And the residents are now at risk of becoming unsheltered again.