Noel Gasca
Producer, Soundside
About
Noel is a producer for KUOW’s midday show Soundside.
Prior to joining Soundside, Noel worked as an online editor/producer with KUOW’s web team. She’s also a proud graduate of KUOW’s RadioActive program.
Noel is an alumna of Emerson College and has interned at NPR member stations WBUR in Boston and WAMU in Washington DC. Originally from Lake Stevens, Washington, Noel is elated to be back in the Pacific Northwest and covering the people and places that make up the state she calls home. Noel has reported on labor and education.
When she’s not working, Noel enjoys perusing Seattle’s used bookstores, discussing the lasting legacy of Selena Quintanilla’s music with anyone who will listen, and spending way too much time fixing up her island on Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Location: Seattle
Languages: English
Pronouns: she/her
Professional Affiliations: National Association of Hispanic Journalists, AIR
Podcasts
Stories
-
Arts & Life
Lunar New Year: forging connection and community, one bite at a time
Whether it’s through sharing joy or giving comfort, food plays a central role during Lunar New Year celebrations. Soundside producer Noel Gasca reached out to a few local chefs about the Lunar New Year dishes that hold a special meaning to them.
-
Health
After CA mass shootings, here's where to find AAPI mental health services in King, Pierce counties
Lunar New Year is a time for family and friends to reconnect and be together. But in the wake of two mass shootings, people may be feeling conflicted about gathering in large groups. Carrie Zhang with The Asian Mental Health Project shares tips for navigating this time.
-
Business
What are the impacts of going 'cash-free' in King County?
King County Council Member Jeanne Kohl-Welles joins Soundside to talk about her proposed ordinance to ban retailers from going cash free in unincorporated King County.
-
Hot take on Seattle schools social media lawsuit: 'Moral panic'
Every other week, we bring you a segment called "Sound it Out," to broadcast your thoughts about the show and answer questions about stories we've covered. So we’re circling back to a segment we did earlier this week about social media and Seattle Public Schools' new lawsuit.
-
Crime
In 'Ghost Herd,' greed and deception illuminate the fight for land ownership in the rural West
A new podcast from Northwest Public Radio and KUOW takes listeners to the Columbia Basin, where the value of dirt is illuminated by one family's story of deception and greed.
-
Arts & Life
Fatlesque Fest: Celebrating a community of curves
Burlesque has been captivating and tantalizing audiences for centuries. A new festival this weekend — Fatlesque Fest Northwest — is on a mission to disrupt the perceptions that surround burlesque and rethink the medium through a fat liberation and body positive lens.
-
Playoffs or not, Seahawks surpass preseason expectations
Before this NFL season got started, things were looking grim for the Seahawks. Now the team is fighting to reach the postseason. And they’ll need a little luck to get there. Soundside host Libby Denkmann talked to The Athletic's Michael-Shawn Dugar about the highs and lows in the Seahawks season so far.
-
Business
Dan Price branded himself as a benevolent CEO. Some former employees challenge that portrayal
In 2015, Seattle CEO Dan Price became an overnight celebrity following his decision to raise the base minimum salary for all of his employees at Gravity Payments to $70,000. But some of his former employees say the glossy magazine features and talk show appearances painting him as a benevolent leader were a façade — that the day-to-day work at the company was far from glamorous.
-
Government
Hear It Again: Transit Woes
The Soundside team is taking some time off this week, and while we’re away, we’re revisiting some of the episodes that made us think about the way we move throughout our region. We’ll explore why the U.S. is one of the only wealthy countries to be moving in the wrong direction on traffic deaths. Plus, those escalators in the light rail stations, they’re still giving us grief!
-
Environment
Neighbors: the Olympic Marmot
Washington state is known for its variety of flora and fauna. But when it comes to public adoration, it seems like one local animal has been a little jilted - the Olympic marmot. It's ironic, considering the fuzzy rodent was officially declared a state symbol in 2009. But what makes the marmot so worthy of a government distinction? Soundside producer Noel Gasca introduces us to a scientist and a citizen activist who tell us why, and what the process of getting state recognition for the Olympic marmot looked like.