Alec Cowan
Senior Podcast Producer
About
Alec Cowan is a senior podcast producer at KUOW, where he works on Booming and other podcast projects.
Alec has worn many hats at KUOW. He helped launch Soundside and brought many eclectic stories to the program, from a late-night patrol with real life superheroes to the sewing machine sounds of an artisanal sail loft. Additionally, he was previously a producer for The Record with Bill Radke and the Primed podcast.
Before joining KUOW, Alec worked in NPR's Story Lab, where he helped pilot the Louder Than a Riot podcast and assisted in producing a story on volunteerism in Iraq for Rough Translation. Originally from Grand Junction, Colorado, his roots in the Northwest begin in Eugene, where he studied English and philosophy at the University of Oregon and worked as a news reporter for NPR member station KLCC. He is likely neglecting his saxophone, growing book collection, and expanding personal project list in favor of boosting his online Xbox ranking.
He's proud to be KUOW's unofficial "boat guy."
Location: Seattle
Languages Spoken: English
Pronouns: he/him/his
Podcasts
Stories
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As wildfire risk scores rise, WA homeowners are left in insurance limbo
To scope out the danger, insurance companies are turning to a variety of tools that use algorithms to measure and predict wildfire risk. As that risk grows, insurance is becoming harder for homeowners to come by.
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Who will replace Kshama Sawant as she exits Seattle's city council (and will they be different)?
This year, two candidates are vying to replace socialist Kshama Sawant on the Seattle City Council. At a KUOW event this week, we asked Cannabis entrepreneur Joy Hollingsworth and transportation advocate Alex Hudson how they’d be different from Sawant.
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'She Marches in Chinatown' celebrates 70 years of Seattle's unique local drill team
Seattle’s Chinese Community Girls Drill Team is a one of a kind. For over 70 years, the group has brought their own unique style to parades throughout the city. The story of its founding, and its place in the Chinatown International District community, is the focus of a new documentary from director Della Chen titled, “She Marches in Chinatown.”
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KUOW District Dash: Seattle City Council D1 - Maren Costa vs. Rob Saka
In the first of Soundside's "District Dashes," District 1 city council candidates Maren Costa and Rob Saka mixed it up in front of a live audience at KUOW this week, with some lively back-and-forth on key issues including crime, cops and drugs.
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Hear it again: What's in a weave? Native basketmaker and archeologist explore the stories baskets tell
To be chosen for a National Heritage Fellowship is to be recognized as a kind of national treasure. The award is given by the National Endowment for the Arts, or NEA, and celebrates traditional and folk arts. Previous winners include folk and blues singers, woodworkers and potters. Last week, Ed Carriere, a Suquamish elder and master basketmaker, in Indianola, on the Kitsap Peninsula, was honored along with other fellowship recipients in Washington DC. He also participated in a panel on Native art making as part of the event.
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WA is drafting wildfire smoke rules to better protect outdoor workers
When wildfires tear through our forests, pouring heavy smoke onto the state, health officials’ guidance is often to simply stay inside. But that’s not an option for people who work outdoors. After two years of emergency rules guiding smoke response for employers and employees, the state is drafting a set of permanent rules.
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A pilgrimage to a Japanese American prison camp
During World War II, the US government forced more than 125,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes, and into prison camps. Many Japanese Americans from the Pacific Northwest got relocated to a camp in Minidoka, Idaho. For years, Minidoka camp survivors visited the site with their families. This summer, they returned for the first time since the pandemic started. KUOW’s Natalie Newcomb joined the pilgrimage. We’ll hear some of her experience.
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'Tacoma's Notre Dame' was set to be demolished. Now its fate rests in Rome
For more than 100 years, the Tacoma skyline has had a familiar mainstay: the Holy Rosary Church. But citing expensive repairs and declining numbers, the church has spent four years under the threat of demolition. It may take the Vatican to decide its future.
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State and local governments are using AI for work. But should they?
How public employees should use programs like ChatGPT in their day-to-day work — and whether generative artificial intelligence should be allowed at all — is being dealt with through a patchwork of policies nationwide.
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Rapper Common talks 50 years of hip-hop and hopes for the industry’s future
Common is an Academy Award, Grammy, and Emmy award winning artist. The Chicago born emcee is a true hip hop icon with an award-winning career that spans decades. KUOW's Mike Davis caught up with Common ahead of his performance at Benaroya Hall on Monday, Sept. 18.