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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Washington's indoor mask mandate is over. Here's how Seattle is feeling about it.
For the last couple of years, your get-out-the-door routine probably involved checking to see if you had your keys, your wallet, and a face mask.
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How concerned should you be about nuclear radiation from Ukraine?
In the last two weeks, news of skirmishes around Ukraine's nuclear power plants are producing a lot of anxiety. That's not even taking into account that Russian President Vladimir Putin has put Russian nuclear forces on high alert. Should something unimaginable happen, what risk does nuclear fallout pose to Washington State?
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What are non-fungible tokens? Seattle's new NFT museum is here to explain
NFTs — non-fungible tokens — are a trendy new internet phenomenon. They operate with other monolithic technologies like cryptocurrency and the blockchain, the heralds of what the tech industry is calling "Web 3.0." But what does all that mean? Seattle's new NFT museum wants to help you find the answer.
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Postcard: The dogs we love
We hear from two listeners who found unexpected solace in the places -- and PETS -- they love.
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Postcard: I am not OK
We hear from Drew in Seattle's Central District, who takes us to a place in the city that will forever remind him of living through this pandemic.
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Charting change in the U District through one of its most beloved restaurants
Taso Lagos first immigrated to Seattle with his family from Greece when he was just nine years old. For 40 years, this family constellated around the Continental Restaurant on University Way NE, near the University of Washington.
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'Nobody believed that this would happen.' The war in Ukraine from Seattle
After weeks of signaling and buildup of troops and equipment, Russia has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In other words, Vladimir Putin has ordered likely the largest conventional military action in Europe since World War II. KUOW's Soundside heard from several Seattleites about their view of what's happening in Ukraine.
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A new federal strategy for managing and preventing wildfires
Last month the Biden Administration announced a 10 year, $50 billion investment in renewed forest management practices. The funding will focus on "fireshed" zones throughout the Western United States, which are forests at a greater risk of conflagration with close proximity to communities. What does this new strategy mean for Washington's forests?
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'The Wild West on the water.' Finding makeshift housing on Puget Sound
It isn't hard to notice a derelict boat -- their bilges are dirty, their engines are smoking, or their mast may be missing. But when searching for shelter, older and dingier boats can be a lifeline for many.
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Lift prices are up, and so are temperatures. Could this be the end of the ski bum?
In her early 20s, author Heather Hansman spent her days working the lift, bartering with pizza, and hitting the slopes as much as possible. She lived as a textbook "ski bum," a grifter addicted to the adrenaline of a perfect swish through powder.