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
Pride events are back in person this year. Here's how to show your support.
It's Pride Month. After two years of virtual festivities, in-person parades, concerts, and parties are finally back. Not sure where to start? We got you covered: we're taking you for a tour of Pride events around the Sound.
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Soundside
Housing Density: What we're missing without a middle option
“Missing middle housing” is more affordable for people to buy. It’s called the “missing middle,” because while we’ve gotten better at building low-income housing, and the market builds a lot of expensive homes already, there isn’t a lot in the middle. KUOW's Joshua McNichols spoke with University of Washington Architecture students about their ideas to make housing more affordable and more available.
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Soundside
Helping your garden move from June gloom to summer sun
So far, on the official second day of summer - we're back to the June gloom vibe we’ve been stuck with for most of the spring. Cold, wet, and no sun in sight. But that’s supposed to change soon. It looks like there are 80-plus-degree days coming this weekend. Between the soggy weather, and the sudden shift to summer temperatures: Pacific Northwest gardeners need a pep talk. And Ciscoe Morris is here to help.
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Soundside
Exploring the complexities of our democracy
A More Perfect Union is a media project that explores the complexities of our democracy in order to help strengthen it. Through radio programs, podcasts, and oral histories, A More Perfect Union examines American democracy’s founding documents: the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence, through a cross-cultural lens.
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Soundside
Wa Na Wari celebrates Black joy with Juneteenth Photobooth
While Juneteenth has been honored as an official “Day of Remembrance” in Washington state since 2007, the day became an official state and federal holiday last year. Juneteenth is this Sunday, and there are a plethora of events to check out around the Seattle area throughout the weekend.
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Soundside
Hear it again: Congress looks to fix supply chain kinks, including in the Northwest
The Pacific Northwest, like the rest of the world, is dealing with supply chain issues. An increased demand for foreign goods, combined with a worker shortage, and a lack of port terminals and shipping containers is making it more expensive and time-consuming to move products. Congress just took a step aimed at ironing out one slice of that mess: It’s The Ocean Shipping Reform Act - a bill that passed with bipartisan support yesterday in the House of Representatives, and is now heading to the President's desk.
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Soundside
How's Tacoma's guaranteed basic income program going?
The rising cost of everyday goods, and the end of several pandemic programs like the expanded Child Tax Credit has put millions of families across the family in a financially precarious position. Here in Washington, Tacoma is piloting their own guaranteed income initiative. It's called GRIT, an acronym for growing resilience in Tacoma.
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Soundside
After two years of isolation, Point Roberts is open for business — sort of
Point Roberts, Washington's famous exclave, is surrounded on three sides by water and on the last side by the Canadian border. If you want to get to "The Point" on land, you have to drive to Blaine and through British Columbia to drop back down into U.S. soil. So when the pandemic closed the northern border, the community of 850 residents was essentially cut off. Two years later, with the border the most open it's been since the pandemic began, there are slow signs of recovery -- but some residents say more needs to be done.
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Soundside
The unchecked power of the elected sheriff
Last week, a judge ordered Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer to stay 1000 feet away from a local Black newspaper carrier. The carrier, Sedrick Altheimer, had filed an anti-harassment protection order against Troyer. And this isn’t the only legal trouble Troyer is facing. Yet Troyer is still in office. And he says he plans to stay there.
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Soundside
'Beyond Black & White.' Roosevelt High alumni explore the legacy of Seattle's busing program
In the early 1960s, Seattle Public Schools launched the "voluntary racial transfer program." A new documentary features voices of students, past and present, reflecting on the legacy of busing and racism in the halls of Roosevelt High School and the district at-large.