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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Remembering Jonathan Raban, a travel writer in name only
The Seattle -based author floated down the Mississippi, sailed Alaska's Inside Passage, and documented failed homesteads in Montana, all while writing about being an outsider trying to figure out new places.
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Pierce County pushes back on the state's proposed airport sites
A state commission tasked with finding the location for a new international airport has selected three sites, including two in rural Pierce County. Local residents and their state representatives say the proposed locations would damage the land, impact the environment and disrupt the lives of the people who live and work in the area.
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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.
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Parasites have a bad rap but play an important role in the animal kingdom
New research points to a steep decline of parasites in Puget Sound fish. Climate change is the likely culprit.
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WA lawmakers are subject to public disclosure law on paper. But are they in practice?
In 2019, the Washington Supreme Court ruled that state legislators are subject to the state's public disclosure law. In the last year, however, many public records requests of this nature have been denied, with records officers citing something journalists haven't heard of before: “legislative privilege.”
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In the face of harassment, Sylvia O'Stayformore reads on
Drag Queen story hours have been targeted across the country, including in Renton last month.
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As tech companies announce layoffs, the clock is ticking for immigrant workers
The big news in the tech world today is, of course, the announcement from Microsoft that it’ll lay off roughly 10,000 employees by April. Other tech giants have already announced big reductions. Let’s run down some of the numbers: Twitter has cut 3,700 jobs. Meta — 11,000. Salesforce — 7,000. And today, Amazon begins its planned reduction of 18,000 people. While the leaders of these companies are largely blaming macro-economic conditions, each layoff is felt at the personal level.
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Microsoft joins the chorus of tech companies announcing layoffs
Big tech companies are slimming down. Amazon, Salesforce, and Twitter are just some of the companies that have announced thousands of layoffs in recent weeks. Wednesday morning, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella confirmed that the company would also be making significant layoffs.
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Oil, homesteading, and a complicated family legacy: Erika Bolstad's 'Windfall'
Journalist Erika Bolstad inherited the right to drill oil under part of her great-grandmother's homestead in North Dakota. Instead, she dug up the truth behind family legends and wrestled with the ethics of land ownership and fossil fuels in the American West.
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WA lawmakers consider minimum wage requirement for incarcerated workers
Washington’s Department of Corrections generated $68.8 million in revenue last year. But only a small portion of that money makes it into incarcerated workers’ wages. At most, inmates can make $2.70 an hour. A proposed bill would raise that minimum wage to match Washington’s at $15.74 an hour.