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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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.
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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.
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A Seattle hub where people with memory loss can stop by
The center, which is run by the University of Washington's Memory and Brain Wellness Center, opened to the public this week.
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Call it a comeback — whale counts encouragingly high in 2022
It’s been a banner year for whale sightings in our local waterways. That’s according to a new report from the Pacific Whale Watch Association, who counted large rebounds in Bigg's Killer Whales and humpback whales in the region.
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ZeniMax Studios forms biggest union in gaming — and the first for Microsoft
Before video game players get to solve a puzzle, swing a single axe, or save that princess, a quality assurance tester has tried to break the game in thousands of different ways. That tester may also be subject to difficult contract cycles, a grueling schedule, and low compensation.