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John O'Brien

Senior Producer, All Things Considered

About

John O’Brien is KUOW's All Things Considered Senior Producer. He spends his days setting up interviews with newsmakers on subjects from politics and public health to arts and culture. John learned to make radio starting in 2006 as an intern on KUOW’s The Conversation with Ross Reynolds.

Location: Seattle

Languages: English

Pronouns: he/him

Podcasts

Stories

  • caption: EarthCorps crew tackles riparian restoration along Hylebos Nature Area, a critical migratory corridor for numerous salmonids, serving as a major habitat for many organisms. The crew put on waders and traversed to the islands in this park, which have been taken over by invasive blackberry. This will in turn help establish a dense, diverse community of trees and shrubs to help establish ecological health in the area.

    Earth Day is just another day for Seattle's EarthCorps — but still worth marking

    When Earth Day started in 1970, vehicles running on leaded gas averaged 12 miles a gallon on U.S. highways. The year before, an oil slick on Cleveland's polluted Cuyahoga River famously caught fire. That first Earth Day involved teach-ins and demonstrations, which soon led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, and legislation like the Clean Air Act. Now, Earth Day involves over a billion people worldwide, including volunteers and staffers with the Seattle-based EarthCorps. The nonprofit’s development manager Kesia Cisse told KUOW’s Kim Malcolm about her organization's work.
  • caption: A Microsoft sign and logo are pictured at the company's headquarters, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Redmond, Wash.

    Microsoft signals pause in funding for carbon dioxide removal market

    Since 2020, Microsoft has spearheaded efforts to develop a carbon dioxide removal market. The Redmond-based software giant pledged to make the company carbon negative by 2030 and remove all its emissions since its founding by 2050. Now, the company seems to be taking a step back from leading that charge. New York Times climate team reporter David Gelles spoke to KUOW’s Kim Malcolm about his reporting on what Microsoft is doing, and why.
  • caption: The Washington and Alaska legislatures and Canadian government are navigating through how to respond to calls to reduce pollution from ocean-going ships.

    Policies meant to limit air pollution allow toxic dumping in Salish Sea

    Washington state is facing a conundrum on the open water. A tool to reduce air pollution from ships can result in water pollution. And a proposal to untangle that paradox ran aground this winter in the Washington Legislature for the second year in a row. Semi-retired KUOW reporter Tom Banse wrote about the issue recently for the Salish Current. He talked to KUOW’s Paige Browning about his reporting.
  • caption: Third-generation Arlington farmer Andrew Albert is portrayed in this file photo.

    Washington farmers feel the pain of Iran war

    The ongoing war against Iran is affecting consumers at the gas pump. But for farmers, it’s not just the price of fuel, but fertilizer, too. And that could affect what we all pay at the grocery store.
  • caption: Washington State Archives photo of Budd Inlet capture on March 7, 1976.

    Reflecting on the legacy of the last orca capture in Washington state, 50 years later

    Many of the orcas captured and sent to marine theme parks in the 1960s and 1970s came from the Pacific Northwest. An incident 50 years ago this month changed that. A staffer in then-Washington Gov. Dan Evans’ office witnessed a crew hired by SeaWorld chasing a pod of orcas into a shallow bay. A court case ensued, and within two weeks, SeaWorld agreed to end captures in Washington state.
  • caption: A missile strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

    Anacortes lawyer has raised $800,000 to support Ukraine

    What Marketa Vorel witnessed during a trip to Ukraine in 2023 inspired her to create the Sunflower F.U.N.D. to raise money for, “the most urgent needs of civilians and their defenders in Ukraine." So far, she has raised more than $800,000 for the cause. Vorel talked to KUOW’s Angela King about her work.
  • caption: Microsoft's Bill Gates attends a dinner with President Donald Trump in the State Dining Room of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, in Washington.

    Bill Gates does damage control at his foundation, apologizing to staff for Epstein ties

    Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been public knowledge for several years. But this week, Gates took the additional step of apologizing for those ties to the staff of the Gates Foundation here in Seattle. The foundation is one of the wealthiest in the world with an estimated annual budget of $9 billion. Wall Street Journal reporter Emily Glazer told KUOW’s Kim Malcolm about the meeting.
  • caption: Ciscoe Morris

    From 'Oh, la la' to 'Oh, no!' Ciscoe talks spring gardening in the PNW

    Colder weather roared back into Western Washington this week, after a recent false spring had some people out in short sleeves. How do you manage a garden or other landscaping through this unpredictable late winter weather? For answers, KUOW’s Paige Browning reached out to master gardener Ciscoe Morris.
  • Olympics

    As Winter Olympics fever spreads, an update on athletes with PNW ties

    We’re one week into the Winter Olympics at Milano Cortina. To help focus on Pacific Northwest athletes participating this year, we looked around the station for the person who seemed the most hyped up about the games. And the winner is KUOW host, newscaster, reporter, and diehard sports fan Paige Browning. She talked to ATC host Kim Malcolm about the games so far.