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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

  • caption: A mountain goats stands on a cliff edge near Lake Ingalls, southwest of Leavenworth, Washington, in the North Cascades.

    Almost all of the 300 mountain goats moved from Olympics to the Cascades have died

    Starting in 2018, state and federal officials began moving over 300 mountain goats from the Olympic Peninsula to the North Cascades. It was a joint project with local tribes, the Olympic National Park, Washington Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. Forest Service. Now, more than five years later, reporting from the Everett Herald indicates the project has had mixed success.

  • caption: RadioActive youth producer Ritika Managuli interviews a shopper at Pike Place Market as part of an interviewing exercise on July 10, 2019.

    'We built this together.' The 20-year legacy of KUOW's RadioActive

    Late last month, KUOW announced the station was ending its RadioActive Youth Media program. For 20 years, RadioActive brought listeners the stories and perspectives of young people in the Pacific Northwest. Soundside producer Noel Gasca reflects on what the program has meant to the over 6,000 youth who participated - and what will be lost.

  • caption: Wildfire smoke drifts through Snoqualmie Pass in 2017.

    How an ambitious lawsuit reshaped environmental law — without ever going to trial

    In 2015 “Our Children’s Trust” took aim at what they thought was a major contributor to ongoing climate problems: that the U.S. government had continued to permit, authorize and subsidize fossil fuel extraction. So, along with 21 plaintiffs whose ages ranged from 8 to 19 years old, they sued the U.S. government. Even though the "Juliana V United States" has never actually gone to trial after 9 years of arguments, the ambition behind the litigation has made an impact on environmental law and helped inspire other climate cases involving young people around the world.

  • caption: Imprints of tents are visible ahead of the 3 p.m. deadline for students and protesters to remove the pro-Palestinian encampment on Monday, May 20, 2024, on the University of Washington campus Quad in Seattle.
    World

    What comes next for the pro-Palestine protesters at UW?

    The University of Washington reached an agreement with the leaders of an encampment of students protesting the war in Gaza. As part of that agreement, students had until 3 p.m. Monday to clear the area where they’ve been living.
  • caption: Jon Schlueter is portrayed with his guitar at his home, and business, the Bamboo Collective Nursery, on Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Seattle’s Broadview neighborhood.

    He broke his neck diving into a pool. 20 years later, new technology is helping him recover

    In a study published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers at the University of Washington and at universities in Colorado and Georgia have found that electrical stimulation on the surface of the skin, targeting the spine, can improve strength, mobility, sensation and function in the bodies of people with long term spinal cord injuries. The novel therapy is breaking the limits that many with spinal injuries have dealt with for years, and all without the need for additional surgery.