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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Environment
From wildfires to tropical storms, Pacific Crest Trail hikers face increasing climate extremes
Every year, thousands of ambitious outdoors-people apply for a long-distance permit to hike the more than 2600-mile Pacific Crest Trail. But a changing climate and increasingly frequent wildfires are threatening the present, and future, of that journey.
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Politics
How a hug and a prayer took over Spokane’s mayoral race
Spokane’s mayoral office is technically non-partisan. But controversy surrounding an embrace shared between Mayor Nadine Woodward and disgraced former state Rep. Matt Shea underscores how politics are anything but missing from the race.
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A failed hotel shelter program left nearly 300 people scrambling for housing. Who’s to blame?
The Lived Experience Coalition rolled out a program last winter that worked directly with unhoused people, moving them into four hotel shelters across King County and Tacoma. But shortly after its launch, the program collapsed. Seattle Times Project Homeless reporter Anna Patrick joined Soundside to unpack the breakdown leading to the program's demise.
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Health
Period products haven’t been tested with real blood — until now. Here’s why it matters
In menstrual product advertisements, companies often use a light blue liquid as a stand-in for blood, to demonstrate the absorbency of their products. It turns out most companies use a similar stand-in for menstrual product testing: saline solution. We talked to the doctor behind the first-ever period product study using real blood about why this research matters.
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The student loan pause is ending — for real this time. Here’s how to prepare
Come October, nearly 700,000 Washingtonians will be adding yet another monthly expense back to their budgets: federal student loan repayments. We talked to a student loan advocate about how to get ready and what the Biden administration's new, income-driven repayment plan means for borrowers.
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Government
Voting Rights in the Yakima Valley — Redrawing the 15th Legislative District
Soundside host Libby Denkmann sits down with USC Professor Christian Grose to talk about the recent ruling about the 15th Legislative District map in WA State, and the legal reasons why it needs to be redrawn.
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The Bat House: When living close to nature brings nature too close
Imagine finding your dream home… a cozy spot, in a beautiful area, and better yet… in your price range. It’s everything you were looking for. Now imagine moving in… and finding out the walls are literally filled with bat guano. That happened to one local couple… and their four month old baby. They’re now working to rehome the hundreds of bats that became their roommates overnight. This story originally aired from our friends at Soundside.
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Crime
Rudy Giuliani promised WA berry farmers an anti-Biden documentary. It never got made, now they’re suing
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Government
22 counties sue Washington state over 'civil conversion' patients
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Education
How the early internet defined what it meant to be 'transgender'
Think back to the '90s. As a kid, you might have been catching "Saved by the Bell" before school or stacking up a collection of Nirvana tapes. And who could forget dial up internet? This was the first time that the average household in America could purchase a personal computer, and for a community of users who were questioning the restrictions of gender, it opened a new world.