Will James
Audio Documentary Producer
About
As an audio documentary producer, Will James creates deeply-reported podcasts and specials that illuminate complicated and polarizing issues in the Seattle region. He hosted, co-reported, and co-produced Lost Patients, a 2024 podcast series by KUOW and The Seattle Times that explores why people with serious mental illness cycle between emergency rooms, jail, and the streets.
Will previously worked at KNKX Public Radio, where he created the 2020 podcast Outsiders and co-created the 2022 podcast The Walk Home. Prior to working in audio journalism, he reported for newspapers in his home state of New York.
Podcasts
Stories
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New Seattle CHOP videos contradict city’s narrative in unsolved killing
A father’s civil suit reveals videos that could change how the public views the unsolved, highly politicized death of his son. A trial set for next week could be the public’s last chance for answers.
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President Trump goes after housing first and harm reduction in executive order
Libby Denkmann spoke with KUOW's Will James about the Trump administration's attempt to revamp homelessness policy in the United States.
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Seattle CHOP killing: Lost evidence, official secrecy, a note home
Five years ago in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, a Black teenager was shot and killed in front of dozens of people. The killing and its aftermath — but not who was shooting — were caught on video, livestreamed to the world.
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KUOW Documentary: Fentanyl fuels a persistent 'hot spot' at Seattle's 12th and Jackson. What will it take to fix it?
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KUOW Documentary: Fentanyl fuels a persistent ‘hot spot’ at Seattle’s 12th and Jackson. What will it take to fix it?
For years now, members of Seattle's political establishment have been trying to fix one particular street corner: 12th and Jackson, in Little Saigon. This corner is an example of what city leaders call "hot spots" — tiny sections of the city that are home to disproportionate amounts of crime and disorder.
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Fentanyl fuels a persistent ‘hot spot’ at Seattle’s 12th and Jackson. What will it take to fix it?
A report by Seattle auditors found that the “hot spot” of 12th and Jackson in Seattle’s Little Saigon neighborhood has one of the city’s highest concentrations of drug overdoses and crimes against people, despite efforts to police the intersection and help people suffering from addiction.
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5 years after CHOP in Seattle, teen’s shooting death is without answers
In the five years since Antonio Mays Jr.’s death, there have been no arrests, no charges filed, no answers. His father is now seeking redress.
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Homelessness continues to get worse. Should Seattle, and the U.S., still embrace 'Housing First'?
Housing First grew from a fringe practice in cities like Seattle to the U.S.'s guiding philosophy for homelessness response. As President-elect Trump prepares to take office, all that could change.
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The Housing First Approach: A Documentary
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Lost Patients live show explores what's next for mental healthcare
In the podcast "Lost Patients," journalists Will James, Sydney Brownstone ,and Esmy Jimenez explored why so many people with severe mental illness in Washington state are not getting the care they need.