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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

Stories

  • caption: Seattle Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas (42) is congratulated by linebacker Ernest Jones IV, middle, and cornerback Riq Woolen after intercepting a pass against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026.

    Seahawks have to ‘let it rip’ to best Rams in NFC championship Sunday

    For the first time in 11 years, the Seattle Seahawks return to the NFC Championship game Sunday, facing off for the third time this season against the Los Angeles Rams. Twelves and fair-weather fans alike are feeling pretty good about the Hawks’ chances after they trounced the 49ers last week. For insights on what might be coming at Lumen Field this weekend, KUOW’s Kim Malcolm reached out to Jerry Brewer, who writes about sports for The Athletic.

  • caption: RVs and tents line a street above the highway at an encampment of unhoused people in Portland, Oregon, on Oct. 31, 2025.

    Portland’s approach to homelessness enters a new era

    In Portland, Oregon, a new mayor and the city council are in the early stages of a change of direction on tackling homelessness, even as the number of unhoused people in Multnomah County has risen to 7,500 and continues to tick upward. OPB reporter Alex Zielinski covers Portland city politics. She gave KUOW’s Kim Malcolm this update on the homelessness situation there.

  • caption: A cloud of smoke rises high in the air following an explosion at Whatcom Creek on June 10, 1999.

    ‘His eyes were as big as saucers.’ Remembering the Whatcom Creek explosion

    "It's not an easy story to tell." That's the way host Chris Morgan introduces a recent episode of his podcast "The Wild." The focus is a terrible accident that occurred 26 years ago, on June 10, 1999, in Bellingham, Washington. The Olympic Pipeline explosion killed three boys and destroyed a large swath of the Whatcom Creek Watershed. KUOW’s Kim Malcolm talked to Morgan about what happened and the recovery process.

  • caption: Senator Patty Murray speaks to a crowd on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, during the Washington Democrats election night party at the Seattle Convention Center in Seattle.

    Sen. Murray defends her shutdown stance amid looming health care cost increases

    Congress is back at work after the longest federal government shutdown ever that was triggered when Senate Democrats refused to approve a spending plan amid a standoff over expiring health care subsidies. Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray talked to KUOW’s Kim Malcolm about what happened and what comes next.

  • caption: A Red-throated Loon family shelters in a small pond in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area.

    A visit to the pristine Western Arctic, which faces gas and oil drilling

    Lynda Mapes, the former Seattle Times environment reporter, made a trip recently to the Western Arctic, a vast region in the northernmost part of North America. It’s an area that the Trump administration plans to open for oil and gas drilling. Mapes talked to KUOW’s Kim Malcolm about what she experienced on that trip.

  • caption: The sign at Seattle City Hall.

    Will Seattle's election solidify its centrist shift, or move the city back to the left?

    The hours are ticking down for voters to get their ballots in for the November election. Last year at this time, there was a lot going on nationally and not so much locally. That script flipped this year. To talk about what's happening in Seattle races and measures, KUOW’s Kim Malcolm reached out to Seattle Times staff reporter David Kroman.