Alec Cowan
Producer, Soundside
About
Alec Cowan is a producer for Soundside. His interests have brought many eclectic stories to the program, and his segments gravitate toward history, technology, arts and culture, and the environment. Proud to be KUOW's unofficial "boat guy."
Prior to joining Soundside, Alec wore many hats at KUOW. He was a producer for The Record with Bill Radke and Primed seasons two and three . He also reported an episode of SoundQs detailing how prohibition forever changed Seattle policing and assisted with reporting a breakthrough cold case solved with the use of genetic genealogy.
Before joining KUOW Alec worked in NPR's Story Lab, where he helped pilot the Louder Than a Riot podcast, about hip-hop and mass incarceration, and assisted in producing a story on volunteerism in Iraq for Rough Translation. Originally from Grand Junction, Colorado, his roots in the Northwest begin in Eugene, where he studied English and philosophy at the University of Oregon and worked as a news reporter for NPR member station KLCC. He is likely neglecting his saxophone, growing book collection, and expanding personal project list in favor of boosting his online Xbox ranking.
Location: Seattle
Languages Spoken: English
Pronouns: he/him/his
Podcasts
Stories
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Arts & Life
Rapper Common talks 50 years of hip-hop and hopes for the industry’s future
Common is an Academy Award, Grammy, and Emmy award winning artist. The Chicago born emcee is a true hip hop icon with an award-winning career that spans decades. KUOW's Mike Davis caught up with Common ahead of his performance at Benaroya Hall on Monday, Sept. 18.
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Law & Courts
After 11 years, Seattle's federal consent decree reaches the 'end of the beginning'
The decree came out of an agreement between the Department of Justice and Seattle Police in 2012, and included changes from officer supervision to how officers respond to people in crisis. Citing a decade of progress, federal officials moved to lift most of the consent decree from the Seattle Police Department.
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Environment
In a battle of apex predators, Washington cougars are killing wolves at a surprising rate
Wolves may be an apex predator, but researchers in Washington recently noticed that they’re being attacked and killed by another carnivore at the top of the food chain: cougars.
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Environment
Roads devastated our ecosystems. But they might also save them
There’s something so romantic about roads, if you’re a human. Nature might have something else to say about them. Understanding the interconnected impacts of roads literally drove author Ben Goldfarb across the country as he researched his new book, “Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of our Planet.”
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Environment
Kelp is on the way: As new Puget Sound aquaculture industry blooms, Vashon locals urge caution
As Puget Sound kelp farms navigate a nascent permitting process, environmental watchdog groups are asking for more scrutiny toward an untested local industry.
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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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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.
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Environment
Wildfire season in Washington state: How prescribed burns could reduce danger
With wildfire smoke blanketing the entire state, Soundside host Libby Denkmann looks at the state of fires burning near Spokane, and how prescribed burns could help mitigate the issues we face every year.
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Government
Seattle area scientist leads U.S. efforts toward 'holistic picture' of the climate crisis
To understand the widespread effects of climate change on the domestic level, the Biden administration announced in April that it was creating a new study, sold as the most ambitious, all-encompassing review ever of the United States' natural world. The administration tapped conservation scientist and University of Washington professor Phil Levin to lead that research.
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Environment
Fires are burning down forests meant for carbon offsets. What happens after?
In 2021 Oregon’s Bootleg fire burned over 400,000 acres in the southern part of the state. A good chunk of that forest area is managed by the Green Diamond timber company. But the Bootleg fire didn’t just mean a reduction in the amount of lumber Green Diamond could harvest; in recent years the company, like many other landowners and forest managers, has begun designating land for carbon offsets.