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
Ser o no ser: Hamlet, El Salvador, and the haunt of generational trauma
Part of the lasting appeal of William Shakespeare is how relatable his works are, regardless of who's reading them. While most of us aren't Danish princes or Scottish queens, his attention on mental health and family discord resonates with audiences across the ages. These issues are at the center of House of Sueños, a new audio drama from the Seattle Shakespeare Company. The play reimagines Hamlet through the autobiographical experience of its writer, Meme Garcia, who grapples with our mental health and the intergenerational trauma of their family's Salvadorian-American roots.
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Residents are still awaiting help months after wildfires blitzed Eastern Washington
The towns of Pine City and Malden in Eastern Washington were nearly decimated by a surprise combination of wildfire and high winds. Two months later, they're still waiting on federal aid to support the hundreds who are displaced.
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Politics
Election Day misinformation followed a predictable pattern – but it's still a problem
Claims of mail-in voter fraud, stolen elections, and fraudulent ballots are circulating online as fact-checkers rush to verify. With an official end to the election still in the distance, the ongoing period of uncertainty makes us especially vulnerable to mis- and disinformative attacks.
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How fake is that post? This will help you spot deception after the election
In the lead up to the 2020 election, KUOW’s The Record has focused each week on stories and research exploring the power of misinformation locally, disinformation nationally, and what we can do to detect and combat false information online. Here's what we learned.
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Politics
The misinformation we can expect to see on Election Day 2020 – and what you can do about it
As the election draws closer, beware the posts of the friend-of-a-friend. That’s just one of the tips Jevin West, who’s head of UW’s Center for an Informed Public, had to impart on how to combat disinformation and misinformation around the 2020 election.
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Technology
It's getting harder to trust anything online. Is that a bug, or a feature?
Thanks to a proliferation of news hubs and social platforms, our world as guided by the internet is more individualized than ever. While sifting through the noise, is there somewhere we can all trust is true and accurate?
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Politics
Like wildfire: how misinformation spreads during a crisis
When Washington and Oregon's historic wildfires began sweeping over the state, rumors of their origin began circulating online. Was it anti-fascists? The Proud Boys? Since the beginning, officials have faced an uphill battle in controlling fact vs. fiction.
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Technology
It's been four years – what have we learned in the struggle against misinformation?
Russian troll farms, psychoanalytic data-firms and syndicated media companies all want a piece of your attention this election season. But don't worry – there are ways we can all fight back.
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Health
Denial is ‘the most dangerous thing of all’ when facing a virus
Voices of the Pandemic features people in the Seattle area who are on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak.
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Health
I had Covid-19. My body shook, 'discharging the collective terror' of us all
Penelope Bell is a Seattle-area resident and a leadership coach for entrepreneurs. At 60, she’s also a survivor of Covid-19. The following is a transcript of portions of a video Bell recorded about her experience falling ill and recovering. It’s been edited down with permission.