John O'Brien
Producer, Speakers Forum
About
John O’Brien produces Speakers Forum at KUOW. He learned to love radio as a child waking up one summer morning to the harmonies of Simon and Garfunkel. As a teenager, he would drive the back roads of Indiana and Michigan late at night listening to vintage radio theater. The question of whether or not he had the legal right to drive then remains a mystery. Only The Shadow knows. Inspired by a chance meeting with Noah Adams, he learned to make radio as an intern on KUOW’s The Conversation with Ross Reynolds. John has been recording talks for Speakers Forum since 2007. Early on he learned Seattle is a Mecca for any touring speaker because Seattleites read so much, support a wide variety of venues and ask smart questions. He says that makes his job easy and always interesting. John is a graduate of St. Johns College in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
To see more of John's past KUOW work, visit our archive site.
Podcasts
Stories
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Speakers Forum
NPR favorite Peter Sagal on what's chasing him when he runs
Something prompted NPR’s Peter Sagal to take up running around the age of 40. That journey is the subject of his new book “The Incomplete Book of Running.”
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Speakers Forum
Getting to the heart of meaningful sustainability in the PNW
What can we do to create and preserve a sustainable life here? “Shall we save the orca? Shall we solve for climate change? Shall we hang on to what we love about our place?” The answer may start with an Ampersand.
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Speakers Forum
Who's a good neighbor? Mr. Rogers, of course
The first full-length biography of Fred Rogers sheds light on a brilliant career and the dearth of quality, educational children's television programming.
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What's it like to be homeless? Ask a person who’s been there
The Seattle-King County area has the third largest concentration of homeless people in the U.S., after New York and Los Angeles. The most recent count totaled nearly 12,000.
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Which side are you on?
Politics vs. pop culture. Let the debate begin
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Speakers Forum
2018 Smoke Farm Symposium: Watersheds, dementia and 'fake news'
Get out of town for talks on our in-between times
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Speakers Forum
‘Look, we’re living in bizarre times,’ says John Kerry in Seattle.
Former Senator and Secretary of State John Kerry embraces the straight talk mantle.
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Speakers Forum
‘Retreat, or perish in place'
As sea levels rise and coastal populations increase, more people are subject to flooding. Author Elizabeth Rush compiled research and the stories of people affected by sea level rise for her new book “Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore.”
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'Fake news’ on your mind? Ask a journalist
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Speakers Forum
From ‘the projects’ to the Supreme Court: Justice Sonia Sotomayor shares her life story with young readers