Noel Gasca
Producer, Soundside
About
Noel is a producer for KUOW’s midday show Soundside.
Prior to joining Soundside, Noel worked as an online editor/producer with KUOW’s web team. She’s also a proud graduate of KUOW’s RadioActive program.
Noel is an alumna of Emerson College and has interned at NPR member stations WBUR in Boston and WAMU in Washington DC. Originally from Lake Stevens, Washington, Noel is elated to be back in the Pacific Northwest and covering the people and places that make up the state she calls home. Noel has reported on labor and education.
When she’s not working, Noel enjoys perusing Seattle’s used bookstores, discussing the lasting legacy of Selena Quintanilla’s music with anyone who will listen, and spending way too much time fixing up her island on Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Location: Seattle
Languages: English
Pronouns: she/her
Professional Affiliations: National Association of Hispanic Journalists, AIR
Podcasts
Stories
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Arts & Life
How the Olympic marmot became Washington's fuzziest state symbol
Washington state is known for its variety of flora and fauna. But there's one animal that doesn't get the same kind of love — the Olympic marmot.
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Politics
'Nobody believed that this would happen.' The war in Ukraine from Seattle
After weeks of signaling and buildup of troops and equipment, Russia has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In other words, Vladimir Putin has ordered likely the largest conventional military action in Europe since World War II. KUOW's Soundside heard from several Seattleites about their view of what's happening in Ukraine.
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Business
Major projects at a standstill as concrete workers strike across King County
Since November 2021, over 300 concrete mixer truck drivers have been on strike. They work for six of the largest cement suppliers in the region and if the cement doesn't flow - the rest of the work on the job site can't happen. Now, contractors and local leaders are starting to sound the alarm about project delays.
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Arts & Life
Looking for diverse happily ever after stories? Turn to 'Radical Romance'
Romance fiction has not always done a great job of handing out those happy endings to everyone, especially to characters who don’t watch the image of the harlequin heroine you might have seen on romance fiction covers on your grandma’s bookshelf: blonde, willowy, white, straight and cis-gender. That inspired one local bookseller to launch the “Radical Romance” book group, which aims to highlight and celebrate romance fiction featuring characters of all races, orientations, beliefs, sizes, and abilities.
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Education
Wave of book bans strikes U.S. How local librarians and book lovers are responding
Sara Strite says she would rather not stand in front of Kent School District headquarters in the rain at seven a.m. But she'll do it if it means keeping books in school libraries.
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In Olympia, magic mushrooms are a no-go, and 'missing middle' housing pushes forward
Lawmakers in Olympia are officially halfway through this year's legislative session. What's made it forward?
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Arts & Life
Re-airing: Crying in H-Mart
Our connections to books can be deeply personal. We cling to the characters that feel like friends, or reflect pieces of ourselves. But how do you translate your reading experience and the connections you feel with a book into music?
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What can be done about the "missing middle" of housing in Washington?
Legislators are in the middle of tackling a massive hot-button issue: housing density.
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Business
Tourism is booming in our small towns. But can locals afford to enjoy it?
This month we visited a few of our popular Washington tourist destinations. We wanted to know: how has the pandemic reshaped tourism? What changes has the pandemic, and tourism broadly, brought to some of our most beautiful places? Today, we break down what we learned and dive into one of the biggest themes we heard about: how booming tourism has made living in our small towns untenable.
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Could psychedelic mushrooms be used to treat depression in Washington?
Psilocybin, the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms” shows promise for treating depression and PTSD. A new bill in Olympia, if passed, would make this treatment available to Washingtonians under very specific circumstances.