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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

  • caption: An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft awaits inspection outside the airline's hangar at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in SeaTac, Wash. The Federal Aviation Administration says it will audit Boeing's aircraft production and increase oversight of the troubled company after a panel blew off a jetliner in midflight last week.

    What the 737 Max crashes can tell us about where Boeing is headed

    For many, it's unimaginable that within 6 years of two deadly crashes of its 737 Max 8 jets, Boeing finds itself in yet another very visible crisis. To others it's not actually too surprising. That's because some of the lessons that should have been learned in the wake of those tragedies appear to have gone unheeded.

  • caption: The Burke Museum on Dec. 20, 2022, at the University of Washington in Seattle.

    New guidelines tied to Indigenous human remains leave museums racing against the clock

    The Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act was created over 30 years ago to establish a framework for museums and other institutions to return certain objects to tribes, like human remains and funerary objects. But critics say museums have taken too long to return many of those items. Under new regulations that went into effect this month, institutions must prepare to repatriate all human remains and funerary artifacts within 5 years.

  • caption: Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun departs after a meeting in the office of Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. Part of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 fleet was grounded following a mid-air cabin panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight.

    What will it take for Boeing to rebuild its reputation?

    Boeing’s struggles feel a little more personal to Seattleites, and those struggles have been huge. So what does the company need to do to turn things around? And how should Boeing begin to rebuild a reputation for quality and safety, after its series of high-profile failures?

  • caption: Annika Prom (left) and Prenz Sa-Ngoun (right) catch up at KUOW.

    This former Buddhist monk left life at the monastery behind — but not his community

    Back in 2018, Annika Prom brought listeners the story of Venerable Prenz Sa-Ngoun, a then-20 year-old Cambodian-American Buddhist monk. In an effort to build a bridge between generations, Sa-Ngoun explained Buddhist practices and principles to viewers on Instagram and YouTube. It's been six years since Prom's original story, and a lot has changed. For one, Sa-Ngoun is no longer a monk.