Erin O'Toole
Host & Senior Producer, In the NoCoEmail: erin.otoole@kunc.org
As the host of KUNC’s news program and podcast In The NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and fast-growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation spots. It’s a privilege to find and share the stories and voices that reflect why NoCo is such an extraordinary place to live.
One of the things I love most about public radio is that it embodies and encourages many of the values I hold dear: integrity, civility and curiosity. I’ve been with KUNC since 2009, minus a brief break where I focused exclusively on a Denver-based podcast. I’ve served in a number of roles here: Morning Edition Host, Assistant News Director, and as host and senior producer for Colorado Edition. My work has been recognized by the Associated Press, the Colorado Broadcasters Association, PRNDI, RTNDA, and the Society for Professional Journalists.
I began my career at a country radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I was a traffic reporter, newscaster, sidekick, and finally a morning show host (yes, it’s true that my name was Coyote Kim!). I later relocated to southern California where I served as Morning Edition host and reporter for KVCR in San Bernardino. I was selected as a USC/Annenberg Health Journalism fellow in 2008.
When I'm not at work, you can usually find me hiking with my two dogs, noodling around on my bass, cooking, or enjoying the sunshine and a cold brew on a patio somewhere.
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If you’ve taken your kid to see Santa at a local mall, or hosted Santa at your work party, you may have wondered where that Santa learned his magic. There’s a good chance they trained at the Professional Santa Claus School, based here in Colorado. The school’s founder says they’ve trained thousands of Santas over the past four decades. -
A Swiss company is working to develop a futuristic transportation technology right here in Colorado. The Hyperloop would whisk materials – or people – between cities through giant metal tubes at speeds of several hundred miles per hour. And the company just completed a successful trial run at their test track in Pueblo. -
National news outlets have been reporting on a condition known as "scromiting." It's an intense combination of screaming and vomiting that’s brought on by overindulgence in cannabis. We talked with a doctor at Children’s Hospital Colorado who says the condition is real, although the ‘screaming’ part is a bit exaggerated. -
An unusual twist on the holiday classic The Nutcracker will return to the stage in Denver later this month. It uses Duke Ellington’s jazz version of the famous score to celebrate the history of Denver’s Five Points neighborhood – which was known in the 1930s and ‘40s as “The Harlem of the West.” -
Depression and other mood disorders may have side benefits – like creativity and empathy. Here’s whyLife with bipolar disorder or chronic depression can come with intense periods of sadness or despair. But these conditions might also come with some surprising advantages – including better social relationships and creative abilities. That’s according to new research from the University of Colorado. We dig into the possible “silver linings” of mood disorders. -
The CU-Anschutz medical campus in Aurora recently agreed to pay more than $10 million to settle a lawsuit revolving around vaccine mandates. Staff and students who sought religious exemptions during the pandemic say the campus violated their rights. CU-Anschutz says its vaccine policies were sound – so why did the school settle? -
The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs says thousands of Indigenous American and Alaska Native women have been missing or murdered in recent years, and many of those cases remain unsolved. A Berthoud writer set out to raise awareness about this real-life crisis using fiction. -
Colorado writer X. Ho Yen remembers loving science fiction as a child. He’s autistic – and he liked science fiction that depicted a futuristic society where people like him were treated equally. Now he's a published author who just released his third book. -
A Loveland kindergarten teacher has published more than 20 children’s books. They teach life lessons for young kids and aim to get them thinking about how their actions impact other people. She talks about her newest book — and how she’s still writing and teaching at the age of 87. -
During World War II, tens of thousands of Japanese Americans were forced to leave their homes and live in camps. For one Colorado writer, the story of his own family’s incarceration inspired him to look at the legacy of those camps. Hear more about the new book those events inspired.
