Rachel Martin
Rachel Martin is a host of Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.
Before taking on this role in December 2016, Martin was the host of Weekend Edition Sunday for four years. Martin also served as National Security Correspondent for NPR, where she covered both defense and intelligence issues. She traveled regularly to Iraq and Afghanistan with the Secretary of Defense, reporting on the U.S. wars and the effectiveness of the Pentagon's counterinsurgency strategy. Martin also reported extensively on the changing demographic of the U.S. military – from the debate over whether to allow women to fight in combat units – to the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. Her reporting on how the military is changing also took her to a U.S. Air Force base in New Mexico for a rare look at how the military trains drone pilots.
Martin was part of the team that launched NPR's experimental morning news show, The Bryant Park Project, based in New York — a two-hour daily multimedia program that she co-hosted with Alison Stewart and Mike Pesca.
In 2006-2007, Martin served as NPR's religion correspondent. Her piece on Islam in America was awarded "Best Radio Feature" by the Religion News Writers Association in 2007. As one of NPR's reporters assigned to cover the Virginia Tech massacre that same year, she was on the school's campus within hours of the shooting and on the ground in Blacksburg, Va., covering the investigation and emotional aftermath in the following days.
Based in Berlin, Germany, Martin worked as a NPR foreign correspondent from 2005-2006. During her time in Europe, she covered the London terrorist attacks, the federal elections in Germany, the 2006 World Cup and issues surrounding immigration and shifting cultural identities in Europe.
Her foreign reporting experience extends beyond Europe. Martin has also worked extensively in Afghanistan. She began reporting from there as a freelancer during the summer of 2003, covering the reconstruction effort in the wake of the U.S. invasion. In fall 2004, Martin returned for several months to cover Afghanistan's first democratic presidential election. She has reported widely on women's issues in Afghanistan, the fledgling political and governance system and the U.S.-NATO fight against the insurgency. She has also reported from Iraq, where she covered U.S. military operations and the strategic alliance between Sunni sheiks and the U.S. military in Anbar province.
Martin started her career at public radio station KQED in San Francisco, as a producer and reporter.
She holds an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, and a Master's degree in International Affairs from Columbia University.
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In a new book, Kim Wehle explains voting basics. She tells NPR, "if we don't go to the polls to protect democracy itself, it could fail. And I believe that's what's on the ballot in November."
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After three months of restrictions, nursing homes in the state are beginning to allow visitors again. Families are learning that the experience of reopening won't be the same for everyone.
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The LA singer-songwriter talks about her second solo album, which includes guest appearances from peers like Conor Oberst, copying ideas from her heroes and the way lyrical specificity mimics poetry.
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Gates also told NPR on Thursday that it's time to change the names of Confederate bases. "There comes a moment when things become possible and people ought to seize a moment when it presents itself."
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More than 100,000 Americans die from COVID-19. China moves closer to criminalizing dissent from Hong Kong. And, violent protests continue in Minneapolis after a black man died in police custody.
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So far, there is no seasonal pattern to coronavirus outbreaks, the WHO's Dr. Margaret Harris says. Lockdowns may not be necessary, she says, but infections rise when restrictions are relaxed rapidly.
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On a per capita basis, the coronavirus has has hit the Navajo Nation harder than nearly any other place in the nation.
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China plans to test every resident in Wuhan for COVID-19. New study examines how many people have lost health insurance since the pandemic. And, swabs for coronavirus testing are in short supply.
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A key hearing on COVID-19 takes place in the Senate Tuesday. The Supreme Court hears arguments involving President Trump's financial records. And, pandemic exposes cracks in the nursing home system.
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Senate panel considers if it's safe for U.S. to reopen. Leaders in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales reject Boris Johnson's reopening plans. And, Florida Career College faces class-action lawsuit.
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Dr. Vivek Murthy tells NPR: "The reality is that loneliness is a natural signal that our body gives us, similar to hunger, thirst. And that's how important human connection is."
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Kwame Alexander, NPR's poet in residence, reads the latest crowdsourced poem, this one focused on how you've been affected by and coping during the global coronavirus pandemic.