Brian Mann
Brian Mann is NPR's first national addiction correspondent. He also covers breaking news in the U.S. and around the world.
Mann began covering drug policy and the opioid crisis as part of a partnership between NPR and North Country Public Radio in New York. After joining NPR full time in 2020, Mann was one of the first national journalists to track the deadly spread of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, reporting from California and Washington state to West Virginia.
After losing his father and stepbrother to substance abuse, Mann's reporting breaks down the stigma surrounding addiction and creates a factual basis for the ongoing national discussion.
Mann has also served on NPR teams covering the Beijing Winter Olympics and the war in Ukraine.
During a career in public radio that began in the 1980s, Mann has won numerous regional and national Edward R. Murrow awards. He is author of a 2006 book about small town politics called Welcome to the Homeland, described by The Atlantic as "one of the best books to date on the putative-red-blue divide."
Mann grew up in Alaska and is now based in New York's Adirondack Mountains. His audio postcards, broadcast on NPR, describe his backcountry trips into wild places around the world.
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Many economists and business leaders are raising alarms about falling birthrates. But advocates for lower human populations say a less crowded world will be happier and more sustainable. -
The global economic system developed in an era of rapid population growth. With aging populations and people deciding to have smaller families, economists are raising concerns about future prosperity.
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All three candidates in New York City's mayoral race faced off Thursday night in their first general election debate, sparring over crime, affordable housing and Israel.
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Judy Thompson fought to have her son, Alton, institutionalized when his mental illness spiraled out of control. The experience left both mother and son wary of the "civil confinement" process.
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday that he would be ending his bid for reelection, setting up what could be a more difficult contest for the Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani.
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New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani got a major endorsement this week from former Vice President Kamala Harris. But many Democratic leaders remain distant, fueling growing tension.
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A plan backed by President Trump could force far more unhoused Americans into long-term treatment for addiction and mental illness. Experts fear people who aren't dangerous could be swept up.
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Some of the wildest country in the U.S. is in Washington state's Cascade Range, reached by old logging and jeep roads that give way to high alpine trails. NPR's Brian Mann sends an audio postcard.
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Leaders in Washington, D.C., say they're striving to maintain calm as growing numbers of National Guard soldiers deploy to the city. President Trump hasn't said how he wants this "crisis" to end. -
This weekend, people in Washington, D.C., have been adapting to their police department being under federal control as the Trump administration has taken over policing.
