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.
-
The Court of Arbitration for Sport begins a hearing Tuesday into the doping scandal of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva. U.S. skaters still haven't received team medals from the 2022 Winter Games. -
Blinken arrives at a moment when Ukraine's summer counteroffensive is entering its final weeks — still struggling against powerful Russian defenses in the south and east.
-
Russia has occupied the massive Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which sits roughly 50 miles from the front lines. Ukraine's other reactors are also operating in a volatile war zone.
-
Zelenzkyy's move follows corruption scandals involving military contractors and a grinding summer counteroffensive that critics say underperformed.
-
Russian forces are mounting an offensive east of Kharkiv, which is triggering a new wave of displaced persons — many of them elderly and alone.
-
In Ukraine, news of the apparent death of Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash is being greeted with satisfaction and gallows humor.
-
Populist politicians and right-wing media have convinced many voters that U.S. aid for Ukraine is a waste of money. Domestic problems should take precedent, they say.
-
Supreme Court's decision to review the controversial bankruptcy deal involving the maker of Oxycontin means the settlement will remain on hold at least through December.
-
Republican primary voters in upstate New York are angry over the latest Trump indictment, but some say they're weary of his drama.
-
Funny Cide was an unknown racehorse from New York state in 2003 when he came out of nowhere to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. He died this week at the age of 23.
