Jennifer Ludden
Jennifer Ludden helps edit energy and environment stories for NPR's National Desk, working with NPR staffers and a team of public radio reporters across the country. They track the shift to clean energy, state and federal policy moves, and how people and communities are coping with the mounting impacts of climate change.
Previously, Ludden was an NPR correspondent covering family life and social issues, including the changing economics of marriage, the changing role of dads, and the ethical challenges of reproductive technology. She's also covered immigration and national security.
Ludden started reporting with NPR while based overseas in West Africa, Europe and the Middle East. She shared in two awards (Overseas Press Club and Society of Professional Journalists) for NPR's coverage of the Kosovo war in 1999, and won the Robert F. Kennedy Award for her coverage of the overthrow of Mobutu Sese Seko in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. When not navigating war zones, Ludden reported on cultural trends, including the dying tradition of storytellers in Syria, the emergence of Persian pop music in Iran, and the rise of a new form of urban polygamy in Africa.
Ludden has also reported from Canada and at public radio stations in Boston and Maine. She's a graduate of Syracuse University with degrees in television, radio, and film production and in English.
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Most of the people who live in Poplar, N.C, are seniors. One priority is securing propane and kerosene heaters to keep them warm when it turns cold. -
In flood-ravaged Tennessee, language and other barriers have left some Latino workers feeling isolated. The larger Latino community is reaching out with food and support.
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In eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, efforts to clean up the flooding from Hurricane Helene's remnants are slow-going. People are relying on each other as they struggle to move forward.
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The high cost of housing is a big issue for voters. And both presidential candidates have plans to address it. But there are few details and lots of questions.
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Gov. Newsom is encouraging cities and counties to do the same. The move comes a month after a Supreme Court ruling made it easier to force people to move even if they have nowhere else to go.
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The decision is a win for Western cities that wanted more powers to manage record homelessness. But advocates for the unhoused say the decision will do nothing to solve the larger problem -
For decades, public housing residents across the country have had to pay for the electricity that their air conditioners use. A new federal rule changes that, but only slightly.
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Four states so far have passed laws prohibiting the use of public money for no-strings cash aid. Advocates for basic income say the backlash is being fueled by a conservative think tank. -
The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on whether people can be punished for sleeping outside. The decision could shape how cities manage record rates of homelessness.
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A lack of cash in Gaza has made daily life even more difficult, as people are unable to purchase desperately needed food and other supplies.
