Standout Coverage

Israel-Gaza Beat

Since October 2023, I’ve produced 66 stories on the Israel-Hamas war for Here & Now, 44 of which were my own pitches. I have found and cultivated relationships with Middle East reporters, experts, and contacts on the ground, which has helped inform and balance our coverage of this topic. I also single-handedly filled out an entire spreadsheet of information for NPR on the Palestinian prisoners who were released during the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas last November. The spreadsheet served as a resource for reporters across the NPR network, and I even managed to get a family member of two released Palestinian prisoners to speak with us on Here & Now. And it was because of my persistence (for nearly a month) that we were able to get Egyptian writer and activist Mirna El Helbawi on our show, to talk about the efforts she led to connect Gazans to the rest of the world through eSims. I also pitched, produced and reported on how an American family escaped the war in Gaza after being stuck there. Early on in the war, I connected with Gazan journalist Hind Khoudary and we spoke to her about what it was like to report on this war while trying to survive it herself. I’ve kept in touch with Hind, along with multiple other people in Gaza, throughout this war, as they send me updates on what’s happening where they are. One such person is Gazan baker Nisreen Shehade, whom I came across while scrolling on TikTok. My story with her was the 10th-most-read article on our site over the entire year and I received a lot of great feedback. We did a follow-up story on Nisreen in April, which also performed really well and was the most-read article the day it published.

Class of 2024 Series

I developed and produced a series following a group of 8 high school seniors from across the country throughout their 2023-2024 school year. This “class of 2024” first (virtually) entered the hallowed halls of their high schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting a pivotal point of their social and academic lives through Zoom had a looming impact on their learning and mental health, as well as shaping both their personal identity and their dreams for the future. I spent some time each month throughout the school year checking in with the students and listening to what they are interested in talking about, as well as pitching them ideas related to current events and where they are in their school year. Among other topics, we’ve spoken with them about how they’re navigating climate change, how they can set themselves up for financial success, and how they’re coping with burnout and senioritis.

Here & Now Goes to Pakistan

I was the sole producer tasked with leading Here & Now’s COP27 coverage over two weeks. During this period, I chased dozens of guests all over the world and booked multiple roundtables with international sources to speak with us about the climate conference. Through covering this beat and talking to sources, I discovered a compelling angle: Pakistan, one of the world’s most populous countries, could be irreparably damaged by climate change – fueled by other countries – if they faced another catastrophic weather event. I crafted a meticulously detailed, multi-page pitch to send Here & Now to Pakistan last summer to cover the flood damages and the impact of climate change there. For this proposal, I researched story ideas, locales, guests, as well as potential expenses and funding resources. The pitch was very well-received by hosts and editors, and was far along in the process of being approved for a grant. The feedback from the funders was that they were so keen to fund this because they hadn’t heard this specific angle before. The project was placed on hold due to the safety concerns and security risks that arose after the political instability Pakistan faced during the summer.

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