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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Teenagers are having less sex and getting better about using contraceptives, a survey finds. Economic hard times also make it less likely that teens will want to become parents so early in life.
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Of the six Baltimore police officers charged, there's only been one trial, which ended in a hung jury. But prosecutors are doubling down on their aggressive strategy as the trials resume in May. -
Despite the attention to lead in water, the biggest health risk to children is still from lead paint. The city of Baltimore banned lead paint way back in 1950, but children continue to be poisoned. -
Schools all over the country, not just Michigan, have struggled to eliminate lead from water fountains and cafeterias — some for more than a decade. -
"They should have ratings at the front of the debates," said one parent. "You know: 'Contains language, and violence, and sexual content.' That might be helpful for parents." -
The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard what could be its most consequential abortion case in a generation. Hundreds of protesters crowded the steps of the building while arguments took place inside.
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Justice Antonin Scalia's death comes just weeks before the Supreme Court hears its biggest abortion case in a decade. The reach of that decision is likely to be impacted by his absence. -
A study by the Pew Research Center finds the use of online dating sites has mushroomed in the past few years, particularly among 18- to 24-year-olds. -
Efforts to close the pay gap between men and women have gone nowhere in Congress, but states are forging ahead with a string of equal pay laws. And new proposals are being debated in two dozen states.
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Multiple states and cities have declared states of emergency as snow has covered parts of states from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. NPR's Jennifer Ludden has an update.
