Leila Fadel
Leila Fadel is a national correspondent for NPR based in Los Angeles, covering issues of culture, diversity, and race.
Most recently, she was NPR's international correspondent based in Cairo and covered the wave of revolts in the Middle East and their aftermaths in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, and beyond. Her stories brought us to the heart of a state-ordered massacre of pro-Muslim Brotherhood protesters in Cairo in 2013 when police shot into crowds of people to clear them and killed between 1,000 and 2,000 people. She told us the tales of a coup in Egypt and what it is like for a country to go through a military overthrow of an elected government. She covered the fall of Mosul to ISIS in 2014 and documented the harrowing tales of the Yazidi women who were kidnapped and enslaved by the group. Her coverage also included stories of human smugglers in Egypt and the Syrian families desperate and willing to pay to risk their lives and cross a turbulent ocean for Europe.
She was awarded the Lowell Thomas Award from the Overseas Press Club for her coverage of the 2013 coup in Egypt and the toll it took on the country and Egyptian families. In 2017 she earned a Gracie award for the story of a single mother in Tunisia whose two eldest daughters were brainwashed and joined ISIS. The mother was fighting to make sure it didn't happen to her younger girls.
Before joining NPR, she covered the Middle East for The Washington Post as the Cairo Bureau Chief. Prior to her position as Cairo Bureau Chief for the Post, she covered the Iraq war for nearly five years with Knight Ridder, McClatchy Newspapers, and later the Washington Post. Her foreign coverage of the devastating human toll of the Iraq war earned her the George. R. Polk award in 2007. In 2016 she was the Council on Foreign Relations Edward R. Murrow fellow.
Leila Fadel is a Lebanese-American journalist who speaks conversational Arabic and was raised in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.
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An Idaho teacher was told by her principal to take down an "Everyone is welcome here" poster in her classroom. It's a symptom of President Trump's crackdown on discussions of inclusivity in schools. -
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., says a bill that would require Congressional approval for tariffs has bipartisan support because they are an "economic nightmare." -
The Trump administration has targeted students — both those with visas and those with permanent legal status — who protested the war in Gaza. Free speech advocates warn that these are test cases. -
American Giant sources and makes most of its products in the U.S. Its CEO says tariffs on China were overdue, but he worries the wide range will cause confusion about the global textile supply chain. -
Many Americans worry freedom of speech is fading, while others feel empowered to say what they want. NPR's Morning Edition explores this dynamic in a new series, The State of the First Amendment. -
Former Costa Rican President Óscar Arias Sánchez, who likened President Trump to "Roman emperor" earlier this year, says he fears the U.S. revoked his visa over criticisms of Trump. -
Canadian actress and entrepreneur Jasmine Mooney was detained by immigration authorities for 12 days after trying to apply for a visa at the U.S.-Mexico border. She spoke to NPR about her experience. -
Paul Rudd stars in the new comedy-horror film Death of a Unicorn as a meek father who hits a unicorn with his car — and soon learns that's a very bad thing to do. -
Immigration attorney Linette Tobin shares details with NPR about the government's case against her client, Jerce Reyes Barrios, a Venezuelan soccer player and father of two. -
Leila Fadel speaks with Congressman Jim Himes (D-Conn.) ahead of a hearing on the Trump administration's inadvertent disclosure of war plans on messaging app Signal.
