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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Companies are trying to bring down their spiraling health care costs by helping employees lose weight. At Dow Chemical, managers hope to set an example by hitting the corporate gym at midday, and the company offers weight-management classes on demand, at workers' convenience. -
The amount can be confusing and depressing, so many Americans never calculate it. Experts offer their formulas, and say you'll be far happier later if you pinch pennies now. -
Divorce has been falling since its peak in 1979. But family experts see a new threat for children: the rise of cohabiting parents, who avoid marriage altogether. A new study finds their offspring can face as much if not more instability as the children of divorce.
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The Pew Hispanic Center survey finds 65 percent of Latinos favor the Democratic candidate in their local congressional district. But only half of Latino registered voters say they are certain to vote in next month's midterm elections.
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In neighborhoods across the country, groups of people are banding together to help the elderly stay in their homes. These non-profit groups are called "villages," and they help provide seniors with security, practical help and companionship they need to stay happily in the home they love. -
The number of teenagers who say they text-message daily has shot up to 54 percent from 38 percent in just the past 18 months, a new report finds. The typical American teenager sends 50 texts a day. Teachers worry the texting trend will hurt their students' interpersonal communication skills. -
The U.S. is expediting visas for hundreds of children whose adoptions were already in process, but officials say Americans' hoping to adopt kids orphaned as a result of the earthquake should wait. -
The joke used to be that some women went to college to get their M.R.S. — that is, a husband. But a study by the Pew Research Center finds that women today are more likely to marry men who have lower education levels and lower income levels than they do.
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American mothers as a whole do not breast-feed their babies as much as medical professionals would like. Health experts say African-American moms are less likely to nurse than whites and Hispanics. The federal government, some hospitals and nonprofits are trying different strategies to close the breast-feeding gap among black women. -
The turkey is the unofficial symbol of Thanksgiving, but don't tell that to eco-chef Bryant Terry. He's the author of The Vegan Soul Kitchen. Terry shares tried and true holiday recipes with a vegetarian twist.
