Rachel Martin
Rachel Martin is a host of Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.
Before taking on this role in December 2016, Martin was the host of Weekend Edition Sunday for four years. Martin also served as National Security Correspondent for NPR, where she covered both defense and intelligence issues. She traveled regularly to Iraq and Afghanistan with the Secretary of Defense, reporting on the U.S. wars and the effectiveness of the Pentagon's counterinsurgency strategy. Martin also reported extensively on the changing demographic of the U.S. military – from the debate over whether to allow women to fight in combat units – to the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. Her reporting on how the military is changing also took her to a U.S. Air Force base in New Mexico for a rare look at how the military trains drone pilots.
Martin was part of the team that launched NPR's experimental morning news show, The Bryant Park Project, based in New York — a two-hour daily multimedia program that she co-hosted with Alison Stewart and Mike Pesca.
In 2006-2007, Martin served as NPR's religion correspondent. Her piece on Islam in America was awarded "Best Radio Feature" by the Religion News Writers Association in 2007. As one of NPR's reporters assigned to cover the Virginia Tech massacre that same year, she was on the school's campus within hours of the shooting and on the ground in Blacksburg, Va., covering the investigation and emotional aftermath in the following days.
Based in Berlin, Germany, Martin worked as a NPR foreign correspondent from 2005-2006. During her time in Europe, she covered the London terrorist attacks, the federal elections in Germany, the 2006 World Cup and issues surrounding immigration and shifting cultural identities in Europe.
Her foreign reporting experience extends beyond Europe. Martin has also worked extensively in Afghanistan. She began reporting from there as a freelancer during the summer of 2003, covering the reconstruction effort in the wake of the U.S. invasion. In fall 2004, Martin returned for several months to cover Afghanistan's first democratic presidential election. She has reported widely on women's issues in Afghanistan, the fledgling political and governance system and the U.S.-NATO fight against the insurgency. She has also reported from Iraq, where she covered U.S. military operations and the strategic alliance between Sunni sheiks and the U.S. military in Anbar province.
Martin started her career at public radio station KQED in San Francisco, as a producer and reporter.
She holds an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, and a Master's degree in International Affairs from Columbia University.
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All in the Family creator Norman Lear, along with writer Jim Colucci, talked with NPR about Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton and their roles on the groundbreaking TV show. -
Yael Eisenstat, who was in a leadership position at Facebook in 2018, says people within the company have been warning for years about disinformation and how extreme voices are boosted on Facebook. -
Victoria Chang traces her family history through letter writing in her book, Dear Memory. In an NPR interview, she talks facing micro and macro aggressions and staying silent, just like her parents. -
NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with WGBO jazz expert Nate Chinen about his interview with Lady Gaga about her new album with Tony Bennett, Love for Sale. -
The House select committee which is investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has issued subpoenas to four former Trump administration officials. More could be on the way.
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The CDC director endorses booster shots for at-risk workers. The House panel probing the Jan. 6 attack issues subpoenas to four ex-Trump officials. The U.S. hosts a summit that will talk about China.
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An immigration lawyer in Virginia says she has clients also waiting to leave Afghanistan, but the cumbersome process — paired with a lack of U.S. assistance in the country — is a big challenge. -
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz was among the 13 U.S. service members killed in a bombing in Kabul last week. His father, Mark, has a message for fellow Americans.
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After nearly three decades spent producing massive hits for a long list of (other) legends including Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey, the pair called in some favors for a long-belated debut. -
Author Ocean Vuong recommends four books on the immigrant experience — but he wants to de-center America in these stories: "Immigration is a species-wide legacy," he says, and always has been.
