Ashley Westerman
Ashley Westerman is a producer who occasionally directs the show. Since joining the staff in June 2015, she has produced a variety of stories including a coal mine closing near her hometown, the 2016 Republican National Convention, and the Rohingya refugee crisis in southern Bangladesh. She is also an occasional reporter for Morning Edition, and NPR.org, where she has contributed reports on both domestic and international news.
Ashley was a summer intern in 2011 with Morning Edition and pitched a story on her very first day. She went on to work as a reporter and host for member station 89.3 WRKF in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she earned awards covering everything from healthcare to jambalaya.
Ashley is an East-West Center 2018 Jefferson Fellow and a two-time reporting fellow with the International Center for Journalists. Through ICFJ, she has covered labor issues in her home country of the Philippines for NPR and health care in Appalachia for Voice of America.
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Transracial and transnational adoptees say it's been difficult to express their thoughts about race and social justice provoked by police killings, anti-Asian violence and immigration. -
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist at New York University, on mixing and matching COVID booster shots with an original vaccine.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson about a case against three drug distributors for their alleged role in the opioid epidemic, as case's trial starts Monday.
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There is a glaring irony of the pandemic: Countries like the island nation of Tonga that have managed to keep the virus at bay may be some of the last to recover from the economic impact. -
Their workload has doubled. They don't go home when their shifts end lest they infect family members. But they say it's worth the sacrifices to lend a hand in the fight against COVID-19. -
As the pandemic continues to ravage the Philippines, a medical emergency response team in the Metro Manila area is working to keep as many non-coronavirus patients out of the hospitals as possible.
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The Philippines is going "brand agnostic" after a vaccination site was swarmed this week when people found out Pfizer doses were to be given out. -
Australia and New Zealand have launched one of the world's first "travel bubbles" between countries. People traveling between the two now no longer have to quarantine upon landing.
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COVID-19 cases in Papua New Guinea have been surging. As hundreds become sick each day, the healthcare system is struggling to keep up. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with journalist Rebecca Kuku.
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For many people this year, navigating grief from personal losses, like breakups and miscarriages, amid the drama of the pandemic has felt ... awkward. Here, stories of coping amid collective grief.
