
Elise Hu
Elise Hu is a host-at-large based at NPR West in Culver City, Calif. Previously, she explored the future with her video series, Future You with Elise Hu, and served as the founding bureau chief and International Correspondent for NPR's Seoul office. She was based in Seoul for nearly four years, responsible for the network's coverage of both Koreas and Japan, and filed from a dozen countries across Asia.
Before joining NPR, she was one of the founding reporters at The Texas Tribune, a non-profit digital news startup devoted to politics and public policy. While at the Tribune, Hu oversaw television partnerships and multimedia projects, contributed to The New York Times' expanded Texas coverage, and pushed for editorial innovation across platforms.
An honors graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia's School of Journalism, she previously worked as the state political reporter for KVUE-TV in Austin, WYFF-TV in Greenville, SC, and reported from Asia for the Taipei Times.
Her work at NPR has earned a DuPont-Columbia award and a Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media for her video series, Elise Tries. Her previous work has earned a Gannett Foundation Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism, a National Edward R. Murrow award for best online video, and beat reporting awards from the Texas Associated Press. The Austin Chronicle once dubiously named her the " Best TV Reporter Who Can Write."
Outside of work, Hu has taught digital journalism at Northwestern University and Georgetown University's journalism schools and served as a guest co-host for TWIT.tv's program, Tech News Today. She's on the board of Grist Magazine and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
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South Korea has the world's highest per capita rate of plastic surgery procedures. But growing pushback against ads touting facial fix-ups has prompted Seoul's public transport system to ban the ads.
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A Toronto pop-up restaurant serves food prepared by chefs living with HIV/AIDS. NPR's Elise Hu talks to Joanne Simons, CEO of the Casey House hospital, about how the eatery breaks down stigma.
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In NPR's Elise Tries series, correspondent Elise Hu tries out different experiences in East Asia. In rapidly aging Japan, an edible innovation is helping seniors enjoy meals without fear of choking.
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In NPR's Elise Tries series, correspondent Elise Hu tests out new experiences in East Asia. In this episode: pore vacuuming, a hot trend in Korean beauty. A suction pen excavates grime from your face.
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The government is trying to strike a balance between doing too little and doing too much to stop an outbreak of the deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome. But has it stepped over a line?
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In a fast-changing health crisis, South Korea's government is holding back key data amid calls for more openness. That's only adding to growing doubt that leaders can handle the situation.
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Additional confirmed cases of the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, have led to more than 200 school closures and a minor public panic in South Korea.
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The spread of the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, virus has sent sales of surgical masks soaring. Do they really help?
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Health officials in South Korea are coming under fire after cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, swelled from one to 13 inside of two weeks.
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After a launch that failed last fall, the administration is hoping this year's open enrollment period goes more smoothly, by letting customers browse first.