Pien Huang
Pien Huang is a health reporter on the Science desk. She was NPR's first Reflect America Fellow, working with shows, desks and podcasts to bring more diverse voices to air and online.
She's a former producer for WBUR/NPR's On Point and was a 2018 Environmental Reporting Fellow with The GroundTruth Project at WCAI in Cape Cod, covering the human impact on climate change. As a freelance audio and digital reporter, Huang's stories on the environment, arts and culture have been featured on NPR, the BBC and PRI's The World.
Huang's experiences span categories and continents. She was executive producer of Data Made to Matter, a podcast from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and was also an adjunct instructor in podcasting and audio journalism at Northeastern University. She worked as a project manager for public artist Ralph Helmick to help plan and execute The Founder's Memorial in Abu Dhabi and with Stoltze Design to tell visual stories through graphic design. Huang has traveled with scientists looking for signs of environmental change in Cameroon's frogs, in Panama's plants and in the ocean water off the ice edge of Antarctica. She has a degree in environmental science and public policy from Harvard.
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The fires have turned some electric car batteries and household items into "unexploded ordnances," says an EPA official tasked with the cleanup -
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, the deadliest tick-borne disease in the U.S., is a big problem on tribal lands in the Southwest. A community-led response on Apache lands in Arizona is helping save lives. -
Wildfires have a history of causing problems with the drinking water systems. In some affected areas around LA, officials are warning residents not to drink from the tap or even to shower. -
A new study suggests a link between high levels of fluoride and lowered IQ. It's heating up arguments over fluoridating drinking water, which dentists say is critical for protecting teeth. -
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is the deadliest tickborne disease in the U.S. Rates of the disease are especially high on some tribal lands, but public health efforts to limit deadly cases are working.
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Last year, a government report linking high levels of fluoride with lower IQ in children contributed to debate over adding fluoride to drinking water. The analysis behind that report is out today.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture kicks off a new program looking for highly pathogenic bird flu in the milk supply. Starting this week, they're testing samples of milk intended for pasteurization.
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A new CDC report finds that more than 85% of U.S. adults 65 and older are not getting enough exercise. All adults should get moderate aerobic activity and weight or resistance training every week.
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If the new administration embraces proposals to cut the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's budget and its mission, the public health agency could look very different than it does today. -
A deeper dive into Wednesday's post-election interview with former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and his skepticism of public health expertise.
