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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A wrap up of the latest House Jan. 6 committee hearing. The U.N. appears close to a deal to get needed grain out of Ukraine to the rest of the world. President Biden is being treated for COVID-19.
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The advocates want to make it simpler for people to access birth control options as many states move to ban or restrict access to abortion. One idea: making "the pill" available over-the-counter.
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Many people traded in slacks for sweatpants during the worst of the pandemic and are now figuring out what to wear back to the office. Here's what that looks like, from Wall Street to Capitol Hill. -
A recap of the 3rd hearing by the House Jan. 6 panel. There's a bit of good news coming out of research into long COVID. Americans support student loan forgiveness, but would rather rein in costs.
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Food and Drug Administration advisers are opening a two-day meeting to review Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccines for children, including the first vaccines for kids younger than age 5.
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The Jan. 6 House panel held the second of seven hearings. The FDA considers whether to authorize the first COVID vaccines for children younger than 5. Nevada is one of four states holding primaries.
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At the beginning of lockdown, the legendary funk bassist began posting uplifting messages to Instagram, where they found a receptive audience in drummer Adam Deitch of the band Lettuce. -
As part of teacher appreciation month, Morning Edition asked NPR's audience to write a poem about teachers who have had an impact on their lives. -
Biden visited Uvalde as DOJ announced a review of how police responded to the attack. There will be a presidential runoff in Colombia. People with serious mental illness struggled during the pandemic.
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Either/Or is Batuman's sequel to her bestselling Pulitzer finalist novel The Idiot.
