Rebecca Hersher
Rebecca Hersher (she/her) is a reporter on NPR's Science Desk, where she reports on outbreaks, natural disasters, and environmental and health research. Since coming to NPR in 2011, she has covered the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, embedded with the Afghan army after the American combat mission ended, and reported on floods and hurricanes in the U.S. She's also reported on research about puppies. Before her work on the Science Desk, she was a producer for NPR's Weekend All Things Considered in Los Angeles.
Hersher was part of the NPR team that won a Peabody award for coverage of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and produced a story from Liberia that won an Edward R. Murrow award for use of sound. She was a finalist for the 2017 Daniel Schorr prize; a 2017 Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting fellow, reporting on sanitation in Haiti; and a 2015 NPR Above the Fray fellow, investigating the causes of the suicide epidemic in Greenland.
Prior to working at NPR, Hersher reported on biomedical research and pharmaceutical news for Nature Medicine.
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development disproportionately sells homes in flood-prone areas, NPR finds. Housing experts warn that this can lead to big losses for vulnerable families. -
People of color experience more air and water pollution than white people and suffer the health impacts. It has long been an underaddressed issue in the federal government.
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Heat waves, air pollution and extreme weather are making people sick and, increasingly, killing people. A key report by global physicians says fossil fuels are to blame.
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It's the first confirmed case of coronavirus reinfection in the U.S. The case underscores that everyone should be social distancing and wearing masks, including COVID-19 survivors.
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Hurricane Laura hit an area known for its refineries and chemical plants. They released millions of pounds of air pollution when they shut down, and many air monitors are not functioning.
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A new study finds that the U.S. places with the most polluted air in the 1980s remain the most polluted today. Poor people and people of color are more likely to live in places with dirty air.
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Family violence increases in places that have been severely burned in bushfires, Australian research finds. The isolation and financial stress of COVID-19 appear to be exacerbating the problem.
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COVID-19 cases are surging in several states. In some places, officials are urging people to stay home and enjoy July 4th celebrations, like fireworks, from their houses.
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Nancy Beck is the Trump administration's nominee to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission for a seven-year term. Many scientists and public health experts warn she is a dangerous choice.
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It is very difficult for people hospitalized with COVID-19 to communicate with their families. At one medical center, psychologists are helping with some of those tough conversations.
