Jennifer Ludden
Jennifer Ludden helps edit energy and environment stories for NPR's National Desk, working with NPR staffers and a team of public radio reporters across the country. They track the shift to clean energy, state and federal policy moves, and how people and communities are coping with the mounting impacts of climate change.
Previously, Ludden was an NPR correspondent covering family life and social issues, including the changing economics of marriage, the changing role of dads, and the ethical challenges of reproductive technology. She's also covered immigration and national security.
Ludden started reporting with NPR while based overseas in West Africa, Europe and the Middle East. She shared in two awards (Overseas Press Club and Society of Professional Journalists) for NPR's coverage of the Kosovo war in 1999, and won the Robert F. Kennedy Award for her coverage of the overthrow of Mobutu Sese Seko in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. When not navigating war zones, Ludden reported on cultural trends, including the dying tradition of storytellers in Syria, the emergence of Persian pop music in Iran, and the rise of a new form of urban polygamy in Africa.
Ludden has also reported from Canada and at public radio stations in Boston and Maine. She's a graduate of Syracuse University with degrees in television, radio, and film production and in English.
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Religious scholars have broad exemption from military service. But critics say that's no longer sustainable, given their fast-growing population and the war in Gaza. -
Israel's Ultra-Orthodox Jews have broad exemption from military duty. But the expanded war on Hamas has intensified pressure to change that.
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Israel's defense minister is in the U.S. Monday, as the two countries sharply disagree over what should happen next in Gaza. President Biden is pushing for a cease-fire.
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The pilot program chose people on the city's long waitlist for housing vouchers to test how much direct cash payments can help. HUD, the federal housing agency, is interested in the possibility. -
Flint, Mich., aims to be a model for wiping out deep poverty during a crucial time for child development. The new benefits start during pregnancy to encourage prenatal care. -
Fudge, 71, is one of the few cabinet members to leave the Biden administration so far, and will return home to Ohio. She says affordable housing is a bipartisan challenge that needs more funding. -
The idea got a boost from the pandemic, when an array of cash relief helped cut child poverty and keep people housed. Researchers are studying how much money, for how long, may have lasting impact. -
Lower courts have said it's unconstitutional to punish people for sleeping outside if no shelter is available. Cities say these rulings have paralyzed their efforts to manage growing tent encampments.
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A Harvard University study shows that people across all income levels have been affected by rising rents. That means Americans are handing over a bigger portion of their paychecks to housing costs.
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A new Harvard analysis finds people across income levels got squeezed by rent hikes during the pandemic. The market has lost millions of low-rent places, and new construction is mostly high-end.
