Samantha Balaban
Samantha Balaban is a Senior Producer at Weekend Edition. Most days, you can find her under a pile of books and mail coordinating the show's book coverage. She's also responsible for Picture This, a series of conversations with authors and illustrators.
She has traveled to Ukraine, where she helped coordinate coverage of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. She arrived in Israel on October 9, 2023 — her work covering Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza won a National Press Club award and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award. She also worked as NPR's coordinating producer in Lebanon in 2024.
Balaban got her start in public radio covering the James "Whitey" Bulger trial for WBUR as an intern. Since coming to NPR in 2014, she has worked at Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. She's covered multiple hurricanes as well as earthquakes in Haiti and Turkey. She produced stories from Pakistan for the 20th anniversary of 9/11. She's watched a kidney transplant and ridden with border patrol officers along the Rio Grande. She's also had a lot of fun: celebrating the 250th anniversary of the song "Amazing Grace," meeting actor Diego Luna in Mexico (and covering the elections), interviewing a Bangle and going clubbing — for work! Jaques Pépin once made her a French omelette and she's eaten very well in Houston — and Charleston — and New York City — and also at home in Washington, D.C.
Originally from Lexington, Mass., Balaban has a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She received her master's degree in Journalism and Latin American studies from New York University.
-
In the Lower Ninth Ward, an old Family Dollar stands covered in graffiti. It looks abandoned. But inside, it's a treasure trove — clothing, home goods, toys and books. And everything is free. -
For many people from former Soviet countries, New Year's is a big holiday feast time. A Ukrainian restaurant in Washington gives NPR a taste of what's on the menu. -
Reporter Kevin Sack's new book is a history of Charleston's Emanuel AME Church, the oldest Black congregation in the South, where a white supremacist killed nine worshippers a decade ago. -
Detroit's population is growing, a first since the 1950s. The uptick is small but significant for a city that's struggled for decades.
-
About 240 Israeli and foreign nationals have been held hostage in Gaza for a month. Many Israelis are calling for Israel to release all Palestinian detainees in exchange for the captives' freedom. -
About 1,400 people were killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and more than 240 people were kidnapped. In the four weeks since, almost 10,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks on Gaza. -
Palestinians from Gaza were working in Israel when Hamas attacked the country on Oct. 7. Now, many are unable to go back and in limbo in the West Bank. -
Voice memos recorded by NPR's producer in Gaza during a 34-hour communications blackout convey a weekend of anxiety and uncertainty for Palestinians as Israeli ground troops invaded. -
Thousands of Palestinians from Gaza were working in Israel when Hamas attacked on Oct. 7. Now, they're unable to go back and in limbo in the West Bank.
-
NPR has interviewed neighbors and relatives of one of the attackers and reviewed footage and information the Israeli military says it collected from villages and militants.
