Samantha Balaban
Samantha Balaban is a producer at Weekend Edition.
After receiving her M.A. in Journalism and Latin American studies from New York University, she 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 reported on a perfume-loving tiger, traveled to Mexico to meet actor Diego Luna (and cover the elections), ridden with border patrol officers along the Rio Grande River, eaten very well in Houston, interviewed a Bangle and used her waterproof fanny pack to help keep her mic dry during hurricanes. She's also responsible for Picture This, a series of conversations with authors and illustrators.
Most days, you can find her under a pile of books and mail coordinating Weekend Edition's book coverage. On weekends, she's hanging out with her dog, Winnie.
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The city of Antakya, known in antiquity as Antioch, was at the crossroads of civilizations for centuries. After the Feb. 6 earthquake, many of its centuries-old monuments and sites lie in ruins. -
Days after the Feb. 6 earthquake in Turkey and Syria, hopes of finding people alive is waning. One U.S.-based team uses search-and-rescue dogs to try to find people still trapped days after the quake.
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JoAnne Bland was 11 when she marched in Selma on March 7, 1965, known today as "Bloody Sunday." Her tours are a window into the violence of that day and her city's role in the fight for civil rights.
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As a young attorney, Gray helped defend some of the biggest names of the civil rights movement. If his life had a motto, it would be, as he often says, "To destroy everything segregated I could find."
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Samantha Balaban and NPR's Life Kit provide insight to teaching old and new dogs new tricks.
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Gary Paulsen — whose wilderness adventure Hatchet taught generations of kids to survive in the forest — worked as a farmhand, truck driver and satellite technician before turning to writing.
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Afghans are trying to reach Pakistan via the frontier near the Khyber Pass, but Pakistan is wary of more refugees. Cargo trucks are backed up for miles, waiting to deliver goods into Afghanistan.
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Hunter Biden's new memoir is a story of his years of alcohol and drug addiction. He tells NPR that the one constant was the love of his family: "Their light was never not seeking me out."
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Food banks have seen demand climb dramatically this year. Eric Cooper of the San Antonio Food Bank talks about how additional federal dollars could make a difference to his clients.
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When Nancy Redd was a kid, she was embarrassed by the bonnet she wore over her hair every night. "I didn't want my daughter growing up with that same shame," she says.
