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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Johnson & Johnson says a booster six months after the first shot increases antibodies 12-fold, indicating a second shot would provide added protection.
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The federal trial in New York against R&B star R. Kelly heads into its fourth week. There's been a long line of alleged victims, former employees and others who have already testified against him.
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More than a year after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam ordered the 12-ton statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee to be removed, it will be lifted from its pedestal in Richmond, and placed into storage.
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President Biden on Tuesday will survey damage from the remnants of Hurricane Ida in New York and New Jersey, which killed more than 40 people. The visit comes after a few tumultuous weeks for Biden.
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Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced he will not run for reelection — effectively ending his tenure this month. He told reporters he wanted to focus his efforts on handling the pandemic.
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The U.S. Supreme Court allowed a Texas law banning abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy to go into effect, but said that reproductive rights groups could still bring their challenges at a later time.
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After nearly three decades spent producing massive hits for a long list of (other) legends including Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey, the pair called in some favors for a long-belated debut.
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U.S. employers added 850,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate was largely the same as in May. Many sectors, including restaurants and factories, have struggled to find enough workers.
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The Manhattan district attorney's office is expected to bring charges against former President Donald Trump's family business and its longtime chief financial officer on Thursday.
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There are 152 people still missing from a Florida residential building that collapsed last week. Residents are demanding answers to why the section fell, and are coping with the loss of loved ones.