Ashley Westerman
Ashley Westerman is a producer who occasionally directs the show. Since joining the staff in June 2015, she has produced a variety of stories including a coal mine closing near her hometown, the 2016 Republican National Convention, and the Rohingya refugee crisis in southern Bangladesh. She is also an occasional reporter for Morning Edition,and NPR.org, where she has contributed reports on both domestic and international news.
Ashley was a summer intern in 2011 with Morning Edition and pitched a story on her very first day. She went on to work as a reporter and host for member station 89.3 WRKF in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she earned awards covering everything from healthcare to jambalaya.
Ashley is an East-West Center 2018 Jefferson Fellow and a two-time reporting fellow with the International Center for Journalists. Through ICFJ, she has covered labor issues in her home country of the Philippines for NPR and health care in Appalachia for Voice of America.
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"The coup is obviously good for no one," says a human rights activist. "But for the Rohingya, the risk is heightened. This is the military regime responsible for the atrocities over many, many years." -
Many in the Myanmar immigrant community in the U.S. worry about family and friends back home, where tensions between security forces and protesters continue to escalate following a military coup.
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Myanmar's economy is already suffering due to COVID-19. Analysts say an imposition of broad economic sanctions in response to the coup could harm the country and result in greater Chinese influence.
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Journalists based in Colombia, South Africa and Indonesia talk about how the Black Lives Matter movement inspired activists abroad this year.
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Dr. Amir Khalil, a veterinarian with Four Paws International, says the "world's loneliest elephant" is settling into his new home in Cambodia. Khalil sang Sinatra's "My Way" to help calm Kaavan.
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Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy appear set to remain in power after Sunday's general election, which is largely seen as a referendum on Suu Kyi's first term.
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The government vowed to rebuild the city after the 2017 conflict with militants linked to ISIS. But more than 100,000 people are still in displacement camps, waiting for reconstruction.
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Greek organizations rely heavily on member dues. If chapters can't provide a meaningful experience online, one expert says, they may not survive the pandemic.
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In an interview with David Greene, two men from Webster County, Ky., argue over race at first, but then a disclosure about deeply personal history leads to a bit of unexpected common ground.
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Drive-in movie theaters are making a bit of a comback amid the pandemic. And people are going, even just to reclaim a bit of of their Saturday nights back.
