Carrie Kahn

Carrie Kahn is a correspondent for NPR's National Desk based at NPR West in Culver City, CA. Kahn's reports can be heard on NPR's award-winning news programs including All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Weekend Edition.

Kahn has frequently worked on assignment for NPR throughout Mexico, California and the West. In 2005, Kahn was part of NPR’s extensive coverage of Hurricane Katrina, where she investigated claims of euthanasia in New Orleans hospitals, recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast and resettlement of city residents in Houston, TX. She has covered her share of Hurricanes since, fire storms and mudslides in Southern California and the controversial life and death of pop-icon Michael Jackson. Kahn continues to cover immigration and immigrant communities throughout the country, as well as drug trafficking and border enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2008, as China hosted the world’s athletes, Kahn recorded a remembrance of her Jewish grandfather and his decision to compete in Hitler’s 1936 Olympics.

Before coming to NPR in 2004, Kahn worked for 2 1/2 years at NPR station KQED in San Francisco, first as an editor and then as a general assignment reporter with a focus on immigration reporting. From 1994 to 2001, Kahn was the border and community affairs reporter at NPR station KPBS in San Diego, where she covered immigration, cross-border issues and the city's ethnic communities.

While at KPBS, Kahn received numerous awards, including back-to-back Sol Price Awards for Responsible Journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists. She won the California/Nevada Associated Press award for Best News Feature, eight Golden Mike Awards from the Radio & TV News Association of Southern California and numerous prizes from the San Diego Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists of San Diego. She was also awarded three consecutive La Pluma Awards from the California Chicano News Media Association.

Prior to joining KPBS, Kahn worked for NPR station KUSP and published a bilingual community newspaper in Santa Cruz, CA.

Kahn is frequently called upon to lecture or discuss border issues and bi-national journalism. Her work has been cited for fairness and balance by the Poynter Institute of Media Studies. She was awarded and completed a Pew Fellowship in International Journalism at Johns Hopkins University.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kahn received a Bachelors degree from UC Santa Cruz in Biology. For several years she was a human genetics researcher in California and in Costa Rica. She has traveled extensively throughout Mexico, Central America, Europe and the Middle East, where she worked on a English/Hebrew/Arabic magazine.

Carrie lives somewhat close to the beach in Los Angeles and loves to go for runs near the shore with her husband, two girls and their cockapoo Mona.

 

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3:00am

Mon October 24, 2011
Election 2012

Latino Republicans Find Party A Tough Sell

Originally published on Mon October 24, 2011 5:03 pm

Credit Jay Paul / Getty Images

President Obama is on a campaign swing through the West this week, making stops in California, Nevada and Colorado — all states where Hispanic voters will play a pivotal role in next year's election.

Obama has lost popularity with Latinos recently, mostly due to the economy. But Hispanic voters looking for alternatives find problems with the Republican slate as well.

GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain recently said he'd "electrify" the U.S.-Mexico border fence "with a sign on it on the other side that says it can kill you."

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2:00am

Tue October 4, 2011
Around the Nation

Local Officials Worry As Calif. Begins Prison Realignment

California has begun transferring supervision of thousands of its prisoners and parolees to local officials. That's because the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the state to radically reduce its overcrowded prisons. Local officials say the new program, known as realignment, will lead to a spike in crime.

1:34am

Sat October 1, 2011
Living Large: Obesity In America

Surgery Not 'A Magic Pill' For Obese Patients

Originally published on Wed October 5, 2011 1:41 pm

Part of an ongoing series on obesity in America

Losing weight in America is big business. Americans spend $61 billion a year on everything from diet pills and exercise videos to meal plans, health club memberships and medical treatment. One of the fastest growing and lucrative segments of the weight-loss market is surgery.

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1:44pm

Thu September 29, 2011
Around the Nation

L.A. County Prepares To Take On State Prisoners

Credit Rich Pedroncelli / AP

The state of California will begin shifting responsibility Saturday for tens of thousands of prisoners to local officials. The unprecedented change is under way because the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the state to reduce its dangerously overcrowded prisons.

County officials have had just months to plan for the influx of prisoners and parolees into their communities. Of all the prisoners and parolees leaving the state's system, the bulk are headed to Los Angeles County. Los Angeles is expecting to have to deal with 15,000 additional criminals.

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4:14am

Sun September 11, 2011
Reflecting On Sept. 11, 2001

San Diego Muslims Open Doors Amid Scrutiny

Credit David McNew / Getty Images

Although thousands of miles from ground zero, the Muslim community in San Diego, Calif., drew attention after Sept. 11, 2001. Two of the hijackers lived there. They also prayed at a local mosque, where noted radical Imam Anwar al-Awlaki preached. Recently, several men from the Somali Muslim community were arrested. They've been charged with aiding a Somali terrorist group.

A local imam has been working to open dialogue between Muslims and the larger community in San Diego in part to combat the suspicion that arose after the local ties came to light.

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