In The NoCo

'The stories are there, and they're worth telling:' NPR's Lori Lizarraga on her journalism journey

By In The NoCo,

Published April 16, 2024 at 5:40 AM MDT

Ways To Subscribe

Lori Lizarraga, photographed for NPR, 25 January 2023, in Washington DC. Photo by Mike Morgan for NPR.

A career in journalism wasn’t the plan for NPR’s Lori Lizarraga – at least, not until the day she found herself in the wrong classroom at Southern Methodist University. Lizarraga says she “stepped into Narnia” when she walked into the studio where journalism students were broadcasting the school’s daily newscast.

The Latina journalist has been telling stories ever since – and a lot of that work as co-host of NPR's Code Switch is informed by her cultural identity. To wrap up our spring membership drive, we're listening back to our conversation with Lizarraga about how race, culture, and lived experience are inextricably woven into the fabric of her work.

NOTE: This is an encore of our podcast from Oct. 13, 2023. You can listen to an extended version of her conversation with host Erin O'Toole here.

Tags

In The NoCo

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.

See stories by In The NoCo

Erin O'Toole

As the host of KUNC’s new program and podcast In the NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.

See stories by Erin O'Toole

Ariel Lavery

Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University’s NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family’s financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.

See stories by Ariel Lavery