Ailsa Chang
Ailsa Chang is an award-winning journalist who hosts All Things Considered along with Ari Shapiro, Audie Cornish, and Mary Louise Kelly. She landed in public radio after practicing law for a few years.
Chang is a former Planet Money correspondent, where she got to geek out on the law while covering the underground asylum industry in the largest Chinatown in America, privacy rights in the cell phone age, the government's doomed fight to stop racist trademarks, and the money laundering case federal agents built against one of President Trump's top campaign advisers.
Previously, she was a congressional correspondent with NPR's Washington Desk. She covered battles over healthcare, immigration, gun control, executive branch appointments, and the federal budget.
Chang started out as a radio reporter in 2009, and has since earned a string of national awards for her work. In 2012, she was honored with the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton for her investigation into the New York City Police Department's "stop-and-frisk" policy and allegations of unlawful marijuana arrests by officers. The series also earned honors from Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Society of Professional Journalists.
She was also the recipient of the Daniel Schorr Journalism Award, a National Headliner Award, and an honor from Investigative Reporters and Editors for her investigation on how Detroit's broken public defender system leaves lawyers with insufficient resources to effectively represent their clients.
In 2011, the New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association named Chang as the winner of the Art Athens Award for General Excellence in Individual Reporting for radio. In 2015, she won a National Journalism Award from the Asian American Journalists Association for her coverage of Capitol Hill.
Prior to coming to NPR, Chang was an investigative reporter at NPR Member station WNYC from 2009 to 2012 in New York City, focusing on criminal justice and legal affairs. She was a Kroc fellow at NPR from 2008 to 2009, as well as a reporter and producer for NPR Member station KQED in San Francisco.
The former lawyer served as a law clerk to Judge John T. Noonan Jr. on the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco.
Chang graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University where she received her bachelor's degree.
She earned her law degree with distinction from Stanford Law School, where she won the Irving Hellman Jr. Special Award for the best piece written by a student in the Stanford Law Review in 2001.
Chang was also a Fulbright Scholar at Oxford University, where she received a master's degree in media law. She also has a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.
She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she never got to have a dog. But now she's the proud mama of Mickey Chang, a shih tzu who enjoys slapping high-fives and mingling with senators.
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Cockatoos in Sydney have become expert trash bin burglars. Scientists say birds in different neighborhoods have taught each other different techniques to open the bins, a sign of cultural complexity.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell about the investigation into how spyware infected the devices of international government officials, activists and journalists.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Peruvian journalist Gustavo Gorriti about the outcome of the recent presidential elections and what it means for the country's future.
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For the first time in 50 years, the Milwaukee Bucks have won an NBA championship. NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Mirin Fader of The Ringer about how forward Giannis Antetokounmpo led them to victory.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Kelli Dillon, who was sterilized without her knowledge in a California prison in 2001. Survivors like her will see reparations under a new provision in the state's budget.
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What can youth coaches learn from a fictional TV one like Ted Lasso? Lots, according to the Positive Coaching Alliance, an organization that helps train coaches in the power of positivity.
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The Great Salt Lake's water level is projected to hit a 170-year low this year. Scientists say that could have dire implications for migratory birds, if the lake's food chain collapses as a result.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with journalist Deepa Fernandes about her two-part investigation for Latino USA into domestic violence survivors who lose their children to the foster care system.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Team USA CEO Sarah Hirshland about prepping for this year's Olympics in Tokyo and what the event will look like with COVID-19 precautions such as having no spectators. -
Rufino Rodriguez worked as a respiratory therapist in a newborn intensive care unit in Utah. He died of COVID-19 after receiving his first vaccine shot. He was 65 years old.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang talks to musician Rodrigo Amarante about his second solo album, Drama, which he says was inspired by a personal reckoning with his own understanding of manhood.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with professor of sports psychology Dr. Dan Weigand about how performing without spectators could affect athletes' performances at the 2021 Olympics.
