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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In an interview ahead of this week's U.N. General Assembly, Mohammad Javad Zarif tells NPR that U.S. sanctions against Iran "will not be able to bring us to our knees." -
Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese citizen, was recently released from Iran's notorious Evin Prison, where he served nearly four years. -
Laos is known as the "Land of a Million Elephants." But after decades of loss of habitat, there are fewer than 1,000 left. Now those remaining may be endangered by a Chinese-backed rail line.
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Verlon Jose, vice chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation, says President Trump's proposed border wall would cut through the reservation, with negative impacts. -
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her ruling alliance handily won Sunday's general election, and at least 17 people were killed during voting. The main opposition party rejects the results. -
Dry weather and strong winds mean that what would have been small blazes in the past are now monster fires. And more people live in harm's way.
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A much anticipated report by the U.S. State Department blames Myanmar's security forces for violence against Rohingya Muslims but does not call the mass killing a genocide. -
Behrouz Boochani has lived in detention on Manus for five years. He tells NPR about the book he wrote using WhatsApp that tells the story of his failed attempt to flee Iran for asylum in Australia. -
Mahathir Mohamad, who previously led Malaysia for more than two decades, has won a surprise victory over Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has been embroiled in a long-running corruption scandal. -
The colorful, crowded vehicles are a cheap and popular form of public transport. But they also pollute the air. Jeepney drivers have been pushing back against government plans to phase them out.
