Jennifer Ludden
Jennifer Ludden helps edit energy and environment stories for NPR's National Desk, working with NPR staffers and a team of public radio reporters across the country. They track the shift to clean energy, state and federal policy moves, and how people and communities are coping with the mounting impacts of climate change.
Previously, Ludden was an NPR correspondent covering family life and social issues, including the changing economics of marriage, the changing role of dads, and the ethical challenges of reproductive technology. She's also covered immigration and national security.
Ludden started reporting with NPR while based overseas in West Africa, Europe and the Middle East. She shared in two awards (Overseas Press Club and Society of Professional Journalists) for NPR's coverage of the Kosovo war in 1999, and won the Robert F. Kennedy Award for her coverage of the overthrow of Mobutu Sese Seko in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. When not navigating war zones, Ludden reported on cultural trends, including the dying tradition of storytellers in Syria, the emergence of Persian pop music in Iran, and the rise of a new form of urban polygamy in Africa.
Ludden has also reported from Canada and at public radio stations in Boston and Maine. She's a graduate of Syracuse University with degrees in television, radio, and film production and in English.
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Many people in public housing are especially vulnerable to extreme heat, and there's no federal requirement for air conditioning. That leaves some tenants struggling to pay for it on their own. -
Surprise charges for things like paying rent online or removing trash can add up and make an apartment less affordable. Advocates warn they can also put renters at risk for debt or even eviction. -
Many cities have devoted considerable focus and money to house people, only to see the number living outside continue to rise. -
New laws aim to change the power imbalance in rent court, where tenants with no lawyer are more likely to lose. But some cities have a shortage of attorneys or no set way to pair them with renters. -
A group called Patriotic Millionaires has failed to get Congress to raise their taxes or boost the minimum wage. Now they're taking their concerns about inequality to swing-state voters. -
Businesses like Cook Medical in Indiana say the housing shortage makes it harder to recruit and keep middle-income workers. Now, more companies are building places for employees to rent or even buy. -
Compensation for descendants of enslaved people is broadly controversial, and especially so among whites and Republicans. Researchers say one reason may be misperceptions about the racial wealth gap. -
Pulitzer winner for Evicted Matthew Desmond examines why the U.S. has more poverty than other rich nations. He finds it spends big on social programs, but gives the most to those who need it least. -
Black and Latinx homes are more likely to be undervalued by real estate appraisers, who are mostly older white men. New recruiting and technology aims to change how appraisals are done and by whom. -
Accusations of racial bias are fueling changes in the home appraisal industry. Companies say modernizing the technology and data they use will help limit discrimination.
