Steve Henn
Steve Henn is NPR's technology correspondent based in Menlo Park, California, who is currently on assignment with Planet Money. An award winning journalist, he now covers the intersection of technology and modern life - exploring how digital innovations are changing the way we interact with people we love, the institutions we depend on and the world around us. In 2012 he came frighteningly close to crashing one of the first Tesla sedans ever made. He has taken a ride in a self-driving car, and flown a drone around Stanford's campus with a legal expert on privacy and robotics.
But Steve's favorite technology stories are the ones that explain how little-understood innovations can change the way millions of us behave. Why do people buy cows in Farmville? Why are video games so compelling and why do some people have such a hard time setting Twitter aside? He is fascinated by how digital companies attempt to mold our behavior and study our every move in a world where we are constantly interacting with connected devices.
Prior to moving to Silicon Valley in 2010, Steve covered a wide range of topics for the public radio show Marketplace. His reporting kicked off the congressional travel scandals in late 2004, and helped expose the role of private military contractors at Abu Ghraib.
At Marketplace, Henn helped establish collaborations with the Center for Public Integrity and the Medill's School of Journalism.
Steve spent his early life on a farm in Iowa where his parents, who are biochemists, hoped to raise all their own food and become energy self-sufficient. It didn't work. During college Steve hoped to drop out and support himself by working in the fishing industry in Alaska. That also didn't work. After college he biked around the country with his sweetheart, Emily Johnson. He then followed Emily to Africa, volunteering at Soweto Community Radio. That did work out. He and Emily are now happily married with three daughters.
Steve graduated from Wesleyan University's College of Social Studies with honors and Columbia University's Graduate school of Journalism.
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The British prime minister says a plan to outlaw "violent" porn and block certain search terms is designed to protect children. Will a crackdown result in less child abuse? -
Whether it's facial recognition or snapping photos with a wink of an eye, hackers are proving it's possible to re-engineer Google Glass in a number of creative ways. -
After Asiana Flight 214's crash-landing in San Francisco, many weekend travelers were left stranded across the country. But the way airlines route such passengers to their destinations isn't based on how long they have been stranded, but rather on how frequently they fly and their "value" to the airline. -
An enterprising carpenter and a creative puppeteer teamed up on a do-it-yourself project to build a mechanical hand for a little boy. They created an inexpensive prosthetic and published their designs on the Internet. So far, over 100 children have been outfitted. -
Unmanned drones aren't just a tool for governments anymore. By as early as this year, the FAA expects to propose rules opening small, unmanned airborne vehicles, or drones, for commercial use.
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Law enforcement officials are pressing cellphone companies to make their devices more theft resistant. Mobile phones — iPhones especially — have become common targets of thieves. -
In a secret intelligence program called PRISM, the government obtained access to troves of data from some of the largest tech companies in the country, including Apple, Microsoft, Google and Facebook. The government says the search was limited to foreign targets, not Americans or non-citizens living in the U.S. The intelligence operation potentially undermines the companies' pledge to protect customer privacy.
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The U.S. International Trade Commission's ruling affects some older models of the iPhone and iPad. President Obama has 60 days to overturn the order; Apple said it will appeal.
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What an employer finds when researching an applicant online can make or break a job opportunity. Pete Kistler says he found this out the hard way. Since online reputation-management services were too pricey for his college budget, he started his own. -
Facebook is expected to pay out $20 million in a settlement over its "Sponsored Stories" advertising service, after placing user images in personalized ads. But the settlement doesn't stop the service, and a legal expert says Facebook's option to let users opt out creates more problems.
