Elise Hu
Elise Hu is a host-at-large based at NPR West in Culver City, Calif. Previously, she explored the future with her video series, Future You with Elise Hu, and served as the founding bureau chief and International Correspondent for NPR's Seoul office. She was based in Seoul for nearly four years, responsible for the network's coverage of both Koreas and Japan, and filed from a dozen countries across Asia.
Before joining NPR, she was one of the founding reporters at The Texas Tribune, a non-profit digital news startup devoted to politics and public policy. While at the Tribune, Hu oversaw television partnerships and multimedia projects, contributed to The New York Times' expanded Texas coverage, and pushed for editorial innovation across platforms.
An honors graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia's School of Journalism, she previously worked as the state political reporter for KVUE-TV in Austin, WYFF-TV in Greenville, SC, and reported from Asia for the Taipei Times.
Her work at NPR has earned a DuPont-Columbia award and a Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media for her video series, Elise Tries. Her previous work has earned a Gannett Foundation Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism, a National Edward R. Murrow award for best online video, and beat reporting awards from the Texas Associated Press. The Austin Chronicle once dubiously named her the "Best TV Reporter Who Can Write."
Outside of work, Hu has taught digital journalism at Northwestern University and Georgetown University's journalism schools and served as a guest co-host for TWIT.tv's program, Tech News Today. She's on the board of Grist Magazine and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
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Kacen Callender's new young adult novel centers on a queer, trans teen trying to find out who's behind a traumatizing transphobic act — a quest that takes him on an emotional roller coaster.
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A slim book about an everyday woman's life in South Korea became a runaway bestseller (and a movie), tapping into a growing feminism in this punishingly patriarchal country. It's now out in English.
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Cathy Park Hong's essays serve as a major reckoning, pulling no punches as the author uses her life's flashpoints to give voice to a wider Asian American experience, one with cascading consequences.
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You can discover new things about the world when you travel, or even — if you apply a traveler's mindset — close to home. "It takes humility," says artist and author Jenny Odell.
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NPR is putting together a guide on navigating the social dynamics of travel, and we need your help. Tell us, how do you deal with group dynamics when traveling?
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in South Korea talking to U.S. allies after President Trump's meeting with Kim Jong Un.
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Mike Pompeo is in Asia to reassure America's allies. Also, an internal Justice Department watchdog is releasing a report on the handling of the Clinton email investigation.
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"There's a big risk for the North Koreans in telegraphing too much to their own people ahead of time," says Martyn Williams, who monitors North Korean TV. "So what they do," he says, "is wait."
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The talks are still expected to happen next month in Singapore, despite North Korea's threats to back out. The South Korean president is playing mediator to keep things on track.
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Former FBI Director James Comey talked with NPR about his actions during the 2016 campaign and his opinions on President Trump. Also, an update on the legal situation of Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.