Samantha Balaban
Samantha Balaban is a producer at Weekend Edition.
After receiving her M.A. in Journalism and Latin American studies from New York University, she got her start in public radio covering the James "Whitey" Bulger trial for WBUR as an intern. Since coming to NPR in 2014, she has reported on a perfume-loving tiger, traveled to Mexico to meet actor Diego Luna (and cover the elections), ridden with border patrol officers along the Rio Grande River, eaten very well in Houston, interviewed a Bangle and used her waterproof fanny pack to help keep her mic dry during hurricanes. She's also responsible for Picture This, a series of conversations with authors and illustrators.
Most days, you can find her under a pile of books and mail coordinating Weekend Edition's book coverage. On weekends, she's hanging out with her dog, Winnie.
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Gary Paulsen — whose wilderness adventure Hatchet taught generations of kids to survive in the forest — worked as a farmhand, truck driver and satellite technician before turning to writing. -
Afghans are trying to reach Pakistan via the frontier near the Khyber Pass, but Pakistan is wary of more refugees. Cargo trucks are backed up for miles, waiting to deliver goods into Afghanistan. -
The soccer stadium in the Haitian seaside town of Les Cayes is now a tent city of people whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. Aid continues to arrive, but slowly. -
Relief supplies are reaching the quake zone, but slowly. Health care workers are exhausted, some at their jobs 24 hours a day as Haiti struggles to care for those affected by the 7.2 magnitude quake. -
Relief efforts in Haiti are being greatly hampered by the torrential rains of Tropical Storm Grace. And many people are sleeping outside because of a fear of aftershocks. -
A little boy and his Moshom — which means grandfather in Swampy Cree — travel north to visit the trapline where, many years ago, the grandfather grew up living off the land. -
A little girl is initially ashamed when her immigrant parents stop the car to forage for watercress by the side of the road — until she learns more about her family's history in China. -
Hunter Biden's new memoir is a story of his years of alcohol and drug addiction. He tells NPR that the one constant was the love of his family: "Their light was never not seeking me out." -
Milo and his big sister take a long subway ride to visit their mother, who is incarcerated, in the latest collaboration from award-winning picture book duo Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson. -
A community art exhibit in suburban Maryland asked residents to consider a simple question: What have you lost, and what have you found in 2020?
