Emily Bear is a pint-sized classical and jazz pianist. She is what many call a prodigy. (Nick Suttle/Courtesy of the artist)
Musician Emily Bear has composed more than 350 pieces for the piano. She's recorded six albums, performed at the White House and Carnegie Hall. Oh, and by the way, Emily is only 12.
Her interview with NPR's David Greene was part of a series I produced on the fascinating and sometimes heartbreaking phenomenon of prodigies.
In a conflict that dates back generations, Israelis and Palestinians rarely change their positions or their minds.
NPR's Emily Harris, explored what prompts a relative few to adopt a new perspective in a series of reports titled, "Moments of Change for Palestinians and Israelis."
I produced two of the four stories which won the 2017 "Lowell Thomas Award" from the Overseas Press Club of America.
Bassam Aramin, 46, grew up hating Israel and spent seven years in an Israeli prison. But he gradually came to believe that negotiation, not violence, was the only way to resolve the conflict. (Emily Harris/NPR)
Seems like every town has an obscure but ridiculously fascinating museum. These little-known gems were the subject of a summer series I produced called "Unsung Museums."
The best of the best is a drive-though art museum in Seale, Alabama. It boasts a collection of paintings, sculptures and truly strange odds and ends.
Artist Butch Anthony created a drive-thru museum of odd items in Seale, Ala.
(Timothy Hursley /Courtesy of Butch Anthony)
For centuries, Chesapeake Bay oysters were harvested by skipjacks, those tall, sleek, singled-masted sailboats. The skipjacks are mostly gone now, replaced by more efficient, less majestic ways of fishing. But one skipjack captain refuses to fade away.
Kermit Travers, 78, is one of the first and last African-American skipjack captains. He's been sailing the Chesapeake for most of his life. I climbed aboard one of the skipjacks he commanded to hear him reflect on his life on the water.
Capt. Kermit Travers is one of the last African-American skipjack captains. The nearly 60 years he has spent on the water have been without a life jacket — even though he can't swim. (Barry Gordemer/NPR)
Singer-songwriter Jeffrey Foucault has five critically acclaimed albums to his name. But he's not exactly living the glamorous life of a musician. His days and his music are mostly about small towns and simple truths.
We caught up with Foucault in between road trips.
Jeffrey Foucault performed songs from his lbum is called "Salt as Wolves."
(Joseph Navas/Courtesy of the artist)
December 10, 2015
Tips for Great Interviews
This is a video I produced for the oral history project, StoryCorps. It offers high school students pointers on how to conduct interviews.
Rising sea levels caused by climate change threaten a South Carolina coastal community.
The signs of what scientists call "a looming crisis" are both subtle and clear.
A ghost forest seen on Hunting Island, S.C. Cameron Pollack for NPR
Amira, the younger daughter in the Koliubaiev family, sits quietly by herself in Arlington, Va., on April 9. She and her mother and sister are staying with a host family after fleeing the war in Ukraine. Shuran Huang for NPR
Two days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Eka Koliubaieva and their two daughters joined a small caravan with friends and drove more than 500 miles to the Hungarian border.
Steps from the checkpoint, Artem Koliubaiev said goodbye to his wife and children, not sure when or if the family would reunite.
They are all safe in the U.S. for now.