
Rachel Martin
Rachel Martin is a host of Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.
Before taking on this role in December 2016, Martin was the host of Weekend Edition Sunday for four years. Martin also served as National Security Correspondent for NPR, where she covered both defense and intelligence issues. She traveled regularly to Iraq and Afghanistan with the Secretary of Defense, reporting on the U.S. wars and the effectiveness of the Pentagon's counterinsurgency strategy. Martin also reported extensively on the changing demographic of the U.S. military – from the debate over whether to allow women to fight in combat units – to the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. Her reporting on how the military is changing also took her to a U.S. Air Force base in New Mexico for a rare look at how the military trains drone pilots.
Martin was part of the team that launched NPR's experimental morning news show, The Bryant Park Project, based in New York — a two-hour daily multimedia program that she co-hosted with Alison Stewart and Mike Pesca.
In 2006-2007, Martin served as NPR's religion correspondent. Her piece on Islam in America was awarded "Best Radio Feature" by the Religion News Writers Association in 2007. As one of NPR's reporters assigned to cover the Virginia Tech massacre that same year, she was on the school's campus within hours of the shooting and on the ground in Blacksburg, Va., covering the investigation and emotional aftermath in the following days.
Based in Berlin, Germany, Martin worked as a NPR foreign correspondent from 2005-2006. During her time in Europe, she covered the London terrorist attacks, the federal elections in Germany, the 2006 World Cup and issues surrounding immigration and shifting cultural identities in Europe.
Her foreign reporting experience extends beyond Europe. Martin has also worked extensively in Afghanistan. She began reporting from there as a freelancer during the summer of 2003, covering the reconstruction effort in the wake of the U.S. invasion. In fall 2004, Martin returned for several months to cover Afghanistan's first democratic presidential election. She has reported widely on women's issues in Afghanistan, the fledgling political and governance system and the U.S.-NATO fight against the insurgency. She has also reported from Iraq, where she covered U.S. military operations and the strategic alliance between Sunni sheiks and the U.S. military in Anbar province.
Martin started her career at public radio station KQED in San Francisco, as a producer and reporter.
She holds an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, and a Master's degree in International Affairs from Columbia University.
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The Supreme Court will hear a federal elections case next term. The court on Thursday stripped away some of the EPA's power to regulate emissions. Britain handed Hong Kong back to China 25 years ago.
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The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could give state legislatures a lot of unchecked power over the results of federal elections.
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President Biden holds a press conference as the NATO summit wraps in Madrid.
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The namesake son of an ousted dictator took the presidential oath in Manila after one of the greatest political comebacks in recent history. Outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte was at the ceremony.
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The Supreme Court will issue opinions in two remaining cases. President Biden wraps up a week of high-level meetings with allies in Europe. Election denialism evolves into a nationwide movement.
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From Lahore's red-light district and the streets of Mexico to a fantastical underwater land of Korean fable, here are some picks that can immerse you in worlds wholly unlike your own.
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The Kremlin is threatening to retaliate against NATO member state Lithuania, after the Baltic state decided to block some goods into a Russian territory known as Kaliningrad.
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Former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson has made bombshell revelations about former President Donald Trump's role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
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A recap of the explosive testimony before the House Jan. 6 panel. Turkey agrees to support Norway and Sweden joining NATO. As fears of a recession build, companies are laying off workers.
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Local police in Texas say 16 people were found alive and transported to area hospitals, including 12 adults and four children. Authorities believe they were victims of human smuggling.