Ashley Westerman
Ashley Westerman is a producer who occasionally directs the show. Since joining the staff in June 2015, she has produced a variety of stories including a coal mine closing near her hometown, the 2016 Republican National Convention, and the Rohingya refugee crisis in southern Bangladesh. She is also an occasional reporter for Morning Edition, and NPR.org, where she has contributed reports on both domestic and international news.
Ashley was a summer intern in 2011 with Morning Edition and pitched a story on her very first day. She went on to work as a reporter and host for member station 89.3 WRKF in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she earned awards covering everything from healthcare to jambalaya.
Ashley is an East-West Center 2018 Jefferson Fellow and a two-time reporting fellow with the International Center for Journalists. Through ICFJ, she has covered labor issues in her home country of the Philippines for NPR and health care in Appalachia for Voice of America.
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NewsThe 168 school desks make up an exhibit called "Pandemic Classroom." Each of the seats represents 1 million children living in countries where schools have been closed for almost a year. -
"The coup is obviously good for no one," says a human rights activist. "But for the Rohingya, the risk is heightened. This is the military regime responsible for the atrocities over many, many years." -
As the aftermath of the Feb. 1 military coup in Myanmar continues to unfold, people in the U.S. with deep ties to the Southeast Asian country can only watch and wait. -
Many in the Myanmar immigrant community in the U.S. worry about family and friends back home, where tensions between security forces and protesters continue to escalate following a military coup.
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Myanmar's economy is already suffering due to COVID-19. Analysts say an imposition of broad economic sanctions in response to the coup could harm the country and result in greater Chinese influence. -
For many people this year, navigating grief from personal losses, like breakups and miscarriages, amid the drama of the pandemic has felt ... awkward. Here, stories of coping amid collective grief. -
NewsJournalists based in Colombia, South Africa and Indonesia talk about how the Black Lives Matter movement inspired activists abroad this year. -
Dr. Amir Khalil, a veterinarian with Four Paws International, says the "world's loneliest elephant" is settling into his new home in Cambodia. Khalil sang Sinatra's "My Way" to help calm Kaavan. -
Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy appear set to remain in power after Sunday's general election, which is largely seen as a referendum on Suu Kyi's first term. -
The government vowed to rebuild the city after the 2017 conflict with militants linked to ISIS. But more than 100,000 people are still in displacement camps, waiting for reconstruction.
