
[email protected]
Rachel Martin is the host of "Weekend Edition Sunday" and "Up First."
Prior to moving into the host position in the fall of 2012, Martin started as National Security Correspondent for NPR in May 2010. In that position 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.
Videos

added 11 months ago

added over 4 years ago
Related Speakers View all
![]() |
Kat Chow
Reporter at "Code Switch" an NPR Podcast about Race,...
|
![]() |
Audie Cornish
Host of NPR's "All Things Considered"
|
![]() |
Guy Raz
Co-Creator & Host of NPR's TED Radio Hour & How I Bu...
|
![]() |
Melissa Block
Radio Host and Journalist; Co-Host, NPR's "All Thing...
|
![]() |
Peter Sagal
Host of NPR's "Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!"
|
![]() |
Tamara Keith
NPR White House Correspondent; Co-Host of the NPR Po...
|
![]() |
Andy Bowers
Co-founder & Chief Content Officer of Panoply
|
![]() |
Phoebe Judge
Award-Winning Journalist; Best Known as the Host of ...
|
![]() |
Joshua Johnson
Founding Host of "1A" Radio Show for NPR & WAMU
|
![]() |
Alix Spiegel
Correspondent on NPR's Science Desk & Cohost of Invi...
|
![]() |
Holley M. Murchison
Author, Education Producer & Founder of Oratory Glory
|
![]() |
Ray Magliozzi
Former Co-Host of NPR's "Car Talk"
|
![]() |
David Greene
Host, of NPR's "Morning Edition," & "Up First"
|
![]() |
Robin Quivers
Radio Personality; Author; Actress; News Anchor & Co...
|
![]() |
Megan Kamerick
Immediate past president, Journalism & Women Symposi...
|
![]() |
Andrei Codrescu
NPR Commentator, "All Things Considered"
|
![]() |
Ailsa Chang
Congressional Reporter on NPR's Washington Desk, Co-...
|
![]() |
Howie Carr
Journalist, Author & Conservative Radio Talk-Show Host
|
![]() |
Howard Riell
Veteran Journalist, Radio Talk Show Host & Author
|
![]() |
Lauren Schiller
Creator & Host of Inflection Point
|