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Jeff Brady

Jeff Brady is a National Desk Correspondent based in Philadelphia, where he covers the mid-Atlantic region and energy issues. Brady helped establish NPR's environment and energy collaborative which brings together NPR and Member station reporters from across the country to cover the big stories involving the natural world.

Brady approaches energy stories from the consumer side of the light switch and the gas pump in an effort to demystify an industry that can seem complicated and opaque. Frequently traveling throughout the country for NPR, Brady has visited a solar power plant in the Nevada desert that lights casinos after the sun goes down. In 2017 his reporting showed a history of racism and sexism that have made it difficult for the oil business to diversify its workforce.

In 2011 Brady led NPR's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal at Penn State—from the night legendary football coach Joe Paterno was fired to the trial where Sandusky was found guilty.

In 2005, Brady was among the NPR reporters who covered the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. His reporting on flooded cars left behind after the storm exposed efforts to stall the implementation of a national car titling system. Today, the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System is operational and the Department of Justice estimates it could save car buyers up to $11 billion a year.

Before coming to NPR in September 2003, Brady was a reporter at Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) in Portland. He has also worked in commercial television as an anchor and a reporter, and in commercial radio as a talk-show host and reporter.

Brady graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Southern Oregon State College (now Southern Oregon University). In 2018 SOU honored Brady with its annual "Distinguished Alumni" award.

  • Bar owners near the university agreed to not sell alcohol Saturday for what's become known as "State Patty's Day." Local officials say the unofficial St. Patrick's Day celebration brings unwanted and unruly behavior into downtown State College, Pa.
  • Gas prices typically rise this time of year as refineries switch to summertime formulas, which are designed to reduce smog. But because of maintenance work — partially delayed by Superstorm Sandy — the run-up in prices is happening earlier this year.
  • Hydraulic fracturing gets the spotlight, but without another technology — horizontal drilling — natural gas drilling booms across the country would not be happening now.
  • Staten Island's PS22 student choral group performs as people file onto the National Mall hoping for a glimpse of President Obama later.
  • Morning Edition has a team of reporters spread out across the city, getting a feel for how things are going in different areas. Thousands of people are descending on the nation's capital to be a part of President Obama's second inauguration.
  • Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the latest member of President Obama's Cabinet to announce his second-term departure, ran a department responsible for a half-billion acres of public land. But it's how he dealt with the oil industry and renewable energy issues that marked his tenure.
  • Forty-seven states now have widespread outbreaks of the influenza virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We look at the Philadelphia area, where health officials say flu season arrived early this year.
  • In the film, opening in theaters across the country Friday, Matt Damon's character pitches natural gas drilling to a rural community. Even with a number of inaccuracies, the film explores real-life issues confronting towns that are promised wealth but have to weigh potential environmental impacts of drilling.
  • Like many other brick-and-mortar retailers, Wal-Mart is trying new strategies to serve customers whenever they want to buy. In one new experiment in four select markets, the retail giant is promising to deliver eligible items ordered online in just a few hours.
  • Much of New York City and the surrounding area remain in a state of emergency. More than two days after a powerful storm, entire neighborhoods remain dark, without electricity and in need of basic supplies. Just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, the mayor of Hoboken is trying to get help for thousands of people in the city.