Lauren Migaki
Lauren Migaki is a senior producer with NPR's education desk. She helps tell stories about teacher strikes, college access and a new high school for young men in Washington D.C. She also produces and hosts NPR's podcast about the Student Podcast Challenge.
In 2019, she worked with NPR's Life Kit to lead the team's parenting coverage. In 2017, Migaki was the producer to develop and pilot Up First,NPR's first-ever daily news podcast.
Before that, she spent seven years as a producer, director and line producer for Morning Edition – mostly on the overnight shift. She traveled alongside NPR hosts and reporters to tell stories in Crimea, Israel and the Brazilian Amazon. In 2014, the team earned an Edward R. Murrow award for their coverage of deforestation in the Amazon rain forest. Other highlights from her time at Morning Edition include working on interviews with Dolly Parton, Oprah and Joni Mitchell.
In addition to her work at Morning Edition, Migaki spent a year producing Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR's pop culture podcast.
Migaki graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Graphic Design.
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Even before the hurricane, most of the island's landfills were filled beyond capacity, and nearly half had EPA closure orders. The storm generated millions of cubic yards of waste and debris. -
Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on Vieques, an island 8 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico. Its bioluminescent bay, a lifeline for its vital tourism industry, is starting to show signs of recovery. -
The health clinic is operating, often by flashlight, out of tents. The island's bleak recovery epitomizes the unevenness of the disaster relief effort in the hurricane-devastated U.S. territory. -
In Vieques, an 81-year-old blind retiree and his family are bathing in brown, foul-smelling water from an improvised well behind the home they are squatting in. -
Experiencing a natural disaster can traumatize children. After a devastating wildfire in California, some educators are using an unusual assignment to help students find comfort. -
Some middle-schoolers are returning to class for the first time since Hurricane Maria hit the island in September. The students are sharing a school with high-schoolers, and that worries some parents. -
Puerto Rico's education secretary, Julia Keleher, says the few schools that are open are providing basic services. But there's still so much work to be done. -
A small number of Puerto Rico's schools have opened again. Two in San Juan are facing different challenges, but communities in both came together to provide a sense of normalcy for children. -
Schools across Puerto Rico are still largely closed since the storm hit. But two have opened as school leaders try to bring some normalcy to students' lives.
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In Sao Paulo, home to 20 million people, water shortages have become part of daily life. Some residents are leaving for lusher regions. Ecologists say Amazon deforestation may be affecting rainfall.
