Rob Schmitz
Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Shanghai, covering the human stories of China's economic rise and increasing global influence. His reporting on China's impact beyond its borders has taken him to countries such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand. Inside China, he's interviewed elderly revolutionaries, young rappers, and live-streaming celebrity farmers who make up the diverse tapestry of one of the most fascinating countries on the planet.
Schmitz has won several awards for his reporting on China, including two national Edward R. Murrow Awards and an Education Writers Association Award. His work was also a finalist for the 2012 Investigative Reporters and Editors Award. His reporting in Japan — from the hardest-hit areas near the failing Fukushima nuclear power plant following the earthquake and tsunami — was included in the publication 100 Great Stories, celebrating the centennial of Columbia University's Journalism School. In 2012, Schmitz exposed the fabrications in Mike Daisey's account of Apple's supply chain on This American Life. His report was featured in the show's "Retraction" episode.
From 2010 to 2016, Schmitz was the China correspondent for Marketplace. He's also worked as a reporter for NPR Member stations KQED, KPCC, and MPR. Prior to his radio career, Schmitz lived and worked in China — first as a teacher for the Peace Corps in the 1990s, and later as a freelance print and video journalist. He speaks Mandarin and Spanish. He has a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
Schmitz is the author of Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road(2016), a profile of individuals who live, work, and dream along a single street that runs through the heart of China's largest city.
-
"Racism is a poison. Hate is a poison," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday, as evidence pointed to the gunman being motivated by extreme views. -
The country's ruling Law and Justice party has sought to dramatically reshape the courts, triggering popular protests and threatening Poland's status within the EU parliamentary process. -
"People should look at this place and think about our moral responsibility," says Pawel Sawicki, a longtime guide at the Auschwitz museum in Poland. -
A devastating outbreak of swine fever in China has increased Chinese demand for European pork, and that's leaving less meat available for sausages in Germany.
-
Between the financial crisis and record refugees, the long-serving chancellor "kept a steady hand during a tumultuous time," says one biographer. -
Across Europe and North America, throngs of Santa impersonators have been busy preparing children for Christmas. But in Germany, there's a lack of interest among people to play the jolly character. -
President Trump is expected to sign into law sanctions against companies building a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.
-
As Germany celebrates the 30th anniversary of the end of the Berlin Wall, the city has incorporated a piece of the historic relic into the landscape of the united German capital.
-
Picturesque Goerlitz has appeared in films like The Grand Budapest Hotel and Inglourious Basterds. But a lack of jobs led thousands of residents to go elsewhere. The city is trying to woo them back. -
The Hoff recently sat down with NPR in Berlin and told the story of how he became a rock star there.
