Steve Henn
Steve Henn is NPR's technology correspondent based in Menlo Park, California, who is currently on assignment with Planet Money. An award winning journalist, he now covers the intersection of technology and modern life - exploring how digital innovations are changing the way we interact with people we love, the institutions we depend on and the world around us. In 2012 he came frighteningly close to crashing one of the first Tesla sedans ever made. He has taken a ride in a self-driving car, and flown a drone around Stanford's campus with a legal expert on privacy and robotics.
But Steve's favorite technology stories are the ones that explain how little-understood innovations can change the way millions of us behave. Why do people buy cows in Farmville? Why are video games so compelling and why do some people have such a hard time setting Twitter aside? He is fascinated by how digital companies attempt to mold our behavior and study our every move in a world where we are constantly interacting with connected devices.
Prior to moving to Silicon Valley in 2010, Steve covered a wide range of topics for the public radio show Marketplace. His reporting kicked off the congressional travel scandals in late 2004, and helped expose the role of private military contractors at Abu Ghraib.
At Marketplace , Henn helped establish collaborations with the Center for Public Integrity and the Medill's School of Journalism.
Steve spent his early life on a farm in Iowa where his parents, who are biochemists, hoped to raise all their own food and become energy self-sufficient. It didn't work. During college Steve hoped to drop out and support himself by working in the fishing industry in Alaska. That also didn't work. After college he biked around the country with his sweetheart, Emily Johnson. He then followed Emily to Africa, volunteering at Soweto Community Radio. That did work out. He and Emily are now happily married with three daughters.
Steve graduated from Wesleyan University's College of Social Studies with honors and Columbia University's Graduate school of Journalism.
-
NPR's Steve Henn, along with two tech experts, allowed Internet traffic through his laptop and cellphone to be monitored. If someone tapped your Internet connection, what would he find out?
-
Companies including PayPal and Apple are competing to convince merchants and consumers to use their swipe-and-go mobile payment systems. Credit card breaches may speed up the use of digital wallets.
-
Security officials say the Paris attacks are an example why law enforcement needs to access encrypted data. Privacy advocates and the tech industry say such "back doors" are not the best solution. -
Close to a million college kids use Piazza. Pooja Sankar, the apps' creator, says her company can't solve all the problems for women in computer science but she hopes it's making a difference.
-
Shyamalan's film The Visit has earned more than $25 million so far. It cost $5 million to shoot. We examine why the new movie might be better because it was made on a micro-budget.
-
These days, the idea of a driverless car makes a lot of people nervous. Our Planet Money team goes back in time when automatic elevators made people just as worried.
-
Netflix decision to offer unlimited paid leave to new parents grew out of a culture that already offered unlimited vacation. It's part of a plan to attract the most talented employees possible.
-
Robots are really bad at many simple human tasks. One possible workaround: Combine the person with the machine.
-
Frederick Hutson disrupted the biggest captive market in America. While in prison, he honed a business plan and re-imagined that system as an untapped consumer base.
-
While many of those messages are tucked away from the prying eyes of the public, it's not clear they are well-protected from hackers.
