Ailsa Chang
Ailsa Chang is an award-winning journalist who hosts All Things Considered along with Ari Shapiro, Audie Cornish, and Mary Louise Kelly. She landed in public radio after practicing law for a few years.
Chang is a former Planet Money correspondent, where she got to geek out on the law while covering the underground asylum industry in the largest Chinatown in America, privacy rights in the cell phone age, the government's doomed fight to stop racist trademarks, and the money laundering case federal agents built against one of President Trump's top campaign advisers.
Previously, she was a congressional correspondent with NPR's Washington Desk. She covered battles over healthcare, immigration, gun control, executive branch appointments, and the federal budget.
Chang started out as a radio reporter in 2009, and has since earned a string of national awards for her work. In 2012, she was honored with the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton for her investigation into the New York City Police Department's "stop-and-frisk" policy and allegations of unlawful marijuana arrests by officers. The series also earned honors from Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Society of Professional Journalists.
She was also the recipient of the Daniel Schorr Journalism Award, a National Headliner Award, and an honor from Investigative Reporters and Editors for her investigation on how Detroit's broken public defender system leaves lawyers with insufficient resources to effectively represent their clients.
In 2011, the New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association named Chang as the winner of the Art Athens Award for General Excellence in Individual Reporting for radio. In 2015, she won a National Journalism Award from the Asian American Journalists Association for her coverage of Capitol Hill.
Prior to coming to NPR, Chang was an investigative reporter at NPR Member station WNYC from 2009 to 2012 in New York City, focusing on criminal justice and legal affairs. She was a Kroc fellow at NPR from 2008 to 2009, as well as a reporter and producer for NPR Member station KQED in San Francisco.
The former lawyer served as a law clerk to Judge John T. Noonan Jr. on the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco.
Chang graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University where she received her bachelor's degree.
She earned her law degree with distinction from Stanford Law School, where she won the Irving Hellman Jr. Special Award for the best piece written by a student in the Stanford Law Review in 2001.
Chang was also a Fulbright Scholar at Oxford University, where she received a master's degree in media law. She also has a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.
She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she never got to have a dog. But now she's the proud mama of Mickey Chang, a shih tzu who enjoys slapping high-fives and mingling with senators.
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The war in the Middle East appears to be widening. Iran sent a volley of missiles at Israel just days after Israel killed the leader of Hezbollah, Hasan Nasrallah.
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Baseball great Pete Rose has died. He's known as MLB's all-time hits leader, but was banned from the sport in 1989 for gambling. NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with author Keith O'Brien about Rose’s legacy.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with celebrity stylist Law Roach, the man behind some of the most memorable red carpet looks in recent years, about his new book How to Build a Fashion Icon.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, about assisting the states dealing with Hurricane Helene's aftermath.
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The founder of a notorious Chicago street gang is set to make his first appearance in court in more than 20 years. Larry Hoover hopes a new judge will undo a life sentence he received in 1998.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with New York State Sen. John Liu about New York City Mayor Eric Adams being indicted on five federal charges Thursday.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Senator Gary Peters, D-Mich., chair of the Homeland Security Committee, about the findings of their investigation into the failures of the Secret Service on July 13.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Ellen Carpenter, who edited United Airlines' Hemispheres magazine from 2017-2024. The magazine published its final printed edition in September after a 32-year run.
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The London-based saxophonist and composer Nubya Garcia talks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about the diverse sounds on her new album Odyssey. It's her first time writing for and conducting strings.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with biologist Johannes Fritz, who's currently on a journey to teach northern bald ibises how to migrate for winter. The birds species was previously extinct in central Europe.