Jackie Northam
Jackie Northam is NPR's International Affairs Correspondent. She is a veteran journalist who has spent three decades reporting on conflict, geopolitics, and life across the globe - from the mountains of Afghanistan and the desert sands of Saudi Arabia, to the gritty prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and the pristine beauty of the Arctic.
Northam spent more than a dozen years as an international correspondent living in London, Budapest, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, and Nairobi. She charted the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, reported from Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and the rise of Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. She was in Islamabad to cover the Taliban recapturing Afghanistan
Her work has taken her to conflict zones around the world. Northam covered the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, arriving in the country just four days after Hutu extremists began slaughtering ethnic Tutsis. In Afghanistan, she accompanied Green Berets on a precarious mission to take a Taliban base. In Cambodia, she reported from Khmer Rouge strongholds.
Throughout her career, Northam has revealed the human experience behind the headlines, from the courage of Afghan villagers defying militant death threats to cast their vote in a national election, or exhausted rescue workers desperately searching for survivors following a massive earthquake in Haiti.
Northam joined NPR in 2000 as National Security Correspondent, covering defense and intelligence policies at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She led the network's coverage of the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal and the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Her present beat focuses on the complex relationship between geopolitics and the global economy, including efforts to counter China's rising power.
Northam has received multiple journalism awards, including Associated Press and Edward R. Murrow awards, and was part of the NPR team that won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for "The DNA Files," a series about the science of genetics.
Originally from Canada, Northam spends her time off crewing in the summer, on the ski hills in the winter, and on long walks year-round with her beloved beagle, Tara.
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After Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, the military incarcerated thousands of Palestinians in Gaza. Some are being released and recounting their ordeal and what they describe as torture.
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Why is there no Palestinian state, despite so many states recognizing it?
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Despite widespread condemnation, Israel appears intent on pushing further in Rafah. That's raising questions of whether it's slipping toward international isolation.
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The U.S. military is delivering aid at a pier in Gaza, but aid groups fear it's just a drop in the ocean of need.
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A war of words has erupted among Israel's top leadership over the government's handling of the war in Gaza. The country's military chief and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been trading barbs.
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Eden Golan, Israel's representative for this year's Eurovision contest is not having an easy time because of the war in Gaza. She will compete in the finals on Saturday.
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In Iran, popular rapper Toomaj Salehi, whose fiery lyrics helped galvanize an anti-government movement among young people, has been sentenced to death. He was charged with "corruption on earth."
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UNRWA lost international funding after Israel said a significant number of its employees were part of Hamas. An independent review now says Israel hasn't provided evidence to support this accusation.
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An independent review commissioned by the United Nations did not have a mandate to investigate Israel's other claim that a dozen UNRWA employees took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel. -
Evan Gershkovich, the journalist who's been detained in Russia for a year, has become a pawn in a larger game of prisoner swaps. The U.S. has created a special office to deal with hostage diplomacy.
