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Faces Of NPR: Andrew Limbong

Alexandria Lee
/
NPR

Faces Of NPR is a weekly feature that showcases the people behind NPR, from the voices you hear every day on the radio to the ones who work outside of the recording studio. You'll find out about what they do and what they're inspired by on the daily. This week's post features NPR's Arts Desk reporter, Andrew Limbong.

The Basics:

Name: Andrew Limbong

Twitter Handle: @andrewlimbong

Job Title: reporter/producer

Where You're From: Brooklyn, New York—I'm sorry.

An Inside Look:

You're a reporter and producer on the Arts Desk. What does that mean?

I'm having a hard time answering this question because, at the risk of sounding like a college sophomore who just read an introduction to some overly smart book, everything can be seen as "the arts" from the right angle, right? So, "I work on stories about arts stuff" isn't a great answer, but it's the one I've got.

Alexandria Lee / NPR
/
NPR

How did you get started here? Or what advice do you have for someone who wants a job like yours?

After college I visited some family in Jakarta, Indonesia. Before I left I emailed Anthony Kuhn, who was then working the South East Asian bureau, something along the lines of "What's up, dude. I'm a recent grad with some interest in journalism. Mind meeting and chatting?" He ended up showing me the ropes from booking to filing to field producing. It's a crazy thing that he did not need to do.

As for advice, I don't know—drink a lot of water? Be nice to people? Don't leave in half-breaths when editing tape?

Alexandria Lee / NPR
/
NPR

What's your favorite #nprlife moment?

Whenever people run to see the beautiful sunset, I think to myself "lol y'all are corny. Sunsets are lame," but then I realize I'm just being a big jerk, so I go see the sunset. And yes, it's corny because I'm right and sunsets are corny, but seeing other people really like stuff is fun?

What are some of the coolest things you've worked on?

Cool isn't quite the right word here, but I constantly think about the night Prince died. I spent a good 15 minutes or so with Vernon Reid from Living Colour having him tell me Prince related anecdotes.

Andrew Limbong / NPR
/
NPR
Alexandria Lee / NPR
/
NPR

What's on your desk?

I thought I was being funny by including this picture, but then I realized these features normally include pictures anyway, so my answer is a so-so lunch from a food truck, a day old bottle of Perrier, and a notepad.

Favorite podcast?

Currently: No Script at All - A Terrace House fancast, literally any podcast that mentions Terrace House.

Perennial faves: On The Media and The Best Show

Favorite places in Washington D.C.?

I live in Baltimore, so I don't ~~hang~~ in D.C. that often, but if I am it's usually at DC9 or Rock & Roll Hotel or something just as sweaty. The Bojangles in the Union Station basement is also very good.

What emoji best represents you?

That nervous one with the teeth all stretched out across the face.

What do you love about public radio?

It's free.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Alexandria Lee / NPR
/
NPR

Alexandria Lee