Ashley Westerman
Ashley Westerman is a producer who occasionally directs the show. Since joining the staff in June 2015, she has produced a variety of stories including a coal mine closing near her hometown, the 2016 Republican National Convention, and the Rohingya refugee crisis in southern Bangladesh. She is also an occasional reporter for Morning Edition, and NPR.org, where she has contributed reports on both domestic and international news.
Ashley was a summer intern in 2011 with Morning Edition and pitched a story on her very first day. She went on to work as a reporter and host for member station 89.3 WRKF in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she earned awards covering everything from healthcare to jambalaya.
Ashley is an East-West Center 2018 Jefferson Fellow and a two-time reporting fellow with the International Center for Journalists. Through ICFJ, she has covered labor issues in her home country of the Philippines for NPR and health care in Appalachia for Voice of America.
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Webster County High School officials couldn't hold the big annual graduation event in the gym this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic — so the idea for a drive-through graduation was born. -
Starting Monday, the Southeast Asian country will open some schools and more businesses. It will also allow its citizens to travel domestically. -
The group, mostly women and children, had been stranded at sea for weeks. Human rights groups have long decried the government's plan to send refugees to flood- and cyclone-prone Bhasan Char island. -
Health experts say low rates of testing and refusal to enact strict lockdowns have allowed the virus to infiltrate all 34 provinces of the archipelago nation. -
Americans overseas trying to complete international adoptions have urged the government to expedite their children's visas so they can return as a family. -
As many island nations attempt to keep the coronavirus out, they also risk getting cut off from the outside world their economies depend on. -
Flooding in Indonesia's capital Jakarta has killed at least 60 people and displaced thousands. For now, the rain has let up and people are starting to return home. But more heavy rain is expected.
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After voting overwhelmingly for independence, the South Pacific island group now has to negotiate its separation with Papua New Guinea's government. -
The Solomon Islands and Kiribati recently established ties with China. Economic considerations are a key driver, but both nations also cite concerns about climate change as a reason for the decision. -
Sam Rainsy of the now-banned Cambodia National Rescue Party was barred from boarding a plane from Paris to Thailand. His deputy was detained in Malaysia. Both risk arrest if they enter Cambodia.
